This collection has no restrictions.
This collection is located on-site.
Correspondence, manuscripts, documents, photographs, and printed material of Steffens. The original collection contains letters to Steffens and Ella Winter from friends, family , and associates in political, literary, and journalistic fields; edited typescript copies of Steffens' outgoing correspondence, used in the publication of THE LETTERS OF LINCOLN STEFFENS; and manuscripts of many of Steffens' articles and essays (all of the preceding are available on microfilm). Also, newspaper clippings about and by Steffens; files of periodicals such as THE CARMELITE to which Steffens contributed, manuscripts of Josephine Bontecou Steffens, first wife of Lincoln Steffens, and a small group of letters from Ben B. Lindsay and Lincoln Steffens. Additional Steffens material includes cataloged and uncataloged letters to Steffens and Ella Winter; duplicate copies of Steffens' edited letters; manuscripts of articles, essays, and book drafts by Steffens and others; diaries, datebooks, and address books of Steffens and others; miscellaneous manuscripts and documents relating to Steffens; photographs, including several by Edward Weston; miscellaneous printed material; and original outgoing letters of Steffens, 1888-1936. Correspondents include Clarence Darrow, Jo Davidson, Robinson Jeffers, Emma Goldman, Ezra Pound, Theodore Roosevelt, and Upton Sinclair.
The original collection (Series I) contains letters to Steffens and Ella Winter from friends, family , and associates in political, literary, and journalistic fields; edited typescript copies of Steffens' outgoing correspondence, used in the publication of THE LETTERS OF LINCOLN STEFFENS; and manuscripts of many of Steffens' articles and essays (all of the preceding are available on microfilm). Also, newspaper clippings about and by Steffens; files of periodicals such as THE CARMELITE to which Steffens contributed, manuscripts of Josephine Bontecou Steffens, first wife of Lincoln Steffens, and a small group of letters from Ben B. Lindsay and Lincoln Steffens. Additional Steffens material includes cataloged and uncataloged letters to Steffens and Ella Winter; duplicate copies of Steffens' edited letters; manuscripts of articles, essays, and book drafts by Steffens and others; diaries, datebooks, and address books of Steffens and others; miscellaneous manuscripts and documents relating to Steffens; photographs, including several by Edward Weston; miscellaneous printed material; and original outgoing letters of Steffens, 1888-1936. Correspondents include Clarence Darrow, Jo Davidson, Robinson Jeffers, Emma Goldman, Ezra Pound, Theodore Roosevelt, and Upton Sinclair.
Series II, added in 1978, contains catalogued and uncatalogued letters to Steffens and Ella Winter; duplicate copies of Steffens' edited letters; manuscripts of articles, essays and book drafts by Steffens and others; diaries, datebooks and address books of Steffens and others; miscellaneous manuscripts and documents relatidg to Steffens; photographs, including several by Edward Weston; and miscellaneous printed material. Among the many prominent correspondents are Clarence Darrow, Jo Davidson, Robinson Jeffers, Emma Goldman, Ezra Pound, Theodore Roosevelt and Upton Sinclair.
Series III. Letters of Lincoln Steffens
Series III consists of the original outgoing letters of Lincoln Steffens,1888- 1936, along with several miscellaneous letters and related items. (12 boxes, 1686 pieces).
Series IV. Additional Correspondence and Manuscripts
Series IV consists of drafts of letters from Steffens to Bennett Cerf, George Creel, Sam Darcy and Frank Khox, 1 letter to him from Alan Suggett and 1 from Charles Erskine Scott Wood; drafts of manuscripts by Steffens of his Autobiography, parts I-IV; of speeches and magazine articles; columns for local California newspapers, 1928-1934, commentaries on the San Francisco strike of 1934; on current events and the state of American cities; and articles about children, (4 boxes)
Selected materials cataloged remainder listed and arranged. Arranged into four series by accession.
Rbml Advance Appointment
This collection has no restrictions.
This collection is located on-site.
Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Lincoln Steffens papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.
Microfilm available for part of collection.
1950, 1966, 1978. Purchase from Ella Winter.
Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Cataloged Christina Hilton Fenn 09/--/89.
2009-06-26 File created.
2012-03-12 XML document instance created by Catherine C. Ricciardi
2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.
Lincoln Steffens (1866-1936) was an American journalist - a leading writer among the "muckrakers" of early 20th century - as well as a lecturer, political philosopher, and reformer.
Steffens, the son of a wealthy businessman, was born in San Francisco, and grew up primarily in Sacramento, California. He graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1889, and continued his studies in Europe afterwards.
Upon retuning to the United States in 1892, Steffens began working in the newspaper industry in New York City. in 1903, he became editor of McClure's Magazine, where he published a series of articles on corruption in American cities, later published as as a collection in the The Shame of Cities in 1904. This was followed by an investigation into state politicians in The Struggle for Self-Government in 1906.
Steffens continued in journalism until approximately 1910, when he became interested in the revolution in Mexico. He traveled to Mexico to report on the revolution, and later also traveled to Russia shortly after its revolution. In the 1920s, he moved to Europe, and began working on his autobiography, which was highly successful upon its publication in 1931.
Steffens died in Carmel, California, in 1936.
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.
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