Bennett Cerf papers, 1898-1977
Bennett Cerf papers, 1898-1977
Summary Information
At a Glance
- Call No.:
- MS#0206
- Bib ID:
- 4079659 View CLIO record
- Creator(s):
- Cerf, Bennett, 1898-1971
- Repository:
- Rare Book and Manuscript Library
- Physical Description:
- 52 linear feet (71 boxes 45 volumes 22 oversized items)
- Language(s):
- English .
- Access:
- You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.
-
The following boxes are located off-site: Boxes 3-75. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
This collection has no restrictions.
Unique time-based media items have been reformatted and are available onsite via links in the container list. Commercial materials are not routinely digitized.
Description
Summary
Correspondence, manuscripts, memorabilia, photographs, phonograph and tape recordings, and printed files. Included are Cerf's personal correspondence files, 1929-1945, and the diaries and scrapbooks which he maintained from his school days throughout his active career. The diaries, in date-book format, contain terse notes on Cerf's meetings with authors and friends, on his travels and publishing activities; the scrapbooks contain correspondence and photographs, as well as memorabilia and printed items, and were annotated by Cerf and his wife, Phyllis Fraser Cerf Wagner. Also in the collection are manuscripts and proofs for Cerf's books including "The Laugh's on Me""Treasury of Atrocious Puns""The Sound of Laughter""Stories to Make You Feel Better", and "At Random: the Reminiscences of Bennett Cerf", which was edited by Phyllis Cerf Wagner and Albert Erskine, 1977. The papers also include condolence letters written at the time of Cerf's death, photographs and photo albums,certificates and awards, and miscellaneous printed material, including Random House and Modern Library catalogues. Among the major correspondents are: Truman Capote, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Edna Ferber, Moss Hart, J. Edgar Hoover, Hubert Humphrey, Lyndon B. Johnson, John Lindsay, Joshua Logan, John O'Hara, Jacqueline Onassis, Richard Rodgers, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Gertrude Stein, Adlai Stevenson, Harry Truman, and Robert Penn Warren
Arrangement
Selected materials cataloged; remainder arranged.
Using the Collection
Restrictions on Access
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.
The following boxes are located off-site: Boxes 3-75. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
This collection has no restrictions.
Unique time-based media items have been reformatted and are available onsite via links in the container list. Commercial materials are not routinely digitized.
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction
Single photocopies 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.
Preferred Citation
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Bennett Cerf papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
Accruals
Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.
Ownership and Custodial History
Gift of Phyllis Cerf Wagner and the Cerf Foundation, 1975, 1978-1981 (yearly), 1983& 1984; Gift of Random House, 1988.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Source of acquisition--Wagner, Phyllis Cerf. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--1975. Accession number--M-1975.
12 letters to & from M.H. Sherwood: Source of acquisition--2293B. Method of acquisition--Purchase; Date of acquisition--10/09/1998. Accession number--M-98-10-09.
About the Finding Aid / Processing Information
Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Processing Information
Processed 12/--/1988.
12 letters to & from M.H. Sherwood Cataloged HR 10/15/1998.
Revision Description
2009-07-07 File created.
2012-11-28 XML document instance created by Catherine C. Ricciardi
2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.
2020-03-05 Links to digitized material added
Biographical / Historical
Author & publisher. Columbia A.B. 1919; Litt.B. 1920.
Subject Headings
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.
All links open new windows.
Series I: Cataloged Correspondence
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Series II: Cataloged Manuscripts, Photographs, and Art
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Series III: Arranged Materials
Box 25
Box 74
Box 74
(Limited Edition)
Box 74
Box 36
1916-1917
Box 36
1917-1919
Box 36
1918-1933
Box 8
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Box 64
Box 25
Interview from "View from the Top," WOR-TV
Box 31
Box 11
1915-1949
Box 12
1950-1971
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Box 63
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Box 64
Box 35
Box 26-28
[This material has been withdrawn from this collection and returned to the Columbia University Center for Oral History.]
Box 3
Box 4
1936-1940
Box 5
1941-1943
Box 6
1943-1945
Box 7
Box 32
Box 33
Box 34
(Primarily Cerf, family, and friends; 1981 and 1984 additions to the collection)
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Box 64
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Box 61
Box 75
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Box 74
(Autographed by Rod McKuen)
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Box 37
1933-1940
Box 38
1940-1943
Box 74
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1945-1970
Box 29
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Series IV: Oversized Materials
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(Page proofs, photographs, end-paper)
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