Lyle Stuart papers, 1926-2010, bulk 1949-2003

(Together 56 pages. 8vo. on personal stationery. With 42 curbons of Stuart's letters to either Seldes or to Brandt Aymar of Greenberg.... Publishers . in connection with Stuart purchasing copies of Seldes's book,Tell the Truth and Run. Also with three printed checks from Stuart to Seldes (one endorsed by Seldes. the others endorsed with stump).

Accession number: 2016.2017.M091

Although not known as a fiction writer, Stuart wrote novels, poetry, short stories, and song lyrics, especially in his younger years. His biggest fiction succes,God Wears a Bow Tie, was published in 1949 to largely positive reviews which are included in this subseries. His radio scripts for the State Department are also represented. The bulk of the subseries includes his unpublished manuscripts and research notes, arranged alphabetically by title.

Stuart spent time as a freelance journalist and worked on the staff of a variety of newspapers. This subseries includes clippings of his stories, notes and typescripts of both published and unpublished articles, and records of his time as a producer at WHOM-FM, where he and Louis Chu created the first Chinese-language radio program in New York. His file of story notes includes advertising and the book jacket for his major nonfiction success,The Secret Life of Walter Winchell(1953), which was a compilation of the series of exposé articles he wrote in 1951.

This subseries includes fine art (John Gossage's 2000 artist's book "Hey Fuckface!"), cartoons by Arthur Robins and Jack Davis, assorted collectibles (bumper stickers, lapel pins, coin collecting materials), rare souvenirs (Babe Ruth All American Underwear from the 1930s), and sheet music collected by Stuart, including autographed copies of Irving Caesar songs. The subseries is arranged in three files.

Many more Arthur Robins cartoons (primarily pen-and-ink and watercolor) can be found in Subseries VI.2's Production Files.

Personal records include material from Stuart's service in the Merchant Marine and Air Force, as well as family records. Most of Early Life and Family relates to Stuart's first wife, Mary Louise, and her battle with liver cancer, and includes medical records, his search and reward advertising for an alternative cure, consolation letters, and research relating to Stuart's memorial book,Mary Louise, published in 1972. There are also remembrances of Stuart's father (who committed suicide in 1928) and brother, and his frequently updated memorial "People I've Known Who Have Died."

This subseries also includes the Stuart family's financial records unrelated to publishing. In addition to bank statements, investment activity, and tax returns, Stuart frequently borrowed and lent money, and this often led to the lively exchanges in this subseries' correspondence, as well as occasional legal remedies. Of the many loan materials, most notable is a sizable personal loan made to fellow publisher Barney Rosset, involving the partial purchase of Rosset's Blue Moon Books.

Topical files include Stuart's collection of materials on major subjects of interest. Stuart was a fierce defender of Cuba in the 1960s, belonging to the Fair Play for Cuba Committee, and traveled to Cuba on several occasions to meet with Fidel Castro. His Cuba file includes brochures, clippings, correspondence, souvenirs, and Congressional testimony. Due partially to his political activities, Stuart had files at both the Department of Defense and the FBI, which were produced after his FOIA requests in the mid-1980s.

Stuart considered himself a semi-professional gambler, particularly in baccarat. He wrote two books on gambling, published several more, was part owner of a casino, and created and produced a gambling newsletter,High Roller. The Gambling file includes Stuart's accounting of his tournaments and casino trips, clippings, club cards, tournament certificates, and the case from a casino baccarat set. His books on gambling can be found in Series VII.

Jamaica and the Stuart Place cover records and news related to Port Maria, Jamaica, where Lyle and Mary Louise owned and rented a vacation home. The file includes advertising, clippings, correspondence, and financial records.

The Juvenile Delinquency file dates from the late 1950s when Lyle and Mary Louise Stuart lived in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. They became interested in the welfare of low-income teenagers in the area and began an odd jobs program for their co-op and collected articles related to juvenile delinquency in NYC more generally. The Fort Greene cooperative is also the site of the final file, Kingsview Homes. The Stuarts were frequently in dispute with the cooperative board (including over the odd jobs program they attempted to institute) and made efforts, both in and out of the courts, to replace the board. The Kingsview Homes file includes correspondence, lawsuits and legal files, meeting minutes, neighbor surveys, and copies of theKingsview Flyernewsletter.

Lyle and Mary Louise Stuart foundedExposé, a monthly tabloid, in November 1951. Retitled asThe Independentin April 1956 (to distinguish it from trade tabloids likeConfidentialandScandal), it focused on left-wing investigative journalism, publishing articles on Franco's Spain, Jim Crow laws, and "the real Cuba." It was an early publisher of a number of notable writers, including Paul Krassner, Norman Mailer, and George Seldes. By Mary Louise Stuart's death in 1969,The Independenthad transitioned into a personal newsletter, with issues devoted to Stuart's recent travels or feuds. After a hiatus following Mary Louise's death, Lyle Stuart resumed publication as a bimonthly from 1971 through 1973. The clippings file from the paper's first years can be found in Series IV.

Advertising and Publicity includes clippings about the tabloid, ads for the paper fromThe NationandThe Progressive, a promotional brochure onThe Independent's history, newsletters, catalogs, and poster ads. Business and Financial Records include business plans, operating estimates, budget reports, invoices, press cards, and copyright certificates. Issues include a near-complete run of the newspaper, from its first issue in November 1951 until its 200th issue in December 1973. Issues not included are numbers 68, 70-71, 81-82, 86, 97, 101-104, 106, 108-110, 119-120, 130, and 150. Materials are arranged chronologically within each file.

Lyle and Mary Louise Stuart founded Lyle Stuart, Inc. in 1956. Initially funded by a judgement against Walter Winchell andConfidentialmagazine in a 1955 libel suit filed by Stuart, the firm thrived by publishing controversial and newsmaking books. Books published by Lyle Stuart, Inc. includeThe Sensuous Woman,The Anarchist Cookbook, andOrdeal, the Linda Lovelace autobiography.

Advertising, Catalogs, and Newsletters are arranged by record type and include material related to Lyle Stuart, Inc., Citadel Press (a Lyle Stuart, Inc. subsidiary) and Carol Publishing Group. Newsletters include dozens of issues ofHot News, a hybrid business-personal newsletter that Lyle and Carole Stuart began writing in 1981 (the newsletter continues today as Barricade Books' Hot News blog).Hot Newsissues from after 1989 are filed in Subseries VI.3.

Author Agreements and Proposals include executed contracts, correspondence, and solicited and unsolicited book proposals. Business records include official incorporation records, stockholder reports, background material produced by and about the firm, and booklists. Financial records cover accounting, stock, and budget reports as well as research and contracts from the 1989 acquisition by Carol Publishing Group and materials related to Carol Publishing Group's 1999 bankruptcy proceedings.

Production Files and Drafts include materials from books under contract. Among other titles, it includes multiple corrected drafts of a never-published biography of Salvador Dalí by his controversial secretary Peter Moore. Of particular interest is original pen and ink and watercolor final art by Arthur Robins for an unpublished book of dirty jokes.

Barricade Books was founded by Lyle and Carole Stuart shortly after the sale of Lyle Stuart, Inc. to Carol Publishing Group. Although the acquisition of Lyle Stuart, Inc. included a three-year period where Lyle Stuart was forbidden from book publishing, the agreement did not apply to books rejected by Carol Publishing. Among other titles, Carol Publishing was uninterested in renewing the rights toThe Anarchist Cookbook, initially published by Lyle Stuart, Inc., which Barricade then bought.

Advertising, Newsletters, and Publicity are arranged by topic and includes post-1989 issues ofHot News. Author Agreements are arranged chronologically. Book Proposals include solicited and unsolicited proposals and sample chapters. Financial records include bank statements and check registries, along with files on Barricade Books's acquisition of Red Dembner and Barney Rosset's Blue Moon Books. The file also includes 2008 bankruptcy proceedings related to settling Lyle Stuart's estate, and assorted tax returns. Office files include the official corporation bylaws, cataloging-in-publication data submitted to the Library of Congress, publication lists and schedules, and sales and shipping records. Production Files include drafts and research files from authors under contract and printing quotes and estimates for upcoming titles.

(2019.2020.M110)

Also included is a typed note with extensive handwritten notations from Citadel Press owner & Stuart associate Allan J. Wilson (1917 – 2011) to Stuart, detailing his feelings about the typescript and Shaw.