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

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Series VI: Publishing Ventures, 1951-2008

This series is divided into three subseries, each devoted to a different firm. The Independent (originally titled Exposé) was a monthly tabloid published by Lyle and Mary Louise Stuart, and included a small book publishing imprint. With $8000 awarded in a libel judgement against Walter Winchell, the Stuarts founded Lyle Stuart, Inc. in 1956. After selling Lyle Stuart, Inc. to Carol Publishing Group in 1989, Stuart and his second wife, Carole, founded Barricade Books, a more specialized firm committed to "strengthening and protecting the First Amendment". Lyle Stuart, Inc. materials also include some records from after the Carol Publishing acquisition, as Carole Stuart remained on staff at Carol Publishing (and Lyle Stuart remained a formal "advisor") before co-founding Barricade Books. Barricade Books is now run by Carole Stuart.

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Subseries VI.1:The Independent, 1951-1973

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.


Box 6 Advertising and Publicity, 1954-1959, (8 folders)


Box 32 Advertising and Publicity, 1954-1959, (8 folders)


Box 6 Business and Financial Records, 1951-1971, (8 folders)

Box 6 Issues no. 1-200, 1951-1973, (181 folders)

(Some early issues are fragile and should be handled with care)


Box 7 Issues no. 1-200, 1951-1973, (181 folders)

(Some early issues are fragile and should be handled with care)


Box 8 Issues no. 1-200, 1951-1973, (181 folders)

(Some early issues are fragile and should be handled with care)

Subseries VI.2: Lyle Stuart, Inc., 1956-2000

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.


Box 9 Advertising, Newsletters, and Publicity, 1965-1990, (20 folders)

Box 9 Author Agreements and Proposals, 1958-1990, (13 folders)

Box 9 Business Records, 1959-1990, (7 folders)

Box 9 Financial Records, 1956-2000, (20 folders)


Box 10 Financial Records, 1956-2000, (20 folders)

Box 10 Production Files and Drafts, 1967-1989, (42 folders)


Box 11 Production Files and Drafts, 1967-1989, (42 folders)


Box 32 Production Files and Drafts, 1967-1989, (42 folders)

Subseries VI.3: Barricade Books, 1989-2008

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.


Box 11 Advertising, Newsletters, and Publicity, 1991-2008, (23 folders)


Box 12 Advertising, Newsletters, and Publicity, 1991-2008, (23 folders)

Box 12 Author Agreements, 1989-2005, (2 folders)

Box 12 Book Proposals, 1989-2006, (7 folders)

Box 12 Financial Records, 1989-2008, (17 folders)

Box 12 Office Files, 1989-2006, (63 folders, 11 computer diskettes)


Box 13 Office Files, 1989-2006, (63 folders, 11 computer diskettes)


Box 14 Office Files, 1989-2006, (63 folders, 11 computer diskettes)


Box 34 Office Files, 1989-2006, (63 folders, 11 computer diskettes)


Box 14 Production Files, 1989-2007, (36 folders)


Box 15 Production Files, 1989-2007, (36 folders)