Manuscript Collections - Isabel M. Paterson Papers

ISABEL M. PATERSON PAPERS, 1857-1998 (bulk, 1910-1965)
10 linear feet, 1 linear inch (23 LGA-S boxes)
Herbert Hoover Presidential Library

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Isabel Mary Bowler was born to Francis and Margaret Bowler on Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Canada on January 22, 1886. In 1910 she married Kenneth Birrell Paterson. Paterson began her journalism career writing editorials for the Inland Herald. 

Paterson separated from her husband in 1918 and moved to New York where she worked on the feature page of the New York American and in the editorial department of Hearst’s Magazine. In 1922 she joined the New York Herald-Tribune to write book reviews and pieces for the Sunday Books section. In 1924 she began her column Turns With a Bookworm which combined reviews, literary anecdotes, and her political views.  

Paterson began writing novels when she was 28. The first two, The Magpie’s Nest and The Shadow Riders, were westerns about women struggling to achieve independence. Her most famous book was The God in the Machine, an important libertarian work. Major themes in her work include liberty, political freedom, individualism, and entrepreneurship. 

Paterson continued to write after her dismissal from the New York Herald in 1949. She refused Social Security benefits and died at the home of Muriel Hall in Montclair, New Jersey on January 10, 1961.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The collection was acquired from Paterson’s estate over three accessions in 1995, 1997, and 1999. The papers are divided into five series:

NAME AND SUBJECT FILES, 1908-1998 (6 boxes). The series contains: correspondence, articles, clippings, copies of photographs, quotes, and poems. It also contains files from scholars working after Paterson’s death. Writers include Will Cuppy, Rose Wilder Lane, and Ayn Rand. Materials on highly acidic paper have been removed for preservation purposes and replaced with copies. Arranged alphabetically by subject.
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WRITINGS, 1911-1964 (4.6 boxes). Includes article drafts, correspondence about Paterson’s works, notes, and book manuscripts. Includes manuscripts for The Singing Season and a Book Digest version of The God of the Machine. Correspondents include editors John Chamberlain of Freeman and William Buckley, Jr. of The National Review.
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LEGAL PAPERS, 1910-1979 (1 box). Includes documents relating to Paterson’s property, estate settlement, writing contracts, and naturalization as a U.S. citizen in 1928. 
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BOOKS, 1908-1998 (8 boxes). The series has been divided into two subgroups. Copies of annotations from books. Arranged alphabetically by title. The second contains books. Any underlining and annotations have been copied and are found in the first subseries. Arranged alphabetically by author.
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NEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE FILES, 2000-2004 (boxes 21-23)
The series contains photocopies of Isabel Paterson's work for the New York Herald Tribune. Her weekly column "Turns With a Bookworm" and her book reviews.
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CONTENTS LIST

NAME AND SUBJECT FILES

BOX    CONTENTS

1          Correspondence
                    GROUP A to B, 1927-1949
                    American Legion Controversy, 1951
                    Balch, Earl, 1945
                    Busey, Garreta – Letters from Isabel Paterson, 1936 and undated
                    Busey, Garreta – Letters to Isabel Paterson, 1928-1949
                    Busey, Garreta – Letters to Muriel Hall, 1962-1965
                    GROUP C to D, undated
                    Coleman, Alta May, undated 
                    Censorship, 1946
                    Cox, Stephen, 1988-1998
                    Cuppy, Will to Isabel Paterson, undated (3 folders)
                    Edmunds, Everard, 1956
                    Education in the United States, 1953-1959
                    Elson, Robert T., 1957

2           Farley, Lillian Fisher, 1927, 1958, 1960
                    Farley, Lillian (Dina) Fischer, 1924-1960 (2 folders, copies from NYPL) 
                    Field, Rachel, 1930
                    Gilbert, Rodney, 1957
                    Glenn, Isa, 1931-1932
                    Griffith, H. M., 1952
                    Hall, Ted, undated
                    Hall, Muriel, 1961, 1979-1992 (2 folders)
                    Henry, R. S., 1942-1964 (5 folders)
  
3           Herdman, Ramona, 1950-1959
                    Hitchcock, Harry, 1929
                    Hoiles, R. C., 1950-1962    
                    Kirk, Russell, 1964-1965
                    Knowlton, Marcus and Meredith, 1959
                    Lane, Rose Wilder, 1932-1945 [31-imp-b03-f06-lane]
                    Lecomte de Nouy, Mr. and Mrs. Pierre, 1947-1956
                    LeFevre, Robert, 1960-1964
                    Luckhart, Grace, 1927-1961 and undated
                    Manion, Clarence, 1949
                    McGinnis, Dick, undated
                    Mitchison, N., undated
                    Paterson, Isabel to Muriel Hall, 1944-1957 (5 folders)
                    
4           Paterson, Isabel to Muriel Hall, 1958-1960
                    GROUP R, 1935-1949
                    Rand, Ayn – From Isabel Paterson, 1943-1948
                    Rand, Ayn – To Isabel Paterson, 1943-1950    
                    Roberts, Nat, 1929-1935 and undated
                    Rascoe, Burton, 1945
                    GROUP S, 1938-1960
                    Scholars Interested in Isabel Paterson, 1969-1973
                    Social Security, 1937-1955
                    Stribling, T. S., undated
                    Sprague, Ted and Grace, undated
                    Stone, Grace, undated
                    GROUP T to Y, 1923-1946
                    Teale, Edwin Way, 1949-1950
                    Unidentified, 1908-1916

5                  Vogt, Gertrude, 1950-1961
                    Wall, Mildred, 1952-1961
                    Welles, Mary and Samuel, 1936-1943 and undated
                    Welles, Ted, 1949-1985
                    Wylie, Elinor, undated
             Cuppy, Will – Clippings, 1927 and undated
             New York Herald Tribune – Obituaries, 1953-1983
             Paterson, Isabel
                    Address Book and Business Cards, 1942 and undated
                    Articles about Isabel Paterson, 1912-1943
                    Christmas Cards, undated
                    Family Correspondence, 1933-1954
                    Linoleum Block, undated (Paterson portrait?)
                    Miscellaneous, 1944-1959 and undated
                    Notebook – Turns With a Bookworm, undated (blank, illustrated cover)

6                  Newspaper Clippings, 1916-1960
                    Photographs, undated (copies)
                    Quotes, 1958-1960
                    Tombstone, 1962
                    Rand, Ayn – Lecture Report by Ed Barthelmes, Feb 18, 1960
                    Rand, Ayn – The Only Path to Tomorrow, Condensed from The Moral Basis of
                                Individualism, 1945
                    Rand, Ayn – An Open Letter to Ayn Rand by John Chamberlain, undated
                    Thomas, M. J. – Poems, undated

WRITING
             Articles
                    Annotated by Paterson, 1939-1944
                    The Astonishing Creature – The Baby, May, 1949 
                    Humanitarian with Guillotine, 1955
                    Learning to Read, 1957 (working title, Reading without Tears, Cows or Chickens)
                    A Man of Destiny, 1956
                    Murphy, 1928
                    Newark Evening News, 1960
                    New York Herald Tribune, 1924-1938 
                    The Oracles are Dumb, 1956
                    Sketches for Newspaper Articles, undated
                    The Southern Breakthrough, 1955
                    Turns With a Bookworm, 1932-1948
                    We Were the Cowith-an, undated
                    What Do They Do All Day?, undated
                    Written by Other Authors, 1930-1964

7           Correspondence
                    Ashville Chamber of Commerce, 1924
                    GROUP B, 1942-1949
                    Benson, Arthur C., undated
                    Book Reviews, 1932
                    Bradley, J. G., 1949
                    Buckley, William F., Jr., 1954-1962
                    Buffett, Howard, 1952
                    GROUP C to D
                    Cabell, James Branch, 1930-1936
                    Chamberlain, John, 1953
                    Colum, Padraic, 1944
                    Columbia Lecture Bureau, 1949
                    Crane, Jasper, 1944-1954
                    GROUP E
                    Fake, Guy L., 1943-1948
                    Fuller, Selma and Henry, 1953
                    Gannett, Frank, 1945
                    G. P. Putnam and Sons, 1942-1944
                    Greenewatt, C. H., 1952-1959
                    Georgia Review, 1948-1949
                    GROUP H, 1934-1958
                    Harper Brothers, 1915
                    Hicks, Hamilton, undated
                    GROUP J, 1951
                    Josenhans, M. Alma, undated
                    GROUP L to M, 1931-1948 (2 folders)
                    Marsh, Margaret Mitchell, 1947 (author of Gone with the Wind)
                    Mitchison, Maomi, undated
                    New York Herald Tribune, 1949-1952
                    Opitz, Edmund, A., 1959
                    GROUP P to R, 1944-1956
                    Palmer, Paul, 1945-1947
                    Read, Thomas, 1935, 1964
                    Rejection of Manuscripts, 1914-1915
                    Ridenour, Louis N., 1946
                    GROUP S, 1922-1959
                    Saturday Evening Post, 1957-1959 (Frederick Nelson)
                    Stout, Wesley W., 1939-1944
                    GROUP T to Y, 1949-1957
                    Unidentified, 1950-1956
                    Van Doren, Irita, 1940
                    Wall, Mildred, 1958-1959
                    Wilder, Thornton, 1927

8                  Natural Law, 1951-1954
                    Never Ask the End, 1933-1949
                    Rejection Letters, 1942
                    Theory of Equilibrium, 1951-1955
                    Vogt, Gertrude, 1950-1961
                    Miscellaneous Copies, 1911-1964 and undated (4 folders)
              Draft Notes, undated
              Draft Notes – How Can I Get Past the (Deleted) Conservatives?, undated
              Draft Notes – Law and Liberty, undated
              Draft Notes – Republican Party, 1954
              Draft Notes – States Rights Proposal, 1951-1952

9            Manuscripts
                    Did I Ask to Be Born? by Thomas Maeder, undated (Will Cuppy biography)
                    Fragments from Novels, undated
                    God of the Machine – Summary for Book Digest, 1943
                    God of the Machine – Correspondence, 1945
                    God of the Machine – Notes by Ted and Muriel Hall, undated
                    God of the Machine – Notes of Paterson, undated
                    Joyous Gard, 1958 – Annotated copy (2 folders)
                    Joyous Gard, 1958 – Clear Copy, Chapters 1-13

10                Joyous Gard, 1958 – Clear Copy, Chapters 14-25
                    Joyous Gard, 1958 – Early Copy, Pages 14-191 (2 folders)
                    Joyous Gard, 1958 – Attempts to Get Published, 1951-1958
                    Fragments – Chapters 1 and 2
                    Fragments – Chapter 1
                    Fragments – Burned Copy, Chapters 15-25 (2 folders)
                    The Singing Season – Chapters 1-30 (2 folders)
                    The Singing Season – Correspondence, 1923
                    Reviews of Paterson Books, 1916 and undated

LEGAL PAPERS

11          Banking, 1925, 1956-1959
              Disposition of Papers, 1961-1979
              General, 1910-1957
              Immigration Papers, 1920-1928
              Real Estate – Connecticut Property, 1933-1949, 1952-1960 (2 folders)
              Real Estate – New Jersey Property, 1942-1960
              Royalties, 1933-1949
              Taxes, 1926-1964
              Will and Death Certificate, 1961
              Writing Contracts, 1915-1942

BOOK COLLECTION

12          Annotated Material
                    A Bookman’s Daybook by Burton Rascoe, 1929
                    Dryden by G. Saintsbury, 1902
                    Einstein by P. Frank
                    Elizabeth by M. Waldman
                    Forty-Two Years in the White House by Irwin Hood (Ike) Hoover, 1934
                    Founding Fathers by K. Umbrett
                    The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
                    God of the Machine by Isabel Paterson
                    A Great Peacemaker: The Diary of James Gallatin Secretary to Albert Gallatin
                             1813-1827, 1914
                    Grey Eminence by A. Huxley
                    High Stakes and Hair Trigger by R. W. Winston
                    A History of the Church. Volume three – The Revolt against the Church: Aquinas
                                 to Luther, 1947
                    Kilvert’s Diary by W. Plomer
                    Letters of Madame by G. S. Stevenson
                    The Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay by G. O. Trevelyan
                    The Life of Samuel Johnson by J. Boswell
                    The Man versus the State by Herbert Spencer, 1940
                    The Novels of Jane Austin by R. W. Chapman
                    Out of the Earth by L. Bromfield
                    Pensees by Pascal
                    The Pentateuch by J. W. Colenso
                    Phases of American Culture by the Jesuit Philosophical Association of the Eastern
                                States, 1942
                    Portrait of Pascal by M. Duclaux
                    The Road to Xanadu by J. L. Lowes
                    Russia Under the Tzars by Stepniak
                    Sahara: The Great Desert by E. F. Gautier, 1935
                    Science and Christian Tradition by T. H. Huxley
                    The Spirit of Mediaeval Philosophy by E. Gilson
                    Taft and Roosevelt by A. Butt
                    They Told Barron by C. W. Barron

13                Travels in France and Italy by A. Young
                    The Unity of Philosophical Experience by E. Gilson
                    Voltaire by Brandes
                    The Wealth of Nation by A. Smith
                    Inscriptions to Paterson – National Review, Aug-Sep, 1960, Jan-Feb, 1970
                    Inscriptions to Paterson – The Freeman, 1950-1952
 
14          Book Collection
                    Adlington, Richard, The Duke: A Life of Wellington, 1943
                    Brandes, George, Voltaire, 1930 (2 vols)
                    Bromfield, Louis, Out of the Earth, 1950
                    Catlin, George, North American Indians, Volume 1, 1857
                    Chamberlain, Pressey Walters, Living, Reading, and Thinking, 1948
                    Fitzgerald, Edward, The Rubiyat of Omar Khayyan
 
15                Chesnut, Mary Boykin, A Diary From Dixie, 1949
                    Duclaux, Mary, Portrait of Pascal, 1927
                    Du Nouy, Lecomte, Human Destiny, 1947
                    Du Nouy, Mary, The Road to Human Destiny, 1955
                    Ford, Ford Madox, The Last Post, 1928 (two copies)
                    Frank Philipp, Einstein, 1947

 16               Gilson, Etienne – The Spirit of Mediaeval Philosophy, 1940
                    Gilson, Etienne – The Unity of Philosophical Experience, 1947
                    Hughes, Philip, A History of the Church, Volume 3, 1947
                    Hughes, Richard, A High Wind in Jamaica, 1932
                    Huxley, T.H., Science and Christian Tradition, 1895
                    O”Neill, Moira, Songs of the Glens of Antrim, 1916
                    Plomer, Ed., Kilvert’s Diary, 1947
                    Potter, George Richard, Sir Thomas More, 1925
                    Pound, Arthur, Ed., They Told Barron, 1930

17                Pascal, Blaise, Pensees, 1941
                    Paterson, Isabel – The Fourth Queen, 1926
                    Paterson, Isabel – God of the Machine, 1943 (2 Copies)
                    Paterson, Isabel – God of the Machine, 1964 (reprint)
                    Paterson, Isabel – If It Prove Fair Weather, 1940 (2 Copies)

18                Paterson, Isabel – Golden Vanity, 1934
                    Paterson, Isabel – The Magpies Nest, 1917
                    Paterson, Isabel – Mai Domander La Fine, 1933
                    Paterson, Isabel – Never Ask the End, 1930
                    Paterson, Isabel – The Road of the Gods, 1930
                    Paterson, Isabel – The Shadow Riders, 1916
                    Tate, Allen, Jefferson Davis, 1929
                    U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer, 1954

19                Roscoe, Burton, Titans of Literature, 1932
                    Spencer Herbert, The Man Versus the State, 1940
                    Swinburne, Algernon Charles, Poems, 1905 (4 Volumes)
                    Wylie, Elinor, Collected Prose, 1933

20          Original Removed for Preservation
                    Paterson-Hall Correspondence, 1944-1955 (4 folders)
                    Paterson Correspondence, 1957-1958 (2 folders)
                    Manuscript Fragments, undated
                    Novel Fragments, undated
                    Will Cuppy to Paterson, undated

NEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE FILES

21           Book Reviews, 1924-1949 (14 folders, copies)

22           Turns With A Bookworm, 1924-1938 (14 folders, copies)

23           Turns With A Bookworm, 1939-1949 (10 folders, copies)

24           Photographs
                    Bowler, Carl and Wife with Zelda Good, Sep 1959 (1 item, siblings)
                    Camping, Horses, undated (19 items)
                    Children, undated (4 items, friends)
                    Fanley, Frank and Lillian, undated (2 items, wedding party)
                    From K. B. Patterson, undated (8 items, Native American, winter, women, horses,
                                hunting anthracite)
                    From Muriel Hall, undated (6 items)
                    From Patsy Orrico, undated (12 items, swimsuits, colorized)
                    Locations, 1889 and undated (22 items, Calgary, trees, houses, canoe)
                    Men, undated (10 items)
                    Paterson, Isabel, 1916 and undated (22 prints and 2 negs) [31-imp-b24-f10]
                    Paterson, Isabel – Groups, 1916, 1945 and undated (16 items, bicycle, dog, car,
                                horses, swimsuits, cyanotype, living room fire)
                    Paterson, Isabel – Portraits, 1908 and undated (7 items) [31-imp-b24-f12]
        
 

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