Collection inventory

Overview of the Collection
Creator:	Dapping, William O.
Title:	William O. Dapping Papers
Inclusive Dates:	1897-1968
Quantity:	21 linear ft.
Abstract:	American journalist, editor. Collection includes correspondence, photographs, printed material, scrapbooks, memorabilia.
Language:	English
Repository:	Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries 222 Waverly Avenue Syracuse, NY 13244-2010 https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center

Biographical History

William O. Dapping (1880-1969) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist and editor from Auburn, New York.

Educated at Harvard under the patronage of Thomas Mott Osborne, Dapping wrote for the The Harvard Crimson under the direction of Franklin Roosevelt. It was here he discovered a love for journalism that would propel him to go into the news business. In 1905 he joined the newly christened Auburn Citizen (formerly the Auburn Bulletin, 1886-1905), becoming managing editor in 1917. In 1931 the paper merged with the Advertiser-Journal, becoming the Citizen-Advertiser (1931-1975). Dapping remained with the paper until his retirement in 1960. During his career Dapping covered sensational topics like the execution of Chester Gillette and the 1929 Auburn Prison Riots, the latter of which won him a special Pulitzer Prize in 1930.

Dapping was actively involved with numerous civic efforts in Auburn. He advocated for conservation organizations and legislation to protect the Finger Lakes, as well as New York’s nature and wildlife in general, and helped to found and run the New York State Fish, Game, and Forest League. An ardent Democrat, Dapping served as a presidential elector for New York from 1932-1969 and attended the presidential inaugurations of his old editor Franklin Roosevelt as well as Roosevelt's successor Harry Truman. Due to his talent for news and connections with Thomas Osborne, Dapping was named secretary of the Auburn Publishing Company and oversaw its foray into the radio business (station WMBO).

Dapping was married to Ina Fairchild. He died August 1, 1969, in Auburn.

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

The William O. Dapping Papers contains business correspondence, personal correspondence, memorabilia, and writings.

Business correspondence, making up the bulk of the collection, contains material relating to the Auburn Publishing Company (including a few items connected with its precursor, the Auburn Bulletin Co.), Empire State School of Printing, New York State Publishers Association, and radio station WMBO.

Personal correspondence contains correspondence with friends and family, including Dapping's mentor Thomas Mott Osborne; and organizations such as the New York Fish, Game, and Forest League, the Conservation Department, and others.

Memorabilia contains awards, clippings, newsletters and other material relating to Dapping's various clubs and societies, photographs, materials for various presidential inauguration dinners, scrapbooks, and miscellaneous items.

Writings consists mostly of manuscripts for Dapping's book The Muckers, A Narrative of the Crapshooter's Club. There are also a few other typed manuscripts and miscellaneous notes.

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Arrangement of the Collection

Most of the collection is arranged alphabetically. Correspondence within the various business sub-series is arranged chronologically.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

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Subject Headings

Persons

Corporate Bodies

Subjects

Places

Genres and Forms

Occupations

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

William O. Dapping Papers,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of William O. Dapping, 1969-1970.

Finding Aid Information

Created by: MRC
Date: 19 Mar 2010
Revision history: 26 Oct 2022 - collection processed (GU); 7 Apr 2023 - building specifications added (MRC)

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Inventory

	Business correspondence
		Auburn Publishing Co
			Administrative
Box 1				General 1917-1960, undated (2 folders)
Box 1				Articles of incorporation 1919
Box 1				Content breakdown 1936-1960 (3 folders)
Box 1				Proposal for intertype equipment 1947
Box 1				Report on plant conditions 1920
Box 1				Statement on radio and newspaper ownership undated
Box 1				Typographical survey 1938
Box 1			Correspondence, general 1905-1919 (4 folders)
Box 2			Correspondence, general 1919-1927 (14 folders)
Box 3			Correspondence, general 1927-1943 (12 folders)
Box 4			Correspondence, general 1944-1958 (13 folders)
Box 5			Correspondence, general 1958-1962, undated (6 folders)
			Financial material
Box 5				Assets/Expense records 1918-1958, undated
Box 5				Audit, Auburn Publishing Co. 1939
Box 5				General 1919-1958, undated
			Gillette execution
Box 5				Correspondence 1908-1958
Box 5				Clippings 1908-1958
Box 5				Photographs undated
Box 5			Legal materials, general 1905-1960
Box 6			Letters to the editor 1914-1960, undated (7 folders)
Oversize 9			Specifications, Auburn Bulletin Building 1897 - carpentry, plumbing, etc. (7 folders)
		Empire State School of Printing
Box 6			Audit report 1927
Box 6			General 1933
		New York State Publishers Association
Box 6			Administrative 1942-1959, undated
Box 6			Correspondence, general 1920-1947 (5 folders)
Box 7			Correspondence, general 1947-1962, undated (3 folders)
Box 7			Financial 1943-1955, undated
Box 7			Miscellaneous 1947
		WMBO (radio)
			Administrative
Box 7				Advertising rates 1935-1954
Box 7				Allocation study 1940
Box 7				Coverage maps undated
Box 7				Engineering proposal 1946
Box 7				General 1931-1940, undated
Box 7				Survey undated
Box 7			Correspondence, general 1926-1936 (4 folders)
Box 8			Correspondence, general 1936-1946 (13 folders)
Box 9			Correspondence, general 1947-1961, undated (5 folders)
			FCC
Box 9				General 1932-1947 (7 folders)
Box 10				General 1947-1960, undated (5 folders)
Box 10				Petition undated
Box 10				Radio license 1960
			Financial
Box 10				Balance sheets 1936-1942 (6 folders)
Box 11				Balance sheets 1943-1953 (10 folders)
Box 12				Balance sheets 1954-1960 (7 folders)
Box 12				General 1935-1959, undated (2 folders)
Box 12				Profit and loss statements 1936-1960
			Legal
Box 12				Contracts 1932-1940, undated
Box 13				General 1931-1947, undated (2 folders)
Box 13			Miscellaneous 1933-1960, undated (2 folders)

	Personal correspondence
Box 13		Apperson, J. S. 1930-1931
Box 13		Auburn Community Chest 1923-1941
Box 13		A, miscellaneous 1922-1958, undated
Box 13		Bacon, Robert 1907-1910
Box 13		Bureau of Fisheries 1923-1933
Box 13		Burmaster, Ray 1927-1947
Box 13		Burnham, John B. 1930-1933
Box 13		B, miscellaneous 1909-1959, undated (2 folders)
Box 14		Casey, John T. 1943-1945
Box 14		Conservation Department 1923-1943 (3 folders)
Box 14		C, miscellaneous 1906-1958, undated (2 folders)
Box 14		Democratic State Committee 1928-1960
Box 14		D, miscellaneous 1908-1965, undated (2 folders)
Box 14		Electoral Colleges of the United States 1933-1948
Box 14		Executive Chamber 1923-1956
Box 14		E, miscellaneous 1923-1945, undated
Box 14		Farley, James A. 1934-1964, undated
Box 14		Finger Lakes Association 1925-1931
Box 15		F, miscellaneous 1925-1955, undated
Box 15		Garono, Edward J. 1931
Box 15		Gatewood, R. D. 1927-1940, undated
Box 15		George Junior Republic 1923-1951 (2 folders)
Box 15		G, miscellaneous 1922-1954, undated
Box 15		H, miscellaneous 1920-1960, undated (2 folders)
Box 15		Iles, George 1911-1930
Box 15		Izaak Walton League of America 1925-1931
Box 15		I, miscellaneous 1925-1960
Box 15		J, miscellaneous 1926-1953
Box 15		K, miscellaneous 1922-1960
Box 15		L, miscellaneous 1912-1960, undated
Box 15		M, miscellaneous 1919-1960, undated
Box 16		New York State Fish, Game, and Forest League 1922-1933 (2 folders)
Box 16		N, miscellaneous 1922-1968, undated
Box 16		Osborne, Lithgow 1916-1954
Box 16		Osborne, Thomas Mott 1897-1926, undated (2 folders)
Box 16		O, miscellaneous 1921-1957
Box 16		P, miscellaneous 1923-1960
Box 16		Roosevelt, Franklin D. 1928-1938
Box 16		R, miscellaneous 1925-1962 (2 folders)
Box 17		S, miscellaneous 1908-1964, undated (3 folders)
Box 17		T, miscellaneous 1926-1958, undated
Box 17		United States Senate 1944-1956
Box 17		U-V, miscellaneous 1928-1946
Box 17		White House 1938-1945
Box 17		W, miscellaneous 1906-1958 (2 folders)
Box 17		Y-Z, miscellaneous 1931-1944
Box 17		First names only 1921-1960, undated
Box 17		Unidentified 1897-1955, undated

	Memorabilia
Box 17		Awards and certificates undated
Oversize 1		Awards and certificates 1927, undated
Map-Case		Awards and certificates 1968
		Clippings
Box 18			Auburn prison riot 1929
Box 18			Dapping 1930-1968, undated (2 folders)
Box 18			Newspaper industry 1922-1960 (2 folders)
Box 18			Political 1910-1958, undated (4 folders)
Oversize 1			Political 1929
Box 18			Radio/FCC 1935-1958, undated
Box 18			Roosevelt death 1945
Box 18			State of the union, Roosevelt 1907
Box 18			V-E/V-J day 1945
Box 18			Miscellaneous 1918-1958, undated (3 folders)
Map-Case			Miscellaneous 1918
		Clubs and societies
Box 19			Bulletins/journals 1923-1931, undated
Box 19			Financial statements 1918-1944, undated
Box 19			Meeting minutes 1922-1945, undated (2 folders)
Oversize 1			Meeting minutes, annual convention of the New York State Fish, Game, and Forest League 1930
Box 19			Proposals and other papers 1909-1962, undated (3 folders)
Box 19		Democratic National Convention book of tickets 1936-1944
Box 19		Electoral college ballots, autographed 1932-1944
		George Junior Republic
Box 19			Balance sheets 1921-1951
Box 19			Bulletins 1922-1923
Box 19			Manual of information 1947
Box 20			Meeting minutes 1922-1958, undated
Box 20			Plans and reports 1908-1948, undated (2 folders)
Oversize 2		Harvard class album 1905
Map-Case		Map, European railroads undated
		Photographs
Box 20			Dapping undated (3 folders)
Map-Case			Dapping 1930-1956
			Hackley school undated
			Harvard class of 1905, 50th reunion 1955
Box 20			Miscellaneous undated (3 folders)
Map-Case		Political cartoon undated
Box 21		Presidential inauguration materials 1933-1961 (4 folders)
Box 21		Printing plates 1919, undated
Oversize 1		Printing plate impression undated
Box 21		Programs, miscellaneous events 1905-1960, undated
		Publications
Box 21			Pamplets, miscellaneous reports 1944-1960, undated (2 folders)
Box 21			Proposals 1932, undated
Oversize 3		Retirement book, 50th anniversary Auburn Citizen 1960
Oversize 4		Scrapbook undated
Oversize 5		Scrapbook undated
Oversize 6		Scrapbook undated
Oversize 7		Scrapbook undated
Oversize 8		Scrapbook undated
Box 21		Miscellaneous 1914-1933 undated - wallet containing Dapping's membership cards, Dayton Rubber Manufacturing Company business card, photocopies of a check, electricity complaint questionnaire, membership cards belonging to Charles Osborne, and Hackley school information pamplet

	Writings
Box 21		Instructional writings on reporting, manuscript undated
Box 22		Maria and Tom, Cat-Tales, manuscript undated
Box 22		Notes, unidentified undated
Box 22		Story manuscript, unidentified undated
Box 22		The Muckers: A Narrative of the Crapshooter's Club, manuscripts undated (7 folders)
Box 22		Writings for publication, miscellaneous manuscripts 1949, undated

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