Table of Contents
Scope and Contents of the Collection
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Overview of the Collection |
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| Creator: | Kornbluth, C. M. (Cyril M.), 1923-1958 |
| Title: | Cyril M. Kornbluth Papers |
| Inclusive Dates: | 1935-1990 |
| Bulk Dates: | 1951-1966 |
| Quantity: | 1.0 linear ft. |
| Abstract: | Correspondence, memorabilia, and writings of the American science fiction author |
| Language: | English |
| Repository: |
Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries 222 Waverly Ave., Suite 600 Syracuse, NY 13244-2010 https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center/university-archives |
Biographical History
Cyril M. Kornbluth (1923-1958) was an American science fiction author. A precocious student, he graduated from high school at age 13. He began writing at age 15 and by 1951 was a full-time author. As a teenager he joined the Futurians, whose members included Frederik Pohl, Don Wollheim, and Robert A. W. Lowndes, as well as Mary Byers, who became his wife. He collaborated with Judith Merril and with Frederik Pohl on several novels, including the well-known and critically acclaimed The Space Merchants. He died in 1958 at the age of 34, leaving a number of unfinished works which were eventually completed by others and published. His short story "The Meeting" was the co-winner of the 1973 Hugo Award for Best Short Story.
Scope and Contents of the Collection
The Cyril M. Kornbluth Papers consists of correspondence, financial and legal material, memorabilia, and writings.
Correspondence contains both incoming and carbon copies of outgoing. The bulk of the correspondence is with science fiction author and editor Frederik Pohl, with whom Kornbluth collaborated on several projects. Some of the correspondence is with Kornbluth's wife, later widow, Mary.
Financial and legal material contins contracts and agreements, copyright registration forms, correspondence on various legal matters, and royalty payments, receipts, and account summaries.
Memorabilia consists of clippings, family material, material related to Kornbluth's military service, obituarues and other items related to his death, photographs, school and college material, and a few miscellaneous items.
Writings consists mostly of typed drafts of books and short stories. There is also one synopsis of a proposed television series, and several different bibliographies of his work.
Arrangement of the Collection
Correspondence is arranged alphabetically by name. Legal and financial material and Memorabilia are arranged alphabetically by type or topic. Writings are subdivided by type (e.g. books, stories, etc.) and within that arranged alphabetically by title.
Restrictions
Access Restrictions
The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advance notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.
Some items in the collection have sustained water damage. There is no mold, but some of the items in the collection do have a distinct musty odor which may affect sensitive users.
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.
Related Material
The collection originally contained several published works by Kornbluth. These have been transferred to Rare Books for cataloting. Please refer to Libraries Search to locate these items.
Subject Headings
Persons
Subjects
Genres and Forms
Occupations
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Cyril M. Kornbluth Papers,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries
Acquisition Information
Gift of Marilyn Brooker, 2025
Finding Aid Information
Created by: Michele Combs
Date: 27 Jan 2026
Revision history:
Inventory
| Correspondence | |||||||||||
| Box 1 | "Dotty" 1966 - to Mary Kornbluth | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Dirk Wylie Literary Agency 1951, 1955-1956 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Doubleday 1954, 1958, undated | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Eastern Science Fiction Association (ESFA) 1955 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Galaxy 1966 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Gold, Horace 1966 - to Mary Kornbluth; includes draft of Gold's foreword to a collection of Kornbluth's stories | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Hoffman, Dorothy 1965, 1967 - to Mary Kornbluth; includes draft of a paper by Hoffman on the Milgram experiment | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Pohl, Frederik 1951-1960, 1984, undated (4 folders) | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Miscellaneous, A-Z | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Miscellaneous, unidentified | ||||||||||
| Financial and legal material | |||||||||||
| Box 1 | Bills and receipts 1953-1956 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Contracts and agreements 1951-1968 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Copyright registration 1957 - renewal of copyright for The Naked Storm | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Correspondence, miscellaneous 1954, 1957-1959, 1966 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Royalties 1940, 1953-1954, 1958, 1964-1965 | ||||||||||
| Memorabilia | |||||||||||
| Box 1 | Clippings 1935-1985 - includes review of Kornbluth's Takeoff, ads for Galaxy and for the 1956 movie The Bad Seed, articles on various science-related topics | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | College 1939 - City College of New York | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Family - mostly father Samuel | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Military service 1943-1949 - draft card, discharge papers, etc. | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Obituary and death 1958 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Photographs - most unidentified and undated, appear to span 1940s to 1960s | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Miscellaneous 1959, 1982 - includes letter to Mary with two photographs and an ink portrait of Kornbluth, thanking her for their use in a book | ||||||||||
| Writings | |||||||||||
| Bibliographies | |||||||||||
| Box 2 | "Cyril Kornbluth: A working bibliography" by Phil Stephensen-Payne and Gordon Benson Jr. 1988 | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | "Bibliography: C.M. Kornbluth" - 20 typed pages, appears to span his entire career; numerous water-damaged pages (3 copies) | ||||||||||
| Miscellaneous | |||||||||||
| Books | |||||||||||
| Box 2 | Gladiator-at-law - cover for paperback edition | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | The innocent sleep - notes, outline for a few chapters; includes some poetry, unclear whether it was to be part of the book or not | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | Not this August - typed draft with corrections and notes for typesetting (3 folders) | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | Passion pills - typed draft (2 folders) | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | Society's child - notes for chapter outlines | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | Sorority house - outline for Lion Books | ||||||||||
| Poetry | |||||||||||
| Box 2 | The unfortunate topologist | ||||||||||
| Stories | |||||||||||
| Box 2 | The education of Tigress Macardle - several copies of a typed two-page fragment, water-damaged | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | Fraternization incident - typed draft | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | Ms found in a Chinese fortune cookie - several copies of a typed three-page fragment, water-damaged | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | Nightmare with zeppelins - typed draft | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | The penitent - typed draft | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | The reversible revolutions May 1990 - issue of Argosy containing the story | ||||||||||
| Television | |||||||||||
| Box 2 | The wish 16 Dec 1957 - typed synopsis for proposed television series | ||||||||||
| Miscellaneous | |||||||||||
| Box 2 | Fragments | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | Notes | ||||||||||