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Vincent Sheean Papers

An inventory of his papers at Syracuse University

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Sheean, Vincent, 1899-1975.
Title: Vincent Sheean Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1940-1965
Quantity: 2.0 linear ft.
Abstract: Papers of the American author, journalist. Collection includes correspondence; manuscript articles, books, book reviews, plays, radio broadcasts, short stories, and speeches; and clippings.
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

James Vincent Sheean (1899-1975) was an American journalist, novelist and biographer.

Born in Christian County, Illinois on Dec. 5, 1899 to William and Susan Sheean, he attended the University of Chicago. Sheean's best-known works are Personal History (1935), a political memoir, and Not Peace But a Sword (1939). Other books include Lily (1954), Mahatma Ghandi (1955), Nehru, Ten Years of Power (1959), and Dorothy and Red (1963), about Dorothy Thompson and Sinclair Lewis.

In 1935, he married Diana Forbes-Robertson, the daughter of Sir Johnston and Lady Forbes-Robertson, with whom he had two daughters. During the latter part of his life he resided in Ariolo, Italy.

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Vincent Sheean Papers consist of correspondence, subject files, manuscripts, and published material.

Correspondence contains both incoming and outgoing correspondence.

Subject files contains manuscripts, published material, and a photograph.

Manuscripts includes manuscripts of articles, books, book reviews, plays, radio broadcasts, short stories, speeches, a story outline, and a symposium. It also includes a galley proof.

Published material contains newspaper clippings by and about Sheean.

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Arrangement of the Collection

Incoming correspondence is arranged alphabetically by author; outgoing is arranged chronologically. Subject files are arranged alphabetically by subject. Manuscripts are subdivided by type and within that arranged alphabetically by title.

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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

Lewis, Sinclair, 1885-1951.
Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962.
Sheean, Vincent, 1899-1975 -- Dorothy and Red.
Sheean, Vincent, 1899-1975.
Thompson, Dorothy, 1893-1961.
White, Leigh, 1914-

Subjects

Authors, American.
Journalism -- United States.
Journalists -- United States.

Genres and Forms

Clippings (information artifacts)
Correspondence.
Galley proofs.
Manuscripts for publication.
Speeches (documents)

Occupations

Authors.
Journalists.

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Vincent Sheean Papers,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Vincent Sheean.

Finding Aid Information

Created by: [Summit record]
Date: Feb 1967
Revision history: 22 Jul 2009 - converted to EAD (MRC); 22 Feb 2012 - updated box #s (MRC); 12 Sep 2016 - updates/corrections (MS)

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Inventory

Correspondence
Incoming
Box 1 B-W, unidentified
Box 1 Churchill, Winston, Sir (his Private Secretary)
Box 1 Hammerstein, Arthur
Box 1 Marshall, George C., General
Box 1 Roosevelt, Eleanor
Outgoing
Box 1 White, Leigh 1946-1949
Box 1 1940, 1948, undated
Subject files
Box 1 Birth certificate
Box 1 Chiang Kai-Shek
Box 1 Contracts
Box 1 Hammerstein, Oscar
Box 1 Lists
Box 1 Photograph of Colin Kelly
Box 1 Research material
Box 1 Wireless press messages
Manuscripts
Articles
Box 1 "Air War Story"
Box 1 "Alexandra Tolstoy"
Box 1 "America and the Peace"
Box 1 "An American and the Big Four"
Box 1 "Batavia"
Box 1 "Bernard Shaw and the Twentieth Century"
Box 1 "Between the Thunder and the Sun"
Box 1 "Cairo and the Arab Center"
Box 1 "Capitals at War" (4 copies)
Box 1 "China is Vital to Us"
Box 1 "Chinese Influence in Asia"
Box 1 "Civilian Defense: English and American" (2 copies)
Box 1 "Cradle and All" - Part 1, 2 copies; Part 2, 1 copy; Part 3, 2 copies (5 items)
Box 1 "Death and Transfiguration"
Box 1 "Don Carlo"
Box 1 "England and Egypt"
Box 1 "The Fighting Irish"
Box 1 "The French Crisis"
Box 1 "Impressions of Tokyo"
Box 1 "The International Brigades of England"
Box 1 "Labor and the British Labor Party"
Box 1 "MacArthur's Tokyo"
Box 1 "Metropolitan Opera House"
Box 2 "On the Public Apathy"
Box 2 "The Permanent French Crisis"
Box 2 "The Return of the Native"
Box 2 "Untitled Article in Ireland"
Box 2 "What a Hitler Victory Would Mean to the United States"
Box 2 "The Windsors"
Box 2 "The Winning of the Way"
Box 2 "A Woman for President"
Box 2 Fragments
Box 2 From the Far East
Box 2 Untitled 1940
Box 2 Untitled 1948-1949, 1951
Box 2 Untitled undated
Box 2 Notes, "Thy Brother's Keeper"
Book reviews
Box 2 Miscellaneous
Books
Box 2 Beware of Caesar - Chapters I-XI (4 folders)
Dorothy and Red
Box 2 Chapters I-VI
Box 3 Chapters VII-XI, Epilogue, Index
Box 3 Galley proofs (3 folders)
Box 3 The Family Album
Box 4 Oscar Hammerstein
Box 4 The Pieces of a Fan
Plays
Box 4 An International Incident
Box 4 Money Talks
Notes
Box 4 Inheritance
Box 4 Wake Island
Radio broadcasts
Box 4 Miscellaneous
Short stories
Box 4 At Loch Key
Box 4 The Great Embankment
Box 4 The Impecunious Eunuch
Box 4 The Luck of Tommy Thomas
Box 4 The Sealskin Coat
Box 4 When the Bud is Perfect
Speeches
Box 4 Miscellaneous
Story outlines
Box 4 Russian Easter
Symposium
Box 4 [Untitled] (4 copies)
Unidentified
Box 4 Fragment, pages 75-124
Published material
Box 4 Newspaper clippings about
Box 4 Newspaper clippings by

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