Leslie Hunter Whitten Papers
Content Description
Letters, documents, notes, photographs, etc. relating to Les Whitten's early years, schooling, and work as a Hearst reporter, Jack Anderson associate, and novelist. Includes correspondence with parents through college and military service, and letters to his family. Also material relating to novel writing, including drafts, research notes, and correspondence with publishers; to work with the Hearst newspapers, including reporter's notes, clippings, and research materials; and to work with columnist Jack Anderson, including research material, column offprints, and documents released under Freedom of Information Act by FBI and CIA.
Dates
- Creation: 1934-2009
Creator
- Whitten, Les, 1928- (Person)
Language of Materials
English
Conditions Governing Access
Collection housed remotely. Users need to contact 24 hours in advance.
Conditions Governing Use
Collection is open for research.
Biographical / Historical
Born on February 21, 1928 in Jacksonville Florida, Leslie Hunter Whitten was a Hearst newspaper reporter for the Washington Post, an associate on Jack Anderson's newspaper column, and accomplished novelist. He graduated from Lehigh University in 1950.
Extent
130 boxes ; 48 Linear Feet
Abstract
Born on February 21, 1928 in Jacksonville Florida, Leslie Hunter Whitten was a Hearst newspaper reporter for the Washington Post, an associate on Jack Anderson's newspaper column, and accomplished novelist. He graduated from Lehigh University in 1950. This collection documents various stages of Whitten's life, especially the years in Washington DC as a journalist. Letters, documents, notes, photographs, etc. relating to Les Whitten's early years, schooling, and work as a Hearst reporter, Jack Anderson associate, and novelist. Includes correspondence with parents through college and military service, and letters to his family. Also material relating to novel writing, including drafts, research notes, and correspondence with publishers; to work with the Hearst newspapers, including reporter's notes, clippings, and research materials; and to work with columnist Jack Anderson, including research material, column offprints, and documents released under Freedom of Information Act by FBI and CIA.
Arrangement
The materials of this collection are arranged chronologically in publication order.
SERIES I; PERSONAL: 10 Boxes
This series includes family correspondence, early school report cards, many photographs, articles, reviews of his books, scrapbooks of articles he wrote, and other miscellaneous personal material from Whitten's youth up to the present time.
SERIES II; BOOKS, POETRY, and SHORT STORIES: 41 Boxes
This series includes research material, drafts, typescripts and galleys, mostly of Whitten's novels, but including some short stories and poetry, arranged in publication order.
SERIES III; REPORTER: 65 Boxes
This material is mostly clippings of articles Whitten wrote for the
Heart newspapers, plus some research material he saved.
This material includes many documents listed under the same
headings used by Whitten, plus a complete set of "Merry-Go-Round"
columns written during the years that he was employed by Jack
Anderson. Categories include Accuracy in Media; American
Association of Retired Persons; Banks; Consumers; Animals; Crime;
Department of Defense; Drugs; Energy; Farms; Guns; Foreign; Health;
Indians; Insurance; Intelligence Agencies; Oil; Patents; Payola;
Pensions; Payoffs; People; Politics; Pollution; Power; Prisons;
Radiation; Religion; Stocks; Smithsonian Institution; Miscellaneous; and Whitten.
SERIES IV: 1991 additions
Mostly literary mansucripts
SERIES V: 2009 additions
Mostly literary manuscripts
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Leslie Whitten, 1990. 1 carton (turned into 3 manuscript boxes) added 2/4/2009, donated by Les Whitten.
Separated Materials
Library also has copies of Whitten's published novels and poetry, cataloged separately, including review copies and translations.
Documents and a set of slides (photographer H. Scott Heist) related to events he attended at Lehigh University. The Lehigh material removed and cataloged separately.
Copyright Notice
Please inquire about copyright information.
Subject
- Anderson, Jack, 1922-2005 (Person)
- Lauder, Ronald S. (Person)
- Highwater, Jamake (Person)
- Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994 (Person)
- Thurnbull, Bill (Person)
- United States. Bureau of Indian Affairs (Organization)
Genre / Form
Geographic
Occupation
Topical
- Title
- Finding Aid of Leslie Hunter Whitten Papers
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Finding aid created in December 2, 1996 -- ArchivesSpace migration by Amanda Anglemeyer, September 2017.
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Repository Details
Part of the Lehigh University Special Collections Repository
Lehigh University
Linderman Library
30 Library Drive
Bethlehem PA 18045 USA
610-758-4506
610-758-6091 (Fax)
inspc@lehigh.edu