The Lenniger Literary Agency was founded in 1923 by August Lenniger. Its purpose was to place a writer’s books and stories with publishers and to negotiate with the publishers. August Lenniger and Edith Margolis corresponded with hundreds of agency clients. The letters concern editing and sales of manuscripts, requirements and house rules of publishers, the state of the literary market, and personal problems of the writers. The collection contains correspondence, published works, manuscripts and other miscellaneous material.
Repository:
University of Oregon Libraries Special Collections & University Archives
Collection materials are in English, Afrikaans, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish.
Sponsor:
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Historical Note
The Lenniger Literary Agency was founded in 1923 by August Lenniger. Its purpose was to place a writer’s books and stories with publishers and to negotiate with the publishers. August Lenniger and Edith Margolis corresponded with hundreds of agency clients. The letters concern editing and sales of manuscripts, requirements and house rules of publishers, the state of the literary market, and personal problems of the writers.
Content Description
The Lenniger Literary Agency Records include correspondence with clients of the agency, totaling over 10,000 letters. The Lenniger Agency was represented by August Lenniger and Edith Margolis. In addition to correspondence, there are literary manuscripts, books of published advertisements, account ledgers, published copies of books written in several languages and other miscellaneous items relating to the publication of manuscripts.
The long and detailed letters between the agents and their clients concern the problems of writing, editing, and selling contemporary publishers; and the personal problems that the agent shares with his clients. It is unusual to see a collection containing more personal information concerning the craft of writing than does this collection.
The Lenniger clients represent recognized writers within almost every field of contemporary fiction. The writers are novelists, masters of the short story, or specialists within a literary genre.
In the box and folder list, the folders simply marked with a letter of the alphabet signify that there is correspondence with multiple authors within.
The researcher should also note that some of the folders of correspondence also contain other items such as clippings, tear sheets, dust jackets, manuscript outlines, fragments and drafts. Some of the folders also contain royalty statements, contracts, personal information about the author, photographs and other such items.
The Lenniger Literary Agency Records were acquired over a several-year period and are described as they were received; therefore, the collection, in its numeric box order, contains groups of materials located intermittently throughout the collection.
Use of the Collection
Restrictions on Access :
Collection is open to the public.
Collection must be used in Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room.
Restrictions on Use :
Property rights reside with Special Collections and University Archives. Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Special Collections and University Archives. The reader must also obtain permission of the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation :
[Identification of item], Lenniger Literary Agency Records, Ax 073, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.
Administrative Information
Arrangement :
Collection is organized into the following series:
Series: Correspondence and Manuscripts
Series: Correspondence with Edith Margolis
Series: Correspondence (editorial files) and manuscripts
Series: Correspondence, Addenda 1969
Series: Ad Books
Series: Published Books by Clientele
Series: Ad Books
Series: Published Books by Clientele
Series: Account Ledgers
Series: Correspondence With Clients
Series: Published Advertisements and other Publicity Material
Series: Correspondence
Series: August Lenniger Files
Series: Edith Margolis Files
Series: Correspondence with Publishers and other Agents
Series: Published Books and Manuscript Drafts
Series: Correspondence and Miscellaneous Items
Series: Correspondence with other Book Agencies and Agents, both Domestic and Foreign
Series: Miscellaneous Correspondence and other Items
Series: Correspondence
Series: Contracts
Series: Correspondence with August Lenniger
Series: August Lenniger Correspondence with Publishers
Series: Correspondence with Edith Margolis
Series: Correspondence with Publishers
Series: Miscellaneous
Series: Correspondence
Series: Correspondence with Publishers
Series: Correspondence with Foreign Agents
Series: Correspondence with Edith Margolis
Series: Correspondence with John K. Payne
Series: Manuscripts
Series: Western Writers of America and Miscellaneous
Series: Account Ledgers
Series: Correspondence and Miscellaneous
Processing Note :
Collection processed by Ed Kemp, Manuscripts Processor, in June 1980.
Detailed Description of the Collection
Correspondence and Manuscripts
Container(s)
Description
Dates
Box
Folder
1
1
Adams, Clifton
1963-1966
1
2
Ames, Francis
1964-1965
1
3
Andrews, Hank
1964-1965
1
4
Atwater, Montgomery M.
1962-1965
1
5
Atwater, Montgomery M.
Manuscript: I Kill Avalanches -- Typed draft, 6 p.
1
6
Atwater, Montgomery M.
Manuscript: Snowfighters of the Rio Blanco -- Typed draft, 35 p.
1
7
Avery, Paul
1963-1964
1
8
Avery, Paul
Manuscript: He Dug Up His Girlfriend's Grave -- Typed draft, 4 p.
1
9
B
1962-1965
1
10
Bellem, Robert Leslie
1964-1965
1
11
Bosworth, Allan R.
1964-1965
1
12
Bouma, J. L.
1962-1965
1
13
Bouma, J. L.
Manuscript: Any Kind of Love -- Outline, typed, 5 p.
1
14
Bouma, J. L.
Manuscript: Second Best Woman -- Outline, typed, 7 p.
1
15
Burchardt, Bill
1965
1
16
Burdette, Gene
1962, 1964
1
17
C
1947, 1963-1965
1
18
Calvert, Jack
1963-1965
1
19
Calvert, Jack
Manuscript: The Call for Help -- Typed draft, 9 p.
1
20
Calvert, Jack
Manuscript: What Price Glory? By Peter DeMille -- Typed draft, 7 p.
1
21
Calvert, Jack
Manuscript: The Wrong Green in the Long Green -- Typed draft, 2 p.
1
22
Castle, Frank P.
1963-1965
1
23
Caitlin, Don
1965
1
24
Chadwick, Joseph
1964-1965
1
25
Cook, Will
1962-1965
1
26
Cruickshank, Harold F.
1963
1
27
D
1962-1964
1
28
Ditzel, Paul C.
1963
1
29
Ditzel, Paul C,
Manuscript: Firemen in Robes -- Outline, typed, 2 p.