- unitid
-
{"value"=>"2903", "type"=>"local_mss"}
{"value"=>"b14520874", "type"=>"local_b"}
{"value"=>"MssCol 2903", "type"=>"local_call"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1832-1984", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1832/1984"}
{"value"=>"1905-1984", "type"=>"bulk", "normal"=>"1905/1984"}
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Stratemeyer Syndicate records"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"344 boxes, 38 volumes, 5 oversize folders", "unit"=>"containers"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"147.1 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear_feet"}]}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">Manuscripts and Archives</span>"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"The Stratemeyer Syndicate was established in 1905 by Edward Stratemeyer, a successful author of juvenile literature. The Syndicate employed ghostwriters to produce such popular children's book series as Tom Swift, The Hardy Boys, The Bobbsey Twins, and Nancy Drew. The records document the literary and business activity of Edward Stratemeyer, his family, and colleagues from 1832 until the sale of the Stratemeyer Syndicate to Simon & Schuster, Inc. in 1984. The records include original manuscripts, editorial notes and correspondence, business and administrative files, promotional material, photographs, musical scores, and artwork. They are an important resource for the study of American popular culture, children's literature, and the history of publishing."}
- langmaterial
-
{"value"=>"English"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Stratemeyer Syndicate", "type"=>"corpname"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Edward Stratemeyer was born in 1862 in Elizabeth, New Jersey. His father, Henry Julius Stratemeyer, had emigrated to the United States from Germany to join the San Francisco gold rush of 1849. Henry later traveled east and settled in Elizabeth, where he ran a tobacco shop, and married Anna Siegel Stratemeyer, the widow of his younger brother. Edward Stratemeyer was the last of three children born to the couple; in addition, there were three older children in the family from Anna Stratemeyer's previous marriage.</p> <p>As a child, Edward wrote short stories and published a little newspaper called Our Friend. After finishing high school he continued to live in the family home and worked with his brother Maurice in a small tobacco and stationery shop. In his spare time he studied rhetoric and literature, and wrote stories. Edward made his first literary sale in 1889 when the Philadelphia paper Golden Days for Boys and Girls paid him $75 for his short story \"Victor Horton's Idea.\" He continued to work in the retail stationery business, and opened his own shop in Newark, New Jersey in 1891. That same year, Edward married Magdalene (Lena) Baker Van Camp, also an aspiring writer. The couple's first child, Harriet, was born in December of 1892. A second daughter, Edna Camilla, was born in May, 1895.</p> <p>During the 1890s, Edward Stratemeyer wrote dime novels for such publishing concerns as Street & Smith, Beadle & Adams, and Lee & Shepherd, and sold short stories to a variety of newspapers and magazines. At the end of the decade he began work on the Rover Boys, a series of short juvenile novels published under the pen-name Arthur M. Winfield which eventually sold over five million copies.</p> <p>The success of these of books heightened Stratemeyer's literary ambition and broadened his view of the publishing industry. He saw that it would be far more profitable for him to own and operate a \"factory\" of juvenile literature that would produce and market to publishers numerous volumes of books in series, rather than continue to write individual books and sell them one by one. In 1905 he formed what he called his Stratemeyer Syndicate to \"make contracts with certain publishing houses to issue books under several trade-mark pen names which are my business property.\"</p> <p>Stratemeyer's business model met the demands of a growing American publishing industry that was committed to increasing sales through aggressive marketing strategies. At the turn of the century, firms like Grosset & Dunlap needed a continuous stream of cheaply produced, captivating children's books to win the loyalty of a growing audience of young readers. Over the next several decades, his Stratemeyer Syndicate grew into a remarkable literary enterprise responsible for such popular children's book series as The Bobbsey Twins, The Hardy Boys, Tom Swift and Nancy Drew.</p> <p>Stratemeyer's method was to submit book plots and character sketches to large publishing houses like Grosset & Dunlap, Cupples & Leon, and Garden City Publishing. Having secured a publisher's interest and signed a contract for a book series, Stratemeyer then hired ghostwriters to produce manuscripts based on his detailed outlines. Stratemeyer sketched book plots according to a rigid formula, aiming to produce entertaining literature for young people that at the same time served a serious moral and didactic purpose. The stories of Horatio Alger, whose young protagonists overcame difficult economic circumstances and a sometimes pernicious social environment to achieve success, were among Stratemeyer's models. Syndicate writers were paid a one-time fee for each manuscript, received no royalties, and agreed never to reveal their identities or pen names. To his credit, Stratemeyer paid his writers promptly, often giving them advances, loans and gifts when they were in financial difficulties. When a new Syndicate book appeared, Edward Stratemeyer usually shared advertising costs with the publisher, though he himself maintained strict control over the design of promotional materials including newspaper ads, circulars and catalogs.</p> <p>Stratemeyer found his first ghostwriters among former colleagues from his years writing for such publications as Argosy and Golden Days. One of the most prolific of these early associates was Howard Garis, who signed an annual contract committing him to produce a set number of volumes. Lillian Garis, Howard's spouse, also wrote for Stratemeyer, though her contracts were signed on a book-by-book basis. Perhaps the most famous author associated with Edward Stratemeyer is Horatio Alger. Stratemeyer had met Alger, one of his boyhood idols, during the 1890s, and the two writers corresponded until Alger's death in 1899. Stratemeyer successfully negotiated with Alger's estate for the rights to expand, edit and publish several of Alger's short stories. Stratemeyer also acquired a scrapbook compiled by Alger and used it as source material for a Syndicate volume, The Young Book Agent.</p> <p>For many years Edward Stratemeyer continued to write books under his own name, most of which were published by the Boston firm of Lothrop, Lee & Shepherd. But at the Syndicate's peak years of production he ceased to write and devoted himself entirely to the business, marketing and publicity aspects of the Syndicate. Stratemeyer was quick to defend Syndicate publications against criticism, and he frequently penned responses to poor reviews. In 1914 he withdrew his long-time support of the American Boy Scouts when the organization's official librarian suggested that Stratemeyer books were not appropriate reading material for its members. Several years later, Stratemeyer threatened officials of the Brooklyn Public Library with a lawsuit when a library staff member publicly condemned Stratemeyer Syndicate books.</p> <p>In the early years of the Syndicate, Edward Stratemeyer worked in rooms on the top floor of his Newark home, and conducted business meetings at the offices of his various New York publishers or at the Astor House Hotel. In 1914 he opened an office at 17 Madison Avenue in Manhattan and hired Harriet Otis Smith to maintain a regular presence there, while he continued to work primarily at home. Smith's responsibilities and remuneration steadily increased as Stratemeyer came to rely on her for her sound editorial judgment, her publishing expertise, and her efficient management of the Syndicate's complicated production routine.</p> <p>The success of the Stratemeyer Syndicate enabled Edward to provide his family with a comfortable living. He employed a maid and cook, and saw that his children were attended by trained nurses when sick. The family home in Newark was equipped with a player piano, a Victrola, and telephone service. The Stratemeyers summered at the Jersey shore, or in the western New Jersey countryside. Over the years, Edward and his wife traveled throughout the United States and Canada. An early automobile enthusiast, Edward owned a touring car, which he taught his daughters to drive. As their book business flourished, the Stratemeyers made substantial contributions to numerous charitable causes and were equally generous with their relatives and close friends. Edward was an active citizen of Newark who participated in civic events and public organizations. He died in May of 1930, not long after the appearance of two of his most successful book series, The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew.</p> <p>Following Edward Stratemeyer's death, his wife Magdalene Van Camp Stratemeyer legally inherited the Syndicate, but poor health prevented her from taking an active role in the business. The Stratemeyer daughters, Harriet and Edna, stepped in to run the Syndicate as joint partners, and assumed legal control upon the death of their mother in 1936. Harriet, a graduate of Wellesley College who had written for her college newspaper, had briefly assisted her father during the 1910s by editing manuscripts. In 1915 she had married a close family friend, Russell Vroom Adams, and was by the time of her father's passing the mother of four children. Edna Stratemeyer had less formal schooling, but had since 1918 demonstrated considerable administrative ability through her management of the busy Stratemeyer household.</p> <p>During the economic depression of the 1930s, Syndicate profits declined as a result of slow sales, and a number of series were discontinued. Despite these difficulties, the Stratemeyer sisters carried the business forward by maintaining established relationships with their publishers and writers, and by continuing to produce new volumes in their most profitable series. They drew upon the literary talents of Howard Garis to help them outline new plots for book series, and relied on the publishing expertise of Harriet Otis Smith to guide their editorial and administrative decisions. During this early period of their partnership, Harriet and Edna took turns staffing the New York office. Eventually they transferred the operation to a New Jersey location more convenient for both of them.</p> <p>Edna Stratemeyer married Wesley Squier, a widower with grown children, in 1937. Later that year she gave birth to a daughter, Camilla. In 1942 she and her family moved to Florida. Though she no longer took part in day-to-day Syndicate business, she kept in close touch with the firm by mail and telephone and had input on all major decisions. Harriet managed the administrative routines of negotiating with publishers, corresponding with writers, and paying bills. She also wrote books, edited manuscripts, and vetted film and television scripts based on Syndicate characters. Despite the unbalanced work load, Edna refused to dissolve or alter the terms of her original partnership agreement with her sister, who pressed her to do so for many years.</p> <p>In 1948, Andrew E. Svenson joined the Stratemeyer Syndicate as a writer and editor. A former journalist, he soon functioned as Harriet's second-in-command, and was made a partner of the firm in 1961. Svenson hired new writers to update established Syndicate series by incorporating modern themes and situations, and commissioned new illustrations and cover art. Revised editions of Nancy Drew, Tom Swift, and The Hardy Boys enjoyed a renewed popularity; the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew eventually appeared on television and in the movies. In addition to his work to promote established Stratemeyer series, Svenson created and wrote (under the pseudonym Jerry West) a new one of his own, The Happy Hollisters. He oversaw the launching of The Dana Girls, Tom Swift Jr., The Bret King Mystery Stories, and Linda Craig. Fluent in German and French, Svenson was largely responsible for foreign marketing of Syndicate publications. His secretary, Lieselotte Wuenn, assumed responsibility for much of Svenson's work after his death in 1975.</p> <p>Not long after the death of Edna Stratemeyer Squier in 1974, Harriet Stratemeyer Adams chose to reveal her identity as the pseudonymous Carolyn Keene, author of many popular Nancy Drew books. In a further effort to clear some of the mystery surrounding the Syndicate, she gave public talks in which she explained the formulas used to develop book plots. Harriet also invited four long-time Stratemeyer Syndicate employees - Lorraine Rickle, Liselotte Wuenn, Gordon Eyler and Nancy S. Axelrad - to become partners in the firm. In 1979, after many years of dissatisfaction with the royalties received from Grosset & Dunlap, the publisher of many popular Stratemeyer titles, the Syndicate negotiated a new publishing contract with Simon & Schuster, Inc. A retaliatory lawsuit by Grosset & Dunlap won that firm the copyright to all Stratemeyer titles currently available under its imprint. In 1984, two years after the death of Harriet Stratemeyer Adams, the Stratemeyer Syndicate was sold entirely to Simon & Schuster, which continued to publish several Stratemeyer series at the beginning of the 21st century.</p>"}
- scopecontent
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{"value"=>"<p>The Stratemeyer Syndicate records document the literary and business activity of Edward Stratemeyer, his family, and his colleagues from 1832 until the sale of the Stratemeyer Syndicate to Simon & Schuster, Inc. in 1984. The records include original manuscripts, editorial notes and correspondence, business and administrative files, promotional material, photographs, musical scores and artwork. The bulk of this material dates from the period 1905-1984, and documents the rise of one of America's largest producers of children's books. The collection is an important resource for the study of American popular culture, children's literature and the history of publishing.</p> <p>The origins and early history of the Stratemeyer Syndicate are best documented in the correspondence files of Edward Stratemeyer dating from the 1890s and 1900s. Incoming and outgoing letters trace Stratemeyer's development as a literary professional, and show how he expanded a one-man operation for the marketing of his own pseudonymous writings into a veritable factory of children's literature. These early letters are complemented by manuscripts of several of Stratemeyer's first stories and books, including \"Victor Horton's Idea.\" Edward Stratemeyer's Literary Account Books provide a chronological listing of Stratemeyer's earliest publication credits, together with the sale price of each story and book.</p> <p>As the Syndicate grew and prospered during the 1910s and '20s, Edward Stratemeyer developed a complex network of professional relationships. His personal supervision of the creative collaborations that produced such immensely popular titles as The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew and Tom Swift is thoroughly documented in editorial records included in the Book Series files, which form the bulk of the collection. Included here are story outlines, manuscripts, and promotional ideas for the most popular Syndicate titles. There are also letters, memos and screenplays related to Syndicate efforts to market books for radio, television and film production. Similar editorial materials included in the Minor Series and Other Works files document the creative process behind lesser known Syndicate titles, and show that the Stratemeyer formula did not inevitably result in commercial success.</p> <p>While correspondence and editorial files form the bulk of the Stratemeyer Syndicate records, there is also a wealth of information on Syndicate business practices, legal affairs and promotional campaigns. The Administrative Files series includes author and publisher contracts, author payment records, financial statements, licensing agreements and copyright information. The evolution of Stratemeyer Syndicate packaging and advertising is traced in newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, and drawings included in the Promotional Material and Artwork series.</p> <p>The efforts of Edward Stratemeyer's daughters, Harriet and Edna, to maintain the enterprise after their father's death are documented in several areas of the collection. The correspondence files of Harriet Stratemeyer Adams and Edna Stratemeyer Squier show how the sisters maintained and modified the business practices of their father in order to expand the marketing of Syndicate properties. Editorial and administrative files compiled from the 1930s through the 1970s trace their success at revamping old book series, creating new titles, distributing books overseas, and selling television and film rights to popular Syndicate characters.</p> <p>The personalities and private lives of the Stratemeyer family and their colleagues are revealed in the records. Holograph and published musical scores penned by Edward Stratemeyer's brothers Heinrich J. Stratemeyer and Louis C. Stratemeyer evidence a family tradition of involvement in the arts dating from 1832. There are small suggestions of the personal character of Edward Stratemeyer among his financial papers, including bills for Harriet Stratemeyer's 1915 wedding, receipts for gifts to friends and family, and records of charitable contributions. Numerous bills and receipts related to the upkeep of the several automobiles Edward owned during his lifetime attest to his passion for driving. Letters exchanged by Harriet Stratemeyer Adams and Edna Stratemeyer Squier after the latter's 1942 move to Florida show how the sisters mingled their personal affairs, professional responsibilities and financial interests.</p> <p>The Stratemeyer Syndicate records testify to the talent and dedication of the Stratemeyer family's many friends, colleagues and employees. There is new information on the career of Horatio Alger included in Edward Stratemeyer's incoming correspondence dating from the late 1890s, as well as in an Alger scrapbook containing Alger stories clipped from newspapers and magazines between 1854 and 1899. The files of Andrew E. Svenson, Liselotte Wuenn, Lorraine S. Rickle, and Nancy S. Axelrad chronicle the essential editorial and administrative functions performed by these valued Stratemeyer employees and partners. This material also fills in the picture of the last years of the Syndicate as an independent business, leading up to its 1984 sale to Simon & Schuster, Inc.</p> <p>In addition to providing a chronicle of a remarkable business enterprise and the family that ran it, the Stratemeyer Syndicate records provide a measure of the impact of the firm's books on American culture. News clipping scrapbooks offer a cross-section of the popular and critical response to Stratemeyer volumes. Dozens of fan letters from young readers testify to the broad appeal of Syndicate publications, while business correspondence and screenplays reveal how Stratemeyer characters achieved even greater popularity by their portrayal in television programs and in movies.</p> <p>There are several significant gaps in the Stratemeyer Syndicate records. They include just a few pages of Edward Stratemeyer's outgoing correspondence prior to 1905. Also missing are contracts and documents related to important Syndicate writers Howard R. Garis and Lillian Garis. Book Series files for several popular Syndicate titles, including Nancy Drew, lack original manuscripts for early versions of books; there is an emphasis instead on later editions and revisions. Likewise, the Book Series files for the early volumes of several major series, including The Rover Boys, Tom Swift, Hardy Boys, and Nancy Drew, do not contain story outlines. The Syndicate's \"character cards\" reference file, which records details about individual book characters in order to ensure consistency as new volumes are produced, have been retained by Simon & Schuster, Inc. Simon & Schuster also holds the original, signed copies of author release forms.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p class='list-head'>The Stratemeyer Syndicate records are arranged in nine series:</p>\n<ul class='arrangement series-descriptions'>\n<li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mss/2903#c725751'>Series I. Correspondence</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1891-1984</div>\n</li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mss/2903#c726625'>Series II. Administrative Files</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1889-1984</div>\n</li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mss/2903#c727027'>Series III. Book Series</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1910-1984</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The Book Series forms the bulk of the Stratemeyer Syndicate Records, and contains a wide range of editorial material documenting the creation of the most popular Stratemeyer Syndicate titles. Included here are book series production charts, story outlines, research notes, published and unpublished manuscripts and typescripts, editorial memos, cover art and illustrations, and television and radio scripts. Many of the typescripts included here are for later editions and revisions of Syndicate volumes. There are also letters and memos documenting the creation and marketing of dolls, games and coloring books based on Syndicate characters. The files are alphabetically arranged by series title; within each series materials have been further organized into alphabetically arranged genre and subject groups. Manuscripts for each series are filed by volume number. Files contained in boxes 204-243 relating to the Nancy Drew book series have been microfilmed; researchers must use the microfilm version of this material.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mss/2903#c728062'>Series IV. Minor Series</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1900-1971</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series contains editorial materials documenting the creation of less popular Stratemeyer Syndicate titles, such Dave Porter and Kellee Kawai. Included are story outlines, published and unpublished manuscripts, editorial memos, correspondence and illustrations. The Minor Series files offer a less comprehensive view of the Stratemeyer editorial process than is available for the titles included in the Major Book Series. The files are alphabetically arranged by series title; where necessary materials have been further organized into alphabetically arranged genre and subject groups, with manuscripts for each series filed by volume number.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mss/2903#c728184'>Series V. Other Works</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1854-1984</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Includes manuscripts, editorial files and promotional materials documenting various aspects of Edward Stratemeyer's life and career. Of particular importance are the Literary Account Books, which provide a chronology of Edward Stratemeyer's earliest story and book sales; manuscripts of his earliest writings, including \"Victor Horton's Idea\"; and a scrapbook containing 19th-century news clippings of stories written by Horatio Alger. Also included in this alphabetically arranged series are miscellaneous story ideas and outlines, promotional materials, unpublished Syndicate manuscripts, newsclippings, and biographical information on the Stratemeyer family. The Literary Account Books and Horatio Alger Scrapbook contained in Box 317 are fragile and have been microfilmed; researchers must use the microfilm version of this material.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mss/2903#c728268'>Series VI. Audio Materials</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1951-1955</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Includes commercial recordings of dramatic readings of Syndicate books, including stories from The Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew and Tom Swift. Also present are audio letters to Edna Stratemeyer Squier, and unidentified recordings.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mss/2903#c728274'>Series VII. Music and Poetry</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1832-1936</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Holograph and published musical scores and verses composed by Edward Stratemeyer's brothers, Heinrich Julius Stratemeyer and Louis C. Stratemeyer. The material is sorted into Holograph and Published groups, with subsequent alphabetical arrangement by composer and title.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mss/2903#c728406'>Series VIII. Promotional Materials</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1905-1984</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Promotional Material includes newspaper and magazine clippings, sales catalogs, advertising concept books, drafts of advertising text, posters, and cardboard book standees. This material is alphabetically arranged. Also included are forty-two chronologically arranged scrapbooks containing Syndicate-related news clippings from the years 1974-1984.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mss/2903#c1274831'>Series IX. Artwork</a></div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Drawings and paintings of characters and scenes from Stratemeyer Syndicate books. Most were used as illustrations and frontispieces in Syndicate volumes and advertisements.</p></div></li></ul>\n", "type"=>"arrangement"}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Donated by Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1993.</p>"}
- processinfo
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{"value"=>"<p>Processed by <span class=\"name\">Martha Foley</span> and <span class=\"name\">Liavon Iurevich</span> in <span class=\"date\">1998</span>; text by <span class=\"name\">Jim Moske</span>, <span class=\"date\">2000</span>. Additions integrated by <span class=\"name\">Robyn Hjermstad</span>, <span class=\"date\">2015</span>.</p>"}
- accessrestrict
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{"value"=>"<p>Contents of boxes 1-31, 204-243 and 317 are fragile and have been microfilmed. Researchers must use the microfilm version of this material. Artworks in Series IX are unavailable for use pending preservation treatment.</p>"}
- altformavail
-
{"value"=>"<p>The following collection components are available on microfilm:</p> <p>Edward Stratemeyer and Stratemeyer Syndicate Incoming and Outgoing Correspondence</p> <p>Nancy Drew Book Series files</p> <p>Edward Stratemeyer Literary Account Books</p> <p>Horatio Alger Scrapbook</p>"}
- relatedmaterial
-
{"value"=>"<p>Stratemeyer Syndicate records, Ax 815. Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon (Consists of two boxes of Stratemeyer Syndicate manuscripts, publications, books and fan mail.).</p> <p>Stratemeyer Syndicate records. Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library (Contains 9.25 linear feet of legal and financial documents, correspondence and photographs.).</p>"}
- revisiondesc
-
{"value"=>"Revised by Matthew Snyder, ", "date"=>"2020"}
- date_start
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1832
- keydate
-
1832
- date_end
-
1984
- date_inclusive_start
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1832
- date_inclusive_end
-
1984
- date_bulk_start
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1905
- date_bulk_end
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1984
- extent_statement
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147.1 linear feet (344 boxes, 38 volumes, 5 oversize folders)
- prefercite
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{"value"=>"Stratemeyer Syndicate records, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library"}