- unitid
-
{"value"=>"3047497", "type"=>"local_mss"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1961-2006", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1961/2006"}
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Series II: Barbara Epstein Files"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"335 boxes", "unit"=>"containers"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"140.88 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear_feet"}]}
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"51 computer files", "unit"=>"computer_files"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"5250 kilobytes", "unit"=>"kilobytes"}]}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Barbara Epstein (née Zimmerman) (1928-2006) was co-founder and editor of <span class=\"title\">The New York Review of Books</span> from its inception in 1963 until her death.</p> <p>Epstein was born in Boston. She graduated from Radcliffe College in 1949. While at Radcliffe, she befriended members of the literary set, including several writers who later became contributors to <span class=\"title\">The New York Review of Books</span>. Epstein began her career as an editor at Doubleday, where she worked on the first American edition of <span class=\"title\">Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl</span>. While at Doubleday, she met Jason Epstein; they married in December 1953.</p> <p>In 1963, they conceived of the idea for <span class=\"title\">The New York Review of Books</span> with friends Elizabeth Hardwick and Robert Lowell. Barbara Epstein and Robert B. Silvers put out their first issue as co-editors on February 1, 1963.</p> <p>At the <span class=\"title\">Review</span>, Epstein became known as a tactful but nonetheless exacting editor, and as someone who encouraged and fostered new talent. She worked with writers such as W.H. Auden, Edmund Wilson, Mary McCarthy, Alison Lurie, Gore Vidal, and Vladimir Nabokov. Epstein also contributed to several publishing projects founded by her husband, including <span class=\"title\">The Reader's Catalog</span> and the Garden Book Club, which offered annotated book selections to subscribers. The Epsteins had two children, Helen and Jacob, and divorced in the early 1980s. Epstein was partners with journalist Murray Kempton until his death in 1997.</p> <p>Epstein continued to work as an editor of the <span class=\"title\">Review</span> until shortly before her death.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Barbara Epstein Files date from 1961 to 2006 (bulk 1971-2001) and contain correspondence, manuscripts, clippings and articles, and a small amount of administrative materials pertaining to <span class=\"title\">The New York Review of Books</span>. The series is arranged in two categories: Annual Files and Unsolicited Submissions.</p> <p>Annual Files comprise the majority of the series and are arranged chronologically, then alphabetically by personal name, organizational name, or topic. The files contain manuscripts by and correspondence with contributors to the magazine, as well as clippings and other reference material about current events, writers, and recently-published books. The majority of these materials are in paper format, with a small amount held on electronic media. The files primarily date from 1971 to 2001, with some materials from the 1960s and 1970, one file from 2003, and email dating from 2000 to 2006. Email is not currently available to view. Some of Epstein's correspondence from the 1960s is filed in Robert B. Silvers' Annual Files in Series I.</p> <p>Miscellaneous files are held at the end of the alphabetical run for each year. Correspondence, notes, and other materials relating to Robert Silvers are filed under \"Bob.\" Files from the 1960s and 1970s chiefly contain correspondence, with very few manuscripts; whereas files from 1980 to 2001 frequently contain multiple drafts of a submitted manuscript.</p> <p>Manuscripts consist of articles, poems, and book chapters submitted for publication to the <span class=\"title\">Review</span>; some have Epstein's editing marks and comments. Contributors who are well-represented in the files include Darryl Pinckney, Diane Johnson, Robert Craft, Nicholas Lemann, Václav Havel, David Remnick, Pankaj Mishra, Sarah Kerr, Janet Malcolm, Gore Vidal, and Murray Kempton. Correspondence concerns reviews in progress or proposed reviews, and many of Epstein's outgoing letters are brief notes on copies of book covers that she was sending to potential reviewers. The files sometimes contain letters to the editor about specific reviews, with reviewers' responses.</p> <p>Epstein's Annual Files also contain papers pertaining to <span class=\"title\">New York Review</span> advertising, circulation, and subscribers (Epstein filed these under either <span class=\"title\">New York Review of Books</span> or NYREV, Inc.). Researchers interested in <span class=\"title\">Reader's Catalog</span>, Reader's Subscription, and other NYREV book clubs should consult those files in addition to NYREV, Inc. files. Epstein's personal files, filed under her name, contain ephemera from her personal life, biographical material, and some correspondence and manuscripts related to her work at the <span class=\"title\">Review</span>.</p> <p>Unsolicited Submissions are arranged chronologically and consist of rejected manuscripts and proposals dating from 1969 to 2001. The unsolicited manuscripts rarely have annotations from Epstein, though they are occasionally accompanied by comments from one of Epstein's editorial assistants. Rejected unsolicited manuscripts and proposals can also be found throughout the Annual Files, especially in the general letter files (e.g. \"A\").</p>"}
- date_start
-
1961
- keydate
-
1961
- date_end
-
2006
- date_inclusive_start
-
1961
- date_inclusive_end
-
2006
- extent_statement
-
140.88 linear feet (335 boxes). 5250 kilobytes (51 computer files)