Scope and arrangement
The Truman Capote papers regarding "Houston Diary," 1973-1974, consist of materials pertaining to Capote's writing interest in the mass murders committed in Houston, Texas by Dean Corll, discovered in August 1973, and his intended coverage of the 1974 trial of Elmer Wayne Henley, one of Corll's accomplices. Capote's trial coverage was to be syndicated by the Washington Post under the title "Houston Diary," but the project did not come to fruition. The collection, created in part and apparently maintained by John O'Shea, contains letters received by Truman Capote from members of the press; two holograph manuscripts by Truman Capote relating to the Washington Post project; O'Shea's business papers concerning publishing negotiations, chiefly with the Post; a scrapbook of newspaper and magazine clippings; loose clippings; and photographs. Correspondents include Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee and Village Voice journalist Arthur Bell.
There are three original letters received by Capote from journalist Arthur Bell, editor Rob Cole of the Advocate, and Houston attorney Charles Owen Melder, 1973, as well as copies of articles written by Bell, mailed to Capote in January 1974. Capote's holograph manuscripts consist of a promotional piece written in the third person, "Truman Capote's Houston Diary," (4 pages, in ink), 1973, and an introductory writing entitled "Houston Diary / 2020 Lamar Street" (6 pages, in pencil), 1973 or 1974, both with his emendations. The promotional piece includes his reasons for covering the trial, and his intended writing approach. The document bears John O'Shea's filing comments, and is accompanied by a typed copy on Washington Post letterhead, 1973 December 16, with minor changes from the holograph text. O'Shea's business papers, 1973, include his notes and his annotated copies of letters and documents, among these a letter from Ben Bradlee of the Washington Post to Capote, 1973 September 12. Photographs, 1973 or 1974, are 5 x 7 inch black-and-white copies of photographs of Dean Curll and his family, unidentified and undated.