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Creator
Butler, Ellis Parker, 1869-1937
Call number
MssCol 441
Physical description
1.4 linear feet (4 boxes)
Preferred Citation

Ellis Parker Butler Papers, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library.

Repository
Manuscripts and Archives Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

Ellis Parker Butler was an American author best known for his story "Pigs is Pigs" (1905). During his lifetime he wrote 30 books and more than 2,000 stories and essays. His papers consist of his correspondence, a typescript of his story "The Goldfish Mystery" (1935), and a few pieces of ephemera. The correspondence includes letters from authors, editors, artists, politicians and others, together with some of Butler's replies, concerning the publication of his stories; his activities in connection with the Authors' League of America, the Authors' Guild, various clubs, committees and charities; and personal matters. Correspondents include Ellery Sedgwick and staff of The Atlantic Monthly, H.L. Mencken, writer and filmmaker Rex Beach, authors Porter Emerson Browne, Ernest Poole, Richard Harding Davis, Hamlin Garland, and George Barr McCutcheon, artist Tony Sarg, and many others.

Biographical/historical information

Ellis Parker Butler was an American author best known for his story "Pigs is Pigs" (1905). During his lifetime he wrote 30 books and more than 2,000 stories and essays. Butler was born in Muscatine, Iowa in 1869 and remained there until he moved to New York City in 1897. He worked as editor of an interior-decorating magazine and also as an assistant editor for the Tailor's Review, a trade publication. In 1899, he returned to Muscatine and married Ida Zipser. They eventually moved back to New York City, settled in Flushing, Queens, and had five children. From 1908 to 1936, they lived in Flushing and Butler pursued his writing career and also worked as a banker. He became very active in the civic affairs of his local community and also helped to found The Authors' League of America. His writings were published alongside such contemporaries as Mark Twain, Sax Rohmer, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Don Marquis, Will Rogers and Edgar Rice Burroughs.

http://www.ellisparkerbutler.info/epb/bio.asp, March 18, 2008

Scope and arrangement

The collection consists of Butler's correspondence, a typescript of his story "The Goldfish Mystery" (1935), and a few pieces of ephemera. The correspondence includes letters from authors, editors, artists, politicians and others, together with some of Butler's replies, concerning the publication of his stories; his activities in connection with the Authors' League of America, the Authors' Guild, various clubs, committees and charities; and personal affairs. Subject matter also includes issues affecting writers, such as copyright, plagiarism, and censorship; topics pertaining to World War I and the international political climate of the time; and Butler's involvement with the community of Flushing, Queens. Arrangement is alphabetical by name of correspondent. When a file contains outgoing letters from Butler, it is indicated in a note. Also included are two files under Butler's name, one of which contains letters to individuals not on the correspondents list and one which includes ephemera. The last file of the series contains letters with illegible signatures.

Correspondents include Ellery Sedgwick and the staff of the Atlantic Monthly, mostly regarding Butler's contributions to magazine, 1926-1937; H.L. Mencken discussing Butler's refusal to sign the Dreiser Protest; author and filmmaker Rex Beach regarding use of Butler's work for motion pictures, copyright issues, and the Dallinger Bill; author Porter Emerson Browne's letters and manifesto to the American people discussing the economy and current political situation of the U.S; novelist Ernest Poole regarding the war crisis; and letters from Richard Harding Davis, Hamlin Garland, novelist and playwright George Barr McCutcheon, artist Tony Sarg, and others discussing matters related to the Authors' League.

There is also correspondence with prominent political figures. A letter to Governor Herbert Lehman contains Butler's praise of Lehman's support for stricter regulation of public utilities; letters from New York City mayors John Purroy Mitchel and John F. Hylan include invitations for Butler to sit on various committees; a letter from Congressman Sol Bloom discusses the Authors' League and the Committee on Patents; and letters from Queens Borough President Maurice E. Connoly request Butler's participation in various Queens County events and also thank Butler for contributions.

The Ellis Parker Butler papers are arranged in two series:

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Donated by Ida Butler, December 1939 and Ellery Sedgwick, March 1940

Processing information

Processed by Jill Peterson.

Related Material

Papers of Ellis Parker Butler. University of Iowa Libraries, Special Collections Department, Iowa City, Iowa (http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/spec-coll/MSC/ToMsC600/MsC575/butler.htm).

Using the collection

Location

Manuscripts and Archives Division
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018-2788
Brooke Russell Astor Reading Room, Third Floor, Room 328