Scope and arrangement
The Hayden Carruth papers are arranged in nine series:
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General Correspondence begins with letters from Carruth's days at the Minneapolis Spectator, and with letters concerned with the establishment of Estelline Bell. The correspondence continues through the years Carruth worked as a newspaper publisher and editor, and as a free-lance writer. There are letters between Carruth and various periodicals which he contributed to, and letters from other periodicals in the Midwest and East. Sane letters are from advertisers, and some, addressed to Carruth in his capacity as an editor, are from writers. At the end of this series are letters, 1956-1961, of Gorton Carruth and Hayden Carruth (b. 1921) to Alfred Baker, the grandson of the artist Peter Newell (1862-1924).
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Alphabetical Correspondence includes among letters of many notable people those of Peter Newell, with whom Carruth collaborated; here is also correspondence, 1906, of Jack London (1876-1916), correspondence with Robert Loveman (1864-1923) the poet, and with Whipple O. Parrott and Samuel T. Clover, Carruth's publishing partners at the Estelline Bell and Dakota Bell respectively. Various correspondence at the end of this series includes letters along with writings from Carruth's period at Harper's Magazine, and finally letters regarding the death of Hayden Carruth, and the end of his column in the Woman's Home Companion, "The Postscript".
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Series Woman's Home Companion Material contains material, mostly manuscripts, in connection with Carruth's "Postscript" column. Earlier material includes correspondence to Carruth, interoffice memoranda, and verses written by Carruth for the entertainment of the staff. Correspondents include Gertrude B. Lane, editor of the Woman's Home Companion.
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Early Career Material contains pre-career material such as 1872 sketches, and later material such as notebooks of ideas and early writings.
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Published Writings include both the original manuscripts for book publication and the revised versions for magazine publication of the popular works of juvenile fiction, Track's End and In Frontenac Cave. Among other writings is the long short story, "Shorty", the first serious piece of narrative fiction to be published by a leading magazine.
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Various Writings contain both published and unpublished works, and both prose and verse.
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Various Papers includes notes and ideas for writings, various certificates, and invitations, menus and memoranda of organizations with which Carruth was associated. There are also several photographs of Carruth, spanning his career.
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There are four sets of diary groups. One set (1858-1885) is Carruth's diaries, incorporating copies of early family notes also; one set (1853-1875) is diaries of Mary Veeder, Carruth's mother; one set (1859-1867) is diaries of Louise Veeder, his grandmother; the final set (1878-1879) is diaries of Helen Kimball, a friend of Carruth's parents and a correspondent in the collection.
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In addition to the various Scrapbook series of clippings of Carruth's work, there is a Scrapbook of Various Clippings, Notes, etc. which contains source material for his writings, and Scrapbooks of Clippings about Hayden Carruth and his Writings, which includes material about the Estelline Bell and the Dakota Bell.