Loading...
Creator
Sayre, Joel, 1900-1979
Call number
MssCol 6135
Physical description
3.2 linear feet (11 boxes)
Language
English
Preferred Citation

Joel Sayre Papers, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library.

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

The papers reflect the life and career of Joel G. Sayre (1900-1979), journalist, author, screenwriter and foreign correspondent.

Biographical/historical information

Joel G. Sayre was a journalist, author, screenwriter and foreign correspondent. He was born December 13, 1900 in Marion, Indiana, the son of Joel Grover Sayre, a businessman, and Nora Clemens Sayre, a photographer and interior decorator. He grew up in Columbus, Ohio, attended the Columbus Academy there, and a private school in Cleveland. One of his childhood friends became the notable author James Thurber. At age sixteen, with the encouragement of the Governor of Ohio, James M. Cox, who took a personal interest in him, he attempted to enlist in the American army, but was refused because of his age. Fortified with a false certificate of birth, he succeeded in joining the Canadian Army and was sent to Siberia with its Expeditionary Force.

After the war he took a degree in literature at Oxford University in England, and studied medicine, briefly, at Heidelberg. He began his career in journalism as police reporter for the Columbus Journal, a hometown newspaper which did not provide adequate scope for his burgeoning talent. After a brief stint as sports columnist for The Boston Herald, he became a reporter for the New York World and the New York Herald Tribune where he specialized in crime reporting covering closely the career of the notorious criminal, John Thomas "Legs" Diamond. During this period he wrote numerous articles for The New Yorker and published two successful satirical novels, Hizzoner the Mayor, and Rackety Rax, which dealt with corruption in politics and in college football. During the mid-thirties he was called to Hollywood as screenwriter on several films including Annie Oakley, Gunga Din, and The Road to Glory. On the latter film he collaborated with the novelist, William Faulkner.

During World War II, as foreign correspondent for The New Yorker, he covered the Persian Gulf Command which supplied the Soviet Union with munitions and other materials through Iran. As correspondent he was present at the historic Teheran Conference of 1943. His New Yorker articles were later reproduced in his book Persian Gulf Command; Some Marvels on the Road to Kazvin. In 1945 the New Yorker sent him to Germany to cover the last phases of the war in Europe. His book, The House Without a Roof, about a Jewish family in the Third Reich, resulted from his experiences there.

In the 1950s Sayre continued to write for The New Yorker and other magazines. In mid-decade he left Time magazine where he had briefly been a staff writer, to return to screenwriting and to his peregrinations abroad, living for a time in London. In 1960 he returned to America to take a teaching position at the Annenburg School of Communications at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1971 he retired from teaching and settled in Virginia. The year before his death on September 9, 1979, he moved to Taftsville, Vermont to be with his life-long friend, Jeanette Lowe. His wife, Gertrude, died in 1960. At the time of his death he was survived by his daughter, Nora Sayre, and a niece, Mary Sayre Haverstock, of Arlington, Virginia.

Scope and arrangement

The papers include miscellaneous correspondence received; correspondence sent to his daughter, the author and cultural historian, Nora Sayre, and to his wife, Gertrude Lynahan Sayre; typescript and holograph drafts of his novels, plays, and articles; clippings of his published newspaper articles and sports columns; diary notes; reminiscences of his childhood in Columbus, Ohio and of life as newspaper reporter in New York City and as Hollywood screenwriter; and photographs of himself, his wife, daughter and friends.

The Joel Sayre papers are arranged in five series:

  • Series I. Correspondence

    The correspondence is arranged into three subseries: A. Correspondence Received; B. Correspondence Sent; and C. Gertrude Lynahan Sayre

  • Series II. Writings

    The writings are arranged into four subseries: A. Fiction; B. Plays; C. Articles; and D. Clippings of Published Writings by Joel G. Sayre

  • Series III. Diary Notes and Reminiscences

    This series consists of two pocket diaries (1921; 1924, 1926); a pocket memorandum book (1921); an holograph fragment of diary notes; a typed transcript copy of his personal reminiscences; and a transcript copy of an interview with Joel Sayre regarding James Thurber conducted by Lewis G. Branscomb, Dec. 16, 1975.

    The pocket diary for 1921 which was kept at Exeter College, Oxford University, England, contains entries describing his social life and activities for the month of January 1921. The pocket diary for 1924, 1926 contains personal expenses in German marks for the months of May and June of 1924; and entries dated January, 1926 made when he was a student of medicine in Germany. These latter entries contain self criticisms and admonishments regarding his failure to apply himself to his studies; and a list of courses required for the degree of medicine. (The entries are made in a printed calendar diary for the year 1924). The pocket memorandum book which is dated September 1, 1921 contains a few miscellaneous notes. The holograph fragment of diary notes (4 pages) which is dated November 6 [c1934?] relates mainly to his resolve to complete a literary manuscript in progress.

    The typed transcript copy of Sayre's reminiscences was made from audiotapes recorded October 30-31, December 18-19, and 28, 1973; and February 20-21, 1974. The reminiscences include descriptions of his childhood in Columbus, Ohio, the nature of the town, its neighborhoods and entertainments (vaudeville shows, local theatre and movies); the schools he attended in Columbus and in Cleveland, Ohio; his service with the Siberian Expeditionary Force; his student life and activities at Oxford University in England; his work as police reporter for the Ohio State Journal in Cleveland where he received many anecdotal accounts of the life of the author, O. Henry; his activities as cub reporter for the New York World and the New York Herald Tribune including numerous colorful accounts of the mores of newspapermen and their favorite speakeasies; his stint as columnist for the Philadelphia Ledger; his work in Hollywood as screenwriter for the films Annie Oakley and Gunga Din; his friendship with fellow screenwriter, William Faulkner, who collaborated with him on the film Road to Glory; his relationship with MGM and his association with the Screenwriter's Guild. The reminiscences contain many references to literary figures, motion picture personalities, and others whom he encountered, or who influenced him. Included also are passages relating to his experiences as correspondent with the Persian Gulf Command, an anecdotal account of the Teheran Conference, and his activities in Germany as a correspondent for The New Yorker at the end of World War II.

  • Series IV. Personal Miscellaneous Papers

    This series consists of a file of miscellaneous papers in topical arrangement including yearbooks of the Columbus Academy which contain references to Joel Sayre's student activities; his death certificate; copyright assignments to Sayre for stories published in The American Mercury; memorabilia; obituaries; and other miscellany.

  • Series V. Photographs

    This series contains photographic portraits of Joel Sayre as adult; childhood photos of Joel with his mother; group photos of Joel with classmates; albums (unbound) of photos of Joel and Gertrude Sayre, family and friends; and miscellaneous Sayre family photos. Included are oversized photographic portraits of Joel Sayre with classmates in baseball and basketball uniforms; and oversized portraits of Gertrude Sayre, and of Nora Sayre as child.

Administrative information

Custodial history

The Joel Sayre Papers were donated to The New York Public Library as part of the Nora Sayre Papers.

Source of acquisition

Donated by the Estate of Nora Sayre, January 2003.

Processing information

Compiled by John D. Stinson; machine readable finding aid created by FAKER.

Related Material

Nora Sayre Papers. Manuscripts and Archives Division. The New York Public Library.

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