Finding Aid for the Albert and Charles Boni, Inc. records, ca. 1916-1974

Initial processing by Kayla Landesman, August 1986. Full processing and description by Michael Devine in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT), with assistance from Laurel McPhee, August 2004; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé and edited by Josh Fiala and Amy Shung-Gee Wong.

UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections

Manuscripts Division

Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library

Box 951575

Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575

Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu

URL: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/

Descriptive Summary

Title: Albert and Charles Boni, Inc. records,

Date (inclusive): ca. 1916-1974

Collection number: 1462

Creator: Albert & Charles Boni

Extent: 10 boxes (5 linear ft.)

Abstract: Albert Boni (1892-1981) founded Albert and Charles Boni, Incorporated with his brother in New York City (1923). They introduced Boni Paper Books, and sold them by mail-order subscription. Active in both literary and political fields, the firm published such controversial and influential writers as Marcel Proust, Colette, D.H. Lawrence, Upton Sinclair and Leon Trotsky. The collection consists of papers relating to Albert and Charles Boni, Incorporated.

Language: Finding aid is written in English

Repository: University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.

Los Angeles, California 90095-1575

Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.

Administrative Information

Restrictions on Access

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.

Restrictions on Use and Reproduction

Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Provenance/Source of Acquisition

Gift of William Boni, 1985.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Albert and Charles Boni, Inc. Records (Collection 1462). Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.

Processing History:

Initial processing of collection done by Kayla Landesman, August 1986. Full processing and description by Michael Devine in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT), with assistance from Laurel McPhee, Summer 2004.

Biography/History

Albert Boni was born in 1892 in New York City and attended Harvard University. Between the two World Wars Albert Boni left a lasting impression on the publishing world, first with Horace Liveright (Boni & Liveright) and then with his brother Charles (Albert & Charles Boni, Inc.). Boni's first publishing venture was The Little Leather Library, which sold abridged classics in a very small format through Woolworth's (1914). After selling the Washington Square Bookshop in 1917, he joined Horace Liveright to form the Boni-Liveright Publishing Company, which started the Modern Library of the World's Best Classics. Modern Library intended to copy the success of the popular British Everyman Series; in 1925, Boni's salesman Bennett Cerf bought the line, and went on to start Random House. With Albert and Charles Boni, Inc., he moved away from repackaging the classics in hopes of publishing exciting contemporary literature. By 1923 Boni and his brother founded Albert and Charles Boni, Incorporated, a firm that introduced Boni Paper Books and sold them by mail-order subscription. Active in both the literary and the political fields, the firm published such controversial and influential writers as Marcel Proust, Colette, D.H. Lawrence, Upton Sinclair, and Leon Trotsky. In the 1940s, Boni's interest in photography and light technologies led him to create the Readex Microprint Corporation. He died on July 13, 1981 in Ormond Beach, Florida.

Scope and Content

The bulk of this collection records Boni's commercial concerns as a publisher; his social and literary interests are clear through correspondence with a variety of artists and writers, from Max Eastman and George Bernard Shaw to Jim Tully. The collection also includes papers related to the Readex Microprint Corporation and Boni's photography compilation, A guide to the literature of photography and related subjects.

Organization and Arrangement

Arranged in the following series:

Miscellaneous business papers, 1928-1974 (Boxes 1-2).
Correspondence, 1916-1966 (Boxes 3-5).
Contracts, 1921-1973 (Boxes 5-10).

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects

Boni, Albert, 1892-.

Boni, Charles.

Albert & Charles Boni, Inc.--Archives.

Publishers and publishing--United States--Archival resources.

Related Material

Albert Boni Collection of Material about Photography (Collection 1046). Available at UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections.

Container List

Series 1: Miscellaneous Business Papers, 1928-1974.

Physical Description: (2 boxes).

Scope and Content Note

Assorted business files.

Box 1, Folder 1

Articles and Inquiries. 1924-1928.

Physical Description: (11 items).

Scope and Content Note

Papers on The American Library, Melville, Mexico.

Box 1, Folder 2

Business Documents. 1936-1948.

Physical Description: (19 items).

Scope and Content Note

Invoices, letters.
1 legal file on Boni vs. R.H. Macy & Company.

Box 1, Folder 3

Business Letters. 1926-1933.

Physical Description: (77 items).

Scope and Content Note

Letters regarding Albert Boni's various publishing interests, including Creative Arts.

Box 1, Folder 4

Checks Received. 1950 March 9.

Physical Description: (2 items).

Scope and Content Note

Check stubs for Devil's Dictionary and World's Best Poems.

Box 1, Folder 5

Copyright Inquiries. 1947-1949.

Physical Description: (6 items).

Scope and Content Note

Inquiries into Boni copyrights.

Box 1, Folder 6

Disputed Contracts. 1929-1930.

Physical Description: (10 items).

Scope and Content Note

Disputed contracts and financial records of A & C Boni, Inc.

Box 1, Folder 7

Photography Correspondence. 1943-1945.

Physical Description: (58 items).

Scope and Content Note

Letters and papers concerning Albert Boni's Index to the Literature of Photography.

Box 1, Folder 8

Photography Papers. 1943-1947.

Physical Description: (15 items).

Scope and Content Note

Letters and papers on photography.
Article on work of Therese Bonney.

Box 1, Folder 9

Private Bills. 1950-1951.

Physical Description: (72 items).

Scope and Content Note

Receipts from Albert Boni's life in Chester, Vermont.

Box 1, Folder 10

Publishing Inquiries. 1936-1947.

Physical Description: (48 items).

Scope and Content Note

Business papers and letters.

Box 1, Folder 11

Readex Corporation. 1949-1951.

Physical Description: (57 items).

Scope and Content Note

Personal and business letters.

Box 1, Folder 12

Royal Photographic Society. 1950.

Physical Description: (3 items).

Scope and Content Note

Membership documents.

Box 2, Folders 1-4

Thornton Wilder Financials. 1950-1974.

Physical Description: (159 items).

Scope and Content Note

International royalty statements for Wilder.

Box 2, Folders 5-7

Thornton Wilder Translations. 1928-1934.

Physical Description: (76 items).

Scope and Content Note

Letters seeking rights to translate The Bridge of Saint Luis Rey.

Box 2, Folder 8

Titles. n.d.

Physical Description: (4 items).

Scope and Content Note

Typed lists of A & C Boni titles.
Handwritten emendations.
A separate list for Charles Boni Titles.

Box 2, Folder 9

Unsolicited Manuscripts. 1945-1947.

Physical Description: (20 items).

Scope and Content Note

Cover letters for various unsolicited manuscripts.

Series 2: Correspondence, 1916-1966.

Physical Description: (3 boxes).

Scope and Content Note

Assorted correspondence with various authors. Arranged alphabetically by correspondent's surname.

Box 3, Folder 1

Archibald, Norman. 1936 June 15.

Physical Description: (1 item).

Scope and Content Note

Typewritten letter from Archibald concerning royalties.

Box 3, Folder 2

Beardsley, Aubrey. n.d.

Physical Description: (1 item).

Note

See Box 4, Folder 1 for (slightly oversize) original signed proof: “How King Arthur Saw the Questing Beast and Thereof Had Great Marvel,” 1893.

Box 3, Folder 3

Bierce, Ambrose. 1937-1947.

Physical Description: (16 items).

Scope and Content Note

Inquiries into the publishing rights of Bierce's work.

Box 3, Folder 4

Bonsels, Waldemar. 1927-1930.

Physical Description: (27 items).

Scope and Content Note

Letters from Bonsels in German about Indian Journey.
1 postcard.

Box 3, Folder 5

Brandeis, Alice and Judge Louis. 1929-1931.

Physical Description: (8 items).

Scope and Content Note

Letters from Alice about Karl Goldmark.
1 postcard photo of Goldmark.
Letters to Louis on publishing.

Box 3, Folder 6

Britton, Nan. 1932.

Physical Description: (5 items).

Scope and Content Note

Book order inquiries from Britton.

Box 3, Folder 7

Butts, Mary. 1926-1928.

Physical Description: (20 items).

Scope and Content Note

Correspondence with Butts on various manuscripts.

Box 3, Folder 8

Chubb, Thomas C. 1931-1933.

Physical Description: (53 items).

Scope and Content Note

Letters and papers from Chubb on Ships and Lovers and Aretino.
1 photo of Chubb.

Box 3, Folder 9

Coffin, Robert P.T. 1926-1932.

Physical Description: (12 items).

Scope and Content Note

Letters from Coffin about Dew and Bronze.

Box 3, Folder 10

Croft, F.W. 1927.

Physical Description: (12 items).

Scope and Content Note

Publishing records for Croft.

Box 3, Folder 11

Dakers, A.H. 1919-1921.

Physical Description: (24 items).

Scope and Content Note

Correspondence with the Curtis Brown publishing firm.

Box 3, Folder 12

DeCasseres, Benjamin. 1927-1928.

Physical Description: (5 items).

Scope and Content Note

Handwritten letters from DeCasseres.

Box 3, Folder 13

Draper, Eben and Hazel. 1935.

Physical Description: (8 items).

Scope and Content Note

Correspondence with Drapers on PR for Norman Archibald's Heaven High, Hell Deep.

Box 3, Folder 14

Dunn, Robert. 1949-1950.

Physical Description: (12 items).

Scope and Content Note

Correspondence with Dunn about his manuscript.

Box 3, Folder 15

Eastman, Max. 1927-1930.

Physical Description: (12 items).

Scope and Content Note

Typewritten manuscripts of poem, “The Songs of Love”, and story, “Something French.”
Letters about Marx, Lenin and the Science of Revolution.

Box 3, Folder 16

Eddison, E.R. 1926.

Physical Description: (5 items).

Scope and Content Note

Letters from Eddison about The Worm Ouroboros.

Box 3, Folder 17

Egerton, [C.?]. 1930.

Physical Description: (8 items).

Scope and Content Note

Handwritten letters from Egerton.

Box 3, Folder 18

Einstein, Elsa. 1930-1931.

Physical Description: (2 items).

Scope and Content Note

Personal letters between Einstein and Albert Boni.

Box 3, Folder 19

Eliot, T.S. n.d.

Physical Description: (1 item).

Scope and Content Note

Photostat of handwritten note from Eliot.

Box 3, Folder 20

Feinberg, Charles. 1947-1950.

Physical Description: (6 items).

Scope and Content Note

Personal correspondence with Feinberg on book collecting.

Box 3, Folder 21

Ferrero, Guglielmo. 1929-1930.

Physical Description: (10 items).

Scope and Content Note

Correspondence with Ferrero about Unification of the World.

Box 3, Folder 22

Field, Sara Bard. 1932-1937.

Physical Description: (81 items).

Scope and Content Note

Correspondence with Field about Barabbas.

Box 3, Folder 23

Flanner, Janet. 1929-1930.

Physical Description: (11 items).

Scope and Content Note

Letters from Flanner about her translations of Colette.

Box 3, Folder 24

Flores, Angel. 1927-1931.

Physical Description: (9 items).

Scope and Content Note

Correspondence with Flores on book projects.

Box 3, Folder 25

Ford, Ford Madox. 1926 January 29.

Physical Description: (1 item).

Scope and Content Note

Typewritten letter from Ford about royalties.

Box 3, Folder 26

Handy, W.C. 1925-1926.

Physical Description: (33 items).

Scope and Content Note

Correspondence with Handy and E.A. Niles about Blues Anthology.

Box 3, Folder 27

Hamilton, Dr. G.V. 1928-1929.

Physical Description: (4 items).

Scope and Content Note

Correspondence about A Research in Marriage.

Box 3, Folder 28

Helm, William P. 1932.

Physical Description: (8 items).

Scope and Content Note

Letters from Helm about Washington Swindle Sheet.

Box 3, Folder 29

Jeffers, Robinson. ca. 1932.

Physical Description: (1 item).

Scope and Content Note

Typewritten letter from Jeffers to Sara Bard Field.

Box 3, Folder 30

Kayser, Rudolph. 1929-1931.

Physical Description: (7 items).

Scope and Content Note

Publishing related correspondence.

Box 3, Folder 31

Kent, Rockwell. 1928-1929.

Physical Description: (20 items).

Scope and Content Note

Correspondence with Kent about Creative Arts
Galleys of illustrated Bridge of Saint Luis Rey.

Box 3, Folder 32

Kropotkin, Peter. n.d.

Physical Description: (2 items).

Scope and Content Note

2 photos of Kropotkin.

Box 4, Folder 1

Beardsley, Aubrey. n.d.

Physical Description: (2 items).

Scope and Content Note

Original signed proof and envelope from Beardsley studio: “How King Arthur Saw the Questing Beast and Thereof Had Great Marvel,” 1893.

Box 4, Folder 2

Lavell, Charles. 1926-1938.

Physical Description: (35 items).

Scope and Content Note

Business correspondence with literary agent.

Box 4, Folder 3

Lewisohn, Ludwig. 1927.

Physical Description: (4 items).

Scope and Content Note

Letters from Lewisohn about The Case of Mr. Crump.

Box 4, Folder 4

Liggett, Walter. 1931.

Physical Description: (40 items).

Scope and Content Note

Correspondence with Ligget about The Rise of Herbert Hoover.

Box 4, Folder 5

Liveright, Horace. 1920.

Physical Description: (4 items).

Scope and Content Note

Letters from Liveright to Nell Boni.

Box 4, Folder 6

Locke, Alain. 1926-1933.

Physical Description: (15 items).

Scope and Content Note

Correspondence with Locke about The New Negro and Rene Maran's Kongo.

Box 4, Folder 7

Malcolm-Smith, E.F. 1930.

Physical Description: (16 items).

Scope and Content Note

Correspondence with Malcolm-Smith about her translation of Romain Rolland.

Box 4, Folder 8

Marks, Jeannette. 1928-1929.

Physical Description: (31 items).

Scope and Content Note

Correspondence with Marks about Thirteen Days.

Box 4, Folder 9

Mathers, E. Powys. 1926 May 1.

Physical Description: (1 item).

Scope and Content Note

Typewritten letter from Mathers.

Box 4, Folder 10

McAdoo, William. 1931.

Physical Description: (65 items).

Scope and Content Note

Letters, papers, negotiations for serialization of McAdoo's memoirs.

Box 4, Folder 11

McBride, Henry. 1931 June 22 and n.d.

Physical Description: (2 items).

Scope and Content Note

Handwritten notes from McBride.

Box 4, Folder 12

McFee, Henry Lee. 1929.

Physical Description: (5 items).

Scope and Content Note

Correspondence with painter McFee.

Box 4, Folders 13-15

Miscellany. 1924-1947.

Physical Description: (35 items).

Scope and Content Note

Variety of correspondences with friends, writers, booksellers.

Box 4, Folder 16

Motherwell, Hiram. 1928.

Physical Description: (1 item).

Scope and Content Note

Correspondence with the translator of Mussolini's The Cardinal's Mistress.

Box 4, Folder 17

Newman, Frances. 1927 December 16.

Physical Description: (1 item).

Scope and Content Note

Handwritten letter from Newman.

Box 4, Folder 18

Owen, Robert. 1927.

Physical Description: (6 items).

Scope and Content Note

Correspondence with Owen about The Russian Imperial Conspiracy.

Box 4, Folder 19

Pankhurst, E. Sylvia. 1935 July 5.

Physical Description: (1 item).

Scope and Content Note

Typewritten inquiry letter from Pankhurst.

Box 4, Folder 20

Pinchot, Gifford. 1929-1930.

Physical Description: (10 items).

Scope and Content Note

Correspondence with Pinchot over publishing dispute.

Box 4, Folder 21

Sanford, John. 1937-1950.

Physical Description: (69 items).

Scope and Content Note

Papers documenting dispute over Sanford's The Old Man's Place.

Box 4, Folder 22

Seldes, George. 1928.

Physical Description: (2 items).

Scope and Content Note

Handwritten letter from Seldes.

Box 4, Folder 23

Seldes, Gilbert. 1916.

Physical Description: (4 items).

Scope and Content Note

Papers of financial agreement between Seldes and Albert Boni.

Box 4, Folder 24

Shaw, George Bernard. 1917.

Physical Description: (2 items).

Scope and Content Note

Typewritten letter soliciting a World War I book from George Bernard Shaw
Typed transcription of shorthand reply from George Bernard Shaw.

Box 4, Folder 25

Stewart, Donald Ogden. 1947.

Physical Description: (1 item).

Scope and Content Note

Correspondence regarding fees for Stewart reprints.

Box 4, Folder 26

Tennant, John A. 1949-1950.

Physical Description: (12 items).

Scope and Content Note

Letters on book purchases.

Box 4, Folder 27

Unamuno, Miguel de. 1929.

Physical Description: (5 items).

Scope and Content Note

Correspondence with Unamuno about Three Exemplary Novels.

Box 4, Folder 28

Van Doren, Mark. 1928-1933.

Physical Description: (54 items).

Scope and Content Note

Letters from Van Doren on World Poetry Anthology.

Box 5, Folder 1

Villard, Oswald Garrison. 1931.

Physical Description: (9 items).

Scope and Content Note

Publishing inquiries from Villard.

Box 5, Folder 2

Von Wedel, Carl. 1938.

Physical Description: (6 items).

Scope and Content Note

Letters and papers from Von Wedel on photography and science.

Box 5, Folder 3

Wilder, Isabel. 1949-1950.

Physical Description: (20 items).

Scope and Content Note

Letters on international rights of her brother's work.

Box 5, Folder 4

Wilder, Thornton. 1962 September 18.

Physical Description: (2 items).

Scope and Content Note

2 publicity photos of Wilder.

Box 5, Folder 5

Wylie, Elinor. 1966.

Physical Description: (4 items).

Scope and Content Note

Receipts, typewritten letter, notes.

Series 3: Contracts, 1921-1973.

Physical Description: (6 boxes).

Scope and Content Note

Publishing contracts for various authors and artists. Arranged alphabetically by author's surname.

Box 5, Folder 6

Adams - Arens. 1924-1938.

Physical Description: (10 items).

Box 5, Folder 7

Asch - Bierce. 1925-1942.

Physical Description: (13 items).

Box 5, Folder 8

Bigelow - Bonsels. 1925-1932.

Physical Description: (9 items).

Box 5, Folder 9

Book Review Syndicate - Broun. 1925-1935.

Physical Description: (9 items).

Box 5, Folder 10

Burke - Chubb. 1924-1973.

Physical Description: (8 items).

Box 6, Folder 1

Citadel Press - Cornwall Press. 1930-1946.

Physical Description: (6 items).

Box 6, Folder 2

Courier Citizen Co. - Crowder. 1925-1938.

Physical Description: (7 items).

Box 6, Folder 3

Damon - Dial Press. 1923-1932.

Physical Description: (8 items).

Box 6, Folder 4

Diedrichs - Eastman. 1921-1940.

Physical Description: (6 items).

Box 6, Folder 5

Eddison - Ferry. 1926-1940.

Physical Description: (9 items).

Box 6, Folder 6

Field - Ford. 1924-1949.

Physical Description: (8 items).

Box 6, Folder 7

Fornaro - Handy. 1922-1949.

Physical Description: (11 items).

Box 6, Folder 8

Hapgood - Herold. 1925-1941.

Physical Description: (6 items).

Box 7, Folder 1

Hittner - Huston. 1924-1945.

Physical Description: (6 items).

Box 7, Folder 2

Inman - Kayser. 1926-1938.

Physical Description: (5 items).

Box 7, Folder 3

Kemp - Lawrence. 1926-1935.

Physical Description: (7 items).

Box 7, Folder 4

Levine - Liggett. 1926-1931.

Physical Description: (6 items).

Box 7, Folder 5

Lippmann - MacKaye. 1925-1967.

Physical Description: (10 items).

Box 7, Folder 6

Macmillan - McAdoo. 1924-1931.

Physical Description: (14 items).

Box 8, Folder 1

McBride - Motherwell. 1924-1936.

Physical Description: (11 items).

Box 8, Folder 2

Mussey - Niles. 1922-1942.

Physical Description: (9 items).

Box 8, Folder 3

Nock - Paramount Pictures. 1926-1937.

Physical Description: (6 items).

Box 8, Folder 4

Parker - Powers Reproduction Corp. 1925-1946.

Physical Description: (9 items).

Box 8, Folder 5

Proust Publishers - Pyne. 1923-1941.

Physical Description: (6 items).

Box 8, Folder 6

Raushenbush - Rodker. 1925-1935.

Physical Description: (6 items).

Box 9, Folder 1

Rue - Rogers. 1924-1925.

Physical Description: (7 items).

Box 9, Folder 2

Sanford - Smith. 1923-1937.

Physical Description: (9 items).

Box 9, Folder 3

Snyder - Straiton. 1925-1932.

Physical Description: (6 items).

Box 9, Folder 4

Street - Symons. 1924-1931.

Physical Description: (5 items).

Box 9, Folder 5

Taggard - Tully. 1928-1933.

Physical Description: (8 items).

Box 9, Folder 6

Tully - Trotsky. 1927-1931.

Physical Description: (7 items).

Box 10, Folder 1

Unamuno - Van Doren. 1929-1946.

Physical Description: (6 items).

Box 10, Folder 2

Van Rees - Wilbur Mercantile. 1923-1933.

Physical Description: (8 items).

Box 10, Folders 3-4

Wilder. 1928-1959.

Physical Description: (7 items).

Box 10, Folder 5

Wilder - Williams Company. 1928-1939.

Physical Description: (5 items).

Box 10, Folder 6

W.C. Williams - Wolf. 1927-1939.

Physical Description: (5 items).

Box 10, Folder 7

Wortman - Wright. 1924-1935.

Physical Description: (5 items).

Box 10, Folder 8

Ybarra - Zweig. 1928.

Physical Description: (3 items).

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