Papers of Charlotte Curtis, 1928-1987 (inclusive), 1950-1981 (bulk)

The papers of Charlotte Curtis include correspondence, drafts of articles, published articles, notebooks, printed materials, photographs, etc., documenting Curtis' career as a society reporter and editor for the Columbus Citizen and the New York Times. The collection originally contained copies of articles written by Curtis for the New York Times, but they were discarded due to their acidic state and the widespread availability of the newspaper in a digital format. The New York Times shipped Curtis' professional files to the library. These files were foldered and the original folder titles have been retained. Later accruals containing personal and professional papers arrived from Curtis' Columbus residence unfoldered. The archivist created folders for the loose materials and the titles of those folders appear in square brackets, as does information the archivist added to Curtis' folder titles. The file arrangement was created by the archivist.

Series I, BIOGRAPHICAL AND PERSONAL, 1928-1987 (#1.1-5.13, 42FB.1 - 42FB.5), includes resumes, biographical data sheets, clippings about Curtis, diaries, address books, certificates and citations, materials relating to Curtis' education, etc. Also included are minutes, correspondence, notes, printed material, etc., documenting Curtis' involvement in the Junior League in Columbus, Ohio, and in New York City. Files are arranged with resumes, biographical data sheets, and clippings about Curtis first, followed by an alphabetical arrangement of the remaining files.

Series II, CORRESPONDENCE, 1946-1986 (#6.1-13.9), contains personal and professional correspondence. The bulk of the correspondence relates to Curtis' career at the New York Times as a reporter and editor. Frequent correspondents include Clifton Daniel, A.M. Rosenthal, Harrison Salisbury, and Arthur Ochs "Punch" Sulzberger. Other correspondence documents her affair with Eugene Grove, a reporter for the Columbus Citizen and later the New York Post, and her courtship with William E. Hunt, a Columbus surgeon. Files are arranged alphabetically, followed by a chronological run of correspondence that was found loose.

Series III, PROFESSIONAL, 1947-1981 (#13.10-41.16), includes published articles, drafts of articles, notes, notebooks, correspondence, printed material, etc., documenting Curtis' work for the Columbus Citizen and the New York Times, as well as her work as a freelance journalist and a radio commentator. It is arranged in three subseries.

Subseries A, General, 1947-1980 (#13.10-19.4), includes published articles, drafts of articles, notes, correspondence, etc., documenting Curtis' work for the Columbus Citizen and the New York Times, as well as her work as a freelance journalist and a radio commentator. Files are arranged alphabetically.

Subseries B, Subject files, 1960-1981 (#19.5-36.8), includes correspondence, notes, printed material, etc., documenting people, places, organizations, and events Curtis wrote about for the New York Times. Files are arranged alphabetically.

Subseries C, Notebooks, 1950-1973, n.d. (#36.9-41.16), contains notebooks with notes from events Curtis reported on for the New York Times. Folder titles are a compilation of topics listed on the covers of the notebooks. Folders are arranged alphabetically.

Series IV, PHOTOGRAPHS AND MEMORABILIA, 1928-1980s (#PD.1-PD.9, 43.1m - 43.13m), includes photographs and buttons collected by Curtis. It is arranged in two subseries.

Subseries A, Photographs, 1928-1980s (#PD.1-PD.9), contains portraits and snapshots of Curtis, as well as professional photographs of Curtis working as a reporter. Photographs of Curtis at work include images of Curtis in newsrooms and covering a Ringling Brothers Circus in the 1950s and high society parties and balls from the 1940s to the 1980s. Photographs are largely undated and have been arranged in rough chronological order.

Most of the photographs in this collection are or will be cataloged in VIA, Harvard University's Visual Information Access database. Other "uncataloged" photographs are not of sufficient research interest to warrant cataloging and are simply treated as part of the documents they accompany; they are marked on the back with an asterisk in square brackets [*].

Subseries B, Buttons and press badge, 1963 - ca.1973, n.d. (#43.1m - 43.13m), contains buttons and a press badge collected by Curtis documenting events she covered, as well as political movements of interest to her. They have been grouped into the following categories: professional, political/peace movements, and women's issues/general interest.