Scope and Contents
The collection consists of correspondence, manuscripts, published materials, war diaries, and scrapbooks.
Correspondence includes Barretto's personal correspondence from 1947-1968 as well as professional correspondence from 1938-1960. This includes correspondence with his agents, Brandt and Brandt, from 1940-1956.
Included with the manuscripts is an unpublished novel, Ways of Escape, written in 1949-1950 as well other published novels and short stories.
Published materials include articles by and about Barretto as well as copies of his books. This includes articles about World War I published in Adventure, Argost All-Story Weekly, and War Stories magazines, and a twelve part series for Bookman magazine titled "The New Yorker", which ran from January to December of 1926, missing March. There are also four articles about World War II published in Liberty magazine.
Barretto's war diaries include remnants of his World War I diary, from April 19-July 15. The diaries for World War II span 1941-1945. These diaries are accompanied by xeroxed photos by Barretto.
Dates
- Creation: 1917-1968
Creator
- Barretto, Larry, 1890-1971 (Person)
- Brandt & Brandt (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open to the public. Collection must be used in Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room. Collection or parts of collection may be stored offsite. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives in advance of your visit to allow for transportation time.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries. Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs. All requests for permission to publish collection materials must be submitted to Special Collections and University Archives. The reader must also obtain permission of the copyright holder.
Biographical / Historical
Born in Larchmont, New York, Laurence (Larry) Barretto (1890-1971) was a novelist, magazine editor, and war correspondent. He began his writing career working for a Plainfield, New Jersey newspaper. After that, he wrote advertising copy for the Wall Street Journal.
During World War I, Barretto served as an ambulance driver, for which he was awarded the Croix de Guerre. He was among the first American authors to write on the soldier's experience in World War I, and the malaise of returning to peace time America. The bulk of Barretto's novels deal with this period.
From 1926-1927, Barretto served as a drama critic for The Bookman, and in 1929 he worked as assistant editor of Adventure magazine.
During World War II, Barretto served as an enlisted officer in the American Field Service and as a correspondent in both the Caribbean and China-Burma-India theaters.
Extent
2.5 linear feet (6 containers) : 5 manuscript boxes, 1 record storage box
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Laurence (Larry) Barretto (1890-1971) was a novelist, magazine editor, and war correspondent. The collection consists of WWI diary pages and WWII diaries, correspondence, manuscripts, published materials, and scrapbooks.
Arrangement
Collection is organized into the following series: Correspondence, Manuscripts: Short Story, Published Material: Periodicals, Newspaper Clippings, Military Matters, Scrapbooks, Books by Barretto, and Contributions by Barretto.
Other Finding Aids
Paper finding aid with additional information is available in Special Collections & University Archives.
Processing Information
Collection processed by George Wagner, 1981.
This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.
This collection received a basic level of processing including minimal organization and rehousing.
Description information is drawn in part from information supplied with the collection and initial surveys of the contents
Subject
- Barretto, Larry, 1890-1971 (Person)
- Barretto, Larry, 1890-1971 (Person)
- Brandt & Brandt (Organization)
- Barretto, Larry, 1890-1971 (Person)
Genre / Form
Topical
- Authors, American -- 20th century
- Diaries
- Scrapbooks
- War correspondents -- United States
- War in literature
- War stories, American -- Authorship
- World War, 1914-1918 -- Fiction
- World War, 1914-1918 -- Literature and the war
- World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives, American
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Journalists
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Literature and the war
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American
- Title
- Guide to the Laurence B. Barretto Papers
- Status
- Complete Description
- Author
- Archivists' Toolkit Project Team and Austin Munsell
- Date
- 2012
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
- Sponsor
- Funding for production of this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).
Repository Details
Part of the University of Oregon Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives Repository
