Archives West Finding Aid

Proper's journals document his hunting and fishing experiences and feature entries related to his article and book ideas. Proper's earliest fishing journal dates from 1951 and documents trout fishing while a student in New Hampshire. The bulk of his journals date from Proper's active writing career between 1965 and 2003, and detail his experiences fishing and hunting in Brazil, Portugal, Ireland, Montana, and elsewhere in the United States. The inclusive dates for each journal are approximate, and many diaries have laid-in notes placed by Proper in reference to his magazine article compositions.

Proper's correspondence files feature incoming and outgoing letters with publishers, readers, reviewers, family, friends, and other sportsmen. The bulk of the correspondence relates to Proper's writing career and includes feedback from readers and editors, hunting and fishing tips exchanged with friends and colleagues, and information requests from Proper to other writers and sportsmen. Proper maintained these files during his lifetime, and created generic alphabetical groupings based on correspondent name or created individual files for more frequent correspondents.

Proper's family papers document his personal life and family history. They include several personal items from his childhood including a baby book, school ephemera from Exeter Academy, student essays, and report cards. They also include a small amount of family correspondence and records documenting his career as a Foreign Service officer at the State Department. Records documenting his family history include genealogical records and collected items and biographies of Proper's distant relatives Datus Dewitt Proper (1844-1922), Ida Sedgwick Proper (1876-1957), and Datus Edwin Proper (1896-1965). Among these collected items is a Civil War diary written by Datus Dewitt Proper between 1864 and 1865, documenting his service in Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida.

Proper's magazine articles include manuscript drafts, galley proofs, notes, publisher correspondence, research letters, and a partial physical bibliography of Proper's magazine publications. Proper's drafts touch on a wide range of topics including fishing, fly tying, dogs, hunting, game birds, cooking wild game, wilderness, and life in the outdoors.

Proper's book publication files document the production of his four published books: What the Trout Said (1982; rev. ed. 1989); Pheasants of the Mind (1990; rev. ed. 1994); The Last Old Place: A Search Through Portugal (1992); and Running Waters (2001). Each draft combined portions of previously published essays with new original compositions. These files contain manuscript drafts, publisher correspondence, published book reviews, reader's letters, and notes pertaining to each book.

Proper's unfinished book manuscript features chapter drafts from a book he began working on during the end of his life titled variously as "The Home Place" or simply "Home." The book draws from Proper's previously published articles and attempts to examine his personal relationship with nature and how his chosen lifestyle had been affected by the land and the elements. The manuscript is organized into twelve chapters named after the months of the year and address broader themes such as home building in an environmentally sensitive area, hunting, fishing, and mankind's ever-changing relationship with nature. Proper intended to use many of his earlier magazine articles as a basis for each chapter and named the chapter title drafts the months of the year. He annotated the composition with comments about where to cut certain passages, add other passages, and consider other chapters where the composition might be better placed. Throughout his writing and editing process, Proper solicited feedback from his agent, Knox Burger, and other readers, and included their suggestions in with his drafts. As a result, there is a great deal of repetition between the contents of this incomplete manuscript and Proper's published articles.

Proper's subject vertical files feature topical files maintained by Proper in support of research for his publications. The files relate to topics of interest to Proper including fly fishing, hunting, streams and rivers, dogs, guns, and wild game. Although most files contain little more than printed materials, occasionally Proper would place letters or notes he felt relevant to the folder's title.

Proper's memorial service materials include a small set of documents from his funeral and letters of condolence to his widow. They feature obituaries, testimonials, and a recording of his funeral service.

Proper's photographs feature sets of 35mm slides and prints he selected for use in his publications. Although most were never featured in his published works, the images relate to topics addressed in Proper's books and articles including fly tying, trout stream fishing, and hunting dogs. Several sets of prints also document his travels in Portugal, which he detailed in his 1993 book, The Last Old Place: A Search Through Portugal. A very small set of photos include photos of Proper during his childhood and portraits of him as an adult.