Sumner Blossom papers - Archives West

Overview of the Collection

Title

Sumner Blossom papers

Dates

1909-1949 (inclusive)

Quantity

7 linear feet, (6 containers)

Collection Number

Ax 869

Summary

Sumner Blossom was editor of Popular Science Monthly and the American Magazine in the 1920s and 1930s. This collection has many papers, books, and audio recordings documenting Blossom's career with a limited number of additional records, primarily correspondence, from his personal life and later career.

Repository

University of Oregon Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives
UO Libraries--SCUA
1299 University of Oregon
Eugene OR
97403-1299
Telephone: 5413463068
spcarref@uoregon.edu

Access Restrictions

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.

Collection includes sound recordings to which access may be restricted. Access to these materials is governed by repository policy and may require the production of listening or viewing copies. Researchers requiring access must notify Special Collections and University Archives in advance and pay fees for reproduction services as necessary.

Additional Reference Guides

See the Current Collection Guide for detailed description and requesting options.

Languages

English

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Historical Note

Sumner N. Blossom was born on June 25, 1892. He graduated from Westport High School in Kansas City, Missouri. He started as a reporter for the Kansas City Star. He served in the Navy during World War I. He also helped start the Daily News in 1919 becoming the editor of the paper. Blossom was the editor of Popular Science Monthly in the 1920s. In 1929, he became the editor for the American Magazine and held that position until the magazine's closure in August 1959. While being editor for the American Magazine, he published short stories by many outstanding writers of the day. Blossom was living in Babylon, New York at the time of his death in March 1977.

Source: Wikipedia

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Content Description

This collection contains intra-office memos from his days with the Daily News through his editorships on Popular Science and the American, news articles and other writings, brainstorming report sessions, research material, editorial tearsheets, policy statements, and "letters to myself" in which Blossom sifted information and trends for reporting topics. Reporting topics include communism, the Great Depression, food and diet, chemistry, social critiques, and more. Additionally, the collection contains audio recordings of the American Magazine Program produced for CBS on which Blossom gave talks on interesting news stories and influential people he'd encountered in his work including Julius Stone, the Keys Sisters, Beverly Smith, Eugene O'Neill, Cole Poter, Albert Einstein, Shirley Temple, Arthur Murray-Shyness, J. Edgar Hoover, Alfred G. Vanderbilt, and many others. Topics include: Olympic sports, horses, deafness, horses, adoption, electricity, youth, creating jobs, Hollywood.

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