Esther McCoy papers, circa 1876-1990, bulk 1938-1989

This subseries contains correspondence between McCoy and her parents, James L. and Katie Mae McCoy, and between her brothers Clarence, William, John, and Frank, sister Ruth McCoy Hahn, and various other family members. Files for some of the family members represented here, including James L. McCoy, also contain business papers documenting activities such as the family lumber business. The folder of correspondence between various family members includes letters from Esther McCoy.

This subseries contains personal correspondence between McCoy and her friends, lovers, and colleagues. The letters concern McCoy's personal and love relationships, her views on politics, culture, and the literary world, and her struggles as a writer.

Correspondence between McCoy and lovers, including Geoffrey Eaton, John Mitchell, John Vick, Albert Robert (also known as "Timmie"), and her husband, Berkeley Tobey, is especially well represented. Much of the extensive correspondence between McCoy and Albert Robert is undated. A few letters between McCoy and her lovers include photographs.

There is also significant correspondence with fellow writers, including Theodore Dreiser, Ray Bradbury, Millen Brand, John Collier, John Cowper Powys, and historian Lewis Mumford. Correspondence with Ray Bradbury includes discussions of theater, art and architecture. Letters from Helen Dreiser include Dreiser's opinions on manuscripts written by McCoy. Theodore Dreiser's letters provide insight into the research assignments McCoy carried out for Dreiser and his opinions of her writing. The letters include the typescript of a poem, possibly written by Dreiser. William A. Swanberg, who wrote a book on Dreiser, sought McCoy's opinions and impressions of the author, and their correspondence includes many observations and theories concerning Dreiser's personal life. Also of note is extensive correspondence between McCoy and her close friend Katheryn (Kay) Metz.

This subseries primarily contains letters concerning McCoy's career in architectural history and criticism. Her career in fiction writing is covered to a lesser degree. Among the correspondents are researchers, writers, professors, architects, art professionals, publishers, and professional associations. Topics covered include research and writing projects, Los Angeles area preservation and restoration projects, and grant projects.

Major correspondents in this series include the American Institute of Architects, the Graham Foundation, City of Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Board, Domus Magazine, Los Angeles Times, editor Monica Pidgeon, architectural critics Reyner Banham, David Gebhard, William Jordy, Robin Middleton, Allan Temko, and Nathan Shapira, and architects J. R. Davidson, Craig Ellwood, Joseph Giovannini, Hans Hollein, A. Quincy Jones, and Bruno Zevi. Also found is extensive correspondence with the University of California, Berkeley, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz. Correspondence for 1959 contains a letter from Albert Camus requesting McCoy's assistance with helping Spanish refugees, and correspondence for 1989 contains photographs of Esther McCoy and others at the Athenaeum at Caltech for the third annual gala of the Historical Society of Southern California.

See Appendix for a list of selected correspondents from Series 2.3.

This series contains six diaries belonging to Esther McCoy as well as two travel diaries belonging to her mother, Katie Mae McCoy. Esther McCoy's "Sophomore Days" volumes contain journal entries and mementos from her 1919 school year. Two diaries document her time at Central College for Women (1920) and Baker University (1922-1924), and a diary from 1926 records her first year in New York City. Also found is a personal journal documenting her 1972 trip to Europe.

Found here are notebooks kept by McCoy throughout her professional career. The notebooks consist of travel itineraries, travel notes, notes about architecture and folk art seen during trips, notes on interviews with architects, notes about architects and buildings, notes for articles, and other miscellaneous jottings and writings. The notebooks are difficult to decipher, as most were handwritten in pencil.

This series contains autobiographical writings by Esther McCoy documenting various moments in her life. Many of these writings are in a short story format and were given a title by McCoy. Subjects covered in her memoirs, some of which were published, include her mother, childhood, and living in New York and Malibu. Also of note is the piece of writing titled "Geoff/Bo: Paris" describing her time in Paris in 1928 and her relationship with Geoffrey Eaton, and the story "Happy Birthday RMS" about working for architect R. M. Schindler. A folder of manuscripts about Theodore Dreiser contains drafts of three manuscripts relating to Helen and Theodore Dreiser and other literary figures McCoy knew in New York during the 1920s and 1930s. One titled manuscript about Dreiser, "Outward Journey" (1946-1947), can also be found in this subseries.

Fictional works found in this subseries include drafts of novels, short stories, and teleplays written by McCoy. A folder of stories submitted to H.L. Mencken includes introductions endorsing the stories by Theodore Dreiser and Edgar Lee Masters with related correspondence. Many of the short stories in this subseries were published in literary magazines and journals, and files may contain correspondence regarding publication and related notes. Of note is a series of files for McCoy's short story, The Pepper Tree, which includes related writings and research material about Japanese internment camps during World War II.

The life of a California architect forms the basis for drafts of three novels, L.A. L.A., The Vickery Job, and Ward and Associates. These three sets of draft manuscripts appear to be closely connected, although it is not clear if they were stages in the development of a single novel. Other draft novels found here include Land Gerard, June is the Cruelest Month, and The Wind's Eye. None of these novels were published.

This series contains writings, some in draft form, by McCoy's friends and colleagues. Included are several pieces of writing about architecture, urban planning, and design. Of note are two essays about Esther McCoy written by architect Denise Scott Brown, and writings by architects Evans Woollen, Yona Friedman, and Paul Sterling Hoag. Also found are short stories written by McCoy's lovers, John Mitchell and Albert Robert, including a story by Albert Robert as "Pierre St. Clement," and unidentified writings not written by McCoy.

Esther McCoy wrote and published six books on architecture, and contributed writings for several other book projects during her career. This subseries contains records of these writing projects. Files for books written by McCoy may consist of correspondence, draft versions, notes, research material, financial records, photographs, and publicity and reviews. Correspondence may include original correspondence between McCoy and the architects who were the subject of her work; correspondence with publishers and others relating to her work; and copies of correspondence that McCoy used for research. For example, files for her book Vienna To Los Angeles: Two Journeys include copies of correspondence between Richard Neutra and R.M. Schindler and between Frank Lloyd Wright and Aline Barnsdall. Research material and notes document the formation of her ideas and may include notes made during tours of buildings and exhibitions, interview notes, printed material, and excerpts from sources relating to her research, including previous writings about the subjects by McCoy and others.

This series also contains records of McCoy's work on other book projects, such as writing essays for Contemporary Architects, and writing the introduction for Francisco Artigas. The Artigas material also includes interview transcripts. McCoy's records for Vienna To Los Angeles: Two Journeys includes material for a related article "Letters Between R. M. Schindler and Richard Neutra" and an essay written by Pauline Schindler about Taliesin.

This subseries contains records of McCoy's work on several exhibition catalogs. McCoy worked on major museum exhibitions about architecture, such as Blueprints for Modern Living at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Ten Italian Architects at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; and High Styles at the Whitney Museum of American Art. In some instances she was a curator for the exhibition and wrote the catalog, and in others she was asked to contribute an essay for the catalog. Files include correspondence, published catalogs, draft writings and photographs used for the catalogs, notes and research material, publicity and reviews, and other documentation of exhibition details. Of particular note are a video about the Case Study House Program that was released in conjunction with the Blueprints for Modern Living exhibition, and documentation regarding theft of items from the Juan O'Gorman exhibition.

This subseries documents McCoy's work for journals, magazines, and newspapers, including publications for which she was a contributing editor, such as Arts and Architecture, Lotus, and Progressive Architecture. Articles are primarily on the topic of architecture, but also include a few writings on design, art, crafts, and travel. Files generally contain drafts of articles and related notes, but may also include related correspondence and photographs, as well as a clipping of the published article. Also found are general correspondence files regarding her work as an editor for Arts and Architecture, Progressive Architecture, and Lotus.

McCoy also worked for nearly two decades as a free lance writer for the L. A. Times, primarily writing about architecture and travel for the Home Magazine supplement. Found here are numerous draft articles, including regular features on California architects, and writings about Italy and Mexico.

Of note are articles on young architects written for Arts and Architecture and Zodiac magazines, an article on Brasilia for the L. A. Times, and an article about the Charles Eames office for Progressive Architecture.