Louise Brooks Collection
Collection Summary
| Title: | Louise Brooks Collection |
| Call Number: | MS 2017-12 |
| Size: | 20 linear feet (21 boxes and 3 OS folders) |
| Acquisition: | Purchased from the Louise Brooks Estate, Inc., 7-2001 |
| Processed by: | JLY, 12-2001; JZ, 6-2017 |
| Restrictions: | To view material from this collection, you must be on-site at WSU. No remote requests for photocopies or digitization will be granted. |
Literary Rights
Literary rights were not granted to Wichita State
University. When permission is granted to examine the manuscripts, it is
not an authorization to publish them. Manuscripts cannot be used for publication
without regard for common law literary rights, copyright laws and the laws
of libel. It is the responsibility of the researcher and his/her publisher,
to obtain permission to publish. Scholars and students who eventually plan
to have their work published are urged to make inquiry regarding overall
restrictions on publication before initial research.
Content Note
The Louise Brooks Collection consists of diaries, correspondence, notebooks, photographs, press clippings, books, pamphlets, periodicals, interview transcripts, and ephemera concerning the legendary film actress and cult figure. The material documents her personal life and respective occupations as a dancer, actress, and writer. Also included are records pertaining to the administration of her estate as well as correspondence and interview transcripts created by Barry Paris while researching and writing his biography on Brooks.
Biographical Note
Mary Louise Brooks was born in Cherryvale, Kansas, on November 14, 1906. The second of four children born to Leonard and Myra Brooks, Louise showed an aptitude for dance and performing at a young age. In 1920 the family settled in Wichita, where Brooks attended high school and gained notice for her dancing. In the summer of 1922 she moved to New York City to join Denishawn, a pioneering modern dance school and touring company founded by Ted Shawn and Ruth St. Denis. In 1924 Brooks became a member of George White's Scandals, and in 1925, the Ziegfeld Follies.
Louise's striking beauty, distinctive bobbed haircut, and performing ability also gained her modeling and film work. In 1925 she signed a five-year contract with Paramount Pictures and appeared in her first production, The Street of Forgotten Men. Pictorials in such magazines as Photoplay followed, along with notable acting opportunities, including Howard Hawks' A Girl in Every Port (1927) and William Wellman's Beggars of Life (1928), an early talkie in which Brooks co-starred with Wallace Beery and gave a gender-defying portrayal of a girl passing as a teenage boy while living in a hobo camp.
Louise's looks and acting eventually gained the attention of noted Austrian director Georg Wilhelm Pabst, who convinced her to travel to Europe and play the lead role of Lulu in Pandora's Box (1929), one of the most daring and challenging films of the silent era. Brooks also starred in Pabst's next effort, Diary of a Lost Girl, which was released the same year to similar controversy. She made a final European film, Prix de Beauté, before returning to the United States in late 1929 and eventually being released from her contract by Paramount.
Years of occasional work in films followed with Brooks' last performance being given in Overland Stage Raiders, a B-movie starring John Wayne. Louise returned to Wichita in 1940 to open and run a ballroom dance studio before relocating to New York City in 1943 where she worked as a radio actress, a gossip columnist, and a cashier at Saks Fifth Avenue. Near the turn of the decade she began an autobiographical novel.
Brooks and her work began to be rediscovered in the 1950s, first by European film scholars such as Henri Langlois and Lotte Eisner, and then by James Card, film curator at the George Eastman House in Rochester, New York. Card encouraged Louise to relocate in 1956 in order to conduct research and view the many rare and classic films at the Eastman. She took his advice and eventually wrote and published well-received articles about her life and associates in the film industry. This career reached its apex in 1982 when her memoir Lulu in Hollywood was published to considerable critical acclaim and earned Louise a new popular fan base. Following a long struggle with arthritis and emphysema, Brooks died in Rochester on August 8, 1985.
Louise's striking beauty, distinctive bobbed haircut, and performing ability also gained her modeling and film work. In 1925 she signed a five-year contract with Paramount Pictures and appeared in her first production, The Street of Forgotten Men. Pictorials in such magazines as Photoplay followed, along with notable acting opportunities, including Howard Hawks' A Girl in Every Port (1927) and William Wellman's Beggars of Life (1928), an early talkie in which Brooks co-starred with Wallace Beery and gave a gender-defying portrayal of a girl passing as a teenage boy while living in a hobo camp.
Louise's looks and acting eventually gained the attention of noted Austrian director Georg Wilhelm Pabst, who convinced her to travel to Europe and play the lead role of Lulu in Pandora's Box (1929), one of the most daring and challenging films of the silent era. Brooks also starred in Pabst's next effort, Diary of a Lost Girl, which was released the same year to similar controversy. She made a final European film, Prix de Beauté, before returning to the United States in late 1929 and eventually being released from her contract by Paramount.
Years of occasional work in films followed with Brooks' last performance being given in Overland Stage Raiders, a B-movie starring John Wayne. Louise returned to Wichita in 1940 to open and run a ballroom dance studio before relocating to New York City in 1943 where she worked as a radio actress, a gossip columnist, and a cashier at Saks Fifth Avenue. Near the turn of the decade she began an autobiographical novel.
Brooks and her work began to be rediscovered in the 1950s, first by European film scholars such as Henri Langlois and Lotte Eisner, and then by James Card, film curator at the George Eastman House in Rochester, New York. Card encouraged Louise to relocate in 1956 in order to conduct research and view the many rare and classic films at the Eastman. She took his advice and eventually wrote and published well-received articles about her life and associates in the film industry. This career reached its apex in 1982 when her memoir Lulu in Hollywood was published to considerable critical acclaim and earned Louise a new popular fan base. Following a long struggle with arthritis and emphysema, Brooks died in Rochester on August 8, 1985.
Detailed Description: Series Listing
| Series 1 | Box 1-Box 5 FF 22, Box 20, Box 21, OS 1-3 | Papers of Louise Brooks. This series contains records relating to her personal life and professional history. Material is divided into six subseries. |
| Subseries 1.1 | Box 1 | Diaries and Address Books. This subseries contains diaries and address books kept by Brooks, 1921-1985. Material is arranged chronologically by type. |
| Subseries 1.2 | Box 2 FF 1-81 | Correspondence. This subseries consists of photocopied and original correspondence between Brooks and her relatives and associates, 1900-1985. Letters from Louise (Box 2 FF 1-28) precede those sent to her (Box 2 FF 29-81). Material is arranged alphabetically by last name or business name. |
| Subseries 1.3 | Box 2 FF 82-Box 3 FF 8 | Personal. This subseries contains Brooks' financial, medical, and legal records, identification cards, and lease agreements and correspondence pertaining to her Rochester apartment, 1928-1985. Also present are records on her professional history and family genealogy. Material is arranged by subject. |
| Subseries 1.4 | Box 3 FF 9-Box 4 FF 34 | Writings. This subseries is divided into four categories, 1940-1980s, n.d. Manuscripts (Box 3 FF 9-34) contains drafts of articles written by Brooks; material is arranged alphabetically. Notebooks (Box 3 FF 35-47) includes photocopies of her research notebooks; topics include film history, literature, religion, contemporary events, and personal matters. Items are arranged chronologically according to Brooks' use of the alphabet; there are no notebooks for the letters "I" and "O." Research Packets (Box 4 FF 1-16) consists of news clippings, articles, notes, and correspondence; Brooks used the information from these items in her articles. Material is arranged by the subject's last name. Published Works (Box 4 FF 17-35) includes originals and photocopies of Brooks' writings which appeared in print. Material is largely arranged alphabetically. |
| Subseries 1.5 | Box 5 FF 1-8, Box 20 FF 1-2, OS 1 | Images and Artwork. This subseries contains photographs, postcards, reproduction prints, and negatives featuring Brooks, her family, and her associates. Also present is an original oil painting by Louise of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, some print reproductions of this and other artwork, and Dixie Dugan comic strips (Brooks served as the inspiration). |
| Subseries 1.6 | Box 5 FF 9-22, Box 20 FF 3-5, Box 21, OS 2-3 | Press Material and Ephemera. This subseries primarily consists of original and photocopied newspaper and magazine items on Brooks, Lulu in Hollywood, and related topics, 1910s-1985. Also included is Louise's scrapbook of clippings on early 20th century dance, ephemera relating to film festivals, and audiotapes of Kenneth Tynan's interviews with Brooks for his famous 1979 New Yorker profile, "The Girl in the Black Helmet." All content on the audiotapes has been reformatted to CD. |
| Series 2 | Box 5 FF 23-Box 6 FF 15 | Estate of Louise Brooks. This series contains material relating to the administration of her estate and related matters, 1985-1995. It is divided into two subseries. |
| Subseries 2.1 | Box 5 FF 23-Box 6 FF 9 | Correspondence. This subseries consists of requests from estate co-executor Benjamin Phelosof to Louise's associates for copies of her letters; also present is correspondence and attached financial data concerning the administration of the estate, 1985-1995. Letters to Brooks' associates precede those regarding the estate; the former set is arranged alphabetically by the associate's last name while the latter is chronological. |
| Subseries 2.2 | Box 6 FF 10-15 | Barry Paris. This subseries contains research material Paris donated to the Estate while composing his biography on Brooks. Included is correspondence from Paris and transcriptions of his interviews with Louise's relatives, acquaintances, and associates from her days as a dancer and actress. Also present is material regarding the Estate's arbitration claim against Paris. Items are largely arranged by date of donation. |
| Series 3 | Box 6 FF 16-Box 19 | Personal Library. This series consists of books and publications owned by Brooks. Included are literary works; histories on film, dance, and art; foreign language dictionaries and grammars; works of philosophy and religion; art catalogs; and general reference books. Material is arranged alphabetically by title with English translations following foreign titles; authors and translators are also noted when known. Some items contain Brooks' annotations and commentary regarding what she read. |
Detailed Description: Box and Folder Listing
Series 1 ‒ Papers of Louise Brooks
Subseries 1.1 ‒ Diaries and Address Books
| Box 1 | FF 1 | Diaries, 1921 and 1923 |
| Box 1 | FF 2 | Diaries, 1923-1926 |
| Box 1 | FF 3 | Diaries, 1927-1929 |
| Box 1 | FF 4 | Diaries, 1931-1935 |
| Box 1 | FF 5 | Diaries, 1936-1941 |
| Box 1 | FF 6 | Diaries, 1942-1953 |
| Box 1 | FF 7 | Diaries, 1954-1958 |
| Box 1 | FF 8 | Diaries, 1959-1962 |
| Box 1 | FF 9 | Diaries, 1963-1966 |
| Box 1 | FF 10 | Diaries, 1967-1969 |
| Box 1 | FF 11 | Diaries, 1970-1973 |
| Box 1 | FF 12 | Diaries, 1974-1975 |
| Box 1 | FF 13 | Diaries, 1976-1978, 1980 |
| Box 1 | FF 14 | Diaries, 1981-1982 |
| Box 1 | FF 15 | Diaries, 1983-1984 |
| Box 1 | FF 16 | Diaries, 1984-1985 |
| Box 1 | FF 17 | Notes by Brooks regarding her diaries, c. late 1970s |
| Box 1 | FF 18 | Address books, 1924-1927, 1926 |
| Box 1 | FF 19 | Address books, 1934, 1943, 1954, c. 1950s |
| Box 1 | FF 20 | Address books, 1964, 1970, 1978, 1980s |
Subseries 1.2 ‒ Correspondence
From Brooks
| Box 2 | FF 1 | Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1979-1983 |
| Box 2 | FF 2 | Brooks family, 1961-1962, 1976, 1983 |
| Box 2 | FF 3 | John Bradshaw, 1980 |
| Box 2 | FF 4 | Eva Calvert, 1967-1968 |
| Box 2 | FF 5 | Henry Clune, 1979 |
| Box 2 | FF 6 | Guido Crepax, 1976 |
| Box 2 | FF 7 | Fitzroy Davis, 1966, 1968 |
| Box 2 | FF 8 | Eastman House, 1979 |
| Box 2 | FF 9 | Lotte Eisner, 1959-1982, n.d. |
| Box 2 | FF 10 | William Everson, 1968, 1985 |
| Box 2 | FF 11 | Pauline Kael, 1962, 1968 |
| Box 2 | FF 12 | John Kobal, 1977-1978 |
| Box 2 | FF 13 | Robert Lantz, 1982-1983 |
| Box 2 | FF 14 | Richard Leacock, 1973-1983 |
| Box 2 | FF 15 | Fraser Macdonald, 1963-1983 |
| Box 2 | FF 16 | George Pratt, 1959-1974 |
| Box 2 | FF 17 | William Shawn, 1979, 1984 |
| Box 2 | FF 18 | Sight & Sound, 1958-1973 |
| Box 2 | FF 19 | Marc Sorkin, 1966, 1979 |
| Box 2 | FF 20 | Marcella "Tot" Stricker, 1952 |
| Box 2 | FF 21 | Fritzi Streibel, 1972 |
| Box 2 | FF 22 | Tom Tarnowsky, 1980 |
| Box 2 | FF 23 | Kathleen Tynan, 1978-1983 |
| Box 2 | FF 24 | Kenneth Tynan, 1978-1980 |
| Box 2 | FF 25 | Jan Wahl, 1961, 1964 |
| Box 2 | FF 26 | Herman Weinberg, 1966-1978 |
| Box 2 | FF 27 | Douglas Wilson, 1968 |
| Box 2 | FF 28 | Lothar "Woofie" Wolff, 1977 |
To Brooks
| Box 2 | FF 29 | Alfred A. Knopf, 1978-1982 |
| Box 2 | FF 30 | American Federation of Radio Artists, 1944 |
| Box 2 | FF 31 | William Boggess, 1982 |
| Box 2 | FF 32 | Brooks family, 1913-1985 |
| Box 2 | FF 33 | Jon Bradshaw, 1980 |
| Box 2 | FF 34 | Eva Calvert, 1952-1953, 1968, n.d. |
| Box 2 | FF 35 | Pryor Campbell, 1952 |
| Box 2 | FF 36 | Gloria Vanderbilt Cooper, 1982 |
| Box 2 | FF 37 | Guido Crepax, 1975-1977 |
| Box 2 | FF 38 | Eastman House, 1963, 1979-1984 |
| Box 2 | FF 39 | Lotte Eisner, 1967, 1972. 1981, 1984 |
| Box 2 | FF 40 | William Everson, 1982 |
| Box 2 | FF 41 | Jack Garner, 1984 |
| Box 2 | FF 42 | Mike Hall, 1969 |
| Box 2 | FF 43 | Don Harman, 1984 |
| Box 2 | FF 44 | Sebby Wilson Jacobson, 1984-1985 |
| Box 2 | FF 45 | René Kalfon, 1981 |
| Box 2 | FF 46 | John Kobal, 1977-1984, n.d. |
| Box 2 | FF 47 | Richard Koszarski, 1979, 1982 |
| Box 2 | FF 48 | Richard Lamparski, 1982 |
| Box 2 | FF 49 | The Lantz Office, 1979-1985 |
| Box 2 | FF 50 | Richard Leacock, 1973-1974. A transcript of his 1974 interview with Brooks is also included. |
| Box 2 | FF 51 | Little Balkans Press, 1982 |
| Box 2 | FF 52 | London Film Festival, 1980 |
| Box 2 | FF 53 | Anita Loos, 1965 |
| Box 2 | FF 54 | Fraser Macdonald, 1963-1982 |
| Box 2 | FF 55 | Denis Marion, 1967 |
| Box 2 | FF 56 | Jean-Yves Mock, 1982 |
| Box 2 | FF 57 | Motion Picture House and Lodge, 1982 |
| Box 2 | FF 58 | Museum of Modern Art, 1976, 1981 |
| Box 2 | FF 59 | Katherine Pancol, 1983-1984 |
| Box 2 | FF 60 | Benjamin Phelosof, 1980, 1982 |
| Box 2 | FF 61 | George Pratt, 1974, 1984 |
| Box 2 | FF 62 | Reid Rosefelt Publicity, 1983-1984 |
| Box 2 | FF 63 | John Rogers, 1952 |
| Box 2 | FF 64 | Saks Fifth Avenue, 1948 |
| Box 2 | FF 65 | William Shawn, 1979 |
| Box 2 | FF 66 | Jane Sherman, 1979 |
| Box 2 | FF 67 | Jean-Pierre Sicre, 1979 |
| Box 2 | FF 68 | Sight & Sound, 1964 |
| Box 2 | FF 69 | Liz Smith, 1982 |
| Box 2 | FF 70 | John Springer, 1982, 1984 |
| Box 2 | FF 71 | Edward Steichen, 1966 |
| Box 2 | FF 72 | Fritzi Streibel, 1966, 1972, 1984 |
| Box 2 | FF 73 | Marcella "Tot" Stricker, 1952 |
| Box 2 | FF 74 | Kenneth and Kathleen Tynan, 1978-1983 |
| Box 2 | FF 75 | Jim Watters, 1984-1985, n.d. |
| Box 2 | FF 76 | Herman Weinberg, 1978, 1983 |
| Box 2 | FF 77 | Jay Winston, 1932 |
| Box 2 | FF 78 | Lothar "Woofie" Wolff, 1982 |
| Box 2 | FF 79 | Other letters to Brooks, 1930s-1950s |
| Box 2 | FF 80 | Correspondence about Brooks, 1979-1985 |
| Box 2 | FF 81 | Correspondence concerning copyrighted articles by Brooks, 1977-1979 |
Subseries 1.3 ‒ Personal
| Box 2 | FF 82 | Apartment information, 1962-1984 |
| Box 2 | FF 83 | Bank statements, 1981-1985 |
| Box 2 | FF 84 | Checking account, 1978-1985 |
| Box 3 | FF 1 | Divorce records, 1928-1929, 1938, 1953-1954, 1967 |
| Box 3 | FF 2 | Expenses, 1981-1983 |
| Box 3 | FF 3 | Medical, 1955, 1971, 1980-1985 |
| Box 3 | FF 4 | Savings accounts, 1962-1985 |
| Box 3 | FF 5 | Taxes, 1981-1985 |
| Box 3 | FF 6 | Vital records, ID/membership cards, and wallet, 1925-1985 |
| Box 3 | FF 7 | Will of Louise Brooks, 1983, 1985 |
| Box 3 | FF 8 | Biographical and family history, 1958, 1979, 1983, n.d. |
Subseries 1.4 ‒ Writings
Manuscripts
| Box 3 | FF 9 | "Actors and the Pabst Spirit," 1971 |
| Box 3 | FF 10 | "Autobiography," 1979. |
| Box 3 | FF 11 | "Buster Keaton," 1966 |
| Box 3 | FF 12 | "Charlie Chaplin Remembered," 1966 |
| Box 3 | FF 13 | "Duke by Divine Right," 1972 |
| Box 3 | FF 14 | "Family History," 1976 |
| Box 3 | FF 15 | "Filmography ‒ Positive and Negative," 1963 |
| Box 3 | FF 16 | "Gish and Garbo ‒ The Executive War on Stars," 1958-1959 |
| Box 3 | FF 17 | "Gloria Swanson," 1957 |
| Box 3 | FF 18 | "Humphrey and Bogey," 1966 |
| Box 3 | FF 19 | "Kansas to New York," 1979 |
| Box 3 | FF 20 | "Louise Brooks to Patrice Horvald," 1969 |
| Box 3 | FF 21 | "Marion Davies' Niece," 1973-1974 (folder 1 of 2) |
| Box 3 | FF 22 | "Marion Davies' Niece," 1973-1974 (folder 2 of 2) |
| Box 3 | FF 23 | "Marlene," 1977 |
| Box 3 | FF 24 | "My Work with Mr. Pabst," 1963 |
| Box 3 | FF 25 | "Notes on the White Hell of Piz Palu," 1968 |
| Box 3 | FF 26 | "On Location with Billy Wellman," 1967 (folder 1 of 3) |
| Box 3 | FF 27 | "On Location with Billy Wellman," 1967 (folder 2 of 3) |
| Box 3 | FF 28 | "On Location with Billy Wellman," 1967 (folder 3 of 3) |
| Box 3 | FF 29 | "The Other Face of W. C. Fields," 1970 (folder 1 of 2) |
| Box 3 | FF 30 | "The Other Face of W. C. Fields," 1970 (folder 2 of 2) |
| Box 3 | FF 31 | "Pabst and Lulu," 1965 |
| Box 3 | FF 32 | "Stardom and Evelyn Brent," 1974 |
| Box 3 | FF 33 | "Why I Will Never Write My Memoirs," 1977 |
| Box 3 | FF 34 | "Zasu Pitts Diffused," 1963 |
Notebooks
| Box 3 | FF 35 | Notebooks A-D, 1956-1957 |
| Box 3 | FF 36 | Notebooks E-H, 1958-1959 |
| Box 3 | FF 37 | Notebooks J-M, 1959-1961 |
| Box 3 | FF 38 | Notebooks N-Q, 1960-1962 |
| Box 3 | FF 39 | Notebooks R-T, 1963-1964 |
| Box 3 | FF 40 | Notebook U, 1965-1966 |
| Box 3 | FF 41 | Notebooks V-W, 1966-1969 |
| Box 3 | FF 42 | Notebooks X-Y, 1969-1971 |
| Box 3 | FF 43 | Notebook Z, 1972-1973 |
| Box 3 | FF 44 | Notebook AA, 1974-1977 |
| Box 3 | FF 45 | Notebook AB, 1977-1979 |
| Box 3 | FF 46 | Brooks' notes on her notebooks, 1979 |
| Box 3 | FF 47 | Notebook, n.d. |
Research Packets
| Box 4 | FF 1 | Humphrey Bogart, 1960s, n.d. |
| Box 4 | FF 2 | Clara Bow, 1950s-1970s |
| Box 4 | FF 3 | Louise Brooks, 1950s-1980s, n.d. |
| Box 4 | FF 4 | Charlie Chaplin, 1972 |
| Box 4 | FF 5 | Grant Clarke, 1970s |
| Box 4 | FF 6 | W. C. Fields, 1960s-1970s |
| Box 4 | FF 7 | Greta Garbo, 1970s |
| Box 4 | FF 8 | Augusto Genina, 1970s |
| Box 4 | FF 9 | Edmund and Marjorie Goulding, 1959-1970s |
| Box 4 | FF 10 | Pepi Lederer, 1970s |
| Box 4 | FF 11 | George Marshall, 1960s-1970s |
| Box 4 | FF 12 | G. W. Pabst (folder 1 of 2), 1950s-1970s |
| Box 4 | FF 13 | G. W. Pabst (folder 2 of 2), 1950s-1970s |
| Box 4 | FF 14 | Malcolm St. Clair, 1950s-1970s |
| Box 4 | FF 15 | William Wellman, 1950s-1970s |
| Box 4 | FF 16 | Other, 1950s-1970s, n.d. |
Published Works
| Box 4 | FF 17 | "Actors and the Pabst Spirit," Focus on Film, 1971 |
| Box 4 | FF 18 | "Bogey ‒ 'My Gun is Bigger Than Yours,'" New York Post, June 15, 1982. This photocopied extract is from the chapter on Bogart in Lulu in Hollywood. |
| Box 4 | FF 19 | "Buster Keaton," Double Exposure by Roddy McDowell, 1966. |
| Box 4 | FF 20 | "Charlie Chaplin Remembered," Film Culture, 1966 |
| Box 4 | FF 21 | The Fundamentals of Good Ballroom Dancing, 1940 |
| Box 4 | FF 22 | "Gish and Garbo: The Executive War on the Stars," Sight & Sound, Winter 1958-59 |
| Box 4 | FF 23 | "Humphrey and Bogey," Sight & Sound, Winter 1966-67 |
| Box 4 | FF 24 | Lulu in Hollywood (hardback), 1982 |
| Box 4 | FF 25 | Lulu in Hollywood (paperback), 1982 |
| Box 4 | FF 26 | Lulu en Hollywood (two copies of Spanish edition), 1984 |
| Box 4 | FF 27 | "Marion Davies' Niece," Film Culture, 1974 |
| Box 4 | FF 28 | "Mr. Pabst," Image, 1956 |
| Box 4 | FF 29 | "On Location with Billy Wellman," London Magazine, 1968 |
| Box 4 | FF 30 | "The Other Side of W. C. Fields," Sight & Sound, Spring 1971 |
| Box 4 | FF 31 | "Pabst and Lulu," Sight & Sound, Summer 1965 |
| Box 4 | FF 32 | "The Transformation of Bogey," New York Post, June 14, 1982. This photocopied extract is from the chapter on Bogart in Lulu in Hollywood. |
| Box 4 | FF 33 | "Why I Will Never Write My Memoirs," Focus on Film, 1978 |
| Box 4 | FF 34 | Notebook containing photocopies of articles by and about Brooks, n.d. |
Subseries 1.5 ‒ Images and Artwork
| Box 20 | FF 1 | Artwork and reproductions, 1954, 1970, n.d. |
| Map case | OS 1 | Dixie Dugan comic strips, c. 1930s, n.d. |
| Box 5 | FF 1 | Negatives, 1930, 1967, 1975, n.d. |
| Box 5 | FF 2 | Photos given to Brooks by Ruth Huddleson, 1910s, 1952 |
| Box 5 | FF 3 | Photos of Brooks and associates, late 1920s-early 1930s, late 1950s-1970s |
| Box 5 | FF 4 | Photos of Brooks and family, 1910s-1970s |
| Box 5 | FF 5 | Postcards of Brooks from Lamparski's "Hello from Hollywood" series, 1980 |
| Box 5 | FF 6 | Postcards and prints of Brooks and others, 1980-1981, n.d. |
| Box 5 | FF 7 | Publicity and movie stills, 1920s, 1930s, 1970, n.d. |
| Box 20 | FF 2 | Publicity and movie stills (oversized), 1982 |
| Box 5 | FF 8 | Scrapbook of family and personal photos, 1910s-1970s |
Subseries 1.6 ‒ Press Material and Ephemera
| Box 5 | FF 9 | News items on Brooks, 1920s-1960s |
| Box 5 | FF 10 | News items on Brooks, 1970s |
| Box 20 | FF 3 | News items on Brooks, 1970s-1980s |
| Map case | OS 2 | News items on Brooks, 1970s-1980s |
| Box 5 | FF 11 | New Yorker (contains Tynan's profile on Brooks), June 11, 1979 |
| Box 5 | FF 12 | Typescript of Tynan's "The Girl with the Black Helmet," 1979 |
| Box 5 | FF 13 | Audiotapes 1-3 and CD # 1 of the Tynan/Brooks interview, 1978, 2017 |
| Box 5 | FF 14 | Audiotapes 4-6 and CD # 2 of the Tynan/Brooks interview, 1978, 2017 |
| Box 5 | FF 15 | News items on Brooks (folder 1 of 2), 1980s |
| Box 5 | FF 16 | News items on Brooks (folder 2 of 2), 1980s |
| Box 5 | FF 17 | News items on Brooks, n.d. |
| Box 5 | FF 18 | News items on Lulu in Hollywood, 1982 |
| Box 5 | FF 19 | Film festival notices, programs, and brochures, 1960s-1982, n.d. |
| Map case | OS 3 | Film festival programs and posters, 1970s, n.d. |
| Box 5 | FF 20 | News items on Anita Loos and Brooks, 1972-1984 |
| Box 20 | FF 4 | News items on Kenneth Tynan, 1979-1980 |
| Box 5 | FF 21 | Reviews of Kenneth Tynan's Show People, 1979-1980 |
| Box 21 | FF 1 | Scrapbook of clippings on dance, 1919-1921 |
| Box 5 | FF 22 | Other, 1942-1983 |
Series 2 ‒ Estate of Louise Brooks
Subseries 2.1 ‒ Correspondence
Requests for Brooks' letters
| Box 5 | FF 23 | John F. Beck, 1986 |
| Box 5 | FF 24 | Robert Benayoun, 1986 |
| Box 5 | FF 25 | Freddy Buache, 1986 |
| Box 5 | FF 26 | Rev. Paul Burkort, 1986 |
| Box 5 | FF 27 | Cinémathèque Française, 1986 |
| Box 5 | FF 28 | Henry Clune, 1986 |
| Box 5 | FF 29 | Gary Conklin, 1986 |
| Box 5 | FF 30 | Estate of Lotte Eisner, 1986 |
| Box 5 | FF 31 | William Everson, 1986 |
| Box 5 | FF 32 | Allen Eyles, 1986 |
| Box 5 | FF 33 | Lillian Gish, 1986 |
| Box 5 | FF 34 | Robert Gottlieb, 1986 |
| Box 5 | FF 35 | Adolph Green, 1986 |
| Box 5 | FF 36 | Estate of Christopher Isherwood, 1986 |
| Box 5 | FF 37 | Roland Jaccard, 1986 |
| Box 5 | FF 38 | Pauline Kael, 1986 |
| Box 5 | FF 39 | Richard Leacock, 1986 |
| Box 5 | FF 40 | Jonas Mekas, 1986 |
| Box 5 | FF 41 | George Pratt, 1986 |
| Box 5 | FF 42 | Richard Roud, 1986 |
| Box 5 | FF 43 | Sight & Sound, 1986 |
| Box 5 | FF 44 | Estate of Marc Sorkin, 1986-1992 |
| Box 5 | FF 45 | Kathleen Tynan, 1987-1989 |
| Box 5 | FF 46 | Estate of Herman Weinberg, 1986, 1988 |
Estate of Louise Brooks
| Box 5 | FF 47 | Correspondence, 1985 |
| Box 6 | FF 1 | Correspondence, 1986 |
| Box 6 | FF 2 | Correspondence, 1987 |
| Box 6 | FF 3 | Correspondence, 1988 |
| Box 6 | FF 4 | Correspondence, 1989 |
| Box 6 | FF 5 | Correspondence, 1990 |
| Box 6 | FF 6 | Correspondence, 1991 |
| Box 6 | FF 7 | Correspondence, 1992 |
| Box 6 | FF 8 | Correspondence, 1993 |
| Box 6 | FF 9 | Correspondence, 1994-1995 |
Subseries 2.2 ‒ Barry Paris
| Box 6 | FF 10 | Donated material, August 15, 1987 |
| Box 6 | FF 11 | Donated material, March 30, 1988 |
| Box 6 | FF 12 | Donated material, August 4, 1988 |
| Box 6 | FF 13 | Donated material, May 25, 1989 |
| Box 6 | FF 14 | Donated material, June 5, 1989 |
| Box 6 | FF 15 | Arbitration records, 1994-1995 |
Series 3 ‒ Personal Library
| Box 6 | FF 16 | 6 Plays by Henrik Ibsen, trans. Eva Le Gallienne, 1957 |
| Box 6 | FF 17 | 150 ans de peinture au Japon [150 years of painting in Japan], 1962 |
| Box 6 | FF 18 | 1957 Yearbook of Motion Pictures, 1957 |
| Box 6 | FF 19 | American College Dictionary, 1948 |
| Box 6 | FF 20 | Apologia Pro Sua Vita [A Defense of One's Own Life] by John Henry Cardinal Newman, 1950 |
| Box 7 | FF 1 | Art Chinois I and Art Chinois III by Jean A. Keim, 1961 |
| Box 7 | FF 2 | Ascent of Mount Carmel by St. John of the Cross, trans. E. Allison Peers, 1958 |
| Box 7 | FF 3 | The Autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila, trans. E. Allison Peers, 1960 |
| Box 7 | FF 4 | Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, trans. Ronald Knox, 1958 |
| Box 7 | FF 5 | Balanchine by Bernard Taper, 1963 |
| Box 7 | FF 6 | Barcelona by Jaime Miravell, trans. John Forrester, 1956 |
| Box 7 | FF 7 | Berlitz Basic French Dictionary, 1957 |
| Box 7 | FF 8 | Berlitz Basic Spanish Dictionary, 1957 |
| Box 7 | FF 9 | The Best and the Brightest by David Halberstam, 1972 |
| Box 7 | FF 10 | Betty Crocker New Picture Cookbook, 1961 |
| Box 7 | FF 11 | Bloomsbury: A House of Lions by Leon Edel, 1979 |
| Box 7 | FF 12 | Bulletin of the New York Public Library, February 1962 |
| Box 7 | FF 13 | The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, trans. Nevil Coghill, 1952 |
| Box 8 | FF 1 | The Castle by Franz Kafka, trans. Willa and Edwin Muir, 1954 |
| Box 8 | FF 2 | A Catholic Dictionary, ed. Donald Attwater, 1952 |
| Box 8 | FF 3 | Chronicles of the American Dance, ed. Paul Magriel, 1948 |
| Box 8 | FF 4 | Colette by Michèle Sarde, trans. Richard Miller, 1978 |
| Box 8 | FF 5 | The Collected Works of Bernard Shaw, Volume XXIX: Pen Portraits and Reviews by George Bernard Shaw, 1932 |
| Box 8 | FF 6 | The Complete Original Illustrated Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle, 1976 |
| Box 8 | FF 7 | The Complete Works of Shakespeare, ed. W. J. Craig, 1930 |
| Box 8 | FF 8 | The Consumer's Guide to Nursing Homes in Monroe County, c. late 1970s |
| Box 8 | FF 9 | The Cossacks and The Raid by Leo Tolstoy, trans. Andrew R. MacAndrew, 1961 |
| Box 8 | FF 10 | Creative Evolution by Henri Bergson, trans. Arthur Mitchell, 1944 |
| Box 9 | FF 1 | Curtains by Kenneth Tynan, 1961 |
| Box 9 | FF 2 | Death in Venice and Seven Other Stories by Thomas Mann, trans. H. T. Lowe-Porter, 1936 |
| Box 9 | FF 3 | The Death of Ivan Ilych and Other Stories by Leo Tolstoy, trans. J. D. Duff and Aylmer Maude, 1960 |
| Box 9 | FF 4 | Degas, ed. Fernand Nathan, 1961 |
| Box 9 | FF 5 | Doors by Val Clery, 1978 |
| Box 9 | FF 6 | The Dorothy Parker Murder Case by George Baxt, 1984 |
| Box 9 | FF 7 | Duveen by S. N. Behrman, 1972 |
| Box 9 | FF 8 | Earthly Paradise: An Autobiography of Colette by Robert Phelps, 1966 |
| Box 9 | FF 9 | The Educational Irish-English Pronouncing Dictionary by Seamus O' Duirinne and Padraig O' Dalaigh, c. 1900 |
| Box 9 | FF 10 | Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White, 1959 |
| Box 9 | FF 11 | Elizabeth the Great by Elizabeth Jenkins, 1958 |
| Box 9 | FF 12 | An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Volume 1 by John Locke, 1812 |
| Box 9 | FF 13 | An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Volume 2 by John Locke, 1812 |
| Box 10 | FF 1 | Essayes of Montaigne, trans. John Florio, n.d. |
| Box 10 | FF 2 | Everybody's Political What's What? by George Bernard Shaw, 1944 |
| Box 10 | FF 3 | Fables and Fairy Tales by Leo Tolstoy, trans. Ann Dunnigan, 1962 |
| Box 10 | FF 4 | A First Greek Reader with Vocabulary and Notes by Charles M. Moss, 1890 |
| Box 10 | FF 5 | Galerie Michael Pabst Katalog No. 9 and No. 10, n.d. |
| Box 10 | FF 6 | A German and English Dictionary, ed. Karl Bruel, 1909 |
| Box 10 | FF 7 | A Girl Like I by Anita Loos, 1966 |
| Box 10 | FF 8 | Goethe on Art, ed. and trans. John Gage, 1981 |
| Box 10 | FF 9 | Harper's English Grammar by John P. Opdycke, 1941 |
| Box 10 | FF 10 | Here at the New Yorker by Brendan Gill, 1975 |
| Box 10 | FF 11 | H. L. Mencken: A Portrait from Memory by Charles Angoff, 1956 |
| Box 11 | FF 1 | Holy Bible (King James Version), n.d. |
| Box 11 | FF 2 | Holy Bible (New American Catholic Edition), 1952 |
| Box 11 | FF 3 | Hugging the Shore by John Updike, 1983 |
| Box 11 | FF 4 | In Defense of Women by H. L. Mencken, 1922 |
| Box 11 | FF 5 | Isadora Duncan: Pioneer in the Art of Dance by Irma Duncan, 1959 |
| Box 11 | FF 6 | Janet Flanner's World: Uncollected Writings 1932-1975, ed. Irving Drutman, 1979 |
| Box 11 | FF 7 | Japanese Art IV: Colour Prints by Alain Lemière, 1958 |
| Box 11 | FF 8 | Japanese Netsuke by Werner Forman, trans. Iris Urwin, 1960 |
| Box 11 | FF 9 | Johnsonian Miscellanies, Volume I, ed. George Birkbeck Hill, 1887 |
| Box 11 | FF 10 | Johnsonian Miscellanies, Volume 2, ed. George Birkbeck Hill, 1887 |
| Box 12 | FF 1 | La Gravure Sur Bois Japonaise [Japanese woodcuts] by Lubor Hajek and Werner Forman, 1958 |
| Box 12 | FF 2 | L'Au-Dela Dans L'Art Japonais [The Afterlife in Japanese Art], 1963 |
| Box 12 | FF 3 | Letters and Memorials of Jane Welsh Carlyle, Volume 1, ed. James Anthony Froude, 1898 |
| Box 12 | FF 4 | Letters and Memorials of Jane Welsh Carlyle, Volume 2, ed. James Anthony Froude, 1898 |
| Box 12 | FF 5 | The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit, Volume 1 by Charles Dickens, 1897 |
| Box 12 | FF 6 | The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit, Volume 2 by Charles Dickens, 1897 |
| Box 12 | FF 7 | Lincoln Library of Essential Information, n.d. |
| Box 12 | FF 8 | Little English-French Dictionary by J. McLaughlin, n.d. |
| Box 12 | FF 9 | Lives of the English Poets, Volume 1 by Samuel Johnson, 1925 |
| Box 13 | FF 1 | Lives of the English Poets, Volume 2 by Samuel Johnson, 1925 |
| Box 13 | FF 2 | Living With Your Bronchitis and Emphysema by Theodore Berland and Gordon L. Snider, 1972 |
| Box 13 | FF 3 | Louise Brooks: Portrait d'une Anti-Star, ed. Roland Jaccard, 1977 |
| Box 13 | FF 4 | Marcel Proust, ed. Peter Quennell, 1971 |
| Box 13 | FF 5 | Martha Graham, ed. Karl Leabo, 1961 |
| Box 13 | FF 6 | Museo del Prado: Catálogo de Los Cuadros [The Prado Museum: Catalog of Paintings], 1952 |
| Box 13 | FF 7 | The Music Lovers' Almanac, eds. William Hendelson and Paul Zucker, 1943 |
| Box 13 | FF 8 | The Mystery Chef's Own Cook Book by John Macpherson, 1934 |
| Box 13 | FF 9 | The New Hostess of To-Day by Linda Hull Larned, 1914 |
| Box 13 | FF 10 | The New Practical French and English Dictionary, n.d. |
| Box 18 | FF 1 | Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens, c. 1850s |
| Box 14 | FF 1 | On Liberty, Representative Government, The Subjection of Women: Three Essays by John Stuart Mill, 1912 |
| Box 14 | FF 2 | On the Laws of Japanese Painting by Henry P. Bowie, 1951 |
| Box 14 | FF 3 | People in a Diary: A Memoir by S. N. Behrman, 1972 |
| Box 14 | FF 4 | The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan, 1894 |
| Box 14 | FF 5 | Pills That Don't Work by Sidney M. Wolfe et al., 1981 |
| Box 14 | FF 6 | The Poetical Works of Alfred Lord Tennyson, c. 1896 |
| Box 14 | FF 7 | Poetry and Truth from My Own Life, Volume 1 by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, trans. Minna Steele Smith, 1908 |
| Box 14 | FF 8 | Poetry and Truth from My Own Life, Volume 2 by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, trans. Minna Steele Smith, 1908 |
| Box 14 | FF 9 | Portraits of the Eighteenth Century, Historic and Literary by C. A. Sainte-Beuve, trans. Katherine Wormeley, 1904 |
| Box 14 | FF 10 | Portraits of the Seventeenth Century, Historic and Literary by C. A. Sainte-Beuve, trans. Katherine Wormeley, 1905 |
| Box 15 | FF 1 | The Practical Book of Chinaware by Harold Donaldson Eberlein and Roger Wearne Ramsdell, 1925 |
| Box 15 | FF 2 | The Professional Appearances of Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn: A Chronology and an Index of Dances 1906-1932 by Christina Schlundt, 1962 |
| Box 19 | FF 1 | Proposito Di Valentina, text by Francesco Casetti, illustrated by Guido Crepax,1975 |
| Box 15 | FF 3 | Proust and His World by William Samson, 1973 |
| Box 15 | FF 4 | Rand McNally Readers World Atlas, 1961 |
| Box 15 | FF 5 | Remembrance of Things Past, Volume 1 by Marcel Proust, trans. C. K. Scott Moncrieff, 1954 |
| Box 15 | FF 6 | Remembrance of Things Past, Volume 2 by Marcel Proust, trans. C. K. Scott Moncrieff, 1954 |
| Box 15 | FF 7 | Rudyard Kipling's Verse, Inclusive Edition by Rudyard Kipling, 1919 |
| Box 15 | FF 8 | Saints and Strangers by George F. Willison, 1945 |
| Box 15 | FF 9 | Samuel Palmer by Robert Melville, 1956 |
| Box 15 | FF 10 | Selected Novels of G. Bernard Shaw by George Bernard Shaw, 1946 |
| Box 16 | FF 1 | Selections and Essays by John Ruskin, ed. Frederick William Roe, 1918 |
| Box 16 | FF 2 | The Settlement Cookbook, ed. Mrs. Simon Kander, 1940 |
| Box 16 | FF 3 | The Signet-Hammond World Atlas, 1978 |
| Box 16 | FF 4 | Six Plays of Strindberg, trans. Elizabeth Sprigge, 1955 |
| Box 16 | FF 5 | Sixteen Self Sketches by George Bernard Shaw, 1949 |
| Box 16 | FF 6 | South Wind by Norman Douglas, 1965 |
| Box 16 | FF 7 | Spanish Painting: From the Catalan Fresco to El Greco by Jacques Lassaigne, trans. Stuart Gilbert, 1952 |
| Box 16 | FF 8 | Spanish Painting: From Velasquez to Picasso by Jacques Lassaigne, trans. Stuart Gilbert, 1952 |
| Box 16 | FF 9 | Teach Yourself Italian by Kathleen Speight, 1943 |
| Box 16 | FF 10 | Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray, n.d. |
| Box 16 | FF 11 | Varieties of Religious Experience by William James, n.d. |
| Box 17 | FF 1 | The Very Peculiar Tunnel by Jan Wahl, 1972 |
| Box 17 | FF 2 | The Way of Life According to Laotzu, trans. Witter Bynner, 1944 |
| Box 17 | FF 3 | Webster's Biographical Dictionary, 1964 |
| Box 18 | FF 2 | Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (3rd edition), 1927 |
| Box 17 | FF 4 | Webster's English Dictionary, 1972 |
| Box 17 | FF 5 | Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, 1951 |
| Box 17 | FF 6 | Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, 1972 |
| Box 17 | FF 7 | Where She Danced by Elizabeth Kendall, 1979 |
| Box 17 | FF 8 | Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship and Travels by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, trans. Thomas Carlyle, n.d. |
| Box 17 | FF 9 | Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, 1950 |