P. J. Capelotti Papers
University Archives and Special Collections
15 Lippitt Road
Kingston, RI 02881-2011
Tel:
401-874-4632
email:
archives@etal.uri.edu
Published in 2009
Collection Overview
Title: |
P. J. Capelotti Papers |
Date range: |
1941-2000, (bulk 1960-1984) |
Creator: |
Capelotti, P. J. (Peter Joseph), 1960- |
Extent: |
6 linear feet 7 box(es)
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Abstract: |
P. J. Capelotti was a student, writer, and naturalist. Of particular interest in this collection is Capelotti's correspondence with author Norman Mailer. Also included are family records, manuscripts of articles by Capelotti, and research materials for Capelotti's books. |
Language of materials: |
English |
Repository: |
University Archives and Special Collections
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Collection number: |
Mss. Gr. 45 |
Scope & content
This collection is arranged in four series. The first series, Personal Papers, contains Capelotti's family records and personal correspondence. The second series contains manuscripts of articles, essays, and four unpublished books, The Panacea Papers (1979), The Desert (1980), Coming of Age on the Third Planet (1981), and A Riff in Empire (1982). The third series contains Capelotti's notes and notebooks, and the final series, Correspondence, contains Capelotti's correspondence with novelist Norman Mailer, oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau, archaeologist Thor Heyerdahl, U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), Mailer researcher J. Michael Lennon, and hiker/explorer Eric Ryback, among others.
The papers were given as a restricted gift to the University of Rhode Island by Mr. Capelotti.
In November 2000 Dr. Capelloti sent draft copies and research materials for the book, The Svalbard Archipelago: American Military and Political Geographies of Spitsbergen and Other Norwegian Polar Territories, 1941-1950, edited and with an introduction by P.J. Capelotti, Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co., c2000. There is a copy of the book in Dinstinctive Collections Rare Books (call number G778 S83 2000). The materials were processed and added to the original collection in March 2001.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in four series:
- 1. Personal
- 2. Manuscripts
- 3. Notes and Notebooks
- 4. Correspondence
Biographical note
Peter Joseph Capelotti, freelance writer and director of The Great Northeast Expedition Company, Inc., attended the University of Rhode Island from September of 1978 to May of 1989, earning a B.A. in history (1983) and an M.A. in history (1989). During this time he wrote over eighty articles, 36 of them for the student magazine/newspaper The Great Swamp Gazette, 25 for The Providence Journal-Bulletin, 8 feature pieces (four of them cover stories) for The Rhode Island Alumni Quarterly, roughly a half dozen for the daily student newspaper The Good 5 Cent Cigar, one feature piece for The Narragansett Times, one political essay for The Boston Globe, and one for the Providence-based publication East Side-West Side. From the spring of 1981 to April of 1982 he was Managing Editor of The Great Swamp Gazette, which won Best Student Magazine in the Northeast Award from the Society of Professional Journalists in both of those years. In 1978 he chartered the non-profit organization, The Earth Research Organization, which subsequently became The Earth Research Group and, on October 1, 1984, The Great Northeast Expedition Company, Inc. It was under the umbrella of this group that he produced, wrote, and directed the 1984 documentary for television, The American Lieutenant and the War in the Air, in which he planned to combine the subject matter of his master's thesis on the history of five twentieth-century explorers with a cross-country flight in an FP-303 ultralight aeroplane. This expedition, from Calais, Maine to Key West, Florida, was planned for June of 1985.
In 1976 Capelotti became the youngest person ever to have hiked alone the 2,000-mile Georgia-to-Maine Appalachian Trail in a single season. Another trek, retracing the route of Lewis and Clark, scheduled for the summer of 1979 and featured on the cover of the Rhode Island Alumni Quarterly, was subsequently aborted for lack of funds.
Access & Use
Access to the collection: |
Open for research. |
Use of the materials: |
Terms governing use and reproduction: Photocopying and scanning of materials is a fee based service available in the repository and is allowed at the discretion of the Archivist when in compliance to the Unit's policy on copyright and publication. |
Preferred citation: |
P. J. Capelotti Papers, Mss. Gr. 45, University of Rhode Island Library. |
Contact information: |
University Archives and Special Collections 15 Lippitt Road Kingston, RI 02881-2011 Tel:
401-874-4632
email:
archives@etal.uri.edu
|
Administrative Information
ABOUT THE COLLECTION |
Acquisition: |
The papers were given as a restricted gift to the University of Rhode Island by Mr. Capelotti in the fall of 1984. |
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ABOUT THE FINDING AID |
Author: |
Finding aid prepared by P. J. Capelotti |
Encoding: |
Finding aid encoded by Hailie D. Posey
2009 July 28, updated by Mark Dionne on 2020 April 13 |
Descriptive rules: |
Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS) |
Additional Information
Inventory
Inventory
Series 1. Personal
Series I, Personal, consists of records from Patricia McMillan's (Peter Capelotti's mother) family; birth records and service records; photographs from Capelotti's grandfather's retirement from The Brockton Enterprize newspaper after forty years of service; clips of music written by Capelotti in high school from 1974-78; and general personal correspondence and notes from the spring of 1980. Most of these notes concern drawings and plans from an underwater archaeology expedition that was undertaken on the Nemasket River, a tributary of the Taunton River in Massachusetts, in August of 1980. There is also a letter from Harry 'Red' Caughron, director of athletics at Woodberry Forest Prep School in Virginia, to Patricia McMillan concerning Capelotti's aborted Lewis and Clark voyage.
Box 1, Folder 1 |
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Birth and Service Records (mother's side of family)
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1941, 1952 |
Box 1, Folder 2 |
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Photos: Grandfather's retirement
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1960 |
Box 1, Folder 3 |
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Music: sheet and original
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1974-1978 |
Box 1, Folder 4 |
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Correspondence and Notes
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1980 |
Series 2. Manuscripts
Series II, Manuscripts, consists of articles, essays, novels, and collections of essays in various stages of completion. The unpublished 1979 novel, The Panacea Papers, is perhaps most well documented, with four long-hand notebooks and the corrected manuscript mostly intact. Many of the early essays and articles were collected into a book, Coming of Age on the Third Planet, which was turned down by Bertha Klausner, the literary agent, in the summer of 1981.
Addendum
In November 2000, Dr. Capelloti sent draft copies and research materials for the book, The Svalbard Archipelago: American Military and Political Geographies of Spitsbergen and Other Norwegian Polar Territories, 1941-1950, edited and with an introduction by P.J. Capelotti, Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland & Co., c2000. There is a copy of the book in Distinctive Collections Rare Books, G778 S83 2000. The materials were processed and added to the original collection in March 2001.
Box 4a, Folder 19 |
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Spitsbergen: 1950 CIA Report
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1950 |
Box 4a, Folder 20 |
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Spitsbergen Report Original
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1942 |
Box 4a, Folder 21 |
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Svalbard Archipelago: Index Copy
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undated |
Box 4a, Folder 22 |
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Svalbard Intel Report 1942, Final Copy
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1942? |
Box 4a, Folder 23 |
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Svalbard Archipelago: Published Copy
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2000 |
Box 4a, Folder 24 |
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Svalbard Intel Report 1942, Outline
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1996 |
Box 2, Folder 1 |
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Panacea Papers, four notebooks, Summer
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1979 |
Box 2, Folder 2 |
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Panacea Papers, original Mss., Summer
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1979 |
Box 2, Folder 3 |
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Corollaries and Dissonances, essay for Honors Colloquium, Spring
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1980 |
Box 2, Folder 4 |
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"Tears of Joy," published essay, Spring
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1980 |
Box 2, Folder 5 |
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The Desert, essays & poetry (copy of Mss.)
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1980 Dec |
Box 3, Folder 6 |
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The Desert, unpublished collection of essays (original Mss.), Summer
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1980 |
Box 3, Folder 7 |
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Sailing Against; Aye, Calypso, Brockton St. of Mind, essays (copies of original Mss.), Fall
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1979 |
Box 3, Folder 8 |
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Between Freedom, essay (copy of Mss.)
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1980 Oct 29 |
Box 3, Folder 9 |
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Bond Issue #6, essays Providence Journal essay (published essays), Fall
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1980 |
Box 3, Folder 10 |
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"That Magnificent Man," published article (two copies), Summer
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1981 |
Box 3, Folder 11 |
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Coming of Age, collected essays (copy of Mss.), Summer
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1981 |
Box 3, Folder 12 |
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Coming of Age, collected essays (copy of Mss.), Summer
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1981 |
Box 3, Folder 13 |
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Coming of Age, collected essays (copy of Mss.), Summer
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1981 |
Box 4, Folder 14 |
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Mike Lennon; In Pursuit, published article (two copies), Fall
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1981 |
Box 4, Folder 15 |
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The Great Swamp Gazette: essay on whales, articles on Greenpeace, Black Studies
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1981 Dec |
Box 4, Folder 16 |
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The Good 5 Cent Gazette, parody of Good Cent Cigar, 4 copies
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1982 Apr |
Box 4, Folder 17 |
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A Riff in Empire, collected essays (original Mss.)
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1982 Nov-1982 Dec |
Box 4, Folder 18 |
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A Riff in Empire, collected essays (copy of Mss.), reviewed by J. M. Lennon
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1982 Nov-1982 Dec |
Series 3. Notes and Notebooks
Series III, Notes--Notebooks, consists of several 8 1/2-11" note pads, as well as many loose notes and memos, used by Dr. Capelotti during the years 1979-1982 for articles, essays, and interviews written in that period. The note pads also contain class notes, and random scribblings. One folder contains several "embargoed for delivery" speeches that were delivered at the 1980 Democratic Convention. These were given to Dr. Capelotti by his employer at that time, Richard Curtis of Curtis Liquors in Whitman, Massachusetts, who worked as a page for ABC News that summer. He got for Capelotti a note done in jest by ABC Correspondent Sam Donaldson, which reads "Good luck to a great novelist." There is also some correspondence from the Earth Research organization and letters from a brief time in the spring of 1980 when Capelotti served as coordinator of a Peace Studies program.
Box 4, Folder 1 |
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Aye, Calypso; Talisman; Armageddon; essay, short story and essay, six notebooks.
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1979 Dec, 1980 |
Box 4, Folder 2 |
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Raft notes, five notebooks
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1980-1981 |
Box 5, Folder 3 |
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Class notes, two notebooks, Spring
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1980 |
Box 5, Folder 4 |
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Underwater archaeology, one notebook, Spring
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1980 |
Box 5, Folder 5 |
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Peace Studies: Correspondence, Spring
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1980 |
Box 5, Folder 6 |
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Earth Research: Correspondence
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1980 Apr, 1981 Dec |
Box 5, Folder 7 |
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Pied Piper newsletter, four issues
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undated |
Box 5, Folder 8 |
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Speeches from Democratic National Convention
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1980 Aug |
Box 5, Folder 9 |
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Third Planet Adventures (proposed radio series)
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1980 |
Box 5, Folder 10 |
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Spring notebooks
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1980, 1981 |
Box 5, Folder 11 |
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Alan Wells tenure case, Fall
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1981 |
Box 5, Folder 12 |
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Notebook
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1981 Oct |
Box 5, Folder 13 |
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Test, The Great Gatsby
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1982 Mar 2 |
Box 5, Folder 14 |
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Old Man and the Sea, review
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1982 Apr 20 |
Box 5, Folder 15 |
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The Good 5 Cent Cigar with piece on The Great Swamp Gazette
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1982 Apr 22 |
Box 5, Folder 16 |
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New York Times, review of Mailer's Pieces and Pontifications
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1982 Jun 6 |
Series 4. Correspondence
Series (IV), Correspondence, consists of 29 letters predominated by fifteen letters from novelist Norman Mailer. After authoring an article about Mailer researcher Michael Lennon, Capelotti began a correspondence with Mailer that continues to this day. Mailer helped the unsuccessful effort to get A Riff in Empire published in 1983, and since that time has helped interest publishers in financing Capelotti's cross-country Ultralight expedition. Also included are seven letters from Lennon, and letters from archaeologist Thor Heyerdahl, oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau, and a letter written to Capelotti when he was thirteen by hiker/ explorer Eric Ryback. There is also a letter from Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy congratulating Capelotti on his trek on the Appalachian Trail. Box 6 contains the originals, and Box 7 a set of Xeroxed research copies.
Box 6, Folder 1 |
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Cousteau, Jacques-Yves
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1978 Sep 21 |
Box 6, Folder 2 |
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Epstein, Jason
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1984 Mar 20 |
Box 6, Folder 3 |
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Heyerdahl, Thor
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1978 May 8 |
Box 6, Folder 4 |
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Horner, Linda (Paramount Studios)
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1983 Nov 22 |
Box 6, Folder 5 |
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Kennedy, Sen. Edward
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1976 |
Box 6, Folder 6 |
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Lennon, J. Michael
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1982 Aug 25 |
Box 6, Folder 7 |
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Lennon, J. Michael
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1982 Sep 15 |
Box 6, Folder 8 |
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Lennon, J. Michael
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1983 Feb 11 |
Box 6, Folder 9 |
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Lennon, J. Michael
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1983 Mar 15 |
Box 6, Folder 10 |
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Lennon, J. Michael
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1983 Apr 28 |
Box 6, Folder 11 |
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Lennon, J. Michael
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1983 May 12 |
Box 6, Folder 12 |
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Lennon, J. Michael
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1983 Jun 2 |
Box 6, Folder 13 |
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Mailer, Norman
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1981 Aug 7 |
Box 6, Folder 14 |
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Mailer, Norman (to J.M. Lennon)
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1982 May 3 |
Box 6, Folder 15 |
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Mailer, Norman
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1982 Jun 15 |
Box 6, Folder 16 |
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Mailer, Norman
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1983 Jan 17 |
Box 6, Folder 17 |
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Mailer, Norman
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1983 Feb 8 |
Box 6, Folder 18 |
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Mailer, Norman
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1983 Mar 4 |
Box 6, Folder 19 |
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Mailer, Norman
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1983 Mar 15 |
Box 6, Folder 20 |
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Mailer, Norman
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1983 Apr 28 |
Box 6, Folder 21 |
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Mailer, Norman
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1983 Jul 25 |
Box 6, Folder 22 |
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Mailer, Norman
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1983 Nov 14 |
Box 6, Folder 23 |
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Mailer, Norman
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1983 Dec 21 |
Box 6, Folder 24 |
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Mailer, Norman
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1984 Feb 9 |
Box 6, Folder 25 |
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Mailer, Norman
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1984 Feb 27 |
Box 6, Folder 26 |
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Mailer, Norman
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1984 Mar 16 |
Box 6, Folder 27 |
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Mailer, Norman
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1984 Aug 7 |
Box 6, Folder 28 |
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Ryback, Eric
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1973 Feb 11 |
Box 6, Folder 29 |
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Spencer-Richards, Susan
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1980 Nov 12 |
Box 7 (xerox copies), Folder 30 |
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Cousteau, Jacques-Yves
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1978 Sep 21 |
Box 7, Folder 31 |
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Epstein, Jason
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1984 Mar 20 |
Box 7, Folder 32 |
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Heyerdahl, Thor
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1978 May 8 |
Box 7, Folder 33 |
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Horner, Linda (Paramount Studios)
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1983 Nov 22 |
Box 7, Folder 34 |
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Kennedy, Sen. Edward
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1976 |
Box 7, Folder 35 |
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Lennon, J. Michael
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1982 Aug 25 |
Box 7, Folder 36 |
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Lennon, J. Michael
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1982 Sep 15 |
Box 7, Folder 37 |
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Lennon, J. Michael
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1983 Feb 11 |
Box 7, Folder 38 |
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Lennon, J. Michael
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1983 Mar 15 |
Box 7, Folder 39 |
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Lennon, J. Michael
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1983 Apr 28 |
Box 7, Folder 40 |
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Lennon, J. Michael
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1983 May 12 |
Box 7, Folder 41 |
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Lennon, J. Michael
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1983 Jun 2 |
Box 7, Folder 42 |
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Mailer, Norman
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1981 Aug 7 |
Box 7, Folder 43 |
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Mailer, Norman (to J.M. Lennon)
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1982 May 3 |
Box 7, Folder 44 |
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Mailer, Norman
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1982 Jun 15 |
Box 7, Folder 45 |
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Mailer, Norman
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1983 Jan 17 |
Box 7, Folder 46 |
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Mailer, Norman
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1983 Feb 8 |
Box 7, Folder 47 |
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Mailer, Norman
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1983 Mar 4 |
Box 7, Folder 48 |
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Mailer, Norman
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1983 Mar 15 |
Box 7, Folder 49 |
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Mailer, Norman
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1983 Apr 28 |
Box 7, Folder 50 |
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Mailer, Norman
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1983 Jul 25 |
Box 7, Folder 51 |
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Mailer, Norman
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1983 Nov 14 |
Box 7, Folder 52 |
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Mailer, Norman
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1983 Dec 21 |
Box 7, Folder 53 |
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Mailer, Norman
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1984 Feb 9 |
Box 7, Folder 54 |
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Mailer, Norman
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1984 Feb 27 |
Box 7, Folder 55 |
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Mailer, Norman
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1984 Mar 16 |
Box 7, Folder 56 |
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Mailer, Norman
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1984 Aug 7 |
Box 7, Folder 57 |
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Ryback, Eric
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1973 Feb 11 |
Box 7, Folder 58 |
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Spencer-Richards, Susan
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1980 Nov 12 |