New York Public Library Acquires Gay Talese Archive

The New York Public Library has announced the acquisition of the professional and personal archive of journalist and bestselling author Gay Talese.

The collection documents more than 80 years of Talese’s life and career, from his earliest high school bylines to his most influential works of reportage including his groundbreaking Esquire article Frank Sinatra Has a Cold. The manuscripts, typescripts, thousands of research files, photographs, and intimate correspondence is expected to become available to the public in 2029.

"Few writers have shaped the world of journalism as profoundly as Gay Talese," said Brent Reidy, Andrew W. Mellon Director of the Research Libraries at The New York Public Library. "This archive will provide scholars, writers, journalists, and all of our patrons with an unparalleled opportunity to explore Talese’s journey and his enduring impact on American letters."

Highlights of the collection include:

• a dynamic, colorful outline for Frank Sinatra Has a Cold, breaking down the innovative scene-by-scene structure Talese used in his iconic write-around profile of the music legend in 1966
• interview notes on pocket cards handmade by Talese
• correspondence, including candid letters between Gay and his wife the influential publisher and editor Nan Talese, as well as Kurt Vonnegut, David Remnick, William and Rose Styron, Tom Wolfe, Nora Ephron, Philip Roth, and David Halberstam
• more than 50 years of calendars documenting Talese’s social circle, daily appointments, travel, and work schedule
• carefully collaged boxes and folders that Talese decorated with documents, photographs, and annotations