Description
The papers of Lee Shippey, writer and journalist for the LOS ANGELES TIMES (1923-1958),
include correspondence, poetry, published and unpublished manuscripts, lyrics,
scrapbooks, and newspaper clippings. The scrapbooks document his LOS ANGELES TIMES daily
column "Leeside o' L.A.," and his weekly column "The Seymour Family," as well as articles
and columns for San Diego area newspapers and from his two years in Mexico. The papers are arranged in five series: 1) BIOGRAPHICAL
MATERIALS, 2) CORRESPONDENCE, 3)
WRITINGS, 4) SCRAPBOOKS, and 5) NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS.
Background
Lee Shippey was born on February 26, 1884, in Memphis, Tennessee. The start of his career
in 1906 coincided with his accidental blinding; he dictated his first humor columns for
the KANSAS CITY STAR from his bed. Shippey never regained full sight and, unable to
enlist, became war correspondent for the newspaper during World War I. His story on the
end of the war in Verdun, France, attracted the attention of LOS ANGELES TIMES publisher
Harry Chandler.
Extent
3.25 linear feet
(5 archives boxes, 1 record carton and
2 oversize folders)
Availability
Collection is open for research