Finding Aid for the Jay Leyda Papers, 1925-1956

Processed by Yvonne Schroeder; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé
UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections
Manuscripts Division
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
URL: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/
© 1999
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Finding Aid for the Jay Leyda Papers, 1925-1956

Collection number: 460

UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections

Manuscripts Division



Los Angeles, CA

Contact Information

  • Manuscripts Division
  • UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections
  • Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
  • Box 951575
  • Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
  • Telephone: 310/825-4988 (10:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m., Pacific Time)
  • Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
  • URL: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/
Processed by:
Yvonne Schroeder, 1 July 1960
Encoded by:
Caroline Cubé
Text converted and initial container list EAD tagging by:
Apex Data Services
Online finding aid edited by:
Josh Fiala, August 2002
© 1999 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Descriptive Summary

Title: Jay Leyda Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1925-1956
Collection number: 460
Creator: Leyda, Jay, 1910-
Extent: 24 boxes (12 linear ft.)
Repository: University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Abstract: Jay Leyda (1910-1988) was a critic, filmmaker, author, editor and educator. Leyda also worked as a technical advisor on Russian subjects for Hollywood and taught at Yale, York University and New York University. The collection consists of manuscripts and page proofs with holographic corrections of Leyda's work relating to Herman Melville and Leyda's study The Melville Log, Sergei Eisenstein, Modest Mussorgsky, and Sergei Rachmaninoff.
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Language: English.

Administrative Information

Restrictions on Use and Reproduction

Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Restrictions on Access

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Advance notice required for access.

Additional Physical Form Available

A copy of the original version of this online finding aid is available at the UCLA Department of Special Collections for in-house consultation and may be obtained for a fee. Please contact:
  • Public Services Division
  • UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections
  • Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
  • Box 951575
  • Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
  • Telephone: 310/825-4988 (10:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m., Pacific Time)
  • Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu

Provenance/Source of Acquisition

Gift of Jay Leyda, 1948-1954.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Jay Leyda Papers (Collection 460). Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

UCLA Catalog Record ID

UCLA Catalog Record ID: 1973140 

Biography

Leyda was born February 12, 1910 in Detroit; studied filmmaking at State Film Institute, Moscow, with Sergei Eisenstein in 1933; critic, filmmaker, author, editor, educator; translated Eisenstein's theoretical works on cinema; wrote/edited critical studies/biographies of Melville, Dickenson, Mussorgsky, and Rachmaninoff; lifelong film historian and teacher of cinema; during 1940s was technical advisor on Russian subjects for Hollywood; in 1960s and 70s taught at Yale and York University, Toronto; was at New York University from 1973 until his death on February 15, 1988 of heart failure.

Scope and Content

Collection consists of manuscripts and page proofs with holographic corrections of Leyda's work relating to Herman Melville and Leyda's study The Melville Log, Sergei Eisenstein, Modest Mussorgsky, and Sergei Rachmaninoff. Also includes correspondence and ephemera regarding research for these books.

Organization and Arrangement

Arranged in the following series:
  1. Typescripts (Boxes 1-6, 11).
  2. Correspondence (Boxes 7-8).
  3. Notes (Boxes 9-10, 23-24).
  4. Ephemera (Boxes 12-13).
  5. The Melville Log (Boxes 14-22).

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Leyda, Jay, 1910- --Archives.
Eisenstein, Sergei, 1898-1948.
Melville, Herman, 1819-1891.
Mussorgsky, Modest Petrovich, 1839-1881.
Rachmaninoff, Sergei, 1873-1943.
Biographers--United States--Archival resources.


 

Typescripts

Box 1

The Film Sense.

Physical Description: 269 leaves. Typescript with extensive holograph corrections and annotations. Boxed in wine, cloth slipcase.

Scope and Content Note

By Sergei M. Eisenstein, edited and translated by Jay Leyda. Published by Harcourt, Brace & Company, New York, 1942.
Box 1

Film Form.

Physical Description: 288 leaves. Typescript with some holograph leaves and occasional corrections. Boxed in a green, cloth slipcase.

Scope and Content Note

By Sergei M. Eisenstein, edited and translated by Jay Leyda. Published by Harcourt, Brace & Company, 1949.
Box 2

Film Form.

Physical Description: 781 leaves. Typescript (mostly carbon) with infrequent corrections and much duplication of material. Envelope.
Box 3

Kino: a History of the Cinema in Russia from 1896 to the Present Day.

Physical Description: 489 leaves. Typescript (partly carbon) with extensive holograph corrections and inserts. In envelope.
Box 3

Kino...

Physical Description: Holograph. 1 envelope.

Scope and Content Note

Notes and research for this book.
Box 3

The Portable Melville.

Scope and Content Note

Page proofs. New York, Viking, 1952.
Box 4

The Complete Stories of Herman Melville.

Physical Description: 263 leaves. Typescript (carbon). All typescripts with holograph corrections. In envelope.

Scope and Content Note

Edited, with an introduction and notes by Jay Leyda. Also: Introduction and two copies of Notes on sources, Published by Random House, New York, 1949.
Box 4

The Complete Stories of Herman Melville.

Physical Description: In blue cardboard box.

Scope and Content Note

Page proofs.
Box 5

The Mussorgsky Reader; a Life of Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky in Letters and Documents.

Physical Description: 577 leaves. Typescript with holograph corrections. Boxed in a red, cloth slipcase.

Scope and Content Note

Edited and translated by Jay Leyda and Sergei Bertensson. Published by W.W. Norton, New York, 1947.
Box 6

The Mussorgsky Reader.

Physical Description: 626 leaves. Typescript with holograph corrections. In two envelopes.
Box 11

Miscellaneous short manuscripts. By Jay Leyda. v.p., v.d.

Physical Description: Typescripts, 10 items.
Box 11

Miscellaneous short manuscripts.

Physical Description: Typescripts, 5 items. In two envelopes.

Scope and Content Note

By various authors, including Muriel Rukeyser and John W. Earnshaw.
Box 11

Sergei Rachmaninoff, a Lifetime in Music.

Physical Description: 147 leaves. Typescript (partly carbon) and holograph. Incomplete manuscript, irregular pagination.

Scope and Content Note

By Sergei Bertensson and Jay Leyda, with the assistance of Sophia Satin. Published by the New York University Press, New York, 1956.
 

Correspondence

Boxes 7 & 8

Correspondence.

Physical Description: In 3 envelopes.

Scope and Content Note

Pertaining to research on Herman Melville, primarily with regard to the Melville Log. 1944-52.
Box 8

Correspondence.

Scope and Content Note

  • 1 envelope regarding The Mussorgsky Reader, 1943-48.
  • 1 envelope regarding Film form and The Film Sense, 1941- .
  • 1 envelope of miscellaneous correspondence, 1940- .
 

Notes

Boxes 9 & 10

Notes.

Physical Description: 6 envelopes.

Scope and Content Note

Miscellaneous, in mixed order. 1925- .
Box 23 & 24

Notes.

Physical Description: In 5 envelopes.

Scope and Content Note

On Herman Melville, primarily pertaining to the Melville Log.
 

Ephemera

Box 12

Ephemera.

Scope and Content Note

1 envelope of miscellaneous photostats; 1 envelope on the Russian theatre; and 1 envelope of advertising materials, prospectuses, book jackets, newspaper clippings, etc.
Box 13

Ephemera.

Scope and Content Note

1 envelope and 1 roll of materials pertaining to the Melville Log; 3 envelopes of photostats and negatives for the Melville Log.
 

The Melville Log

Boxes 14 & 15

The Melville Log.

Physical Description: 1352 leaves. Typescript. In three envelopes.

Scope and Content Note

Printer's copy with corrections and deletions, etc. Includes introduction and index with printer's notations. Published by Harcourt, Brace & Company, New York, 1951.
Box 16

The Melville Log.

Physical Description: 874 leaves. Typescript with copious corrections. In two envelopes. Irregular pagination.
Box 17

The Melville Log.

Physical Description: 1352 leaves. Typescript (carbon). Corrections on first 8 leaves only. In two envelopes.
Box 18

The Melville Log.

Physical Description: 403 leaves. Incomplete typescript (partly carbon) with extensive holograph corrections and much duplication of parts.

Scope and Content Note

Early draft.
Box 18

The Melville Log.

Physical Description: 360 leaves. Incomplete typescript with holograph corrections.

Scope and Content Note

Early draft.
Box 18

The Melville Log.

Physical Description: Incomplete typescript (carbon). pp.1-94 only.
Box 19

The Melville Log.

Scope and Content Note

First galley proofs with extensive corrections and annotations.
Box 20

The Melville Log.

Scope and Content Note

Revised galleys (second proofs) with extensive corrections and annotations.
Box 20

The Melville Log.

Physical Description: 1 envelope.

Scope and Content Note

Miscellaneous materials from printer, including proofs of plates.
Boxes 21 & 22

The Melville Log.

Physical Description: 2 copies. In two envelopes.

Scope and Content Note

Uncut page proofs with some corrections.