Description
A photographic and manuscript archive created and compiled by Edward S. Sullivan, a Los Angeles-based correspondent for the
seminal crime publication
True Detective, whose ground-level journalistic techniques often blurred the line between reportage and private investigation. The photo
portion of the archive contains "evidence" of hundreds of murders, assaults, stick-ups, forgeries, and other criminal acts
spanning from the 1930s through the 1960s. The majority of these images were used as illustrations for Sullivan's true-crime
articles, either for
True Detective or his freelance work for other publications. The material is mostly related to criminal activity in California, but adjacent
western states, as well as Mexico, are also represented. Aside from the photographs, the collection contains Sullivan's case
folders, presumably used as research or reference for his work. All of the case files include newspaper clippings and about
half contain some sort of manuscript notations by Sullivan, primarily notes from interviews with sources on both sides of
the law, and they are composed with the dashed-off, slang-heavy prose of a "gumshoe" detective.
This note was adapted from the seller's description.
Restrictions
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Department of Special
Collections at specol@usc.edu. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical
items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.