Finding Aid to the Cleve Boutell Papers, 1949-2008 Coll2013.114

Finding aid prepared by Jennifer Darwent
Processing this collection has been funded by a generous grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
909 West Adams Boulevard
Los Angeles, California, 90007
(213) 821-2771
askone@usc.edu
(c) 2013


Title: Cleve Boutell papers
Identifier/Call Number: Coll2013.114
Contributing Institution: ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
Language of Material: English
Physical Description: 7.3 linear feet. 4 archive boxes + 2 flat archive boxes + 1 archive binder.
Date (bulk): Bulk, 1956-2007
Date (inclusive): 1949-2008
Abstract: Manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, news clippings and other materials from lesbian writer Cleve Marie Boutell (1918-2011). The bulk of the collection is drafts of fictional works by Cleve Boutell. There is also correspondence with her lesbian sister Hortense "Bo" Boutell (1913-2006), a lieutenant colonel and the first female logistician in the United States Army.
creator: Boutell, Cleve M., 1918-2011

Biography

Cleve Marie Boutell was born in Minnesota on March 27, 1918. She was a lesbian writer who wrote fictional short stories and novels, including The Yellow Basket (1950), Late in August (1956) and A Certain Discontent (1992). She was an avid book collector, an active member of the Feminist Writers Guild, and served as art director for Datamation Magazine. She lived most of her life in Pasadena, California and supported the Pasadena bookstore Page One--Books For and By Women. Cleve died on March 19, 2011 in South Pasadena, California.
Hortense "Bo" Boutell, Cleve's sister, was born on February 12, 1913 in Minnesota. Hortense was active in the United States Army and was the first woman to be accepted into the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. She became a lieutenant colonel, the highest position a woman could obtain at the time, and worked as the Army's first female logistician. After retiring from the Army, Hortense received her MFA from George Washington University and worked as a stained glass artist. She also was a producer for the German film company Ariadne Films. Hortense died on July 15, 2006 in Washington D.C.
Sources:
Chiara, Adriana. Martial Artist. Crystal City etc. Summer 1993: 10-11, 13. Print.
Box 4, Folder 8, Cleve Boutell Papers, Coll2013-114, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the ONE Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at USC Libraries 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.

Acquisition

Gift of Patricia Cornelius on November 7, 2011.

Preferred Citation

[Box/folder #, or item name] Cleve Boutell Papers, Coll2013-114, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.

Processing Information

Collection processed by Jennifer Darwent, November 2013.

Scope and Contents

The collection contains manuscripts, news clippings, correspondence, photographs and other materials from lesbian writer Cleve Boutell (1918-2011). The fictional writings series comprises drafts, revisions and final manuscripts of Late in August (1956), A Certain Discontent (1992) and Entrevue (1994-2007), as well as her short stories The Yellow Basket (1950), Eleanore's Story (1986-1991), Rope Dancer (1987) and Uncle Gibeau (1990). The personal papers series comprises correspondence with her lesbian sister Hortense "Bo" Boutell, personal journals, clippings, information regarding the now closed bookstore Page One, and travel photographs.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in the following series:
Series 1. Writings
Series 2. Personal papers

Separated Materials

The following materials were separated from the collection and catalogued in the ONE Archives periodicals collection:
Elysian Fields Booksellers catalogs (#36-40).
Lambda Book Report Vol. 3, No. 4 (May/June 1992).
New Women's Times (1979).
Sinister Wisdom #33 (Fall 1987).
Words to the Wise Firebrand catalog (1986).
Write On, Woman! (1979).
One book, Women's Army Corps 1945-1978 of the Army Historical Series, has been separated from the collection and cataloged in the ONE Archives library.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Boutell, Hortense, 1913-2006
Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
Correspondence
Lesbian authors
Lesbian writings
Manuscripts
Photographs

 

Writings Series 1. 1949-2007

Scope and Contents

The series comprises drafts, revisions and final manuscripts of Late in August (1956), A Certain Discontent (1992) and Entrevue (1994-2007), as well as her short stories The Yellow Basket (1950), Eleanore's Story (1986-1991), Rope Dancer (1987), Uncle Gibeau (1990), and others. A Certain Discontent (1992) was Boutell's only published work.

Arrangement

Materials for A Certain Discontent are at the beginning of this series. The remaining folders are arranged alphabetically.
Box 1, Folder 12

A Certain Discontent 1981

Box 1, Folder 1

Iowa Writer's Workshop 1981

Box 1, Folder 2-5

A View from an Oriel Window 1981-1983

Physical Description: [4 folders]
Box 1, Folder 6-21

Drafts and revisions 1982-1992

Physical Description: [16 folders]
Box 2, Folder 1-4

Naiad Press manuscript circa 1992

Physical Description: [4 folders]
Box 2, Folder 5

Reviews 1992-1995

Box 2, Folder 6

As to Polo circa 1981

Box 2, Folder 7

Available Light 2004

Box 2, Folder 8

Books reviews, unpublished circa 1989

Box 2, Folder 9

"Camp Stories" for Sinister Wisdom 1987

Box 2, Folder 10

A Death in Heidelberg 1989

Box 2, Folder 11

Eleanore's Story 1986-1991

Box 2, Folder 12-24

Entrevue 1994-2007

Box 2, Folder 12-22

Drafts and notes 1994-2007

Physical Description: [11 folders]
Box 2, Folder 23-24

Entrevue: Je m'entends bien 2006-2007

Physical Description: [2 folders]
Box 2, Folder 25

Fair Tower Sufficiently Defended (alternate title, The Near Edge) 1950-1953

Box 2, Folder 26

I Hold Here in My Hand 1987

Box 2, Folder 27-28

Late in August circa 1953-1956

Physical Description: [2 folders]
Box 3, Folder 1-3

Late in August 1953-1957

Physical Description: [3 folders]
Box 3, Folder 4

Makes One Shudder Even Though Dead undated

Box 3, Folder 5

The Making of a Six Year Old Autodidact undated

Box 3, Folder 6

Manifestations in Rock Island, Illinois 1983, 1988

Box 3, Folder 7

An Odyssey of Love undated

Box 3, Folder 8

The Ordeal of Kimberly Laing undated

Box 3, Folder 9

"Reader's Diary" circa 1980-1982

Box 3, Folder 10

Rope Dancer 1987

Box 3, Folder 11

Royale: a play in three acts 1976

Box 3, Folder 12

Small Press clippings 1992-1994

Box 3, Folder 13

Uncle Gibeau 1990

Box 3, Folder 18

University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Extension, Writing for Pleasure 1989

Box 3, Folder 14

Untitled fiction 2007

Box 3, Folder 15-17

Untitled manuscripts and poems, miscellaneous circa 1952-2000

Physical Description: [3 folders]
Box 3, Folder 19-22

Writing notebooks 1981-1998

Physical Description: [4 folders]

Scope and Contents

Some notebooks contain clippings and other related material.
Box 3, Folder 23

The Yellow Basket 1949-1952

 

Personal papers Series 2. 1946-2006

Arrangement

This series is arranged alphabetically.

Scope and Contents

The series comprises correspondence with her lesbian sister Hortense "Bo" Boutell and others, memorial service materials for Hortense, personal journals, photographs, news clippings, and information regarding the now closed bookstore Page One located in Pasadena, California. There are three Datamation Magazine covers which were designed by Cleve Boutell while she was the art director for the magazine. The bulk of the photographs document Cleve Boutell's trips abroad with Mavis Blake.
Box 3, Folder 24

The Author of the Analytic Engine 1966

Box 3, Folder 25-26

Book inventory, lists, and notes circa 1980-2000

Physical Description: [2 folders]
Box 7

Boutell, Hortense "Bo," burial flag 2006

Box 4, Folder 1-2

Boutell, Hortense "Bo," obituary and memorial service records 2006

Physical Description: [2 folders]
General Physical Description note: Includes 1 DVD.
Box 5

Calendar 1967

Box 4, Folder 3-4

Clippings 1956-2008

Physical Description: [2 folders]
Box 4, Folder 5-9

Correspondence 1964-1994

Box 4, Folder 5-8

Boutell, Hortense "Bo" 1964-1994

Physical Description: [4 folders]

Scope and Contents

Includes 3 color photographs of Cleve at Pearl's house, 1 color photograph of a stained glass design by Hortense, 1 b&w photograph of a horse, and 1 b&w photograph of Hortense on the East Coast.
Box 4, Folder 9

Muff, Jean, and others 1974-1986

Scope and Contents

Includes 3 color photographs of Cleve with unidentified friends.
Box 5

Datamation covers, mounted circa 1975

Box 4, Folder 10

Datamation merit awards 1971, 1976

Box 4, Folder 11

Feminist Writers Guild newsletters and directories 1981-1987

Box 4, Folder 12-14

Journals and calendars 1975-1985

Physical Description: [3 folders]
Box 4, Folder 15

Novembermond film memorabilia circa 1975

Box 4, Folder 16

Page One--Books For and By Women 1991-1994

Box 6

Photographs circa 1989-1995

General Physical Description note: Negatives, 16 b&w photographs, and 341 color photographs.

Scope and Contents

The images document Cleve Boutell's trips to Leningrad and Moscow in 1990 with Mavis Blake, London and Paris in 1989, and Berlin in 1993 for Hortense Boutell's 80th birthday. There are photographs Cleve took of Pasadena in 1992. Other photographs that are undated include images of trips to Middlebury and Washington D.C., Pasadena Lakeview, the "D.D. Parade" with Hortense and her partner Evie, and the Pasadena bookstore Page One.
Box 4, Folder 17

Poetry booklets 1975-1976

Scope and Contents

Includes "Laughing Bear" (Number 1, Summer 1976), "Seven Sections from the Dreams of Jesse Bowman" (Joseph Bruchac, 1976), and "Morituri Don Dorrance" (Kathy Dorrance, 1975).
Box 4, Folder 18

Wallace, Henry A., presidential campaign memorabilia 1946-1948