H-DC / DC History

DC Newspapers Bibliography

Preliminary

Note: materials relating primarily to Washington, D.C. newspapers and local reporters--not the entire practice of journalism in Washington, D.C. Indexes and abstracts will be covered separately.

Books and Articles

Chase, Hal Scripps. "Honey for friends, stings for enemies:" William Calvin Chase and the Washington Bee, 1882-1921. 1973.
DCPL

Emery, Fred A. "Washington newspapers." Records of the Columbia Historical Society. v.37/38, p.41-72. (1937)
DCPL, HSW, LC

Federal Writers' Project. Washington, city and capital. 1937. p.170-182 "Washington Journalism"
DCPL, HSW, LC

Green, Constance M. Washington, a history of the Capital, 1800-1950. 1962. p.18-19
DCPL, HSW, LC

Hiebert, Ray Eldon [ed.]. The press in Washington; sixteen top newsmen tell how the news is collected. 1966.
DCPL, HSW, LC

Marbut, F. B. News from the capital: the story of Washington reporting. 1971.
DCPL, HSW, LC

McLendon, Winzola and Scottie Smith. Don't quote me! Washington newswomen and the power society. 1970.
DCPL, HSW, LC

Proctor, John Clagett [ed.] Washington past and present. 1930.
DCPL, HSW, LC [v.2] p.625-644 "The Press, 1789-1928." by Edwin Melvin Williams

Smith, John Lewis. Journalism in the District of Columbia. 1935 [senior thesis, Princeton]
DCPL

Tindall, William. Standard history of the city of Washington: from a study of original sources. 1914.
DCPL, HSW, LC p. 530-539 The Press

Hilyer, Andrew F. The twentieth century Union League directory. A compilation of the efforts of the Colored people of Washington for social betterment ... A historical, biographical, and statistical study of Colored Washington at the dawn of the twentieth century and after a generation of freedom. Compiled and edited under the auspices of the Union League. 1901 ed.
DCPL, HSW, LC "Colored newspapers in Washington." John Wesley Cromwell p.68-73.

The Washington Evening Star

Chen, Sung Chiao. The news and editorial performance of the Washington Evening Star. M.A. thesis, American University, 1962.
DCPL

Kauffmann, Samuel H. "The Evening Star" (1852-1952): a century at the Nation's Capital. 1952.
DCPL, HSW

Daily National Intelligencer

Ames, William E. A history of the National intelligencer.1972
DCPL, HSW, LC

Johnson, Patricia Albers. The National Intelligencer and Washington Advertiser, 1802 to 1804. A.B. George Washington University, 1954.
DCPL, GWU

Seaton, Josephine. William Winston Seaton of the National Intelligencer: a biographical study. 1871 reprinted 1970.
DCPL, HSW, LC

The National Intelligencer: clippings from United States newspapers commenting on the National Intelligencer, 1827-1859.
DCPL (Cutter)

The Washington Post

Babb, Laura Longley, ed. Of the press, by the press, for the press, and others, too: a critical study of the inside workings of the news business. from the news pages, editorials, columns and internal staff memos of the Washington Post. 1974, 1976 rev. ed.
DCPL, HSW, LC

Bray, Howard. The pillars of the Post : the making of a news empire in Washington 1980.
DCPL, HSW, LC

Coleridge, Nicholas. Paper tigers: the latest, greatest newspaper tycoons. 1994.
DCPL, HSW, LC

Halberstam, David. The powers that be. 1979.
DCPL, HSW, LC

Kelly, Tom. The imperial post: the Meyers, the Grahams, and the paper that rules Washington. 1983.
DCPL, HSW, LC

Remembered joys.
DCPL

Roberts, Chalmers M. In the shadow of power: the story of the Washington Post. 1989.
DCPL, HSW, LC

_____. The Washington Post: the first 100 years. 1977.
DCPL, HSW, LC

_____. _____. [footnotes] [unpublished mss]
DCPL

Washington Post. Annual report 1978-
DCPL

_____. Guide to the Washington Post. 199?
DCPL, LC

Clubs

Shrdlu: an affectionate chronicle: National Press Club 50th anniversary, 1908-1958. 1958.
DCPL, HSW, LC

Walker, Ernest George. Forty-eight Gridiron years: a chronicle written from its records for the use of members of the Gridiron Club. 1933.
DCPL, HSW, LC

National Press Club (U.S.). Dateline: Washington; the story of national affairs journalism in the life and times of the National Press Club. 1949, reprinted 1968.
DCPL, HSW, LC

Dodge, Arthur J. A short story of newspapers, newspapermen and newspapermen's clubs in the life of the national capital. 1942.
HSW, LC

Correspondents

Clark, Delbert. Washington dateline. 1941.
DCPL, HSW, LC

Covering Washington for the New York Times. [1940?]
DCPL, HSW, LC

Essary, Jesse Frederick. Covering Washington. 1927.
DCPL, HSW, LC

Rosten, Leo C. The Washington correspondents. 1937.
DCPL, HSW, LC

Key

DCPL=District of Columbia Public Library [catalog]

HSW=The Historical Society of Washington, D.C. [website]

LC=Library of Congress [catalog]

GWU=George Washington University [catalog]

Archives

Library of Congress

Carpenter, Frank G. (Frank George), 1855-1924. Frances Carpenter collection.
1875-1960.
Description: 100 items.
9 containers.
Biog./History Note: Journalist.
Summary: Primarily scrapbooks relating to Carpenter's book, Carp's Washington (arranged and edited by his daughter, Frances Carpenter, 1960), including newspaper articles and columns by Carpenter; clippings about his lecture tours, his work in Washington, D.C., and his death in China; correspondence between Frances Carpenter and the Washington Star; reviews of Carp's Washington; and proposed illustrations for the book. Includes letters to Carpenter from Alexander Graham Bell, Calvin Coolidge, Frederick Douglass, Warren G. Harding, Herbert Hoover, and Booker T. Washington.
MSS22194

Miller, Hope Ridings. Papers of Hope Ridings Miller,
1887-1998 (bulk 1934-1990)
Description: 800 items.
3 containers.
1.2 linear feet.
Biog./History Note: Author, editor, and journalist. Born Hope Ridings; married Clarence Miller in 1932. Summary: Correspondence, interviews, published writings, invitations, newspaper clippings, and photographs documenting Miller's career as society editor of the Washington Post (1938-1944), associate editor and editor of Diplomat magazine (1952-1966), and author of newspaper columns, articles, and books on social and diplomatic life in Washington, D.C. Includes interviews (1934-1935) conducted by Boyden Sparkes with Evalyn Walsh McLean and correspondence, writings, and photographs relating to Perle Mesta. Other persons represented include Lady Bird Johnson, Lyndon B. Johnson, Sam Rayburn, and Eleanor Roosevelt.
Notes: MSS84196

Willard, Henry A. (Henry Augustus), 1902- Henry A. Willard II collection,
1743-1888 (bulk 1770-1840)
Related Names: Bradley, Stephen Row, 1754-1830. Papers.
Bradley, William Czar, 1782-1867. Papers.
Richards, Mark, 1760-1844. Papers.
Description: 625 items.
2 containers.
0.8 linear feet.
Biog./History Note: Willard family, merchant family of Westminster, Vt., and Washington, D.C. Several family members represented Vermont in the U.S. Congress. Summary: Series 1 contains Bradley-Willard family papers (1771-1859, chiefly 1820-1840) and consists primarily of financial papers concerning business dealings in Westminster, Vt., and Washington, D.C. Family correspondents include Stephen Row Bradley (1754-1830), Revolutionary War officer and U.S. representative from Vermont; his son, William Czar Bradley (1782-1867), lawyer and U.S. representative from Vermont; and William's father-in-law, Mark Richards (1760-1844), merchant and U.S. representative from Vermont. Series 2 is the Henry A. Willard I autograph collection (1774-1888, chiefly 1820-1840) and contains ca. 200 letters and documents, including 21 letters of the Bradley-Willard family or from Willard Hotel records, Washington, D.C., and records from Gales & Seaton, publishers of the National Intelligencer. Prominent 18th and 19th century political figures represented in the collection include DeWitt Clinton, Nathan Hale, Isaac Hull, James Madison, Francis Mallory, James Monroe, Robert Hunter Morris, Samuel Allyne Otis, John Penn, F. W. Pickens, George Poindexter, David Rittenhouse Porter, and Benjamin Rush. Series 3 (1743-1829, chiefly 1770-1800) is composed of the Henry A. Willard collection of autographs of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, presidents of the Continental Congress, and related individuals. Persons represented include John Adams, Samuel Adams, Josiah Bartlett, Elias Boudinot, Carter Braxton, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Samuel Chase, George Clinton, George Clymer, George Washington Parke Custis, William Ellery, William Floyd, Benjamin Franklin, Elbridge Gerry, Cyrus Griffin, Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, John Hancock, Benjamin Harrison, John Hart, Joseph Hewes, Thomas Heyward, William Hooper, Stephen Hopkins, Francis Hopkinson, Samuel Huntington, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, Henry Laurens, Francis Lightfoot Lee, Richard Henry Lee, Francis Lewis, Philip Livingston, Thomas Lynch, Thomas McKean, William Matthews, Arthur Middleton, Thomas Mifflin, Lewis Morris, Robert H. Morris, John Morton, Thomas Nelson, William Paca, Robert Treat Paine, John Penn, Peyton Randolph, George Read, Caesar Rodney, George Ross, George Ross, Jr., Benjamin Rush, Edward Rutledge, Arthur St. Clair, Roger Sherman, James Smith, Richard Stockton, John Hoskin Stone, Thomas Stone, George Taylor, Charles Thomson, Matthew Thornton, George Walton, William Whipple, William Williams, James Wilson, John Witherspoon, Oliver Wolcott, and George Wythe.
Notes: MSS13573

Blair family papers,
1755-1968 (bulk 1829-1892)
Related Names: Blair, Francis Preston, 1791-1876. Papers of Francis Preston Blair.
Blair, Frank P. (Frank Preston), 1821-1875. Papers of Frank P. Blair.
Blair, Gist, 1860-1940. Papers of Gist Blair.
Blair, Montgomery, 1813-1883. Papers of Montgomery Blair.
Smith, William E. (William Ernest), 1892- The Francis Preston Blair family in politics (1933) Woodbury, Levi, 1789-1851. Papers of Levi Woodbury.
Description: 18,000 items.
70 containers plus 1 OVSD.
49 microfilm reels.
28 linear feet.
Biog./History Note: Family members include Francis Preston Blair (1791-1876) journalist, founder and editor of the Washington (D.C.) Globe, politician, and advisor to Presidents Jackson, Van Buren, and Lincoln; Frank P. Blair, Jr. (1821-1875), lawyer, U.S. army officer, and U.S. representative (1857-1861, 1863-1864) and U.S. senator (1871-1873) from Missouri; Montgomery Blair (1813-1883), lawyer, U.S. army officer, public official of Missouri, and U.S. postmaster general (1861-1864); and Gist Blair (1860-1940), lawyer. Summary: Correspondence, diaries, lectures and speeches, financial and legal papers, military papers, biographical and genealogical data, printed material, and other papers of various Blair family members. Francis P. Blair's papers primarily document his editorship and publication of the Globe and Congressional Globe in Washington, D.C., his association with Martin Van Buren, and his secret meeting with Jefferson Davis in Richmond, Va. (Jan. 1865) to negotiate a compromise ending the Civil War. Montgomery Blair's papers include his files concerning slavery in western territories and free states, his legal files as counsel in Dred Scott v. Sanford, records from his Washington, D.C., law firm relating primarily to land patents and grants in the western United States, and a small number of papers relating to his service as U.S. postmaster general in the Lincoln administration. The papers of Frank P. Blair, Jr., include Civil War letters and documents and several speeches and papers documenting his service as U.S. representative and senator from Missouri. Gist Blair's papers consist primarily of his research file on the Blair family papers and of the correspondence and research files of William E. Smith, author of The Francis Preston Blair Family in Politics (1933). Includes a political diary (1840-1843) and other papers of Levi Woodbury. Family correspondence documents the political and social scene in St. Louis, Mo., and Washington, D.C. (1850s-1870s), economic and social conditions in the South during Reconstruction, and family matters. Correspondents include Blair family members and extended relations including Gustavus V. and Virginia (Woodbury) Fox, Samuel P. and Elizabeth Blair Lee, Minna Blair Richey, Levi Woodbury, and the Gratz family of Philadelphia, Pa. Other correspondents include John A. Andrew, Thomas Hart Benton, Charles S. Bernays, James Buchanan, Benjamin F. Butler, William Orlando Butler, Lewis Cass, Cassius Marcellus Clay, R. M. Corwine, Edwin Cowles, John J. Crittenden, George Ticknor Curtis, Charles A. Dana, Varina Davis, Henry L. Dawes, Andrew Jackson Donelson, James Buchanan Eads, Edward Everett, John Murray Forbes, John Charles Frémont, Hamilton Rowan Gamble, Samuel T. Glover, Horace Greeley, H. W. Halleck, Charles Jared Ingersoll, Andrew Jackson, Reverdy Johnson, Amos Kendall, William Berkeley Lewis, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Parker, James Parton, Fitz-John Porter, Whitelaw Reid, Thomas Ritchie, Gerrit Smith, Andrew Stevenson, Clement L. Vallandigham, Martin Van Buren, Henry Dana Ward, and Gideon Welles.
Notes: Microfilm produced from originals in the Manuscript Division. Washington, D.C. : Library of Congress Photoduplication Service, 1979-1988.
Atlases and maps transferred to Library of Congress Geography and Map Division.
Some photographs and prints transferred to Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
MSS12930
Original held by: Microfilm of selected printed material made in 1936 from originals in private hands.
Finding Aids: Finding aid available in the Manuscript Reading Room and on Internet.
Source of Acquisition: Gift, Blair family, 1934-1984.
Other gifts and purchases 1903-1996.
Additional Form Avail.: Selected printed material available only on microfilm, no. 4,991.
Microfilm edition of correspondence between Francis P. Blair and Martin Van Buren available, no. 17,631. Microfilm edition available, no. 19,713.

Blair & Rives. Records of Blair & Rives,
1815-1899 (bulk 1830-1850)
Description: 800 items.
3 containers.
6 microfilm reels.
1.2 linear feet.
Biog./History Note: Publishing firm, founded by Francis P. Blair, Sr., and John C. Rives, which issued the Globe and the Congressional Globe, concurrent Washington, D.C., newspapers. Summary: Chiefly letters received (1830-1850), together with some business papers, speeches, and printed matter. Letters relate to national politics, selection of printers by the U.S. Congress, the rechartering of the United States Bank, publication of the Congressional Globe, policies of the editors of the United States Telegraph and the National Intelligencer, and other topics. Correspondents include Francis P. Blair, John R. Church, Godfrey M. Fogg, John C. Harris, Andrew Jackson, Jr., and John C. Rives. Notes: Microfilm edition reproduced by Library of Congress Photoduplication Service from originals in the Manuscript Division, 1988.
MSS12922
Additional Form Avail.: Microfilm edition available, no. 19,717.

Elliot, Jonathan, 1784-1846. Papers of Jonathan Elliot,
1817-1829.
Description: 300 items.
1 container.
1 microfilm reel.
Biog./History Note: Newspaper editor and publisher, of Washington, D.C.
Summary: Correspondence and letters received by Elliot as editor of the Washington Gazette relating to routine business matters and to such topics as Washington, D.C., politics and trade and to the political careers of John C. Calhoun, William H. Crawford, and Andrew Jackson.
Notes: Microfilm produced from originals in the Manuscript Division. Washington, D.C. : Library of Congress Photoduplication Service, 1977.
MSS19695
Forms part of: Papers and collection of Peter Force (Series 8D : entry 42).
Finding Aids: Finding aid available in the Manuscript Reading Room.
Additional Form Avail.: Microfilm edition available, no. 17,137 (reel 38).

D.C. Public Library

The Historical Society of Washington, D.C.

The Historical Society of Washington, D.C. has archival materials relating to Washington, D.C. journalists and journalism.

including
Moore, William Walker, 1803-1886.
William Walker Moore papers,
1829-1886. 0.4 linear ft.
Newspaper editor and public official, of Washington, D.C.
Corrrespondence, financial accounts, and other papers, relating to Moore's personal and professional involvement with various Washington, D.C., businesses and associations, including the United States Telegraph, Columbia Typographical Society, National Intelligencer, local chapter of International Order of Odd Fellows, Washington National Monument Society, the Metropolitan Railroad Company, and the Washington militia. Includes letter copybook (1829-1838) highlighting operations of the United States Telegraph and a ms. subject index to the 1841 National Intelligencer.
Finding aid in the repository.
Historical Society of Washington, D.C. (MS 188).

Howard University

Pittsburgh Courier Publishing Co. Washington Bureau.
Pittsburgh Courier, Washington Bureau collection,
1946-1968.
13 linear ft.
Collection of the Pittsburgh courier Washington Bureau newspaper. Includes correspondence documenting the relationships between the Washington branch and the main office of the Courier in Pittsburgh, Pa., and material concerning the roles of the advertising, circulation, financial, and legal departments of the bureau. Correspondents include bureau chiefs Levi Jolley and Hugo Warren, and bookkeeper E. Josephine Lowery. The bulk of the collection consists of 3500 photographs from the 1940's to the 1960's documenting African American life in Washington and the United States, featuring notable African American entertainers, musicians, and singers auch as Louis Armstrong, Katherine Dunham, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Lionel Hampton, Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, and Muddy Waters.
Finding aid in the repository.

Howard University, Moorland-Spingarn Research Center (Washington, D.C.) (Collection 190).
DCLV01-A2268

D.C. Archives

Subscription ledger, STATES AND UNION newspaper,
1858-1861.
Description: 3 linear inches (1 vol.)
Notes: A record of subscriptions to the STATES AND UNION newspaper, giving name and address of subscriber, date paid, terms of the subscription, and amount paid.
Forms part of the National Archives Record Group 351 that is being transferred to the D.C. Archives.
National Archives Preliminary Inventory 186, item 78

Websites

Matthew Gilmore, October 2001

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