1942-1971. An archive spanning nearly the entirety of Dos Passos' decades as a Houghton Mifflin author, and including three typed letters signed; one autograph letter signed; and two author questionnaires filled out by Dos Passos by hand: the first quite sparsely (and likely very early in his career); the second running 7 pages, and also incompletely filled out, but Dos Passos has answered questions concerning his birthplace; cumulative residences; education; occupations; hobbies (sailing, gardening, walking); thoughts on promoting his work (to the "readers, maybe, of [Drury's] Advise and Consent"); etc. He references Melvin Landsberg's doctoral thesis as a place to get the answers he himself has not supplied. The first typed letter signed included here (December, 1942) is a 3-page autobiography. The remaining three letters address issues of his advance; his place of residence; potential meetings; author photos; etc. Four biographical summaries of Dos Passos issued by the publisher (1951, 1961, 1966, and 1967) are included, along with approximately 20 press releases and/or copies of text for press releases for Dos Passos publications. Additionally, there are more than three dozen retained copies of letters and internal memos (regarding readings, publicity, blurbs, interviews, etc.) and more than a dozen clippings of book reviews and the author's obituaries. Lastly, there are proof dust jackets for three Dos Passos titles, the typed jacket copy of a fourth, and a 36-page promotional brochure for the 1946 release of the illustrated, three-volume edition of U.S.A., which includes a biography, a bibliography, critiques of the author's works, a discussion of his technique, etc. Dos Passos was a contemporary of Hemingway, Gertrude Stein and E.E. Cummings, and his "U.S.A. Trilogy" is one of the high spots of 20th century American literature. Autograph material by Dos Passos -- or any of that generation of American writers -- is increasingly uncommon. His long career with Houghton Mifflin is visible in virtually every aspect in this archive. One of Dos Passos' letters has publisher's markings across the text; the brochure has internal notations; the lot is near fine. [#036689] $7,500