Winifred Sanford by date, 1924-1981, undated

The Correspondence Series is arranged chronologically and constitutes the bulk of the record group. The Winifred Sanford subseries, 1924- 1982, is divided into two categories, the first of which contains letters documenting her literary career. Of special interest are numerous letters to and from H. L. Mencken, many of which contain his encouragements and advice to her, (see Correspondence List). The series also includes original incoming letters written by publishers and editors to Winifred Sanford as well as carbon copies of typed letters and handwritten drafts of her responses to them. Of note is an incomplete list of her own short stories drawn up by the author on June 26,1958. The second category includes personal letters written to the author after the private printing in 1980 of her collected short stories, entitled Windfall and Other Stories.

The Helen Sanford subseries, 1981 - 2003, for the most part contains correspondence to and from Winifred Sanford’s daughter, Helen J. Sanford, at the end of the author’s life and after her death. It is also subdivided into two categories, the first of which reflects the efforts of various publishing companies to gain permission from the Sanford family to reprint Winifred Sanford’s short stories in anthologies and collections. Of note is a letter to Betty Wiesepape granting her permission to use Sanford’s correspondence for her Master’s thesis entitled Winifred Sanford: Her Life and Times. This thesis is catalogued in the SWWC book collection. Also included are letters and contracts regarding the 1988 publication of Windfall and Other Stories as well as the family’s wish to donate Sanford’s papers to the Wittliff Collections. The second category contains personal letters written to Helen Sanford regarding her mother’s death and the death of Suzanne Comer, senior editor at SMU who was instrumental in publishing the 1988 printing of Windfall.