Scope and Content Note
The papers of Joseph Barnes (1907-1970) relate entirely to the career of Wendell L. Willkie (1892-1944) and are dated 1930-1952, with the bulk concentrated in the years 1940-1952. The greater part consists of the typescript of Barnes's biography, Willkie: The Events He Was Part Of, the Ideas He Fought For (1952), and the background material that he amassed while preparing the book, including his notes and printed matter. The only correspondence in the papers consists of letters addressed to Irita Taylor Van Doren, all of which concern Willkie. The writers of the letters are George Bergal, Norman Corwin, Bartley Cavanaugh Crum, William Fitz Gibbon, and J. L. Jones.
There is a file of Willkie speeches and articles for the years 1930 through 1944; some are in holograph or typescript form but most are printed. Drafts of Willkie's speech accepting the 1940 Republican Party nomination for president are included in this group. There is also a collection of printed matter, mainly in the form of newspaper clippings, relating to Willkie.