The papers of George Middleton (1880-1967) span the years 1872-1970 with the bulk of the material between 1911 and 1958. The collection is composed of correspondence and literary manuscripts organized into the following series: Family Correspondence, General Correspondence, Business Correspondence, Subject File, Literary Manuscripts, Miscellany, and Addition. The material is in English, with some in French.

The Family Correspondence consists of letters written to his wife, Fola La Follette, and to his brother, nephew, and his wife's family about the many activities, places, and people he was involved with as a playwright and as a representative of the writing profession abroad. Events relating to the 1924 presidential campaign of Robert M. La Follette (1855-1925) are also chronicled in Middleton's correspondence with his wife and the La Follette family.

The General Correspondence contains letters from a broad segment of the theatrical, literary, and governmental communities. Among the correspondents are J. M. Barrie, Cecil B. DeMille, Eleanora Duse, Moss Hart, George S. Kaufman, Richard Rodgers, and Peggy Wood from the theatrical community; John Dos Passos, Anatole France, Hamlin Garland, Sinclair Lewis, Percy Mackaye, Don Marquis, John Masefield, Edgar Lee Masters, H. L. Mencken, Clifford Odets, Eugene O'Neill, Bernard Shaw, Lincoln Steffens, Booth Tarkington, and P. G. Wodehouse from the literary community; and Louis Dembitz Brandeis, Felix Frankfurter, David Eli Lilienthal, Gerald P. Nye, and Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt in the governmental community.

The Business Correspondence documents the publication and production of Middleton's plays and articles, his collaboration with David Belasco and Guy Bolton, and his relationship with various agents, producers, and managers.

Of particular interest in the Subject File are papers relating to the Dramatists Guild, of which Middleton was a founding member, and the fight to protect foreign and domestic playwrights' monetary and literary rights in the production and publication of their works. Middleton's service as a copyright specialist in the Justice Department is documented under the headings "Office of Alien Property," "copyright legislation," and "copyrights." Middleton's social relationships with the theatrical community are documented in files relating to the Dutch Treat Club and to Players Club. Important biographical information about Middleton is contained in the "Who's Who" file.

The Literary Manuscripts series contains succeeding drafts, as well as final typescripts or printed versions, of all of Middleton's plays and of his autobiography, These Things Are Mine . In many cases photographs of stage sets and actors and actresses accompany the manuscripts. A large part of the autobiographical material consists of research material and family memorabilia that Middleton collected for his writings. Film scripts on which Middleton worked while a producer-writer with the Fox Film Corporation in 1929-1931 are also included. In addition to his books and plays, the series also documents Middleton's articles, book reviews, early literary writings, lectures, poetry, and stories.

The remainder of the collection consists of family photographs, miscellaneous papers, a card index that Middleton keyed to his correspondence, and his collection of Balzaciana. Scrapbooks include articles written by Middleton on the theater for various newspapers and journals, press reviews, publicity and programs for his plays, and letters of congratulations on his eightieth birthday.

An addition appended to the original arrangement in 1979 spans the period 1879-1970, with the major part dating from 1953 to 1967. Correspondence of George Middleton and Fola La Follette with members of the Middleton and La Follette families is included in the Addition, as is Middleton's correspondence with various friends and associates. This material supplements that found in corresponding series in the main body of the collection.

Much of the material in the headings grouped under the subject file and miscellany subseries of the Addition relates to topics of a personal or family interest. Correspondence and printed matter pertaining to Middleton's involvement in theatrical and literary organizations such as the Dramatists Guild and the Authors League of America are also included.

Carbon copies of typescripts of poems are contained under the speeches and writings heading, as is a final typescript of Middleton's unpublished novel, "A Prisoner of Fame."