Princeton University Library Finding Aids 
Allen W. Dulles Papers 1845-1971 (mostly 1918-1969)
Search Tips | How to Browse this Collection
Browse Thumbnails
Browse Images
Download PDF Series 1: Correspondence
60 boxes (1 partial)
This collection is stored at Mudd Manuscript Library.
Requests will be delivered to Public Policy Papers, MUDD Reading Room .
Collection Creator: Dulles, Allen Welsh, 1893-1969..
Dates: 1891-1969.
Extent: 60 boxes (1 partial)
Languages: English.
Access Restrictions
Boxes 1-40 are currently offsite for digitization and scheduled to return in fall 2013. The remainder of the collection is open for research use.
Description
Series 1: Correspondence, 1891-1969, is arranged alphabetically by last name of the correspondent and then chronologically within each folder. The correspondence documents Dulles's professional and personal activities from his early years with the State Department until his death in 1969. Correspondence between Dulles and other young foreign service officers in the late 1910s and early 1920s is a particularly rich resource for documenting this period. These letters, generally handwritten, are quite candid summaries of events in the countries where Dulles and his acquaintances were stationed. Dulles's involvement in the post-World War I apportionment of territory in Eastern Europe, particularly the territories of Czechoslovakia, is also well-documented. Dulles kept in close contact with others who participated in the peace- making process in France.
Although his activities with the OSS during World War II are not particularly well-documented by contemporary correspondence, his discussion of past activities with the contacts he established at the time provide some insight. Correspondence with Gero von Gaevernitz, William Donovan, Mary Bancroft, and others illuminates not only their wartime activities but the sense of responsibility and kinship that Dulles maintained with these colleagues.
Dulles's participation in activities and clubs, particularly the Council on Foreign Relations, is also well-documented. Despite his absence from New York from 1951 onward, he maintained his association with the Council and his close personal relationship with Hamilton Fish Armstrong. His devotion to Princeton University, his alma mater, is evidenced through his service on the Board of Trustees, Board of Trustees for the Woodrow Wilson School, and fund- raising activities for the John Foster Dulles oral history program. Dulles also assisted University librarians in soliciting the donation of the Bernard Baruch Papers.
While Dulles's official correspondence from his tenure with the CIA is not in this collection, his personal correspondence with CIA colleagues and acquaintances seeking employment with the CIA is included here. Also included is Dulles's correspondence with his brother, Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, and sister, Eleanor Lansing Dulles, who also worked in the State Department. There is a considerable amount of correspondence from friends, acquaintances, and the general public concerning John Foster Dulles's battle with cancer and his death in May 1959. In addition to assisting those interested in careers in intelligence and foreign affairs, Dulles also maintained close relations with his daughters, nieces, and nephew, particularly David Dulles, son of Eleanor Lansing Dulles. Particularly poignant is correspondence concerning his son Allen Macy Dulles, who was wounded in Korea in 1952. Dulles maintained a brave, optimistic facade and clearly hoped for his son's full recovery.
Much of the correspondence is social in nature, documenting the Dulles' engagements in Washington, D. C., as well as their travels in the U. S. and Europe, visiting friends. However, significant correspondents include Hamilton Fish Armstrong, Mary Bancroft, David Bruce, William Donovan, Gero von Gaevernitz, Richard Nixon, and CIA officials John McCloy, John McCone, and Richard Bissell. Dulles exchanged correspondence with family members especially Edith Foster Dulles, Eleanor Lansing Dulles, John Foster Dulles, Joan Dulles Buresch, Clover Todd Dulles, and Clover Todd Jebsen.
Arrangement
(arranged alphabetically by correspondent's name)
Preferred Citation
Series 1: Correspondence; 1891-1969; Allen W. Dulles Papers, Public Policy Papers, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library.