Contents and Arrangement
Online

Series 1: Correspondence, 1959-2011

27 boxes
SOME ONLINE CONTENT
Restrictions may apply.

Collection Overview

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

This series includes David Lewis's extensive correspondence with fellow philosophers and scholars spanning over four decades. Frequent correspondents include philosophers such as David M. Armstrong, J. J. C. Smart, Frank Jackson, W. V. Quine, D. H. Mellor, M. J. Cresswell, Allen Hazen, John Bigelow, and others. Lewis's letters and the responses he received are often lengthy, as he maintained ongoing conversations regarding many philosophical topics with his colleagues through regular correspondence. Files include correspondence David Lewis filed and kept himself, as well as copies and originals of letters he sent to others that were later retrieved from his correspondents by Stephanie R. Lewis. Incoming and outgoing correspondence are filed together in keeping with the organization of the materials as they arrived at the library. Correspondence directly related to publishing and permissions for specific works by Lewis can be found in Series 2: Writings.

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by last name of correspondent, followed by unidentified and topical files.

Collection History

Custodial History

Stephanie R. Lewis, David Lewis's wife and the executor of his estate, maintained and arranged his papers following his death prior to the arrival of the papers at Princeton University Library. Correspondence includes files David Lewis maintained himself, as well as some originals and copies of letters David Lewis sent to others that Stephanie Lewis later solicited from their recipients and interfiled.

Appraisal

No materials were separated from the collection during 2016-2021 processing beyond routine appraisal practices. During processing of born-digital materials, the processing archivist deleted empty directories, a small number of files containing PII, and several directories of out-of-scope personal records.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Kelly Bolding in February-April 2016, with assistance from Isabella Litke (GS) and Fiona Bell '18. Finding aid written by Kelly Bolding in April-May 2016 and updated with new materials by Kelly Bolding in December 2018, May 2019, November 2021, and February 2022. Additions made in 2018 and 2019 were integrated into the existing arrangement when possible. Additions made after the death of Stephanie Lewis in November 2019 were arranged into their own series and are minimally processed.

The born-digital materials in this collection were processed in February 2022 according to Princeton University Library's Born-Digital Processing Workflows. For more information on the workflow, please read our full Born-Digital Processing Information Note.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research. Correspondence files marked by the donor as confidential, usually due to third party privacy concerns, are restricted until 2036 (housed in boxes B-000682 through B-000684). Files containing personnel and student records are restricted until 2076 or 75 years from the date of creation (housed in boxes B-000679 through B-000681).

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

This collection contains digital files, which may require specific software or hardware for access. Refer to our Tips on Accessing Born-Digital Content for information on how to render these file formats.

Credit this material:

Series 1: Correspondence; David Lewis Papers, C1520, Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

Location:
Firestone Library
One Washington Road
Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
(609) 258-3184
Storage Note:
  • Firestone Library (mss): Boxes B-000659 to B-000684, B-001319