heller papers

8/10/2019 Heller Papers

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curated by

Patrick Scott

Department of Rare Books and Special Collections

Thomas Cooper Library

University of South Carolina


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PREFACE

JosephHeller's connectionwith SouthCarolina beganduring World War II when

he trained asa bombardier n Columbia and Walterboro. His connectionwith the

University of South Carolina beganwhen he participated n the 1980Writers Series

program. He returned n 1995 for the World War II Writers Symposium. n 1996

JosephHeller cameback o accept he Thomas CooperMedal and to deliver he

principal address t the University'sF. ScottFitzgeraldCentenaryCelebration.

Joemade riends at USC. I remember is gentle handling of JamesDickey, who felt

possessiveboutWorld War II ashis literary material;within a few minutes theywere

laughing.Joewasa connoisseur f barbecue, nd I commenceddispatchinghim meals

until he sent he Helleresquemessage:Please topsendingbarbecue.t's beginning o

taste ike chasserai."

When a dealeroffered he JosephHeller Paperso USC in 1997, Dean GeorgeTerry

grabbed hem for $135,000-which proved o be a steal. n October 2002, the day afrer

this exhibit opened,a New York auctionhousesold Heller's marked copy of Catch-22.

The p1:e-salestimatewas$60,000-$80,000; he book realized$105,160, but USC did

not bid. Georgegot a bargain n the papers,but research ollectionsare nevercomplete.

The Heller archive equiresmaintenance.

Valerie Heller, Joe'swidow, hasdonatedhundredsof Heller translations, omeof

which are described n this catalogue.Mter ChristopherBuckleycamehere o speakat

the opening of this exhibition, he gave he Thomas CooperLibrary his correspondence

with JosephHeller. Notable collectionsare magnets or benefactions. trength begets

strength.

There has neverbeena universitybetter han its library. Money is the enabling

ingredient n acquiring iterary collectionsand enriching a university's esearchesources.

But money can't do it without determination.The JosephHeller collection at USC

demonstrateswhat can be achievedwith little moneyand muchsavvy.Literature s one

big corporation,and everybody asa share.

Matthew J. Bruccoli

Jefferies rofessor fEnglish

and Curator ofAmericanLiterature

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A NOTE ON THE EXHIBITION

This catalogue ecords he first public exhibition from the University of SouthCarolina's

JosephHeller Papers. he JosephHeller Papers, ~quiredby USC in 1997with Mr.

Heller's active nvolvementand support,are he largestcollectionanywhere or research

on his work, preservingover 150,000pages-drafts, typescripts nd cortespondence-

that document he author's achievement vera period of 30 years.

The exhibition chartsHeller's career, rom his New York childhood; war service

in North Africa, Corsica,and Italy; his earlywriting and plays; he greatsuccess f

Catch-22 1962) asbook, film, and play; and the successionf major novels hat

followed-Something Happened1974); GoodAsGold (1979); GodKnows 1984);

Picture This 1988); and ClosingTime 1994), Heller's return to Yossarian nd several f

the characters f Catch-22.Alongside he manuscripts or several ovelsare he file cards

on which Heller recorded deasand shaped entencesor his novels.Also on display s

Heller's scrapbookof publicity for Catch-22 nd lobby cards rom the film. In the last

sectionof the exhibition, two recently-publishedtems by ProfessorMatthew J. Broccoli

and Dr. Park Bucker (USC Sumter),an authoritativedescriptivebibliographyand page-

proof for a collection of Heller's short pieces,ndicate he research seof the archive.

It is a pleasure o acknowledge omeof thosewhosegifrs, oans,work, and interest

madepossible his recognition of one of the library's most significant ecentacquisitions.

Materials n the exhibition from the Heller archive tself, from the library's own holdings

of Heller's published books,and from the extensive ollectionof foreign-language

editions donated by Valerie Heller, weresupplemented y first editionsand posters

loaned for this exhibit from the collectionsof Prof. and Mrs. Broccoli. At the exhibition

opening, he library washonored o welcome he novelistChristopherBuckley,who

spokeon JosephHeller's achievement nd on his own friendshipwith Heller. Mr.

Buckley's alk was he library event n the University's 2002 Literary Festival, ndowed

by an anonymousdonor. Initial cataloguingof the Heller Paperswasconductedby

Paul Schultz,and exploratorywork toward the exhibition beganduring Prof. Broccoli's

spring 2002 honors seminaron JosephHeller. Finally, publication of this catalogue, sa

permanent ecord of this event,has beenwholly funded by the Thomas CooperSociety.

Patrick Scott

AssociateUniversity Librarian for Special Collections

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THE EXHIBITION

Introduction: Heller in South Carolina

Heller in Flight Training

Individual Flight Record:0-759930, HeUer, osephNmi, 2nd Lt., January1943,

Columbia Army Air Base,S.C.

Heller in Columbia, S.C., 1996

JosephHeller at the Capital City Club, Columbia, S.C., September 4, 1996.

Taken during the third of Mr. Heller's visits o the University, for the Thomas

CooperLibrary'sF. ScottFitzgeraldCentenaryCelebration.

The Thomas Cooper Medal for Distinction in the Arts and Sciences

During his 1996 visit, Heller received he CooperMedal. Other recipientsof the

medal nclude Pat Conroy,JamesDickey, John Updike, John Jakes,Matthew J.

Broccoli,William Styron, Ray Bradbury,and GeorgePlimpton.

HeUer's1996 Addressat the University of South Carolina

"The Literature of Despair," yped outline and typescript,both with extensive

manuscript evisions.Gift of Matthew J. Bruccoli.

The addressHeller gave or the FitzgeraldCentenarywas subsequently

incorporated n his posthumousnovel Portrait ofAn Artist, as an Old Man (2000),

asa lecturedeliveredat the University of SouthCarolina by Heller's fictional alter

egoEugene ota. Excerptswere first published n Dictionary ofLiterary Biography

Yearbook: 996 (Detroit: Gale Research, 997): 120-123. Broccoli-BuckerB22.

1: The YearsBefore Fame

A Coney Island Childhood I

JosephHeller, manuscriptdraft c. 1996, for Now and Then, ariouslypaginated.

JosephHeller was born to immigrant parents n Brooklyn, N.Y., 1923and ived

there, n the Coney sland community, until the outbreak of World War II. These

pages&om an earlydraft for his autobiographicalmemoir, Now and Then 1998),

describe he community in which he lived, he work ethic of his youth, and his

childhood encounterwith an earlierstory of war, Homer's Iliad.

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A Coney Island Childhood II

Graduation photograph,Public School 188, Coney sland,N.Y., January1937.

Donated by Mr. Howard Ehrenman,Brooklyn, N.Y.

Among his family

and friends during

his youth in Coney

Island, Heller was

alwaysknown asJoey.

Mr. Ehrenman,a

contemporaryat P 5.

188,comments: Joey

is in the lower row,

holding the sign... he

is directly above he

two S's n CLASS."

Heller was 14 at the

time of this photo.

A Record of Heller's

Unit During World

War II

EverettB. Thomas,

comp., Round he

World with the488th:

A More or Less actual Draft or NowandThen

Narrative Supported y

On-the-Spot ictorial Evidence. .p: n.p. n.d. [1946]. Signedby Heller beside is

photo on p. 165.

HeUer ervedduring World War II in the U.S. Army

with the 488th BombardmentSquadron.

hist~ry, from its formation in Columbia, S.C.

Tunisia, Corsica,and Italy,

Columbia, i

somethingof the flavor of squadronife.

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2nd Lt. JosephHeller, USAAF

In 1943-44, Heller trained asa bombardierat Columbia Army Air Baseand in

Walterboro,S.C., subsequentlylying 60 missionsover taly, from basesn Tunisia

and Corsit:a.

From Heller's Wartime Flight Records

Theseofficial monthly records, rom the JosephHeller Archive, detail Heller's

flying time both during training and for his 60 missions.Heller obtained hese

copies n preparation or writing his memoir, Now and Then.

Corsica,Christmas 1944

The snapshot rom which this

picture wasenlargeddiffers from

that printed in the 488th Squadron

book, but was aken on the same

occasIon.

Loading Bombs for a Mission

Photo: The bespectacledigure on

the right, supervising he loading,

is Edmund]. Ritter (Orr in

Catch-22).

Bombing a Rail Bridge,

Orvieto, Italy

Photo: rom Round he World with

the 488th (1946).

BetweenApril 1943 and May

1945, Heller's squadronlew a total

of 479 missions,dropping bombs

totaling over 12 million pounds.

HeUer n Corsica, Christmas 1944

JosephHeller, c. 1944

A more nformal wartime

photograph, n leather light jacket.


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Heller's First Published Story

Lt. JosephHeller, "I don't love you anymore," Story, 7: 115 [Servicemen'sssue]

(September-October, 945): 4(}--44.Wrappers, ignedby Heller (p. 40). Bruccoli-

Bucker,C1. Loaned by Mat~ew J. Broccoli.

The magazineStory, dited by Whit Burnet, provided a first venue or many

writers of Heller's generation.Heller's storywas abouta discharged oldier.The

biographicalnote states hat Heller was then trying to establish imselfasa

playwright.

Heller in CollaborationJoe

Heller and GeorgeMandel, TheBird in thePevverbloomuit. Carbon

typescript n blue binder: Lucy Kroll Agency 1952].

Following collegeat the

University of Southern

California and New

York University, an

MA at Columbia, and

a Fulbright year at

Oxford, Heller worked

in advertisingand

promotions in New

York. In addition to

publishing magazine Coverabel romHeller-Mandellay,1952

stories,he worked in

collaborationwith his boyhood riend GeorgeMandel on this unproducedplay

and on several nproducedscreenplays r preliminaty film treatments.

2: From Catch-18 to Catch-22

Catch-IS: The First Published Segmentof Heller's Novel

JosephHeller, "Catch-IB," 204-214, New World Writing, A New Adventure n

Modern Reading, th Mentor Selection.New York: New American Library, 1955.

Laminatedwrappers,nscribed o Arlyn Bruccoli. Bruccoli-Bucker,CB. Loaned by

Mrs. Broccoli.

Sixyearsbeforepublication of the novel, Heller published he first chapterasa

short story n this prestigious aperback eries.A second ebound copy s openedat

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Heller's contribution. The subsequentitle changewas equired o avoid confusion

with Leon Uris's forthcoming book, Mila 18.

Catch-2~asSeenby Its First Reviewers

JosephHeller, Catch-22, Novel.New York: Simon & Schuster, 961.Advance

proofs,printed wrappers.Bruccoli-Bucker,A 1.1.a adv).

Both the publishersand Heller's

literary agents,Russell nd

Volkening, put specialeffort into

promoting Heller's book with critics

through distribution of advance

..

reviewcopies.

The First Edition of Catch-22

JosephHeller, Catch-22,A Novel

New York: Simon & Schuster,

1961. First edition, first printing,

in jacket, nscribed Matt's copy."

Broccoli-Bucker,A I.I.a. Loanedby

Matthew J. Bruccoli.

Heller's novelappeared n October

10, 1961.The initial print-run was

4,000 copiesonly, and, hough it

gained espectful eviews,t was not

an mmediatebestseller.

Advance proof for Catch-22

JosephHeller's Scrapbook

The scrapbook hownherewasusedby Heller to keepnewspaper lippings,

reviews,publicity items,and other promotional material elating o the publication

of his earlynovels.Shownhere s a news tem about he title change or his first

novel. Both the scrapbook nd most of the items in it are on highly acidic paper

and posesignificantconservation roblems.Gift of Matthew J. Bruccoli.


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Promoting Catch-22 n Britain

The four postcards hownhere,with

cartoonsby Tony Hart illustrating

charactersrom Catch-22, ere

distributed by Heller's British

publisher, onathanCape.

The First British Printing

of Catch-22

JosephHeller, Catch-22.London:

JonathanCape, 1962. First edition,

first British printing, in jacket.

Bruccoli-Bucker,A 1.I.t.

Critical responseo the British

publication of Heller's novelwas

more mmediateand enthusiastic

than in the U.S. It washailed

as "uniquely funny and grimly

serious,"and as "the most striking

debut in American fiction since The

Catchern theRye."

British promotional cartoon card

Recognition n America: Headlining a

New Story Collection

JosephHeller, "World Full of GreatCities,"

11-23, in Nelson lgrens Own Book ofLonesome

Momters.New York: LancerBooks,1962.

Bruccoli-Bucker,B2.

British critical enthusiasm ncouragedHeller's

American supporters. ustone year after

publication of his novel, Heller wascelebrated

on the jacket of this collectionas"the literary

sensation f the year" and asone of "the most

talentedwriters of our time." Other contributors FirstBritishedition f Catch-22

to the collection ncluded SaulBellow and

Thomas Pynchon.

Lieutenant Milo Minderbinder:

'Frankly, I' dlike to see tbe Government

get o"t of war altogetber and leave tbe whole

field to private ind"stry.'


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Catch-22n paperback

JosephHeller, Catch-22.New York: Dell, 1962. Third Dell printing, October

1962, blue pictorial and printed wrappers.

It was n paperback hat Catch-22made ts greatestmpact and washailed as "a

classicof its era." By 1970 the Dell paperback ad sold over3.5 million copies,

with changeso the coverdesign,and more than 10 million copieswere eventually

printed.

3: The Impact of Catch-22

, Catch-22 in Translation

The worldwide impact of modernAmerican iterature,and JosephHeller's

international reputation, s evidenced y the items in this case, elected rom a

much largergroup of translationsdonated n 2001 by Valerie Heller. Shownhere

are ranslationsnto Slovenianand Hungarian.

Translationsof Catch-22nto Danish, Swedish, nd Finnish.

Translationsof Catch-22nto Spanish nd Portuguese.

Translationsof Catch-22nto Czechand Polish.

Worth Pirating: A TaiwaneseReprint of Catch-22

This is one of three suchEnglish-textpiracies n Thomas CooperLibrary's Heller

collection.Thesecopiesareprinted on thinner paper han the legitimateAmerican

edition shown n Case .

4: Stageand Screen

Heller as Screenwriter

JosephHeller and GeorgeMandel, TheBig Squeeze,n Original Screenplay.

Typescript n binder, Scapegoat roductions nc., n.d.

Heller and Mandel, Howe& Hummel.Typescriptbook for musical, n binder,

July 1, 1968.

Following the success f Catch-22,Heller turned his attention o motion pictures

and theatre.The unproducedscreenplay nd musicalshown here,both written


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in collaborationwith the novelistGeorgeMandel, seemnot to havebeennoticed

by Heller scholars.Screenplays y Heller, aloneand in collaboration, hat reached

production during this period ncluded Sexand the SingleGirl (Warner Brothers,

1964), CasinoRoyaleColumbia Pictures,1967),and Dirty DingusMagee Metro-

Goldwyn-Mayer, 1970).

A Belgian Release of a Heller Movie

Un Beau Salaud. Poster for Belgian releaseof Dirty Dingus Magee,dubbed in French:

For Dirty DingusMagee 1970), the third of his Hollywood screenplayso be

produced, Heller sharedcredit with Tom and FrankWaldman. Loaned

by Matthew J. Bruccoli.

Heller as Dramatist I: We Bombed n New Haven

JosephHeller, We Bombedn New Haven.Typescript n binder, copyright 1967.

This two-act play was irst producedat Yale n 1967and again on Broadway n

1968, when t alsoappeared sa book publishedby Alfred A. Knopf. The two

typescripts erearedatedas"Revised anuary8, 1968" (red binder) and "RevisedJanuary

6, 1969" (greenbinder). Also shown (open)arespiral-boundadvance

proofs for the Knopf edition and the 1969 SamuelFrenchacting ext.

An Omitted Chapter from Catch-22

JosephHeller, "Love, Dad," Playboy, 6:12 (December1969): 180-182,348.

This episode, ne of tWoadditional chapters rom Catch-22 hat Heller

subsequently ublishedseparately,oncerns he relationshipbetWeen nd Lt.

EdwardJ. Nately III, shortly o be killed on a bombing raid, and his conservative

father. Other contributors o this issueof Playboyncluded Graham Greene,

Eldridge Cleaver,Woody Allen, Leslie Fiedler,and Robert Graves.

Catch-22:The Movie

The movie rights for Catch-22 old quickly, but it was 1970, nine yearsafter book

publication, beforeHeller's novelwas eleased s amotion picture. Although

Heller had written several creenplays,e was not involved with the Paramount

adaptation,which wasdirected by Mike Nichols from a screenplay y Buck Henry.

This black-and-whitepublicity still, one of a group n the JosephHeller archive,

showsMilo Minderbinder Qon Voight) explaining o Colonel Cathcart (Martin

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Balsam)how their wartime supply operationcan makea profit buying five-cent

eggs or five centsand selling them for two.

Catch-22:The Movie

One-sheet oster,signedby JosephHeller. Loanedby Matthew J. Bruccoli.

Catch-22:The Movie

Six obby cards rom the 1970 Paramountproduction. Loaned by Matthew J.

Bruccoli.

JosephHeller on the Mike Nichols/ParamountMovie

JosephHeUer,untitled talk, n.d., c. 1970. Reproductionwith extensive encil

revISions. -

Heller on filming Catch-22

The Movie of Catch-22 and Book Sales

JosephHeller, Catch-22.New York: Dell, 1970. Pictorial wrappers with dog-tags).

By the time this new Dell edition waspublished, he original Dell paperback ad

already one through 27 printings. After the movie release,he paperback old a

million copies n sixweeks.

~"

'"

really didn't give a

.

j"/sold it to Columbia

..' J_'

Picf\1res and the tlr8t cheOk'

.

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think therea~ethat ~ny ~ ~ie5 ll\ade~~

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ccc c c

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made out ofanyi:)OO t. includinq tch~",~,.~, ~Tt ~uld

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at all or if

C"'c c"' Cc~Ar C

ln It;.~fhad to do 1I


14/24

Heller as Dramatist II: Catch-22on Stage

JosephHeller, Catch-22, Dramatization.Manuscriptand threestages f

typescriptwith corrections n ink.

The materialshere rom the JosephHeller archiveshow Heller at work in adapting

scenesrom his novelasa one-actplay. The archivealso ncludesa full-length

typescript First Draft" datedJuly 1971.The resultwas first producedat East

Hampton on Long Island in 1971 and again n New York City by Apple Corps

Theatre n 1981.

Heller as Dramatist III: Clevinger's Trial

Joseph Heller, Clevingers Trial (from Catch-22), A Play in OneAct. Basedon Chapter

8 rom his Novel Catch-22. New York: Samuel French, 1973. Printed wrappers.

This stageadapt~tionof a single episode, voiding he structuralproblems

posedby trying to adapt he novelasa whole,premiered n London in 1974.

5: Something Happened

r The First Manuscript Drafts for Something Happened

JosephHeller, manuscriptdraft,c. 1961.

After the critical success f Catch-22,Heller allowed 13 years o elapse efore

publishing his secondnovel, Something appened1974), a dark satire on the

world of Americanbusiness. he pages hownhere,with two versionsof a scene

in which the hero discusses ith his children he valuesof Mammon, are from his

first draft for that novel,and an accompanyingmemo by Heller ndicates hat a

completeddraft had beensent o a typing serviceasearlyas 1961. An excerpt rom

the novelappearedn Esquiren 1966.

The Edited Typescript of SomethingHappened

JosephHeller, Something appened. ypescript,936 pages,with extensive

autograph evisions,1974.

This substantialpile of typescript epresents nly abouthalf of the novel that Heller

eventually ubmitted o his publishers n 1974. Although he describedhis ashis

"Final Typescript," the autograph orrectionsgo far beyond esponding o editorial

queries, nd one of the pages hownherehas clearlybeen etyped.

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Heller's Own Description of SomethingHappened

Manuscript, ed felt-tip on yellow paper, hree pages.

Heller's secondnovelwas eagerly nticipatedby readers nd reviewers, nd even

though he sizeof this first printing is unknown, it was certainly arge. t was he

success f this secondnovel, not of Catch-22, hat encouragedHeller to give up

college eachingand becomea full-time writer.

JosephHeller at a Booksigning, 1974

Unattributed publicity photograph.

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SomethingHappened n Paperback

JosephHeller, Something appened. ew York: Ballantine,1975.Third edition

(Americanmass-market aperback),hird printing. Bruccoli-BuckerA 5.3.a.

Heller's success ith this novel s seen n cwo of the blurb-quotes or this

paperback: The most mportant novel of the decade,"and "Heller has not

repeated imself." By 1983, his edition had reached ts 15th printing.

6: Goodas Gold

JosephHeller in New York, 1976

Photographsby Hans Namuth.

Following the success f Something appened1974), Heller finally left his teaching

position at New York University o becomea full-time writer and established

separate ffice on West 57th Street.The unpublishedphotographsshownhereare

from a group commissionedo accompany lden Whitman's interview with him,

"SomethingAlways Happenson the Way to the Office," in the Bruccoli Clark

volume, PagesDetroit: BruccoliClark/Gale Research, 976).

Three Draft Stages or

Goodas Gold

For Heller's third novel,

Goodas Gold (1979), the

JosephHeller archive

providesa revealing

variety of evidenceabout

the author'sworking

methods.Shownhere

are hree draft stages-the

notecardson which (as

for other novels)Heller

tries out individual

sentences;he outline of

a scene o be fleshedout

later; and a manuscript

draft, written in blue,

with a second ayer of

extensiveevisionsadded

From Heller's index-cards for Good as Gold


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in red. In theseearliest rafts, he central characters namedWeinberg,not Gold,

and the novelwas irst registered or copyright n 1976 under he title Mothsat a

DarkBulb.

The Timeliness of Goodas Gold

JosephHeller, "Weintraub slipped nto the room." Typescript (carbon),six pages.

In the wake of the Watergatescandal,HeUer urned for his setting from the

worlds of war and businesso the world of politics. The short episode hown here,

conceived uite late in the novel's composition, hough before HeUerhad changed

his hero's name,was ntended o heighten he timelinessof the novel'spolitical

satire.Also shown s HeUer's overingnote to his editors aboutpossiblepublication

of the segmentn the New York Times.

An Advance Copy of Goodas Gold

JosephHeller, Goodas Gold. New York: Simon and Schuster, 979. First edition,

advance opy, in printed wrappers.Bruccoli-BuckerA 6.1.a (adv).

The First (Trade) Edition of Goodas Gold

JosephHeller, Goodas Gold.New York: Simon and Schuster, 979. First edition,

first printing, trade ssue, n jacket. Broccoli-BuckerA 6.1.a. Loaned by Matthew J

Bruccoli.

An Advance Copy of the British Good as Gold

Joseph Heller, Good as Gold. London: Jonathan Cape, 1979. First edition, advance

copy, in printed wrappers, under regular-issue acket. Broccoli-Bucker A 6.1.g (adv).

The First British Printing of Goodas Gold

JosephHeller, Goodas Gold.London: JonathanCape,1979. First edition, first

British printing, in jacket. Bruccoli-BuckerA 6.1.g.

Publicity for the Paperback

Goodas Goldwas irst issued n a mass-market aperbackn January 1980 by

PocketBooks. Shownhereare Wo of the publicity items distributed by Pocket

Books:a brochurewith Mel Brooks nterviewingHeller, and a "gold" medal

commemoratingpublication.

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God Knows and No Laughing Matter

Heller and Religion

JosephHeller, God Knows.P,reliminarymanuscriptdrafts and corrected ypescript.

Heller's fourth novelwasplannedasa rewriting of the Old Testament, resenting

King David's sardonicperspective n biblical eventsand characters. s the

materialshere ndicate,Heller took the preliminary researchor this novel with

greatseriousness.

Quotes and Quips: Heller's Card-Index for God Knows

Heller used raditional 3 x 5 index cards n writing severalof his novels,but his

cards or GodKnowsare of particular nterest.The initial purposeseemso have

beensimply to sort basic nformation on the Old Testamentcharacters, ut there

are alsocards ecording particularlyvivid or resonant erses rom the Authorized

(or King James) ranslationand cardsnoting the sharpunbiblical quips Heller

imagines or his narrator.

The Onset of an Unexplained llness

Part way through the writing of God Knows,n December1981, Heller experienced

severeweaknessn his limbs and other mysterioussymptoms, oon eading o

Heller on his recovery from Guillain-Barre Syndrome

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hospitalization. n due time, his illnesswasdiagnosed sGuillain-Barre Syndrome.

For a period of months, he was partially paralyzed nd bed or chair-bound.The

JosephHeller archivecontains ull medical ecordsof this illness, ogetherwith

Heller's own summaries nd accounts f his progress.

The First Edition of God Knows

JosephHeller, GodKnows.New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1984. First edition, trade

printing, in jacket. Broccoli-BuckerA 7.I.b. Loanedby Matthew J. Broccoli.

Drafts for No LaughingMatter

JosephHeller and SpeedVogel, No LaughingMatter. Manuscriptdrafts and

corrected ypescript.

When Heller began o recover, nd wasable o completehis novel-in-progress,

God Knows, e undertooka nonfiction project,an accountof his illnessand

convalescence,ritten in collaborationwith his friend SpeedVogel.

CharacterSketchesn No LaughingMatter

JosephHeller and SpeedVogel,No LaughingMatter. Manuscript draft, undated.

One of the strengthsof Heller's account s his closeobservation f the peoplehe

encountered, oth in the hospital and during his long period of rehabilitation.

The First Edition of No LaughingMatter

JosephHeller and SpeedVogel, No LaughingMatter. New York: G.P. Putnam's

Sons,1986. First edition, first printing, in jacket. Bruccoli-BuckerA 8.I.a. Loaned

by Matthew J. Bruccoli.

The First British Printing of No LaughingMatter

JosephHeller and SpeedVogel, No LaughingMatter. London: JonathanCape,

1986. First edition, first British printing, in jacket. Bruccoli-BuckerA 8.I.d.

8: Picture This

Researchinghe Novel

As he recovered rom his illness,HeUerplannedan ambitious ifth novel, exploring

the interrelationshipsbetweenwidely differing historical eras, rom the Greeks o

the presentday. Its starting point is Rembrandt'spainting Aristotle Contemplating

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theBust of Homer,and the

demandsof his subject ed

Heller to adoptmore formal

methodsof researchhan he

had employedon previous

books, ncluding employment

of a research ssistant. he

spiral-boundnotebookand

ring-binder,opened o show

Heller's work on Rembrandt,

also nclude extensive otes on

Aristotle and the Greeks.

The First Edition of

Picture This

JosephHeller, Picture This.

New York: G.P. Putnam's,

1988. First edition, first

printing, trade ssue, n jacket.

Bruccoli-BuckerA 9.1.a.

JosephHeller

Photo credit: Valerie Heller

9: Closing Time

JosephHeller on Location

This late signedphotograph

showsan ebullient Heller with

a B-25 like thosehe had flown

in during the war with the

488th Squadron. t was aken

while Heller was on location Researchotesor Picture 1Iis

for a televisionprogram about

Catch-22 or The LearningChannel.

Turning Back o Old Friends

The final novel of Heller's lifetime, ClosingTime,published ust afterhis 70th

birthday in 1993, anticipated he renewalof interest n the war generation.

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Presented sa sequel o his first novel, Catch-22, nd following someof the same

characters,t is not simply a return to the war itself, but a tracing of the characters'

individual post-war experiences,s heir lives again ntersect.

Mapping the Novel's Setting

Much of ClosingTime s set n the downtown New York Port Authority Bus

Terminal, whereMilo Minderbinder (now a billionaire) plans o hold his son's

wedding. In

Ireparation or

writing, Heller hired

a researcherwhose

report s displayed '

here) o walk about

and observe eople

and events.Heller's

hand-drawnmaps

of each evel n the

PABT building

show he carewith

which he built on

this research.

Characterand

Structure in

C10 , T' The Port Authority Terminal in Closing Time

sIng .l Ime

Sectionsof the novelare old in the first personby variouscharacters,ncluding

this section old by a new character, n ex-infantryman,Lew Rabinowitz,

Yossarianand the "Untided Novel"

During all the draft stages f the novel, HeUermarked t as"untitled," but the

largestsection, old in the third person,was itled "Yossarian."Shownhereare wo

different revisionstages f the Yossarian ection, howinga typical interim title-

page,and a typescriptpassage here HeUerdiscusseshe special mportanceof the

war in which his generation ook part.


22/24

The First Edition of ClosingTime

JosephHeller, ClosingTime,A Novel.New York: Simon & Schuster, 994. First

edition, presumed econdprinting, trade ssue, n jacket. Broccoli-BuckerA II.I.b.

ClosingTime asTrade Paperback

JosephHeller, ClosingTime,A Novel. New York: Simon & Schuster 1995]. First

edition, tradepaperback.Bruccoli-BuckerA II.I.f.

10: Now and Then and Portrait ofan Artist

JosephHeller at the University of South Carolina I

In September 996, aspart of the F. ScottFitzgeraldCentenaryCelebration,Mr.

Heller oined JamesDickey and Matthew J. Bruccoli for a discussion f Fitzgerald's

achievement,elevised

live from the Graniteville

Room o schoolsacross

the state hrough

SCETV.

Two Draft

Versions of Heller's

Autobiographical

Memoir

JosephHeller, untitled

and undated manuscript,

ballpoint on legalpads,

variouslypaginated.

Shownwith "Now

and Then," typescript,

February1996, marked

"1st draft," with pencil

corrections.

HeUer with James Dickey, Thomas Cooper Library, 1996

Heller's memoir 100k5 ack on his early ife, his wartime service, nd more briefly

on his career sa writer.

22


23/24

Hdler's Autobiography

JosephHeller, Now and Then:From Coneysland o Here.New York: Alfred A.

Knopf, 1998. Advanceuncorrectedproof, creamprinted wrappers.Bruccoli-

BuckerA 12.1.b adv).

JosephHeUer,Now and Then:From Coneysland o Here.New York: Alfred A.

Knopf, 1998. First trade edition, first printing, with photographic acket. Bruccoli-

BuckerA 12.1.b.

The trade printing of Heller's memoirwaspublishedon February10, 1998. It had

beenpreceded n January30 by a limited subscriptionprinting of 2,000 copies

issued or collectorsby the Franklin Press.

JosephHeller at the University of South Carolina II

The osephHellerArchiveat the University /South Carolina. Columbia, S.C.]:

Thomas CooperLibrary, University of South Carolina, 1998. No.2 of 100copies.

Bruccoli-Bucker,B25.

This keepsake as ssued or guestsat a luncheonat the CentUryAssociation,New

York City, on Wednesday, pril 15, 1998, o celebratehe acquisitionof the Joseph

Heller archive.Reproduced n it are Wopages rom Heller's autographmanuscript

for his novel ClosingTime.

Heller's PosthumouslyPublished Portrait ofan Artist

JosephHeller, Portrait ofan Artist, as an Old Man. New York: Simon & Schuster,

2000. Advanceuncorrectedproof, first variant: yellow printed wrappers.Bruccoli-

BuckerA 13.1.a adv).

JosephHeller, Portrait ofan Artist, as an Old Man. New York: Simon & Schuster,

2000. Advanceuncorrected roof, second ariant: creamwrappersprinted in

purple and orange,white back printed in black. Bruccoli-BuckerA 13.1.a adv).

JosephHdler, Portrait ofan Artist, as an OldMan. New York: Simon & Schuster,2000.

First edition, first printing, with jacket. Bruccoli-BuckerA 13.1.a.

This posthumously ublishedshort novel,wryly analyzing he difficulty of beinga

novelistwhen everythinghas alreadybeendone by earlierwriters, ncludes he text

of the talk Heller gave n Columbia in September 996 (see . 5 above).

23


24/24

JosephHeller Research t the University of South Carolina I

Matthew J. Broccoli and Park Bucker, osephHeller,A Descriptive ibliography.

Newcastleand Pittsburgh:Oak Knoll Press nd the University of PittsburghPress,

2002. Original cloth, pictorial jacket; dedicatedand inscribed o the memory of

GeorgeD. Terry.

There had beenno full-scalescholarlybibliographyof Heller's booksand other

publishedwritings before his volume by two scholarsat the University of South

Carolina.

JosephHeller Research t the University of South Carolina II

JosephHeller, Catchas CatchCan. The Collected tories nd Other Writings.

Edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli and Park Bucker. New York: Simon & Schuster,

2002. Advanceuncorrected eader'sproofs,original laminatedprinted wrappers.

Gift of Matthew J. Bruccoli.

The first published collection of JosephHeller's short stories, dited at the

University of South Carolina.

heller papers

Documents