The Stout family and John McAleer, Mr. Stout's Biographer, have donated a large number of Mr. Stout's files, records, correspondence manuscripts, and first editions to the John J. Burns Library, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA.

The Archives are really worth a visit for any fan who has a Boston opportunity -- the John Burns Library on the BC campus in Chestnut Hill is a gorgeous building, the librarians are nice and friendly, and there are some interesting and funny Stout materials, although it's a bit catch-as-catch-can because the index guides, in a word, stink. They do not have an “online index” to the Rex Stout papers. 

A PLEA TO ANYONE WHO GOES THERE: Please make and send us a copy of the finding aids from the Library.

Members of the public with proper identification are welcome — prior notification is preferred but not necessary.

Here are some of the links describing the collections:

Detective Fiction Collection -- Rex Stout --

Brief descriptions of two collections of Stout materials

John McAleer Supplements the Rex Stout Collection

Summary of Collection (from BC web site)

University of North Carolina

In the Southern Historical Collection at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, within the Don Wharton Papers (#4261), there are a few letters from Rex Stout to journalist Don Wharton regarding the Writers' War Board . The online finding aid to this collection may be accessed via the following URL: http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/w/Wharton,Don

Further information about the Manuscripts Department, including their contact information, may be found at: http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/

New York City Public Library

Here is a finding aid to a manuscript collection in the Public Library on 42nd Street.  Note the Rex Stout references regarding his early pulp fiction writing career.   Maybe this would make an interesting research project for someone!

http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/spe/rbk/faids/popular.html