Series contains the personal correspondence received by William Lyon Mackenzie King at Laurier House, Kingsmere and the Prime Minister's Office during the years 1897-1950. The material consists of cards, Christmas and birthday telegrams, personal correspondence, newspaper clippings and pamphlets sent to King by some of his closest friends and advisors. It is through the Personal correspondence series, along with the Mackenzie King Diary, that a researcher is able to discern the private side of Mackenzie King.
The series should not be confused with the General correspondence series (J3) as the material in the Personal correspondence series is of a private nature. The correspondence came from friends; not from acquaintances, admirers or the general public. Many of these letters are marked 'Personal and Confidential' and are not of a governmental nature. Much of this correspondence extended over a long period of time and often King received letters from all the members of a family, i.e., (Pattesons, Rockefellers). The material ranges in length from one file to five volumes of correspondence.
This series can be an invaluable research tool. Used in conjunction with the Mackenzie King diary the researcher will gain innumerable insights into the personality and life of Canada's tenth Prime Minister. Though the series is defined as Personal correspondence it does contain political opinions expressed by King and his friends about various political events. King's personal correspondence covered a wide variety of people and range of interests. His longstanding friendship with Violet Markham, his continued interest in Mathilde Grossert, his attraction to those with wealth and power, like the Rockefellers, and other facets of his personality and life style are well documented here.
The material is arranged alphabetically by correspondent and chronologically within each file. Any enclosures such as clippings or pamphlets have been kept with the correspondence. Photographs were transferred to the National photography collection and family material was transferred to King family series (J7). In many cases the collection included both the correspondent's letter and a carbon copy of Mackenzie King's reply.
