Sub-series consists of files from a new filing system established by Karsh's office in 1968. From 1968 on, the correspondence and subject files were separated from the material on sittings, requests and travel, and were filed in one continuous, rather than repeating, alphabetical order. The files relating to clients and portrait subjects were arranged alphabetically in two groups: Sitting Files and Unlikely Sittings Files. A separate grouping, Requests Files, was created by Karsh's office for files relating to requests for personal appearances, speaking engagements and autographs. Finally, the travel records were organized together in another group of Travel Files. A small amount of material pre-dating 1968 is included.
The Correspondence and Subject Files contain personal and business correspondence including incoming letters and copies of outgoing letters, notes, printed material and clippings, memorabilia and other material. While the incoming correspondence is predominantly addressed to Karsh himself, much of the outgoing correspondence is written by Karsh's assistant, Joyce Large, on behalf of Karsh's studio.
In addition to many of the same file titles as were used in the Correspondence and Subject Files - Ottawa Office I sub-series (for example, "Applications to Studio", "Camera Press", "Correspondence with Other Photographers"), the Correspondence and Subject Files in this sub-series also document Karsh's continuing interest in his native Armenia, documentation on the creation of the Solange Karsh Award including copies of several of the plays which won this award at the Ottawa Little Theatre, information on photographic equipment and supplies purchased by Karsh, and documentation on the publication of and publicity surrounding Karsh's work, including correspondence with "Reader's Digest", the British Broadcasting Corporation, "60 Minutes" and the University of Toronto Press.
The Sitting Files include correspondence with portrait subjects and background information, as well as some orders for prints. The files are arranged alphabetically by sitter's name, with oversized material moved to volume 336. There are separate files for certain clients, including files on Atlantis Films, Ansel Adams, Bryan Adams, Canada Trust, Joe Clark, Winston Churchill, Jacques Cousteau and family, the Distiller's Company, "Esquire Magazine" (for photos of Ken Kesey and John Updike), Mikhail Gorbachev, Ray Hnatyshyn, the Kellogg Company, Stephen Leacock, John F. Kennedy, Peter Lougheed, Brian Mulroney, Pope John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, Gabrielle Roy, Edward Schreyer, Norman Strouse, Pierre Elliot Trudeau, and Wachovia Corporation, with letters sent to Yousuf Karsh from many of these sitters. Among the "Miscellaneous Files" can be found original handwritten or typewritten letters from Joan Baez, Dave Brubeck, Robertson Davies, Arthur Fielder, Hugh Hefner, Margaret Laurence, Norman Mailer, Norman McLaren, Marshall McLuhan, Henry Moore, Itzhak Perlman and Mstislav Rostropovich, as well as background and other information pertaining to their sittings.
The Unlikely Sittings files contain alphabetical files maintained on prospective clients, including correspondence and background information outlining the reasons for requesting Karsh's services as well as copies of Karsh's responses in many cases. The material is divided into three alphabetical categories (A-G, H-O, P-Z), following Karsh's original order.
The Request Files contain chronologically-arranged correspondence which relates to requests for Karsh's participation in speaking engagements and personal appearances and for autographs.
The Travel Files document trips taken by Karsh to meet with clients for photographic assignments and sittings. The material is arranged chronologically by the date of the trip and includes correspondence regarding sittings and accommodations, schedules, background information regarding sittings, notes, itineraries, clippings and some financial information. Among the correspondence found in the travel files are hand-written or typewritten letters from Marc Chagall ("Paris, Amsterdam, Madrid - 1965"),Evelyn Waugh ("London - 1965"), Leopold Stokowski ("New York - Stokowski - Cassals Concert - 1970") and Linus Pauling, Norman Strouse and Arthur Kornberg ("California - 1970"). The "Houston, Texas (HR. Brown) 1968-1969" file contains autographs of Apollo 8 astronauts William A. Anders, James A. Lovell Jr. and Frank Bornam, while the American Artists file (1966) contains original correspondence from Jacques Lipchitz, Adolph Gotlieb, Richard Lippold, Louise Nevelson, Theodore Roszar, William Zorach, Seymour Lipton and Marcel Duchamps.
