Personal, 1927-1977 and undated

This series consists of materials on houses and housing, address books, calendars, medical information, membership cards, astrology materials, food and wine material, a questionnaire, and airplane, train, and museum tickets.

Porter's calendars are heavily annotated, indicating everything from hairdresser and lunch appointments to travel, and are a valuable resource for documenting her daily activities. Astrology materials include mostly her detailed charts from 1935, with a few additional notes. The South Hill House book is one she kept at her New York house; it contains signatures of guests, a few notes, and numerous photographs of Porter, Eudora Welty, and the house, many of which were taken by Welty. Her notes on South Hill indicate changes and remodeling she desired, including gardens. There is also a book she kept for her house in Mixcoac, Mexico. Medical materials include an extensive workup from Georgetown University Hospital in 1969, doctors' orders for diet changes, and a few of Porter's own notes on her health. The food and wine material includes many recipes she prepared, notes on menus for parties she planned and/or gave and comments about wines she served. The questionnaire, for the Knights of Mark Twain, was completed in 1971 and details some of her likes, dislikes, and opinions at that time; it was on display in the Katherine Anne Porter Room for many years. The wedding program is from Anna Gay Porter's first marriage in 1940, and there is a program for the 1942 memorial service for Porter's father, Harrison B. Porter. A 1949 Santa Monica Public Library card gives Porter's address, and a membership card for the Association Belgo-Américaine is also included. There is material on the cats she owned, household and mailing lists, schedules, Albert Erskine's 1927 driver's license, and Eugene Pressly's 1933 French identity card.

Materials are separated into five categories: Address Books/Calendars, Albert Erskine, Personal, Eugene Pressly, and Travel. Materials are arranged alphabetically by assigned subject title, then chronologically within the folders.

Additional medical materials, consisting of hospital and doctor bills, along with additional material on housing, are in Series IV: Financial and Legal. There are more materials on astrology, house ideas, and many additional recipes in Series VI: Clippings and in Series I: Correspondence-- Personal. Numerous travel materials, including brochures and maps, reside in Series VII: Printed Matter, and her travel itineraries for the National Concert and Artists Corporation are in Series III: Awards and Professional Activities. Porter's chest x-rays from Mexico and from the Davos, Switzerland, sanitorium are in Series XII: Photographs. Porter's daybooks, autobiographical and biographical notes, and numerous notes on personal matters are in Series II: Writings.