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Finding Aid of the Herman Petersen Papers
1339  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Descriptive Summary
  • Administrative Information
  • Biography
  • Scope and Content
  • Organization and Arrangement
  • Indexing Terms

  • Descriptive Summary

    Title: Herman Petersen Papers,
    Date (inclusive): ca. 1920-1948
    Collection number: 1339
    Creator: Petersen, Herman, b. 1893
    Extent: 6 boxes (3 linear ft.)
    Repository: University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.
    Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
    Abstract: Herman Petersen (1893-1973) was an author of mystery and detective fiction. He sold his first story, “The seven gilded balls,” to Black mask in June 1922, and sold 17 more while the magazine was under the direction of editor George W. Sutton, Jr. He also worked for Utica newspapers, and in 1934, became a fourth-class postmaster for Poolville, New York. He sold his first full length mystery novel, Murder in the making, in 1940. His historical novel, The covered bridge (1950), was later adapted for television and aired in 1952 The collection consists of Petersen's correspondence and published and unpublished manuscripts. There is also a checklist of Petersen's stories published by professor E.R. Hagemann (in box 6).
    Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
    Language: English.

    Administrative Information

    Restrictions on Access

    COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Advance notice required for access.

    Restrictions on Use and Reproduction

    Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Herman Petersen Papers (Collection 1339). Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.

    UCLA Catalog Record ID

    UCLA Catalog Record ID: 2722777 

    Provenance/Source of Acquisition

    Neil J. Petersen, purchase, 1983.

    Biography

    Petersen was born in Utica, New York on September 9, 1893; he sold his first story, “ The seven gilded balls, ” to Black mask in June 1922; in all, he sold 18 pieces to Black mask while it was under the direction of editor George W. Sutton, Jr.; Petersen's best times in the pulp business were between 1922-33; Petersen did not depend on the pulps for his livelihood, as he worked for Utica newspapers and in 1943 became a fourth-class postmaster for Poolville, New York; he sold his first full length mystery novel, Murder in the making, in 1940; other novels include Murder R.F.D., Old bones, and The D.A.'s daughter; he also published a humorous autobiography titled, Country chronicle (1945); his historical novel, The covered bridge (1950), was later adapted for television and aired in 1952; his final mystery novel was The house in the wilderness (1957) Petersen died July 1973.

    Scope and Content

    Collection consists of correspondence and published and unpublished manuscripts of pulp fiction writer Herman Petersen. Correspondence in the collection is usually between Petersen and various publishers. Also includes a checklist of Petersen's stories published by professor E.R. Hagemann (in box 6).

    Expanded Scope and Content

    Herman Petersen was a sucessful fiction writer during the 1920's-1930's and his short stories were published extensively in the popular pulp magazines of the day. The collection includes both published and unpublished manuscripts as well as correspondence between Petersen and his various publishers. The collection is arranged alphabetically by pulp magazine. In addition, in Box 6, there is a checklist of Petersen's stories published by Professor E.R. Hagemann.

    Organization and Arrangement

    Collection arranged alphabetically by pulp magazine.

    Indexing Terms

    The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the repository's online public access catalog.

    Subjects

    Petersen, Herman, b. 1893--Archives.
    Novelists, American--New York (State)--Archival resources.

    Genres and Forms of Material

    Mystery and detective fiction.
    Manuscripts for publication.