Finding Aid for the Robert Payne Papers, 1946-1964

Processed by Manuscripts Division staff; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé
© 2003
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Finding Aid for the Robert Payne Papers, 1946-1964

Collection number: 238

UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections

Manuscripts Division



Los Angeles, CA
Processed by:
Manuscripts Division staff
Encoded by:
Caroline Cubé
Online finding aid edited by:
Josh Fiala, November 2003
© 2003 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Descriptive Summary

Title: Robert Payne Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1946-1964
Collection number: 238
Creator: Payne, Robert, 1911-
Extent: 12 boxes (6 linear ft.)
Repository: University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Dept. of Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Abstract: Pierre Stephen Robert Payne (1911-1983) was a professor of English poetry and lecturer in naval architecture (1943-46), head of the English deptartment at Alabama College, Montevallo (1949-54), war correspondent in Spain (1938), correspondent for the Times of London in Changsha, China (1942), the founding director of Columbia University Translation Center, and the author of books in a variety of subjects. The collection consists of literary manuscripts by Payne, letters from Payne to Lawrence Clark Powell and Louis Zukofsky, miscellaneous letters to Payne from various persons, ephemera, and pictures.
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 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.

Restrictions on Access

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

Provenance/Source of Acquisition

Gift of Robert Payne, 1950-68.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Robert Payne Papers (Collection 238). Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

UCLA Catalog Record ID

UCLA Catalog Record ID: 4233563 

Biography

Pierre Stephen Robert Payne was born on December 4, 1911 in Saltash, Cornwall, England; came to the U.S. in 1946; attended Diocesan College, Rondebosch, South Africa (1929-30), University of Capetown (1931-32), University of Liverpool (1933-36), University of Munich (1937), and Sorbonne, University of Paris (1938); was shipwright's apprentice, Liverpool (1932-33), shipwright (1939-41) and armament officer (1941), Singapore Naval Base; translator, British Ministry of Information in Chungking, China (1941-42); professor of English poetry and lecturer in naval architecture (1943-46); head of English deptartment, Alabama College, Montevallo (1949-54); war correspondent in Spain (1938), and correspondent for the Times of London in Changsha, China (1942); was founding director of Columbia University Translation Center; wrote more than 100 books in a variety of subjects; publications include Love and peace (1945), Forever China (1945), China awake (1947), The rose tree (1947), A house in Peking: a novel of 18th-century China (1956), and Lawrence of Arabia: a triumph (1962); he died on February 18, 1983.

Scope and Content

Collection consists of literary manuscripts by Payne, letters from Payne to Lawrence Clark Powell and Louis Zukofsky, miscellaneous letters to Payne from various persons, ephemera, and pictures. Includes manuscripts of his Alexander the god, The canal builders, The fathers of the western church, A house in Peking, The roaring boys, The splendor of Greece, and others.

Organization and Arrangement

Arranged in the following series:
  1. Manuscripts of Robert Payne (Boxes 1-10).
  2. Photographs, correspondence and ephemera (Box 11).
  3. The white rajas of Sarawak, Ancient Greece, The barbarian (Boxes 11-12).

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Payne, Robert, 1911- --Archives.
Authors--20th century--Archival resources.
Poets--20th century--Archival resources.
Manuscripts for publication.


Note

Description derived from in-house card files.
Box 5

Alexander of Asia. Montevallo, Alabama, ca. 1954.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 40 leaves. Typescript (incomplete) with holograph corrections.

Scope and Content Note

A play, apparently unpublished, based on Alexander the Great.
Box 6

Alexander the god. Montevallo, Alabama, ca. 1954.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 328 leaves. Typescript with holograph corrections. In two envelopes.

Scope and Content Note

“Final version with emendations. R(obert] P[ayne].” First published by A.A. Wyn, New York, 1954.
Box 6

Another copy.

Physical Description: 255 leaves. Typescript (carbon), incomplete. In two envelopes.

Scope and Content Note

“Original version. Robert Payne.”
Box 1

The blue negro imd other stories, by Robert Payne. New York, Avon Publishing Company [c. 1951].

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 157pp. (Avon Pocket-size Books 373).

Note

Note

In: Hearst Corporation Avon Book Division. Avon Book archive. New York, 1960-
Box 4

Brave harvest, by Richard Cargoe [pseudonym] n.p., n.d.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 215 leaves. Typescript with holograph corrections.

Note

First published by Ballantine Books, New York, 1954.
Box 1

The canal builders; the story of canal engineers through the ages. n.p., c. 1959.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 319, 21 leaves. Typescript with copious holograph corrections. In 2 envelopes.

Scope and Content Note

First published by Macmillan, New York, 1959.
Box 4

The chieftain. Topanga, California, n.d.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 215 leaves. Typescript (incomplete) with extensive holograph corrections. In two envelopes.

Scope and Content Note

First published by Prentice-Hall, New York, 1953. Published title: The chieftain, a story of the Nez Perce people.
Box 16

The chieftain: a story of the Nez Perce people. New York, Pocket Books, Incorporated [1954].

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 327pp. (Cardinal Edition C-151).

Scope and Content Note

In: American paper-back books. Collection of paper-back books printed in America ... New York, ca. 1950- .
Box 2

Concord Bridge, by “Richard Cargoe” [pseudonym] Boston-New York, 1948-1952.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 337 leaves. Typescript with copious holograph corrections. In two envelopes.

Scope and Content Note

First published by Bobbs-Merrill, Indianapolis, 1952, under the name “Howard Horne,” rather than “Richard Cargoe,” the name appearing on the manuscript.
Box 8

Contemporary Chinese poetry, edited with an introduction by Robert Payne. Devonport, England, ca. 1946.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911- , ed.
Physical Description: 4 p.l., 83 leaves. 30cm. Typescript (carbon).

Scope and Content Note

Translations of Chinese poetry, first published by Routledge, London, 1947.
Gift of the author, November 1960.
Box 3

The deluge, a'novel by Leonardo da Vinci, edited by Robert Payne. Montevallo, Alabama, n.d.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 99 leaves. Typescript with holograph corrections.

Scope and Content Note

“The story ... has been based on Leonardo's notes.” First published by Twayne Publishers, New York, 1954.
Box 10

Dostoyevsky: a human portrait. New York, ca. 1961.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 13 p.l., 501, 6 leaves. 28cm. Typescript with holograph corrections.

Scope and Content Note

A study of Dostoyevsky, first published by Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1961. This is the copy from which type was set.
Box 10

Another copy.

Physical Description: 140 sheets. Page proofs with corrections.
Box 3

The fathers of the Western Church. Montevalle, Alabama, n.d.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 359 leaves. Typescript (carbon) with extensive holograph corrections. In two envelopes.

Scope and Content Note

First published by Viking, New York, 1951.
Box 3

The Great Mogul.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-

Note

See the following entries in this catalog: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911- . The young emperor ...ca. 1949.
Box 9

The holy sword. The story of Islam from the time of Muhammad to the present day. New York, ca. 1959.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 502 leaves. 28cm. Typescript with holograph corrections.

Scope and Content Note

First published by Harper & Brothers, New York, 1959. This is the printer's copy.
Gift of the author, June 1960.
Box 3

A house in Peking. Peking-New York, 1946-1955.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 351 leaves. Typescript with extensive holograph corrections. In two envelopes.

Scope and Content Note

First published by Doubleday & Company, Garden City, New York, 1956.
Box 3

Another copy.

Physical Description: Typescript (incomplete) with extensive holograph corrections.
Box 5

Imperial road; a novel by Robert Payne. Montevallo, Alabama, ca. 1950.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 377 leaves. Typescript with extensive holograph corrections.

Note

First published by Prentico-Hall, Trio., New York, 1951, with the title “Red Lion Inn.”
Box 1

The island: being the story of the fortunes & vicissitudes & triumphs of the island, once known as Monchonake ... now known as Gardiner's Island... Now faithfully related from original documents and presented to the public . n.p., c. 1958.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 240 leaves. Typescript with extensive holograph corrections.

Note

First published by Harcourt, Brace, New York, 1958.
Box 4

The Lord comes; a novel on the life of Buddha. China, 1945.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 174 leaves. Typescript with extensive holograph corrections.

Note

First published by Dodd, Mead, New York, 1948, with the title “The yellow robe.”
Box 6

Mao Tse-Tung, ruler of Red China. n.p., ca. 1950.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 321 leaves. Typescript (carbon) with holograph corrections. In two envelopes.

Scope and Content Note

First published by Henry Schuman, Incorporated, New York, 1950; published by Secker & Warburg, London, 1951.
Box 7

O western wind. n.p., n.d.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 170 leaves. Typescript (incomplete) with holograph corrections.

Scope and Content Note

Work sheets, incomplete and not in order, of a novel. Apparently unpublished.
Received April 1957.
Box 7

Red Lion Inn.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-

Note

See the following entries in this catalog: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911- . Imperial road ...ca. 1950.
Box 8

The roaring boys. Garden City, New York, Doubleday & Company, 1955.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 100 sheets. Galley proofs with corrections in ink.
Box 8

Another copy.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 101 sheets. Page proofs with corrections in ink.
Box 7

The roaring boys. Montevallo, Alabama, ca. 1954.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 259 leaves. Typescript (incomplete) with holograph corrections. In two envelopes.

Scope and Content Note

Several early versions of a novel about Shakespeare, all incomplete and not in order.
First published by Doubleday & Company, Garden City, New York, 1955.
Box 8

The roaring boys. Montevallo, Alabama, ca. 1955.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 9 p.l., 365 leaves. Typescript with extensive holograph corrections.

Scope and Content Note

A novel about Shakespeare.
This is the manuscript from which type was set for the published book.
First published by Doubleday & Company, Garden City, New York, 1955.
Box 7

Roaring boys I and II. Montevallo, Alabama, ca. 1954.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 2 items. 26cm. Holograph manuscript and printed ephemera.

Scope and Content Note

Notebooks containing notes and ephemera relating to Shakespeare and his times; used in preparation for his novel “The roaring boys.”
Box 1

The shepherd. n.p., n.d.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 520 leaves. Typescript (carbon) with extensive holograph corrections. In two envelopes.

Scope and Content Note

First published by Heinemann, London, 1957.
Box 9

The splendor of Greece. New York, 1960.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 324 leaves. 28cm. Typescript with holograph corrections.

Scope and Content Note

First published by Harper Brothers, New York, 1960. This is the printer's copy.
Gift of the author, November 1960.
Box 2

The splendor of Persia. n.p., n.d.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 203 leaves. Typescript with copious holograph corrections.

Note

First published by Knopf, New York, 1957.
Box 2

The terrorists: the story of the forerunners of Stalin. n.p., n.d.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 362, 8 leaves. Typescript with copious holograph corrections. In 2 envelopes.

Scope and Content Note

First published by Funk & Wagnalls, New York, 1957.
Box 2

The yellow robe.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-

Note

See the following entries in this catalog: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911- . The Lord comes; a novel on the life of Buddha ...1945.
Box 5

The young emperor. Montevallo, Alabama, ca. 1949.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 457 leaves. Typescript (carbon) with extensive holograph corrections. In a green cloth box.

Scope and Content Note

Published by Macmillan, New York, 1950.
Published by Heinemann, London, 1950, under the title “The Great Mogul.”
Box 5

Zero. Montevallo, Alabama, n.d.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 5, 36-257 leaves. Typescript (carbon) with holograph corrections.
Box 5

“Introduction,” by Pearl S. Buck.

Physical Description: 5 leaves. Typescript, signed, with holograph corrections.

Scope and Content Note

First published by J. Day Company, New York, 1950; republished by Wingate, London and New York, 1951.
Chapter 1, leaves 1-35, is missing.
Box 11

Photograph of Robert Payne, with an inscription on the back giving it to Lawrence Clark Powell. Dated “November 1961” by Powell.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 8 × 10”.
Box 11

Ephemera, being clippings, etc., by and about Payne.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 2 items.
Box 11

Correspondence with Lawrence Clark Powell. 1948- .

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 58 items. Includes carbon copies of Powell's letters to Payne.
Box 11

Letters to Louis Zukofsky. Topanga, California, and Montevallo, Alabama, May 1952-May 1953.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 5 items. Typescript with holograph annotations.
Box 11

Letters to Payne from various persons. v.p., 1950- .

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 11 items. Includes a number of letters from his father.
Box 11

The White Rajas of Sarawak. n.p., ca. 1960.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 308, 8 leaves. Typescript with holograph corrections.

Scope and Content Note

With this: 32 photographs of various persons and places used as illustrations in the published book. Published by Funk & Wagnalls, New York, 1960.
Box 11

Ancient Greece. n.p., ca. 1963.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 640 leaves. Typescript with holograph corrections.

Scope and Content Note

With this: copies of the illustrations used in the published book. Published by W.W. Norton & Company, New York, 1964.
Box 12

Ancient Greece. New York, W.W. Norton & Company, 1964.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 3 sets of galleys.
Box 12

The Barbarian. New York, ca. 1955.

Creator/Collector: Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert, 1911-
Physical Description: 245 leaves. Typescript (carbon) with holograph corrections.

Scope and Content Note

Published with the title, “The Barbarian and the Geisha. From a screenplay by Ellis St. Joseph,” by Pan Books, London, 1958.