Lucile Selk Edgerton Papers

Finding aid prepared by Katrina Denman.
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
Manuscripts Department
The Huntington Library
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
© 2011
The Huntington Library. All rights reserved.


Descriptive Summary

Title: Lucile Selk Edgerton Papers
Dates: Approximately 1905-1962
Bulk dates: 1936-1962
Collection Number: mssEdgerton Lucile papers
Creator: Edgerton, Lucile Selk
Extent: 141 items
Repository: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: The collection consists of the professional papers of California writer Lucile Selk Edgerton (1896-1987) including manuscripts of unpublished novels, original sketches, assorted printed magazines, copies of her published novels, California research notes, some printed items, and ephemera.
Language of Material: The records are in English.

Access

Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

Administrative Information

Publication Rights

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item]. Lucile Selk Edgerton Papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Provenance

Purchased from Elliott Mittler, December 1, 2010.

Biographical Note

Lucile Selk Edgerton (1896-1987) graduated from East High School in Green Bay, Wisconsin, in 1915. She attended the University of Wisconsin School of Journalism and was an art critic for the Milwaukee Sentinel. By 1937 she was living in Los Angeles. She was a prolific writer of short stories and novels, many of them with Western themes, during the 1930s and 1940s. She was the author of two published novels, In Walked Anny (1940) and Pillars of Gold (1941), a romance set in Civil War California.

Scope and Content

The collection consists of writer Lucile Selk Edgerton's professional papers, including the manuscripts of unpublished novels, original sketches meant to accompany her works of fiction, assorted printed magazines containing her published stories, copies of her published novels Pillars of Gold and In Walked Anny, some printed items, and ephemera. Part of the collection consists of essays, correspondence, and research notes related to California history, and includes essays on Charles F. Wells, Thomas H. Blythe, Earl Rogers, Charlie Utting, C.E. Wells, and 'Wild Horse Bill,' as well as a variety of essays on the history of the Palo Verde Valley, the City of Blythe, and water reclamation around Isabella Lake. Many of the California research notes were compiled by Edgerton's son, Dean Edgerton, Jr. Also included is a bound volume with notes on his World War II experiences.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in six boxes by series:
  • Correspondence, essays and notes, printed items, and ephemera (Box 1)
  • Manuscript: Pillars of Gold (Box 2)
  • Publications (Box 3)
  • Unpublished novels (Boxes 4-5)
  • Sketches (Box 6 and oversize folder)

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Huntington Library's Online Catalog.  

Personal Names

Edgerton, Lucile Selk.
Rogers, Earl, 1870-1922.

Subject

Fiction--20th century--Periodicals.
Western stories--Periodicals.
Women authors, American--20th century.

Geograhic Areas

Blythe (Calif.)--History.
California--History--1850-1950.
Palo Verde Valley (Calif.)--HIstory.
West (U.S.)--History--1890-1945.

Genre

Essays--California--20th century.
Letters (correspondence)--California--20th century.
Novels--California--20th century.
Periodicals--United States--20th century.
Short stories--California--20th century.
Sketches--California--20th century.


Box 1

Correspondence, essays and notes, printed items, and ephemera.

Folder 1

Cate, Harold. Letter to Lucile Selk Edgerton. Lake Isabella, Calif. 1962, Aug. 7.

Folder 2

Edgerton, Dean. Letter to Mrs. W.A. Franklin. Los Angeles, Calif. 1941, Aug. 30.

Folder 3

Edgerton, Lucile Selk. Letter to Harold Cate. Los Angeles, Calif. 1962, Aug. 9.

Folder 4

Edgerton, Lucile Selk. Letter to Chief Engineer, Kern Co. Engineering Dept. Los Angeles, Calif. 1962, Aug. 1.

Folder 5

Henderson, Randall. Letter to Lucile Selk Edgerton. Palm Desert, Calif. 1950, Apr. 12.

Folder 6

Letters from publishers regarding "Squawky the Bad, Bad Jay." 1959-1962.

Folder 7

Edgerton, Dean Jr. Notes on WWII experiences. Undated.

Folder 8

Edgerton, Lucile Selk. "Charles F. Wells: the most interesting man in the valley": essay. Undated.

Folder 9

Alice Hanlin's History of the P.V.V. [Palo Verde Valley]: essay. Undated.

Folder 10

"Thomas H. Blythe": essay. Undated.

Folder 11

History of the City of Blythe: essay. Undated.

Folder 12

Copies of letters on the Blythe Tract. Approximately 1905.

Folder 13

Essay on Palo Verde, Calif. 1905, June 23.

Folder 14

History of Palo Verde Valley: essay. Undated.

Folder 15

History of the Palo Verde Valley: essay. Undated.

Folder 16

Essay on Earl Rodgers. Undated.

Folder 17

"Utting": [essay on Charlie Utting]. Undated.

Folder 18

Notes on Charlie Utting. Undated.

Folder 19

"C.E. Wells": essay. Undated.

Folder 20

"Wild Horse Bill": essay. Undated.

Folder 21

Essays and notes on water reclamation. Undated.

Folder 22

Miscellaneous notes on California history. Approximately 1950s.

Folder 24

"The Aeroplane" (published at East High School). 1914-1915.

Folder 25

Printed ephemera on the Palo Verde Valley. Undated.

Folder 26

Printed pamphlet on Green Bay, Wis. Approximately 1923.

Folder 27

Miscellaneous printed pamphlets.

Folder 28

Newspaper clippings. 1950s.

Folder 29

Photograph of unknown man and woman. Undated.

Folder 30

Stamps/ephemera.

Box 2

Manuscript: Pillars of Gold.

Folder 1

Edgerton, Lucile Selk. The Cowards Never Started: novel. [Note: This is a manuscript of Pillars of Gold written under its alternate title. Continued in next folder.] Undated.

Folder 2

Edgerton, Lucile Selk. The Cowards Never Started: novel. [Continued from previous folder.] Undated.

Folder 3

Edgerton, Lucile Selk. Pillars of Gold: novel. [Published copy.] 1941.

Box  3

Publications.

Folder 1

Edgerton, Lucile Selk. "Crossed Wires": short story. In Liberty (1937, Feb. 27; p. 28-33. Annotated. 1937, Feb. 27.

Folder 2

Edgerton, Lucile Selk. "Emergency Call": short story. McClure Newspaper Syndicate Release (printed circular). Undated.

Folder 3

Edgerton, Lucile Selk. "Hold that Channel!": short story. In This Week Magazine, New York Herald Tribune (1938, Apr. 10; p. 16-17, 31). 1938, Apr. 10.

Folder 4

Edgerton, Lucile Selk. "Love on the Line": short story. In This Week Magazine, New York Herald Tribune (1938, Nov. 13; p. 4-5). 1938, Nov. 13.

Folder 5

Edgerton, Lucile Selk. "The Navajo Rug": short story. In Ranch Romances (Vol. 2, No. 3, May 1925; p. 51-59). 1925, May.

Folder 6

Edgerton, Lucile Selk. "Night Operator": short story. In Liberty (March 21, 1936; p. 18-23). Annotated. 1936, Mar. 21.

Folder 7

Edgerton, Lucile Selk. "Night Operator": short story. In The Passing Show (No. 230 New Series,Vol. 5, Aug. 15, 1936; p. 5-7). 1936, Aug. 15.

Folder 8

Edgerton, Lucile Selk. "Out of the Devil Wind": short story. In Fawcett’s Triple-X Magazine (January 1925; p. 178-180, 183-193). Annotated. 1925, Jan.

Folder 9

Edgerton, Lucile Selk. "Preposterous Conduct": short story. McClure Newspaper Syndicate Release (printed circular). Undated.

Folder 10

Edgerton, Lucile Selk. "Queen Theo Gets Kissed": short story. In Ranch Romances (First October 1931; p. 576-586). 1931, Oct. 1.

Folder 11

Edgerton, Lucile Selk. "Split-Connections": short story. In Liberty (Nov. 20, 1937; p. 42-48). Annotated. 1937, Nov. 20.

Folder 12

Edgerton, Lucile Selk. "Two Swedes Meet Again": short story. In McClure Newspaper Syndicate Release (printed circular). Undated.

Folder 13

Edgerton, Lucile Selk. In Walked Anny: novel. Philadelphia: The Penn Publishing Company. 1941.

Box 4

Unpublished novels.

Folder 1

Edgerton, Lucile Selk. All This Lovely Land: novel. Also titled La Marquise de Sora and The Coveted Garden. Continued in next folder. Undated.

Folder 2

Edgerton, Lucile Selk. All This Lovely Land: novel. Continued from previous folder. Undated.

Folder 3

Edgerton, Lucile Selk. The Bamboo Lane Mystery: novel. Undated.

Folder 4

Edgerton, Lucile Selk. The Beautiful Spot Out West: unfinished novel. Includes three finished chapters and synopsis. Undated.

Folder 5

Edgerton, Lucile Selk. The Bride Carried Mesquite: novel. Also titled Gamble on the American Nile. [Note: see Sketches in Box 6 for original drawings meant to accompany the manuscript.] Undated.

Box 5

Unpublished novels.

Folder 1

Edgerton, Lucile Selk. Born of the Eagle: novel. Also titled Linda Lenhart; a major revision of The Cinder Arena. Undated.

Folder 2

Edgerton, Lucile Selk. The Cinder Arena: novel. Undated.

Folder 3

Edgerton, Lucile Selk. The Inherited Life: novel. Undated.

Folder 4

Edgerton, Lucile Selk. The Leveling of the Toombs: novel. Undated.

Folder 5

Edgerton, Lucile Selk. The Secret Under the Lake: novel. Includes first five chapters and synopsis. Undated.

Folder 6

Edgerton, Lucile Selk. Squawky the Bad, Bad Jay: children's book. [Note: see Sketches in Box 6 and Oversize for original drawings meant to accompany the manuscript.] Undated.

Box  6

Sketches.

Folder 1

Sketches for The Bride Carried Mesquite. 19 sketches. Undated.

Folder 2

Sketches for "Squawky the Bad, Bad Jay." 25 sketches. Undated.

Folder 3

Miscellaneous sketches and maps. 6 sketches. Undated.

Oversize Folder

Sketches.

 

Sketches for "Squawky the Bad, Bad Jay." 5 sketches. Undated.