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Faust (Frederick S.) Papers
BANC MSS C-H 69  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Access
  • Acquisition Information
  • Biography
  • Preferred Citation
  • Scope and Content
  • Materials Cataloged Separately
  • Publication Rights

  • Contributing Institution: The Bancroft Library
    Title: Frederick Schiller Faust Papers
    Creator: Faust, Frederick Schiller, 1892-1944
    Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS C-H 69
    Physical Description: 5.85 linear feet (5 boxes and 3 cartons)
    Date (inclusive): approximately 1910-1992
    Date (bulk): 1911-1944
    Abstract: Consists of Frederick Schiller Faust's personal and family correspondence, and working papers, spanning his career from the 1910s to his death in 1944, as well as posthumous reviews, articles, and biogrphical studies. The bulk of the collection concerns Faust's writings, and includes prose, poetry, and screenplays, along with notes and notebooks. Includes biographical material gathered and written by Robert Olney Easton, Faust's son-in-law, as well as correspondence between John Schoolcraft, Leonard Bacon, and Easton, 1944-1975. Included among letters of condolence to Faust's wife Dorothy are reminiscences of Faust by Carl Brandt, Cass Canfield, Walter Morris Hart, and Grace Flandreau. Also includes Schoolcraft's typescript, The Fabulous Faust : His Life and Letters, and annotated mockups of The Fabulous Faust Fan-Zine, edited by Darrell C. Richardson. Also includes a small group of papers of Dorothy Faust, containing family letters and correspondence with publishers.
    Physical Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
    Language of Material: English .

    Access

    Collection open for research.

    Acquisition Information

    The Frederick Schiller Faust papers were given to The Bancroft Library by Dorothy Faust in 1955, with additions by Faust's son-in-law, Robert Easton in 1970, 1972, 1988, and 1993.

    Biography

    FAUST, FREDERICK SCHILLER (May 29, 1892-May 12, 1944), poet and popular author, better known as "Max Brand," was born in Seattle, Washington, the second child of Gilbert Leander Faust and his third wife, Elizabeth Uriel, of (respectively) German and Irish background. Faust's father was a lawyer, land speculator, bank president, and lumber-mill owner in Seattle and in California. Faust's mother died when he was eight; his father died five years later. On his own at thirteen, Faust lived and worked on a succession of farms and ranches in central California and attended nineteen different public schools. In 1911, after graduating from Modesto (Calif.) High School, Faust entered the University of California. Although his major was social science, he was active as the editor of the Pelican, a campus humor magazine; he also served on the staff of the Occident, and the 1915 yearbook. Faust left the University during his senior year. Over the next two years he worked on a Honolulu newspaper, served short terms in the Canadian and American armies, contracted influenza -which left him with a weak heart -and tried to make a living by writing. On May 29, 1917 he married Dorothy Shillig. They had three children: Jane, John Frederick, and Judith Anne. Faust sold his first stories to All-Story Weekly, and Argosy, magazines in 1917 under the pseudonym "Max Brand." Two years later his first novel, The Untamed, launched him upon the career which eventually earned him the title "The King of the Pulp Writers." His novels and stories were so successful that he purchased the Villa Negli Ulivi in Florence, where he lived from 1926 to 1938. He then became a writer for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Warner Brothers studios, adapting his own works for motion picture production (most notably the Dr. Kildare series) and working on scenarios for other movies. In 1944 he became a war correspondent for Harper's. That May, at the age of fifty-one, he was killed in action in the assault on Santa Maria Infante, Italy. Faust was one of the most prolific American writers. It has been estimated that he published more than 30,000,000 words during his lifetime, the equivalent of at least 400 full-length books; and he reportedly left 15 additional novels in manuscript form. He wrote both prose and poetry. His work covered many genres: westerns, historical romances, spy thrillers, mysteries, and poetry. Though best known as "Max Brand," Faust signed at least eighteen pen-names to his writing, including "George Challis," "Evan Evans," "George Owen Baxter," "David Manning," "Peter Henry Morland," "Frederick Frost," and "Walter C. Butler."(excerpted from Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement Three 1941-1945 New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1973; p. 264)

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Frederick Schiller Faust Papers, BANC MSS C-H 69, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

    Scope and Content

    The Frederick Schiller Faust Papers consist of Faust's personal and working papers, spanning his career from the 1910s to his death in 1944, as well as posthumous reviews, articles, and biographical studies which were gathered by his family as late as 1992.
    The bulk of the collection concerns Faust's writings, and includes prose, poetry, and screenplays by Faust. While much of the prose is in the form of photocopies of published works, Faust's poems present a fuller representation of his unpublished works, and many are in draft form. His writings are supplemented extensively by notes and notebooks, which provide insight to Faust's plots, story sketches, and dialogue. In addition to John Schoolcraft's work on Faust's life, are collected reviews, articles, and fanzines, along with biographical material gathered and written by Robert Olney Easton.
    Faust's personal and family papers includes an extensive group of letters written to his wife, Dorothy, providing insight to Faust's personality, thoughts, and family life. Among the family's personal papers are several reminiscences and letters of condolence and Faust's military service records, wedding and obituary documents. Finally, a small group of personal papers of Dorothy Faust consists of family letters, correspondence with publishers, and a personal miscellany.

    Materials Cataloged Separately

    1. Printed materials have been transferred to the book collection of The Bancroft Library.
    2. Photographs have been transferred to Pictorial Collections of The Bancroft Library.

    Publication Rights

    Some materials in these collections may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For additional information about the University of California, Berkeley Library's permissions policy please see: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/about/permissions-policies