Guide to the Frederick Schiller Faust Papers

Processed by John Hawk; completed by Mary Morganti
The Bancroft Library
© 1996
The Bancroft Library
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-6000
bancref@library.berkeley.edu


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

 

Series 1: Personal Correspondence, 1915-1944

Physical Description: Box 1, folders 1-13

Scope and Contents

Contains primarily outgoing correspondence, with some incoming correspondence interfiled.

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically, and then chronologically.
box 1, folder 1

Miscellaneous, A-Z, including 1916-1940

 

George W. Barnes

 

George A. Smithson

 

H. Morse Stephens

box 1, folder 2

Davis, Robert H. (Robert Hobart), 1869-1942 1917

box 1, folder 3

Downey, Thomas 1915

box 1, folder 4-5

Flandreau, Grace 1942

box 1, folder 6

Greely, Florence 1932-1935

box 1, folder 7

Hart, Walter Morris, 1872- 1931-1941

box 1, folder 8

McLean, Pinckney 1939-1944

box 1, folder 9

Myers, Alice Lee 1933

box 1, folder 10

Norton, Daniel Silas, 1908-1951 1934-1940

box 1, folder 11

Rooney, Harvey 1918-1934

box 1, folder 12

Saxton, Gene, and Canfield, Cass, 1897- 1940

box 1, folder 13

Tillson, Adele Downey 1924

 

Series 2: Family Correspondence 1918-1944

Physical Description: Box 1, folders 14-21; Boxes 2-3

Scope and Contents

Letters sent consist of those written by Faust to his wife, Dorothy. Letters received are from Faust's son-in-law, Robert Olney Easton.

Arrangement

Divided into two sub-series: letters sent and letters received.
 

Letters Sent, 1918-1944

box 1, folder 14-21

Letters to Dorothy 1918-1919

box 2, folder 1-4

Letters to Dorothy 1921

box 2, folder 5-16

Letters to Dorothy 1928-1933

box 2, folder 17-21

Letters to Dorothy 1936-1937

box 3, folder 1-6

Letters to Dorothy 1938-1939

box 3, folder 7-8

Letters to Dorothy 1941

box 3, folder 9-12

Letters to Dorothy 1944

box 3, folder 13

Letters to Dorothy approximately 1918-1930

Physical Description: [typed transcripts]
box 3, folder 14

Letters to John Faust 1933-1941

box 3, folder 15-16

Letters to Jane Faust and Robert Easton 1939-1943

 

Letters Received, 1941-1942

box 3, folder 17

Letters from Robert Olney Easton 1941-1942

 

Series 3: Writings, approximately 1910-1974

Physical Description: Carton 1; Carton 2, folders 1-16

Scope and Contents

Contains copies of published materials as well as materials in typescript or draft form.

Arrangement

Divided into three sub-series: Prose, Poetry, and Plays and Screenplays; arranged alphabetically by title.
 

Prose

carton 1, folder 1

After April June 10, 1944

Physical Description: title: Saturday Evening Post
carton 1, folder 2

Casanova Undated

Physical Description: (sketch for film studio)
carton 1, folder 3

The Collector Undated

Physical Description: (typescript of article)
carton 1, folder 4

Explaining Margot December 1933

Physical Description: title: Corner Magazine
carton 1, folder 5

The Fate of Llewellyn Cadmon June 1911

Physical Description: (photocopy)
carton 1, folder 6

I am the Emperor June 1911

Physical Description: (photocopy)
carton 1, folder 7

John Ovington July 1974

General

(published in Argosy )
carton 1, folder 8

The King is Dead 1910

Physical Description: (photocopy of typescript)
carton 1, folder 9

The King is Dead 1910

Physical Description: (photocopy of published form)
carton 1, folder 10-11

Some Doubted Undated

Physical Description: (typescript)
carton 1, folder 12-13

The Squadron approximately 1943-1944

Physical Description: (typescript)
carton 1, folder 14

We Are Going Home 1940

Physical Description: (photocopy from 25th Reunion, Class of 1915, University of California)
carton 1, folder 15

Wycherly (Civil War) Undated

Physical Description: (typescript)
 

Poetry

carton 1, folder 16

Balin 1922

carton 1, folder 17

Briaereis Undated

carton 1, folder 18

Dionysus in Hades 1933

Physical Description: (mock-up and reviews)
carton 1, folder 19

Gethsemane Undated

carton 1, folder 20

Heaven on Earth Undated

carton 1, folder 21

Sapho Undated

carton 1, folder 22

St. Francis Undated

carton 1, folder 23

Tristan and Iseult Undated

Physical Description: (typescript)
carton 1, folder 24

The Wonderful Maid 1916

General

(published in The Bang )
carton 1, folder 25-26

Miscellaneous poems, A-Z Undated

carton 2, folder 1-3

Drafts of poems Undated

Physical Description: (untitled)
carton 2, folder 4

The Sycamore June 1911

carton 2, folder 5-12

The Occident 1913-1914

carton 2, folder 13

Poems published in The Occident approximately 1916

Physical Description: [copyprints]
 

Plays and Screenplays

carton 2, folder 14

The Conspirators June 7, 1943

Physical Description: (screenplay)
carton 2, folder 15

The Prophet Undated

Physical Description: (typescript)
carton 2, folder 16

Rimini Undated

Physical Description: (typescript)
 

Series 4: Notes and Notebooks, 1934-1944 & Undated

Physical Description: Carton 2, folders 17-26; Carton 3, folders 1-4; Box 4

Scope and Contents

Working notes relating to various topics and projects. Several notebooks contain dialogue and vocabulary notes, with typed notecards and small pocket notebooks in Box 4.
carton 1, folder 17

Notes on The Tempest May 1942

carton 1, folder 18

War notes approximately 1942-1944

carton 1, folder 19-21

Notes - miscellany Undated

carton 1, folder 22

Notebook: dialogue Undated

carton 1, folder 23

Notebook: Early California, Dogs, and The Lost San Saba Mines Undated

carton 1, folder 24

Notebook: Gypsies, Hoboes, and Montana Undated

carton 1, folder 25

Notebook: Silk, Woolen and Worsted Glossary, Weaves, Lace and Embroidery, and Printing Undated

carton 1, folder 26

Notebook: [story sketches] Undated

box 4, folder 1-12

Notecards Undated

box 4, folder 13

Notes Undated

box 4, folder 14-22

Notebooks Undated

carton 3, folder 1-4

Notebooks 1934

 

Series 5: Biographical Material, 1915-1992

Physical Description: Carton 3, folders 5-27

Scope and Contents

Contains bibliographies, articles and reviews, fanzines, and biographies, as well as correspondence, notes, and reminiscences collected by Faust's biographers, John Schoolcraft and Robert Olney Easton.
carton 3, folder 5

Bibliographies approximately 1948

carton 3, folder 6

Collected Reviews 1919-1992

carton 3, folder 7-8

Magazine articles and reviews 1915-1987

carton 3, folder 9-12

The Fabulous Faust fanzines 1948-1951

Physical Description: (annotated mockups)

General

(Vol. 1, Nos. 1-3 ; Vol. 2, No. 1)
carton 3, folder 13-16

The Fabulous Faust: His Life and Letters by John Schoolcraft approximately 1955

Physical Description: (typescript)
carton 3, folder 17

Robert Olney Easton, Unforgettable 'Max Brand' 1982-1985

carton 3, folder 18

Letters sent to John Schoolcraft and Leonard Bacon, including 1916-1950

 

R. H. Davis

 

Pinckney McLean

carton 3, folder 19

Correspondence between John Schoolcraft and Leonard Bacon 1944-1951

carton 3, folder 20

Correspondence between John Schoolcraft and Robert Easton 1944-1975

carton 3, folder 21

Letters sent to Robert Easton, including 1944-1975

 

Brandt Brandt

 

John A. Cooper

 

Thomas B. Costain

 

Dwight D. Eisenhower

 

Mamie Dowd Eisenhower

 

W. R. Hearst, Jr.

 

Archibald McLeish

 

Gene Tunney

 

Thornton Wilder

carton 3, folder 22

Reminiscences sent to John Schoolcraft and Leonard Bacon, including approximately 1944-1951

 

F. E. Blackwell

 

John A. Cooper, M.D.

 

Grace Flandreau

 

Ben Knapp

 

Pinckney McLean

 

Kenneth Perkins

 

Harvey Roney

carton 3, folder 23

Reminiscences, miscellaneous, including 1944-1949

 

Carl Brandt

 

Cass Canfield

 

Dana Burnet

carton 3, folder 24

Reviews of Robert Olney Easton's Max Brand, The Big "Westerner" 1970

carton 3, folder 25

Max Brand stories made into film 1918-1959

carton 3, folder 26

Magazine articles, clippings re television shows 1963-1977

carton 3, folder 27

Robert Olney Easton's notes for Max Brand 1965-1968

 

Series 6: Personal and Family Papers, 1915-1992

Physical Description: Box 5

Scope and Contents

Letters of condolence and reminiscences sent to Dorothy Faust and other family members. Also contains a small group of Faust's personal papers, including a diary, letters of introduction, and military, wedding, and obituary documents. Personal papers of Dorothy Faust, 1932-1952, include family letters to George Winthrop "Dixie" Fish, correspondence with Faust's publishers, and a personal miscellany.
box 5, folder 1

Reminiscences and letters of condolence to Dorothy, including 1944-1949

 

Carl Brandt

 

Cass Canfield

 

Walter Morris Hart

 

Grace Flandreau

box 5, folder 2

Reminiscences and letters of condolence to family members, including 1944-1992

 

Jane Easton

 

Robert Easton

 

George Winthrop "Dixie" Fish

box 5, folder 3

Diary 1925-1926

box 5, folder 4

Military service records 1915-1916

box 5, folder 5

Wedding announcement and marriage license 1917

box 5, folder 6

Letters of introduction, including 1944

 

Henry M. Snevily, North American Newspaper Alliance

 

Richard Aldington

 

Robert A. Lovett [to Cass Canfield]

box 5, folder 7

Biographical miscellany 1918-1944

box 5, folder 8

Obituaries 1944

box 5, folder 9-13

Letters to George Winthrop "Dixie" Fish from John, Jane, and Dorothy 1932-1945

box 5, folder 14

Dorothy Faust correspondence with publishers 1944-1952

box 5, folder 15

The Cruise of the "Afros" in the Southern Aegean, April-May 1931 by Dino Spranger, with letter of transmittal to Dorothy Faust 1951

box 5, folder 16

Dorothy Faust personal miscellany approximately 1940