Conditions Governing Access
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Immediate Source of Acquisition
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Preferred Citation
Processing Information
Biographical / Historical
Scope and Content
Arrangement
Related Materials
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Title: Henry Miller papers
Creator:
Miller, Henry
Identifier/Call Number: LSC.0110
Physical Description:
76.0 linear feet
(144 boxes, 2 cartons, 5 shoe boxes, and 15 oversize boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1896-1984
Date (bulk): 1930-1980
Abstract: Henry Miller (1891-1980) was a prominent American writer and artist. This collection of his personal papers contains correspondence,
manuscripts, legal documents, printed materials, film and audio recordings, and original artwork.
Physical Location: Stored off-site. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
Property rights to the physical objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other 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.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
CONTAINS AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS: This collection contains both processed and unprocessed audiovisual materials. Audiovisual
materials are not currently available for access, unless otherwise noted in a Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
note at the series and file levels. All requests to access processed audiovisual materials must be made in advance using the
request button located on this page.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Henry Miller, 1945-1979. Also includes gifts from Bern Porter, Emil Schnellock, Hilaire Hiler, Gerald Robitaille and
Barbara Miller, 1945-1988; and miscellaneous manuscript purchases, 1989-1998.
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Henry Miller papers (Collection 110). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research
Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Processing Information
The collection was partially processed by manuscripts division staff in the 1960s, with particular attention given to the
original correspondence series. The correspondence series, which had been described at the item-level in a local card catalog,
was completely rehoused and fully inventoried in 2004 by various staff members in the CFPRT under the direction of Laurel
McPhee. The remainder of the collection, including all post-1968 donations, purchases, backlogged material, and deposits was
processed by Alysia Cain with assistance from Laurel McPhee in 2005. Books were separated from the manuscript material for
individual cataloging and storage in the Special Collections stacks. The collection was fully rehoused and described, and
series and subseries levels were imposed to enhance access to the collection and create a finding aid.
Collections are processed to a variety of levels depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived user
interest and research value, availability of staff and resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides
a standard level of preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts more intensive
processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards and best practices.
We are committed to providing ethical, inclusive, and anti-racist description of the materials we steward, and to remediating
existing description of our materials that contains language that may be offensive or cause harm. We invite you to submit
feedback about how our collections are described, and how they could be described more accurately, by filling out the form
located on our website:
Report Problematic Content and Description in UCLA's library collections and archives.
Biographical / Historical
Henry Valentine Miller was born December 26, 1891 in Manhattan to Heinrich Miller and Louise Nieting. A year later, the family
moved to Brooklyn where Miller spent the majority of his childhood and adolescence. After graduating from high school in 1909,
Miller attended the City College of New York for two months before leaving school. Throughout his twenties, Miller had a series
of odd jobs, and in 1913 he left New York and traveled west, working briefly in California before he returned home to work
in his father's tailor shop. In 1917 Miller married Beatrice Sylvan Wickens, and their first daughter, Barbara, was born two
years later. At this time, Miller started working for Western Union Telegraph company where he made his first serious attempts
at writing. Miller met June Edith Smith (June Mansfield) at a dance hall in 1923, and they were married in 1924 following
a divorce from his first wife. At this time, Miller quit his job at Western Union in order to devote his time to writing,
a decision that left him in poverty for much of this period. Miller and June traveled to Europe in 1928. Miller returned to
Europe again in 1930 with the intention of living there permanently. He settled in Paris, where he would spend the majority
of the next ten years, and immediately began writing
Tropic of Cancer. This became his first published book in 1934. In Paris, Miller became involved in the literary and artistic scene, befriending
writers and artists such as Alfred Perle's, Michael Frankel, Abraham Rattner, Hans Reichel, and Lawrence Durrell. Miller met
Anaïs Nin in 1931, and both a romantic relationship and a lasting literary friendship developed. Miller was divorced from
his second wife, June, in 1934. At the invitation of his friend Lawrence Durrell, Miller traveled to Greece in 1939, a trip
that inspired his famous work,
The Colossus of Maroussi. He was forced to return to the United States in 1940 as a result of the war in Europe. After his return, Miller lived in
Los Angeles. During these years, Miller had several watercolor exhibitions in Los Angeles and London and prepared more of
his writings for publication. In 1944, Miller married Janina Lepska, a graduate student who he had met on a trip to New York,
and the Millers moved to Big Sur that same year. Daughter Valentine was born in 1945, and son Tony was born in 1948. Miller
separated from Lepska in 1951. In 1953, Miller and Eve McClure toured Europe together; on their return, Miller and Eve were
married. They divorced in 1960. In 1961
Tropic of Cancer was published for the first time in the United States, and censorship battles began. It wasn't until 1964 that the Supreme
Court of the United States ruled that the book was not pornographic. The stateside publication of
Tropic of Cancer made Miller famous in the United States, and a steady stream of fans began to visit and write to him at his home in Big Sur.
In an attempt to flee the constant attention, Miller moved to Pacific Palisades in 1962 where he lived for the remainder of
his life. In 1966, Miller met Hiroko "Hoki" Tokuda, a Japanese nightclub singer. They were married that same year, but Hoki
left Miller in 1977. Miller continued to write, but poor eyesight and health problems decreased the frequency. He did, however,
continue to produce watercolors until his death. Miller died at the age of 88 on June 7, 1980.
Scope and Content
The Henry Miller Papers consist of correspondence, manuscripts, printed materials, film, audio recordings, and artwork that
document Henry Miller's life and career as a writer and painter. The collection contains a large body of correspondence, primarily
from Miller's friends, fans, and members of his artistic and literary circles, including Brassaï, Blaise Cendrars, Lawrence
Durrell, Alfred Perle's, Abraham Rattner, Anaïs Nin, Bezalel Schatz, and Jean Verame. Of particular interest are the original
manuscripts for many of Miller's books, essays, articles, and reviews that span the whole of his career as a writer, including
several early, unpublished manuscripts dating from the late 1920s. The collection also includes a large selection of original
watercolors by Miller and artwork given to Miller by friends and prominent artists, including Man Ray, Abram Krol and Gyula
Zilzer. Other significant materials include legal documents related to court proceedings involving the publication of
Tropic of Cancer, ephemera documenting Miller's publications and art exhibitions, copies of films of or related to Miller, sound recordings
of Miller reading from various works including
Tropic of Capricorn, and photographs of Miller and his art.
Arrangement
Arranged in the following series:
- Correspondence, 1899-1980 (95 boxes), subseries A-J as follows:
- 1A. Main correspondence
- 1B-1J. Deposited correspondence
- Manuscripts, 1896-1980 (37 boxes, 2 oversized boxes), subseries A-C as follows:
- 2A. Literary manuscripts by Miller
- 2B. Prefaces and reviews by Miller
- 2C. Manuscripts by others
- Microfilm, 1933-1959 (5 shoeboxes)
- Photographs, 1891-1978 (1 box, 1 oversized box)
- Printed materials, 1937-1984 (14 boxes), subseries A-D as follows:
- 5A. Ephemera
- 5B. News clippings
- 5C. Legal materials
- 5D. Extracts from periodicals
- Artwork, 1931-1980 (9 oversized boxes), subseries A-C as follows:
- 6A. Original artwork by Miller
- 6B. Artwork by others
- 6C. Signed prints and posters
- Audio and visual materials, 1944-1973 (1 box, 3 oversized boxes), subseries A-B as follows:
- 7A. Sound recordings
- 7B. Films.
Related Materials
Books from Henry Miller's library that were originally donated with the papers have been individually cataloged in the UCLA
Library online catalog. Records for these items may be found by searching on the keywords, "Henry Miller former owner."
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Authors, American -- 20th century -- Archives.
Manuscripts for publication
Paintings (visual works).
Artists -- United States -- Archives.
Miller, Henry -- Archives
Lawrence, D. H. (David Herbert)