Title:

Ambrose Bierce letters: to S.O. Howes, 1898-1964 (bulk 1898-1915)

Creator/Contributor:

Bierce, Ambrose, 1842-1914?, creator, correspondent.

Creator/Contributor:

Howes, S. O. (Silas Orrin), 1867-1918, correspondent.

Creator/Contributor:

Robertson, A. M., correspondent.

Creator/Contributor:

Cordeau, Helen Bierce, correspondent.

Creator/Contributor:

Starrett, Vincent, 1886-1974

Contains 13 handwritten letters from Ambrose Bierce to his friend and editor, Silas Orrin Howes. Eleven are addressed to Howes in Galveston, Texas, and two to Howes in New York City. The earlier letters deal with numerous literary issues and contain criticisms of many works and authors of the time. They also document Bierce as a tutelary figure to the younger Howes. In the last letter, postmarked from Washington, D.C. and dated September 29, 1913, Bierce begins, "Dear Howes, This is to say goodbye-", explaining that he is leaving for San Antonio and "thence down to the Mexican border (perhaps at Laredo) seeking a chance to cross and be shot or hanged." Also includes one letter from Bierce's daughter, Helen Bierce Cordeau, dated June 20, 1915, responding to Howe's inquiry about a possible sighting of Bierce in France which she believes is untrue. Also includes the original mailing envelopes, a newspaper clipping (Chicago Tribune, August 2, 1964) of a column on Bierce written by Vincent Starrett (a contemporary of Bierce who had written about him in 1918), and a typescript poem signed by George Sterling titled, "To Ambrose Bierce." Also includes two letters from A.M. Robertson to Howes detailing the poor sales of "Shadows on the dial, and other essays", a Bierce work that was edited by Howes.

Date:

1898 (issued)

Subject:

n-us-ca

Mexico -- History -- Revolution, 1910-1920

Mexique -- Histoire -- 1910-1920 (Révolution)

Mexico

Bierce, Ambrose -- 1842-1914? -- Correspondence

Bierce, Ambrose -- 1842-1914? -- Poetry

Howes, S. O. (Silas Orrin) -- 1867-1918 -- Correspondence

Robertson, A. M -- Correspondence

Cordeau, Helen Bierce -- Correspondence

Bierce, Ambrose -- 1842-1914?

Robertson, A. M

Purchase; from Ursus Rare Books; 20130503.

Photographs transferred to the Pictorial Collections of The Bancroft Library (BANC PIC 2014.227).

Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist, and satirist. In 1913, Bierce traveled to Mexico to gain first-hand experience of the Mexican Revolution. While traveling with rebel troops, he disappeared without a trace.

Preferred citation: Ambrose Bierce letters : to S.O. Howes, 1907-1915, BANC MSS 2014/109, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

In English.

Type:

History.

Poetry.

Personal correspondence.

Poems.

print

1 box (0.2 linear feet)

English

Origin:

California