Mary Hunter Austin papers, 1845-1950, bulk 1920-1934

Summary

Creators:

Austin, Mary, 1868-1934

Abstract:

The collection consists of the literary and personal papers of American novelist, essayist and political activist Mary Hunter Austin (1868-1934), best known for her portrayals of life in California and New Mexico. It includes correspondence and literary manuscripts by both Austin and numerous other authors, editors and friends, as well as ephemera and photographs. Literary manuscripts include Austin's personal journals, short stories, poems, essays, and numerous drafts of novels. The correspondence deals with Austin's personal life and business dealings as well as her activities with Indian rights and the water right controversies in California's Owens Valley and in the Southwest. There are also materials related to Austin's interests in folklore and religion in New Mexico and the Southwest. The more than 1,200 photographs in the collection date from 1869 to the 1920s and include personal and family photographs of Mary Austin, her friends, relatives, homes, and various topics related to her interests.

Extent:

200.2 Linear Feet (136 boxes, 14 folders, 1 oversize folder)

Language:

Materials are in English.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Mary Hunter Austin papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains the personal papers of American novelist, essayist, and political activist Mary Hunter Austin, best known for her portrayals of life in California and New Mexico. It includes correspondence and literary manuscripts by both Austin and numerous other authors, editors and friends, as well as ephemera, scrapbooks of newspaper clippings about Austin, and photographs. Literary manuscripts include Austin's personal journals, short stories, poems, essays, and numerous drafts of novels. The correspondence deals with Austin's personal life and business dealings as well as her activities with Indian rights and the water right controversies in California's Owens Valley and in the Southwest. There are also materials related to Austin's interests in folklore and religion in New Mexico and the Southwest. Subjects include the publishing of her books, Indians of North America, Spanish folklore, religion and mysticism, and the Colorado River and Owens Valley water isues. The more than 1,200 photographs in the collection date from 1869 to the 1920s and include personal and family photographs of Mary Austin, her friends and relatives, and her various homes; portraits of notable literary friends and acquaintances; theaters and theater productions; Southwest Indians and pueblos, art and artifacts; desert plants and scenery; town views and travel photographs; Guatemalan masks; views of Penitente processions in New Mexico; and other miscellaneous views. Most of the photographs are unattributed and are of various sizes and formats.

Biographical / historical:

Mary Hunter Austin (1868-1934) was a well-known and prolific writer best known for her portrayals of life in California and New Mexico. She published 33 books, including Land of Little Rain, 3 plays and well over 125 short stories, articles, and poems before her death on August 13, 1934. During her lifetime, Austin befriended many important figures including Jimmy Hopper, Herbert Hoover, Jack London, Charles Fletcher Lummis, George Bernard Shaw, George Sterling, and H.G. Wells, among many others represented in the collection. There is little correspondence with her immediate family, though she was close to her brother Jim's daughter, Mary Hunter Sullivan Wolf, and numerous correspondence between the two exist. Austin lived in Carmel, California, New York, London, and Rome. Santa Fe, New Mexico, became her final residence and she erected a house there, which she named "Casa Querida." Once in Santa Fe, her lifelong interest in American Indians became more pronounced, and she lobbied vigorously and frequently on their behalf. Much of her later writing dealt with Indians as well as mysticism and religions. With the help of Arthur Leon Campa of the University of New Mexico, Austin collected Spanish folklore, which had existed as oral tradition until they transcribed it. Austin's writings also focused on the financial, intellectual, and social independence of women.

Acquisition information:

Acquired from the Mary Austin Estate in 1951. Some additional material has been incorporated from other sources. These acquisitions include gifts of Charlotte Kellogg, May 9, 1951 (AU 1123); Bertha B. Wardell, August 23, 1954 (AU 1274-1279); Glen Dawson, January 6, 1956 (AU 1290); and J. E. Reynolds, January 26, 1958 (AU 1246); and purchases from Argonaut Book Shop, December 1960 (AU-113-1138, AU 1267, AU 3554); Zeitlin Ver Brugge, March 28, 1968 (AU 1077); Dawson's Book Shop, June 30, 1969 (AU 1091-1093); K. W. Rendell, August 18, 1970 (AU 1104); Joseph the Provider, July 5, 1977 (AU 1249-1266); and Randall House, February 23, 1989 (AU 5456).

Custodial history:

Prior to their acquisition by the Huntington, the items were housed at the School of American Research.

Processing information:

This collection was divided between the Manuscripts Department and the Photo Archives, with the manuscripts and ephemera processed as one collection (mssAU), and the photographs processed separately (photCL 296). A summary report for the manuscripts collection was made by Karen Kearns in March 1989 and updated by Natalie Russell on August 27, 2007. In December 2014, Suzanne Oatey created a folder list of the photographs, and Diann Benti combined and updated the various inventories and created a box list in order to create this finding aid describing both the manuscript and photographic components.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged in the following eight series: 1. Manuscripts by Mary Hunter Austin (Boxes 1-41); 2. Manuscripts by other authors (Boxes 42-44); 3. Oversize Manuscripts (Boxes 45-52); 4. Correspondence (Boxes 53-121); 5. Oversize Correspondence (Box 52 [4 folders]); 6. Ephemera (Boxes 122-136); 7. Oversize Ephemera and Art (12 folders); 8. Photographs (photCL 296 Boxes 1-12).

Physical / technical requirements:

Many items have pencil marks previously made by Nellie Barnes at the School of American Research. The marks may be found in the forms of added dates and words, summarizations of the contents of letters, and corrected spellings. No attempt has been made to erase these marks. Most of the manuscripts are originals with some carbon copies. There are numerous drafts of the same manuscripts. Many are in bad condition. Austin frequently wrote on the backs of other manuscripts and letters. When possible the identity of these fragments has been determined and included on the folders. There are many pages that are glued, taped, or pinned together and have been folded. These items have now been unfolded and pins and paper clips have been removed. Some of the paper has become very brittle. Most of the letters from Mary Hunter Austin are carbon copies. Those to Ansel Easton Adams are Xerox copies given to the library by Adams in 1978. Letters to Austin are mainly originals. The letters tend to be in good physical condition.

Rules or conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Related resources

Separated material:

Photographs received as part of this collection that were created by Ansel Adams for the book Taos Pueblo, a collaboration with Austin published in 1930, were transferred to the Art Division in July 1988 (accession numbers 88.10.1 – 88.10.19). These items may be viewed by appointment with the Registrar, Art Division.

Other descriptive data:

Individual call numbers included in this collection: mssAU 1-5456 ; photCL 296.

Indexed terms

Subjects:

Authors, American -- 20th century -- Correspondence.
Adobe buildings -- Photographs.
Cahuilla Indians -- Photographs.
Churches--New Mexico -- Photographs.
Cocopa Indians -- Photographs -- Photographs.
Folklore -- Southwest, New.
Geothermal resources -- Imperial Valley (Calif. and Mexico) -- Photographs.
Hermanos Penitentes--Southwest, New--Religion -- Photographs.
Hopi dance -- Photographs.
Hopi Indians -- Photographs.
Indian baskets -- Photographs.
Indian masks -- Photographs.
Indians of North America -- California.
Indians of North America -- California -- Photographs.
Indians of North America -- New Mexico.
Indians of North America -- Southwest, New -- Photographs.
Indians of North America -- Legal status, laws, etc.
Isleta Indians -- Photographs.
Mission San Gabriel Arcangel (San Gabriel, Calif.) -- Photographs.
Navajo Indians -- Photographs.
Paiute Indians -- Photographs.
Pueblo Indians -- Photographs.
Pueblo pottery -- Photographs.
Pueblos – New Mexico -- Photographs.
Ruins--New Mexico -- Photographs.
Sandpaintings -- Photographs.
Santuario de Chimayo (Chimayo, N.M.) -- Photographs.
Theaters -- Photographs.
Tohono O'odham Indians -- Photographs.
Water rights -- California -- Owens Valley.
Women authors, American -- 20th century -- Archives
Women -- Suffrage -- United States.
Women travelers -- Photographs.
Cyanotypes.
Lantern slides.
Letters (correspondence) Southwest, New.
Manuscripts Southwest, New.
Personal papers -- Southwest, New
Photographs.
Scrapbooks.

Names:

Houghton Mifflin Company.
Bobbs-Merrill Company.
Century Company.
Forum.
Nation.
New Republic.
Yale University Press.
World Celebrities.
Adamic, Louis, 1899-1951.
Adams, Andy, 1859-1935.
Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984.
Anthony, Susan B. (Susan Brownell), 1820-1906 -- Photographs.
Applegate, Frank G. (Frank Guy), 1881-1931.
Atherton, Gertrude Franklin Horn, 1857-1948.
Austin, Mary, 1868-1934 -- Photographs.
Austin, Mary, 1868-1934 – Homes and haunts -- Photographs.
Bandelier, Adolph Francis Alphonse, 1840-1914 -- Photographs.
Bender, Albert M. (Albert Maurice), 1866-1941.
Benét, William Rose, 1886-1950.
Brooks, Van Wyck, 1886-1963.
Bynner, Witter, 1881-1968.
Campa, Arthur L. (Arthur Leon), 1905-1978.
Canby, Henry Seidel, 1878-1961.
Canby, Marion Ponsonby Gause.
Cather, Willa, 1873-1947.
Coolbrith, Ina D. (Ina Donna), 1842?-1928.
Coolbrith, Ina D. (Ina Donna), 1842?-1928 -- Photographs.
Conrad, Joseph, 1857-1924 -- Photographs -- Photographs.
Cutting, Bronson M., 1888-1935.
Densmore, Frances, 1867-1957.
Farrar, John Chipman, 1896-1974.
Fiske, Turbesé Lummis -- Photographs.
Frost, Robert, 1874-1963.
Garland, Hamlin, 1860-1940.
Grierson, Francis, 1848-1927.
Hodge, Frederick Webb, 1864-1956.
Hodge, Frederick Webb, 1864-1956 -- Photographs.
Holt, Henry, 1840-1926
Hopper, James, 1876-1956 -- Photographs.
Hoover, Herbert, 1874-1964.
Hoover, Herbert, 1874-1964 -- Photographs.
Hoover, Lou Henry, 1874-1944.
Hoover, Lou Henry, 1874-1944 -- Photographs.
Hurst, Fannie, 1889-1968.
James, George Wharton, 1858-1923 -- Photographs.
Jeffers, Robinson, 1887-1962.
Kellogg, Paul Underwood, 1879-1958.
La Farge, Oliver, 1901-1963.
Lang, Annie Traquair, artist.
Levien, Sonya, 1888?-1960.
Lewis, Sinclair, 1885-1951.
Lippmann, Walter, 1889-1974.
London, Charmian
London, Jack, 1876-1916
London, Jack, 1876-1916 -- Photographs.
Lowell, Amy, 1874-1925.
Luhan, Mabel Dodge, 1879-1962.
Luhan, Mabel Dodge, 1879-1962 -- Photographs.
Lummis, Charles Fletcher, 1859-1928.
Lummis, Charles Fletcher, 1859-1928 -- Photographs.
Lummis, Charles Fletcher, 1859-1928 -- Homes and haunts -- California -- Photographs.
Lummis, Eve -- Photographs.
MacDougal, Daniel Trembly, 1865-1958.
MacDougal, Daniel Trembly, 1865-1958 -- Photographs.
McWilliams, Carey, 1905-1980.
Mencken, H. L. (Henry Louis), 1880-1956.
Miller, Joaquin, 1837-1913 -- Photographs.
Palmer, Sutton, 1854-1933
Park, Robert Ezra, 1864-1944.
Pavlova, Anna, 1881-1931 -- Photographs.
Pound, Ezra, 1885-1972.
Rivera, Diego, 1886-1957.
Rivera, Diego, 1886-1957 -- Photographs.
Robinson, Bill, 1878-1949 -- Photographs.
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919.
Schultz, James Willard, 1859-1947 -- Photographs.
Seton, Ernest Thompson, 1860-1946.
Severance, Caroline M. Seymour (Caroline Maria Seymour) 1820-1914 -- Photographs.
Shaw, Bernard, 1856-1950 -- Photographs.
Simpson, William Haskell.
Sinclair, Upton, 1878-1968.
Sterling, George, 1869-1926.
Sterling, George, 1869-1926 -- Photographs.
Toor, Frances, 1890-1956.
Tracy, Henry Chester, 1876-
Untermeyer, Louis, 1885-1977.
Van Doren, Carl, 1885-1950.
Van Doren, Mark, 1894-1972.
Walker, Ryan.
Wells, H. G. (Herbert George), 1866-1946 -- Photographs.
Wolf, Mary Hunter, 1904-
Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer.
Bradfield, Wesley, 1876-1929, photographer.
Curtis, Edward S., 1868-1952, photographer.
Forbes, A. A., photographer.
Lummis, Charles Fletcher, 1859-1928, photographer.

Places:

Arizona -- Photographs.
California -- History -- Sources.
California – Photographs.
Chimayo (N.M.) -- Photographs.
Colorado River (Colo.-Mexico) -- Water rights.
Fort McDowell (Ariz.) -- Photographs.
Grand Canyon (Ariz.) -- Photographs.
Independence (Calif.) – Photographs.
Inyo County (Calif.) -- Photographs.
Lone Pine (Calif.) -- Photographs.
New Mexico -- History -- Sources.
New Mexico -- Photographs.
Owens Valley (Calif.) -- Photographs.
Pajarito Plateau (N.M.) -- Photographs.
Salton Sea Region (Calif.) -- Photographs.
Santa Fe (N.M.) -- Photographs.
Southwest, New -- History -- Sources.
Taos (N.M.) -- Photographs.
Zuni (N.M.) -- Photographs.

Terms of access:

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. For more information about the copyright ownership of unpublished materials in the Mary Hunter Austin Collection, researchers are encouraged to contact the Huntington's Curator of Literary Manuscripts.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Mary Hunter Austin papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:

Huntington Library, Manuscript Collections

1151 Oxford Road

San Marino, CA 91108, US

Contact:

(626) 405-2191

reference@huntington.org

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