Jack London papers, 1866-1977, bulk 1904-1916

View only results with digital items
Request items

Summary

Abstract:
The collection contains the papers of American writer Jack London (1876-1916) and includes literary manuscripts of most of London's works, extensive correspondence files, documents, photographs, ephemera, and scrapbooks.
Extent:
860.57 Linear Feet (613 boxes, 177 volumes, 71 oversize folders)
Language:
The records are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Jack London papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

The 622-box Jack London Collection could properly be termed the author's personal archive, because of its size and completeness. With only a few exceptions, the collection contains autograph or typescript versions of almost everything Jack London wrote. Included in the archive are most of the London correspondence files; his literary notes, documents, and contracts; memos and letters regarding the operation of his Sonoma County Beauty Ranch; most of his personal and family papers; his financial records; and his library and photograph collection. The majority of the pieces range in date from 1903 to 1917.

The collection includes addenda consisting of a variety of materials acquired from the estate after the initial cataloging of the collection, including publication files and Shepard family materials.

Biographical / historical:

Jack London (1876-1916) was an American author best known for his fiction about California, Alaska, and the Pacific. His novel The Call of the Wild is among the most internationally popular works by an American. An autodidact, he directed his thirst for knowledge toward several passions, including sailing, ranching, and photography. He traveled widely, to Hawaii and throughout the South Pacific, through California, Oregon, Nevada, to Korea during the Russo-Japanese war, Mexico during the Mexican Civil War, and London, England, experiences which are reflected in his writing and his photographs.

Acquisition information:
The nucleus of the collection was purchased by Henry Huntington from Charmian London in 1925. Additional groups of material were acquired by both gift and purchase from Mrs. London and later from literary executors Irving Shepard and I. Milo Shepard over many years. Further material has been acquired from other sources; the provenance of these items is noted on the individual folders.
Processing information:

Processed by David Mike Hamilton and Huntington Library staff in 1980.

The collection does not have boxes with the following numbers: 513-516 and 523-532.

Arrangement:

The collection is organized into the following series:

  1. 1. Manuscripts
  2. 2. Correspondence
  3. 3. Irving Stone file
  4. 4. Harvey Taylor file
  5. 5. Kittredge file
  6. 6. Documents
  7. 7. Photographic prints
  8. 8. Photographic positives
  9. 9. Photograph albums
  10. 10. Ephemera
  11. 11. Scrapbooks
  12. 12. Broadsides
  13. 13. Information files [RESTRICTED] and legacy summary and register
  14. 14. Jack London life mask
  15. 15. Addenda
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

NOT AVAILABLE: Albums 1-92 and Large albums 1-30: Do not circulate. Use digital reproductions in the Huntington Digital Library.

RESTRICTED: Boxes 283, 284, 287, 433, 591, 592, 594, 624 and Volumes 1-30: Available with curatorial approval. Requires extended retrieval and delivery time.

RESTRICTED: Boxes 595, 596, 623: housed in cold storage; extended retrieval and delivery time required.

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 permission rests with the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Jack London papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Website