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Stuart N. Lake Papers
mssLake papers  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Descriptive Summary
  • Access
  • Administrative Information
  • Biographical Note
  • Scope and Content
  • Indexing Terms

  • Descriptive Summary

    Title: Stuart N. Lake Papers
    Dates: 1854-1963
    Collection Call Number: mssLake papers
    Creator: Lake, Stuart N.
    Extent: 5,725 pieces in 18 boxes
    Repository: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Manuscripts Department
    1151 Oxford Road
    San Marino, California 91108
    Phone: (626) 405-2191
    Email: reference@huntington.org
    URL: http://www.huntington.org
    Abstract: The collection contains correspondence, film and television scripts, articles, and photographs of author and screenwriter Stuart Lake (1890-1962), best known for his writings about the American West.
    Language of Material: The records are in English.

    Access

    Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

    Administrative Information

    Publication Rights

    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.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item]. Stuart N. Lake Papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

    Provenance

    Purchased from Carolyn Lake, September 1965.

    Biographical Note

    Stuart Nathaniel Lake (1890-1962), author and screenwriter, was a native of New York and is best known for his writing about the West. He worked for the New York Herald (1910-1912), where his acquaintance with Bat Masterson led to his interest in western lore. After serving in World War I, Lake moved to San Diego, CA, and wrote for magazines. The success of his book, Wyatt Earp, frontier marshal (1931) led to his becoming a screenwriter for films such as The Westerner (1940), Wells Fargo (1937), My darling Clementine (1946), and Winchester '73 (1950).

    Scope and Content

    The collection contains correspondence, film and television scripts, articles, and photographs related to the writings and interests of Stuart Lake. The letters make up the largest part of the collection (13 boxes), and correspondents include Wyatt Earp, Josephine Earp, Eugene Manlove Rhodes, Eugene Cunningham, John Philip Clum and J. Frank Dobie. There is also a significant amount of correspondence between Lake and the Houghton Mifflin Company. The subject matter includes western personalities, motion pictures, and western places such as Tombstone, AZ, and Dodge City, KS. The collection contains a large amount of source material for the film, Wells Fargo (1937).

    Arrangement

    Arrangement
    The collection is arranged in three series: Correspondence (Boxes 1-13); Film and television scripts, articles, and source materials (Boxes 14-17); and Photographs and ephemera (Box 18).

    Indexing Terms

    The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Huntington Library's Online Catalog.  

    Personal Names

    Lake, Stuart N.

    Subjects

    Earp, Wyatt, 1848-1929
    Authors, American--Correspondence>
    Crime--Southwest, New.
    Criminals--Southwest, New.
    Frontier and pioneer life--Southwest, New.
    Screenwriters--United States--Correspondence
    Western films
    Western stories
    Dodge City (Kan.)--History
    Tombstone (Ariz.)--History

    Genre

    Letters (correspondence)--West (U.S.)
    Photographs--West (U.S.)
    Screenplays--West (U.S.)
    Television scripts--West (U.S.)