Finding Aid to the Eric Hoffer Papers
1946-2009
BASC 6
Finding aid prepared by Susanne Mari Sakai
Book Arts & Special Collections
September 2019
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco 94102
bookarts@sfpl.org
Title: Eric Hoffer Papers
Date (inclusive): 1946-2005
Identifier/Call Number: BASC 6
Creator:
Hoffer, Eric
Physical Description:
4 pamphlet boxes, 1 carton, 1 flat box, 1 oversize folder
(3.5 cubic feet)
Contributing Institution:
Book Arts & Special Collections
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 557-4567
info@sfpl.org
Abstract: The collection contains the notebooks, clippings, AV recordings, and photographs of Eric Hoffer, who wrote a best-seller while
working on the docks of San Francisco and became known as America's "longshoreman philosopher."
Physical Location: Collection is stored onsite.
Language of Materials: Collection materials are in
English.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research and is available for use during Book Arts & Special Collections hours.
Conditions Governing Use
Original notebooks may be photographed but not photocopied.
Publication Rights
Copyright has not been assigned to the San Francisco Public Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from
materials must be submitted in writing to Book Arts & Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of
the San Francisco Public Library as the owner of the physical items.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item/Title of folder], Eric Hoffer Papers (BASC 6), Book Arts & Special Collections, San Francisco Public
Library.
Provenance
The 23 original notebooks were donated by Eric Hoffer to the San Francisco Public Library in August 1964, prior to the opening
of the Rare Books & Special Collections Department on October 1, 1964. Other recordings and publications have been added to
the collection as they were produced.
Related Materials
Researchers are encouraged to see also the Eric Hoffer papers at the Hoover Institution Archives and the George Knight photograph
collection at the Bancroft Library.
Biographical Note
Eric Hoffer was born either in 1898 or 1902 in the Bronx, New York City. What is known of his early life is based on his own
recollections. Hoffer's parents came to the U.S. from Alsace-Lorraine and Hoffer himself spoke with a German accent throughout
his life. He learned to read English and German by the time he was five. Hoffer became blind shortly after his mother's death
when he was 7, but regained his sight at age 15, leading him to become a voracious reader lest he lose his eyesight again.
He never received any formal education. After his father died in 1920, he left for Los Angeles. For the next two decades,
he worked a series of odd jobs on LA's Skid Row, then as a migratory farm worker and gold miner, travelling up and down the
state of California. He accumulated library cards from various towns along the way and carried books with him wherever he
went. Drawing from his readings, experiences, and observations, he began to write in the late 1930's. In 1943, he gained steady
employment as a longshoreman on the San Francisco waterfront. The job, which allowed him more time and income, enabled him
to focus heavily on his writing. After many trips to the San Francisco Public Library, Hoffer completed his first book
The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements,
which was published in 1951. The book sold 500,000 copies and brought Hoffer celebrity. After the success of his first book
he published a book of aphorisms,
The Passionate State of Mind
in 1955, and then another study of the psychology of mass society,
The Ordeal of Change,
in 1963. He went on to write seven more books as well as a syndicated column in the
San Francisco Examiner.
He was interviewed on national television and for a variety of publications on numerous occasions. In February 1983, he was
awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Ronald Reagan for his life work. He passed away shortly after in May in San Francisco.
Scope and Content
The collection contains 23 of Eric Hoffer's original notebooks and daybooks, one of which is a complete manuscript for
The Passionate State of Mind.
During the waterfront strike of 1946 and 1948, Hoffer found the time to begin a series of notebooks and daybooks in which
he organized what he had read and his own insights into modern society. What he wrote in these accounts were to be the basis
for his books
The True Believer,
The Passionate State of Mind,
and
The Ordeal of Change.
The collection also includes newspaper clippings, student writings, AV materials, and photo reproductions.
Arrangement
The collection is organized into four series: Series 1. Notebooks, daybooks, and manuscripts; Series 2. Publications by and
about Eric Hoffer; Series 3. Photographs; and Series 4. Audiovisual recordings.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Hoffer, Eric -- Quotations
Aphorisms and apothegms
Intellectuals -- United States
United States -- Social conditions -- 1945-
Social psychology
Philosophy
Stevedores -- California -- San Francisco
Series 1
Notebooks, daybooks, and manuscripts
Physical Description: 29 folders
Scope and Content
This series contains 23 of Hoffer's original notebooks and daybooks, including a binder notebook containing the complete manuscript
for
The Passionate State of Mind,
as well as their transcripts.
box 1, folder 1
Daybook (Spiral brand brown cover), 1946 February-May
General Note
Contains notes on the nature of mass movements
box 1, folder 2
Notebook (hardbound), 1946 August 3-1947 January 1
General Note
Second part contains thoughts which became part of
The True Believer
box 1, folder 4
Notebook (blue cover), [probably 1946] October-December
General Note
Written "Book" on top of first page. Contains notes on mass movements and articles Hoffer has read
box 1, folder 5
Notebook (Gyral brand brown cover), 1947 January-February
General Note
Contains notes on mass movements and quotations from books Hoffer has read. Photocopy (38 leaves) included
box 1, folder 6
Notebook labeled "Planning", 1947 January-May
General Note
Contains notes for
The True Believer.
Photocopy (23 leaves) included
box 1, folder 7
Daybook labeled "Daybook beginning May 1947 End," 1947 May-August
General Note
Contains notes on mass movements
box 1, folder 8
Daybook QVII, 1947 August-1948 January
General Note
Contains notes on mass movements and quotations from books Hoffer has read. Inscribed "Lili: This is the last daybook of the
lot…June 25, 1959" inside cover
box 1, folder 9
Transcript of Daybook QVII, first half
box 1, folder 10
Transcript of Daybook -QVII, second half
box 2, folder 1
1 Photocopy of transcript of Daybook QVII, first half
box 2, folder 2
Photocopy of transcript of Daybook QVII, second half
box 2, folder 3
Daybook QVIII, 1948 January 18-
General Note
Contains notes for
The True Believer
and
The Passionate State of Mind
box 2, folder 4
Daybook QIX, 1948 October-November
General Note
Labeled as "QIXI" but should be QIX. Contains notes for
The True Believer
box 2, folder 5
Daybook QX, 1948 October-1949 February
General Note
Contains notes for
The True Believer
box 2, folder 6
Daybook QXI, 1949 March
General Note
Contains notes for
The True Believer.
Includes a drafted letter to Margaret Anderson, who encouraged his writing, stating the he just finished the book and that
the title is
Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements.
box 2, folder 7
Daybook QXII, 1949 April
General Note
Contains notes for
The True Believer
box 2, folder 8
Daybook QXIII, 1949 June
General Note
Contains notes for
The True Believer.
box 2, folder 9
Daybook QXIV, undated
General Note
Contains notes for
The True Believer
and drafted letters to Margaret Anderson. Transcript (42 leaves) included
box 2, folder 10
Notebook (Li-Rite brand brown cover), [probably 1948]
General Note
Contains notes on mass movements and quotations from books Hoffer has read. Photocopy (48 leaves) included
box 2, folder 11
Notebook (Spiral brand brown cover), 1949 Oct
General Note
Contains notes on mass movements, quotations from books Hoffer has read, and a partially drafted letter to "Henry" expressing
his delight over enforced idleness due to a dock strike. Transcript (34 leaves) and photocopy (27 leaves) included
box 2, folder 12
Notebook (Spiral brand brown cover), undated
General Note
Contains notes for
The True Believer
box 2, folder 13
Notebook, (Gyral brand brown cover), undated
General Note
Contains notes for
The True Believer
box 2, folder 14
Notebook (Gyral brand brown cover), undated
General Note
Contains outlined table of contents and notes for
The True Believer.
Partial transcript (3 leaves) included
box 3, folder 1
Notebook labeled "Book 1st draft beginning with Persuasion," undated
General Note
Contains notes for
The True Believer
Transcript (33 leaves) included
box 3, folder 2
2 notebooks labeled "Aphorisms" 1 & 2, undated
General Note
Part of the manuscript for
The Passionate State of Mind
Photocopy of second notebook (30 leaves) included
box 3, folder 3
Binder notebook, manuscript of
The Passionate State of Mind,
undated
Series 2
Publications by and about Eric Hoffer
Physical Description: 5 folders
Scope and Content
This series contains clippings of Eric Hoffer's Opinion column as well as Sunday Thoughts and Eric Hoffer Speaks sections
in the
San Francisco Examiner.
It also contains various publications about Hoffer's life and work.
box 3, folder 6
Eric Hoffer's Opinion column clippings, 1968-1970
box 3, folder 7
Sunday Thoughts and Eric Hoffer Speaks clippings, 1968
box 3, folder 8
Biographical information and clippings, 1951-1983
box 3, folder 9
"Would You Believe…?" by Paul Breines, "Eric Hoffer and Cold War Ideology" by Peter Wiley, 1967
General Note
Literary critiques on Eric Hoffer by University of Washington graduate students
box 3, folder 10
"The Working Mind: The Philosophy of Eric Hoffer" by Daniel David Slate, 2009 May
General Note
Stanford University Department of Philosophy Honors Thesis
Series 3
Photographs
Physical Description: 1 folder, 1 oversize folder
Scope and Content
This series contains black and white photographs of Eric Hoffer taken by George Knight printed or mounted on boards
box 3, folder 11
Photographs, 1964
General Note
4 photographs of Hoffer working on the docks, 1 photograph of Hoffer reading on the docks
oversize-folder 1
Photographs, 1964
General Note
3 photos of Hoffer working on the docks, 1 photograph of Hoffer working in the old Main Library Reading Room, 4 photographs
of Hoffer writing
Series 4
Audiovisual recordings
Physical Description: 31 videotapes, 8 audiotapes
Scope and Content
This series contains audio and video recordings of and about Hoffer
box 4
3/4" U-matic videotapes, 1963, 1968
Physical Description:
14 videotapes
General Note
Conversations with Eric Hoffer,
interview with James Day of KQED San Francisco (12 parts), 1963;
Eric Hoffer: The Passionate State of Mind,
interview with Eric Sevaraid, CBS News special (2 parts), 1968
box 5
VHS videotapes, 1963-1978
Physical Description:
17 videotapes
General Note
Conversations with Eric Hoffer,
1963;
Eric Hoffer: The Passionate State of Mind,
1968;
The Savage Heart: A Conversation with Eric Hoffer,
1969;
People of Our Time: Eric Hoffer,
[probably 1974];
Eric Hoffer: The Crowded Life,
1978
box 6
Reel-to-reel tapes, 1963
Physical Description:
3 reels
General Note
Books and Authors,
WRCV, 1963;
Leisure and the Masses,
panel session at the Palace Hotel, 1963
box 6
Cassette tapes, 1963, 2005
Physical Description:
5 audiotapes
General
Books and Authors
, WRCV, 1963;
Leisure and the Masses
, panel session at the Palace Hotel, 1963;
The True Believer: Reflections on Eric Hoffer
, lecture and panel discussion at San Francisco Public Library, 2005
