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Langston Hughes Papers: Finding Aid
mssHM 64070-64101, mssHM 68429-68442, mssHM73900-73977
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Table of contents
Title: Langston Hughes Papers
Dates (inclusive): 1910-1976
Bulk dates: 1932-1934
Collection Number: mssHM 64070-64101, mssHM 68429-68442, mssHM73900-73977
Creator:
Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967.
Extent: 124 pieces in 4 boxes.
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2129
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: The collection consists mainly of manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, and
ephemera to, by, and about African-American writer Langston Hughes (1910-1976). The bulk of the material
dates between 1932 and 1934, the years that Langston Hughes traveled to and from the
Soviet Union and Mexico. There are also correspondence and
photographs to and about Hughes's friend African-American lawyer Loren Miller (1903-1967) and the Miller family.
Language: English.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services
Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.
There are no restrictions on access except for the Hughes Pocket Diary, HM 64076. It is too fragile to be handled and has
been permanently retired. A high- quality facsimile is available for use.
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.
[Identification of item]. Langston Hughes Papers, The Huntington Library, San
Marino, California.
The items in Part I were purchased from Edward and Angela Miller in June 2002
(acquisition number 2244).
Part II is made up of two groups of material:
- Photographs of the Miller family, lent to the Huntington Library in November 2002 by Halvor Miller, Jr., cousin of Edward and Loren Miller, Jr., were copied and the originals returned to Halvor Miller.
- Another notebook kept in Russia by Hughes was purchased from Edward and Angela Miller in November 2003 (acquisition number 2319)
Part III includes three groups of material, correspondence, ephemera, and
photographs. These items were acquired from Edward Miller in October 2006
(acquisition number 2402).
African-American author (James) Langston Hughes (1902-1967) was born on February 1,
1902, in Joplin, Missouri, to James Nathaniel and Carrie Mercer (Langston) Hughes.
Throughout his career as a writer, Hughes lived in several countries around the
world including a year in the Soviet Union (1932-1933). He is well known for such
works as
Weary Blues (1926),
The Big Sea ( (1940),
the Simple series including
Simple Speaks His Mind ( (1950), and
other works. Hughes died on May 22, 1967.
African-American attorney, judge and civil rights activist Loren Miller (1903-1967)
was born on January 20, 1903, in Pender, Nebraska, to John Bird and Nora (Herbaugh)
Miller. He married Juanita Ellsworth on February 19, 1933, and they had two sons Loren,
Jr. and Edward Ellsworth. He practiced private law in Kansas from 1928-1929 before
moving to California and opening a practice in 1933. Miller was a reporter for the
California News from 1929-1933 and the publisher of the
California Eagle from
1954-1964. He was a Municipal Court judge for Los Angeles from 1964 until his death.
He was a member of the California Advisory Commission on Civil Rights and the vice
president of the National Committee Against Discrimination in Housing. Miller died
on July 16, 1967.
Langston Hughes was close friends with both Loren and Juanita Miller. Loren Miller,
Hughes, and a troupe of African-American actors, students and writers traveled to
the Soviet Union in 1932 aboard the ship
Europa. They
had planned to make a film called “Black and White,” about African-American life in
America. The movie was never filmed due to funding. While Hughes remained on the
Soviet Union and Asia, Miller returned home and married Juanita Ellsworth. Over the
years, Miller acted on several occasions as legal counsel for Hughes.
The collection consists mainly of manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, and
ephemera to, by, and about African-American writer Langston Hughes. The bulk of the material
dates between 1932 and 1934, the years that Langston Hughes traveled to and from the
Soviet Union and Mexico. There are also correspondence and
photographs to and about Hughes's friend African-American lawyer Loren Miller and the Miller family.
This collection is arranged in three parts reflecting three different acquisitions.
Part I consists of a pocket
diary kept while Hughes was in China and Japan in 1933 (HM 64076), manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, and ephemera
to, by, and about
Langston Hughes. Part II consists of photograph reproductions and
another pocket notebook (HM 68429), kept by Hughes while in the Soviet Union, dating from 1932-1933.
Part III consists of letters, ephemera and
photographs primarily by Loren Miller and related to the 1932 Soviet Union trip.
Langston Hughes was a close friend of Loren and Juanita Miller. Hughes and Miller
traveled to the Soviet Union in 1932 with 19 other African-Americans onboard the
ship
Europa for a film project that never materialized.
There are two photographs from onboard the
Europa including
a group photograph of 20 of the 22 who traveled to the Soviet Union (HM 64100).
Correspondence in Part I consists of: 5 letters from
Langston Hughes to Loren Miller (HM 64082-64086); 1 letter to Juanita Miller (HM 64081); 2 letters from Si-lan
Chen Leyda to Langston Hughes (HM 64088-64089); 5 letters from Maxim Lieber to Langston Hughes about
selling some of Hughes' short stories (HM 64090-64094); and 4 letters to Langston Hughes from
Josephine De Witt (HM 64070), L.B. (Lidiì'a Borisovna) Filatova (HM 64071), Jozsef Rem'enyi (HM 64097), and Agnes
Smedley (HM 64097). There are 3 letters to Loren Miller from Bill Jordan (HM 64087); Helen O. (HM 64095); and Kenneth
P. O'Donnell (HM 64096) inviting Miller to a civil rights meeting with President Kennedy in
1963. There is also 1 letter to Maxim Lieber from Elsie Weil about a Hughes' short
story (HM 64099). Correspondence in Part III is primarily from Loren Miller to Juanita Miller
and Nora Miller, with a few letters to and from other friends and family.
Manuscripts (in Part I) consist of
Mother and Child [one-act play] (HM 64072);
The Need for Heroes [essay] (HM 64073); "Once
again..." (HM 64074);
Oyster's Son [short story] (HM 64075);
Professor [short story] (HM 64077);
Reno Possess Only Negro Weather Man [essay] (HM 64078);
The Sailor and
the Steward
[short story] (HM 64079); and "Wise Men" [poem] (HM 64080).
Related Materials in the Huntington Library
- Hughes, Langston. Big Sur: [poem], 1941 (Call number: mssHM 63815)
- Hughes, Langston. Declaration: [poem, 6 drafts] : autograph manuscript, 1939. (Call number: mssHM 63816 (a-f))
- Hughes, Langston. Uncle Tom: [poem, 7 drafts] : autograph manuscript, 1941. (Call number: mssHM 63819 (a-g))
- Hughes, Langston. Langston Hughes: [autobiographical sketch], 1941. (Call number: mssHM 63817)
- Langston Hughes letter to Beulah May, 1883-, 1941. (Call number: mssHM 63818)
- Langston Hughes letters to Isabella M. Brown, 1963-1966. (Call number: mssHM 80590-80595)
- Loren Miller papers, 1876-2003 (bulk dates 1932-1966)
-
C. E. S. Wood papers, 1829-1980 (bulk 1870-1940)
(Call number: mssWD) includes:
- WD Box 154 (5) "Let America Be America Again" [poem], November 16, 1935, Cleveland, Ohio, MS.S. 2p. 4to. typewritten. Enclosed in: Letter from Hughes to Wood, WD Box 154 (7).
- WD Box 154 (6) Telegram from Langston Hughes to Charles Erskine Scott Wood, February 21, 1942, Chicago, 1 p. obl. 8vo. Also: Transcription of telegram in handwriting of Nancy (Honeyman) Robinson).
- WD Box 154 (7) Letter from Langston Hughes to Charles Erskine Scott Wood and Sara Bard (Field) Wood, November 17, 1935, Oberlin, Ohio, A.L.S. 2 p. 4to.
- WD Box 154 (8) Letter from Langston Hughes to Sara Bard (Field) Wood, March 19, 1944, A.L.S. 2p. 4to.
Removed or Separated Material
The material in Part I included two books inscribed by Langston Hughes to Loren and
Juanita Miller. They were transferred to the Rare Books Department in August 2002.
These books are:
- One-Way Ticket (Call number: 606889)
- Simple Speaks His Mind (Call number: 606888)
This collection is arranged in three parts, reflecting the three different acquisitions of the material.
- Part I (HM 64070-64101): Correspondence, Manuscripts, Photographs, and Ephemera (Box 1)
- Part II (HM 68429-68442): Pocket diary and Photographs (Box 2)
- Part III (HM 73900-73977): Correspondence (Box 3) and Ephemera and Photographs (Box 4)
Within each part, manuscripts and correspondence arranged alphabetically, followed by photographs and ephemera, which are
arranged
chronologically.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
Huntington Library's Online Catalog.
Hughes, Langston,
1902-1967 -- Archives.
Lieber, Maxim, 1897- --
Correspondence.
Miller, Loren --
Correspondence.
African American authors --
Archives.
Manuscripts for publication -- United
States -- 20th century.
Letters (correspondence) -- United
States -- 20th century.
Photographs -- United States -- 20th
century.
Ephemera -- United States -- 20th
century.
Lieber, Maxim, 1897-.
Miller, Loren.
- Gosudarstvennaia Tret’iakovskaia galereia. In Ephemera: postcards (museum artworks). HM 73952.
- Gosudarstvennaia tsentral’naia biblioteka inostrannoui literatury (R.S.F.S.R.) In Ephemera: printed material (Russian library card). HM 73943.
- Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967. In Bill Jordan, letter to Loren Miller, 1932, May 31. HM 64087.
- Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967. In photographs of members of the film group with various others. HM 73975-73976.
- Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967. Big Meeting: [short story]. In Maxim Lieber, letter to Langston Hughes, 1934, Nov. 7. HM 64091.
- Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967. The Negro in the Drawing Room: [short story]. In Maxim Lieber, letter to Langston Hughes, 1934, Nov. 27. HM 64094.
- Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967. On the Road: [short story]. In Maxim Lieber, letter to Langston Hughes, 1934, Nov. 27. HM 64094.
- Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967. Oyster’s Son: [short story]. In Maxim Lieber, letter to Langston Hughes, 1934, Nov. 27. HM 64094.
- Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967. The Professor: [short story]. In Maxim Lieber, letter to Langston Hughes, 1934, Nov. 27. HM 64094.
- Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967. Ruins to Radios: [short story]. In Maxim Lieber, letter to Langston Hughes, 1934, Nov. 12. HM 64092.
- Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967. The Sailor and the Steward: [short story]. In Maxim Lieber, letter to Langston Hughes, 1934, Nov. 27. HM 64094.
- Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967. Samarkand Today: [short story]. In Maxim Lieber, letter to Langston Hughes, 1934, Oct. 23. HM 64090.
- Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967. Samarkand Today: [short story]. In Elsie Weil, letter to Maxim Lieber, 1934, Nov. 9. HM 64099.
- Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967. Samarkand Today: [short story]. In Maxim Lieber, letter to Langston Hughes, 1934, Nov. 12. HM 64092.
- Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967. Samarkand Today: [short story]. In Maxim Lieber, letter to Langston Hughes, 1934, Nov. 14. HM 64093.
- Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963. In Kenneth P. O’Donnell, letter to Loren Miller, 1963, June 19. HM 64096.
- Markel, Lester, 1897-. In Maxim Lieber, letter to Langston Hughes, 1934, Oct. 23. HM 64090.
- Markel, Lester, 1897-. In Maxim Lieber, letter to Langston Hughes, 1934, Nov. 12. HM 64092.
- Markel, Lester, 1897-. In Maxim Lieber, letter to Langston Hughes, 1934, Nov. 14. HM 64093.
- Markel, Lester, 1897-. In Maxim Lieber, letter to Langston Hughes, 1934, Nov. 27. HM 64094.
- Miller, Loren. In [Untitled beginning:] “Once again…” [not after 1967]. HM 64074.
- Miller, Loren. In photographs of members of the film group with various others. HM 73975-73976.