The collection contains the professional papers of Robert V. Hine (1921-2015) reflecting his work as a historian of the American West and a writer, and includes research notes, photocopied manuscripts, newspaper clippings, interviews, correspondence, and other research related papers. The papers chiefly relate to Hine's research on Californian utopian colonies and communes, John Russell Bartlett, Josiah Royce, Edward Kern, and Theodore Talbot, as well as some materials related to his memoir on going blind.

Robert V. Hine (1921-2015) is a prominent historian of the American West. Hine earned his Ph.D. in history from Yale University in 1952 and spent a year as a fellow at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California, before accepting a faculty position at the University of California, Riverside, in 1954. Hine remained a member of the History Department at UC Riverside for most of his long career. A prolific writer, Hine authored numerous historical monographs and edited volumes, several textbooks, two personal memoirs, and two historical novels. In 1971, due to a lifelong eye condition, Hine lost his eyesight; in 1986, after 15 years of blindness, a surgical operation restored it. Hine's memoir Second Sight is a reflection on losing his sight, living and working without it, and the experience of regaining it.

30 Linear Feet (50 boxes, 5 oversize folders)

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