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Finding Aid of the James R. Cox Papers
1375  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Descriptive Summary
  • Administrative Information
  • Biography
  • Scope and Content
  • Organization and Arrangement
  • Indexing Terms
  • Introduction
  • Index

  • Descriptive Summary

    Title: James R. Cox Papers,
    Date (inclusive): 1972-1980
    Collection number: 1375
    Creator: Cox, James R.
    Extent: 3 boxes (1.5 linear ft.)
    Repository: University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.
    Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
    Abstract: James R. Cox (1926- ) began working at the UCLA library in 1954, serving in gifts and exchange, as head of the Geology Library, and head of circulation (1960-77). He became the Acting Associate University Librarian for Public Services (1977-79), Assistant to the University Librarian, UCLA (1979-83); became University Librarian, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia, in 1983. The collection consists of correspondence (1972-80), typescripts (1973-79), and other materials related to a bibliography edited by Cox titled, Classics in the literature of mountaineering and mountain travel from the Francis P. Farquhar collection of mountaineering literature .
    Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
    Language: English.

    Administrative Information

    Restrictions on Access

    COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Advance notice required for access.

    Restrictions on Use and Reproduction

    Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Collections, UCLA. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Manuscripts Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Dept. of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], James R. Cox Papers (Collection 1375). Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

    UCLA Catalog Record ID

    UCLA Catalog Record ID: 964552 

    Biography

    Cox was born January 5, 1926 in Fresno, California; BA, political science, Stanford, 1949; associate for Bill P. Wreden, antiquarian book dealer, San Francisco; MLS, UC Berkeley, 1954; began working at the UCLA library in 1954, serving in gifts and exchange, as head of the Geology Library, and head of circulation (1960-77); compiled and donated Albright library bibliography; Acting Associate University Librarian for Public Services, UCLA, 1977-79; Assistant to the University Librarian, UCLA, 1979-83; became University Librarian, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia, in 1983.
    1926 Born on January 5, in Fresno, California
    1943 Graduated from Palo Alto High School, California
    1945-1947 Served in the U.S. Army as a personnel technician
    1949 B.A., Political Science, Stanford University
    1947-1954 Associate for Bill P. Wreden, Antiquarian Book Dealer, San Francisco, California
    1954 M.L.S., University of California, Berkeley
    1954-1977 Joined UCLA library staff and served respectively in gifts and exchange and as head of the Geology Library
    1960-1977 Head of UCLA Circulation Department
    1963 Played key role in automating the UCLA library's circulation system
    1972 Fulbright-Hayes Senior Scholar, Canberra College of Education, Australia
    1977-1979 Acting Associate University Librarian for Public Services
    1979-1983 Assistant to the University Librarian
    1981 Received Award of Merit for one of the best books printed in the western United States from the Rounce and Coffin Club
    1983- University Librarian, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
    The above account was compiled from the following sources:
    “James Cox Enters Australian Librarianship.” UCLA Librarian 36 (November 1983): 74.
    Bailes, Kieth. Univeristy Research Library, UCLA. Interview 1 March 1985.

    Scope and Content

    Collection consists of correspondence (1972-80), typescripts (1973-79), and other materials related to a bibliography edited by Cox titled, Classics in the literature of mountaineering and mountain travel from the Francis P. Farquhar collection of mountaineering literature . Also includes drafts, galleys, page proofs, copies of a photograph and an etching that appeared in the bibliography, correspondence dealing with copyright and permission to publish, designs for the cover, and printing estimates and bills prepared by Grant Dahlstrom and the Castle Press. Correspondents include photographer Ansel Adams, lawyer Nicholas B. Clinch, book designer Grant Dahlstrom, book dealer Muir Dawson, Francis P. Farquhar, and former UCLA University Librarians Lawrence Clark Powell and Robert Vosper.

    Expanded Scope and Content Note

    The James Ross Cox Papers consist of materials relating to the compilation and production of a bibliography, edited by Cox, Classics in the Literature of Mountaineering and Mountain Travel from the Francis P. Farquhar Collection of Mountaineering Literature . Published by the University of California Library in 1980, this is a selective and annotated bibliography of 100 books from the 2,000volume Farquhar Collection, which was given to the Department of Special Collections in 1969. The papers concering this bibliography were donated by Cox through the UCLA Library Administrative Office in 1984.
    The James Ross Cox papers are composed primarily of successive typescripts of the bibliography and of correspondence relating to its production and publication. Thirteen items, each in a seperate folder, comprise the successive drafts, galleys, and page proofs of the bibliography from the original manuscript in 1973 through the 1980 page proofs. The most numerous items in the collection are letters between Cox and his collaborators ( 1973-1980), Francis and Marjory Farquhar (1974-1980), and persons receiving or purchasing copies of the published bibliography in 1980 (Box 3). One folder consists of printing estimates, bills, and purchase orders (1975-1980) of Castle Press, whose owner, Grant Dahlstrom, the distinguished Pasadena typographer and printer, designed and printed the bibliography (folder 28). A small number of letters pertains to permissions to reprint poems, photographs, and illustrations in the bibliography, including a set of correspondence with Ansel Adams (folder 16). The collection also contains an item of particular importance to the documentation of the Farquhar Collection: a complete and annotated check list of the titles and dates of the mounainteering periodicals in the Farquhar collection, 1980 (folder 15).
    The order of the records preserves all substantive relationships that were in the original arrangement. It reflects the development over time of the bibliography, from plans to compile a bibliography through publication of the volume. Folders 2 through 25, therefore, are in chronological order, beginning with the transcript of Clinch's taperecorded comments on books in the Farquhar collection (1973) through Cox's distribution lists for announcements and copies of the bibliography (1980).
    Correspondence has been arranged both by function and by correspondent. Separate folders have been created for the correspondence of Cox with persons who were major contributors to the project: Nicholas B. Clinch, mountaineer,lawyer, and collaborator (folder 27); Grant Dahlstrom, designer and printer of the book (folder 27); Muir Dawson, antiquarian book dealer and collaborator (folder 29); and Mr. and Mrs. Farquhar (folder 30). A separate folder exists for the correspondence of Robert Vosper, Professor Emeritus of Library and Information Science and former University Librarian at UCLA who wrote the foreword to the bibliography (folder 31). Lawrence Clark Powell and Francis P. Farquhar are among Vesper's correspondents. Cox's' letters with other persons are in a separate folder (folder 26), arranged alphabetically by correspondent. In all folders, multiple letters concerning one correspondent are arranged in reverse chronological order.
    Users of the James Ross Cox Collection should find it useful to consult the published bibliography Classics in the Literature of Mountaineering and Mountain Travel from the Francis P. Farquhar Collection of Mountaineering Literature (University of California Library, 1980) and the shelflist of the Francis P. Farquhar Collection of Mountaineering Literature at the Department of Special Collections, UCLA.

    Organization and Arrangement

    Arranged in the following series:
    • Obituaries of Francis P. Farquhar, 1974 (Box 1).
    • Drafts, galleys and page proofs of Cox's bibliography, 1974-80 (Boxes 1-2).
    • Matters concerning publication of bibliography (Boxes 2-3).
    • Correspondence (Box 3).

    Indexing Terms

    The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the repository's online public access catalog.

    Subjects

    Cox, James R.--Archives.
    Farquhar, Francis Peloubet, 1887- --Library--Bibliography.
    Mountaineering--Bibliography--Archival resources.

    Introduction

    The materials constituting the James Ross Cox Papers, 1972-1980, were compiled when Cox was employed by the University of California Library. They were donated by Cox to the Department of Special Collections through the Library Administrative Office in 1984.
    The papers (31 folders in 3 boxes) comprise correspondence (1972-1980), typescripts (1973-1979), and other materials relating to the compilation and publication of a bibliography edited by Cox: Classics in the Literature of Mountaineering and Mountain Travel from the Francis P. Farquhar Collection of Mountaineering Literature (Los Angeles: University of California Library, 1980). This is a selective, annotated bibliography of the 2000-volume Francis P. Farquhar Mountaineering Collection, which Farquhar donated to the Department of Special Collections beginning in 1969, and for which there is no complete bibliography.
    The Cox Papers are open for use without restrictions.
    The collection contains correspondence showing plans for compiling the bibliography (1972), letters written and received during the course of the project, records of persons and organizations receiving copies of the bibliography, and correspondence acknowledging receipt of the book. The bulk of the collection comprises seven successive drafts of the bibliography (1973-1979). These include the manuscript transcription of the tape-recorded comments of Nicholas B. Clinch, which were the bases of the annotations in the bibliography. Successive typescript drafts, some with accompanying correspondence, show additions and alterations to these comments by various persons over the course of eight years. The last typescript draft (1979) has editorial marks made by Castle Press before the bibliography was typeset. Also included are corrected galleys (1979), with accompanying correspondence, and page proofs (1980). The latter are marked “duplicate set”; the original set is not part of the Cox Papers.
    The collection contains other material associated with publication of the bibliography: permissions to reprint pictures and poems, copies of a photograph and an etching that appeared in the bibliography, correspondence dealing with copyright, three designs for the cover, and printing estimates and bills prepared by Grant Dahlstrom and Castle Press (This bibliography was one of the last books produced by Grant Dahlstrom of Castle Press, Pasadena, before his death in 1980.).
    The collection is useful not only for its documentation of the Farquhar bibliography, but also for the record it provides of the correspondence among persons who were friends united by their commitment to the Sierra Club, the conservation movement, and the art of the book. Photographer Ansel Adams, lawyer Nicholas B. Clinch, book designer Grant Dahlstrom, book dealer Muir Dawson, and former University Librarians Lawrence Clark Powell and Robert Vosper, as well as Francis P. Farquhar, are among those whose letters appear in this collection.
    Of particular interest are the papers providing an apparently complete list of the titles and dates of all the mountaineering periodicals in the Farquhar collection (f. 15). Suggested citation: Los Angeles, California. University of California. Department of Special Collec tions. James Ross Cox Papers, file 31, Correspondence, Robert Vosper, 1972-1980 Subsequent citation: UCLA, Cox Papers, file 31.
    Suggested citation: Los Angeles, California. University of California. Department of Special Collec tions. James Ross Cox Papers, file 31, Correspondence, Robert Vosper, 1972-1980.
    Subsequent citation: UCLA, Cox Papers, file 31.
    This collection was processed and the register prepared by Cynthia Shelton and Cecelia Wittmann, Graduate School of Library and Information Science.

    Index

    The following is an index to the names of persons and organizations whose correspondence is part of the collection, or who were associated with production of the bibliography as either author or printers, and to photographs, publications, newspaper articles, and other materials in the collection..
    The first number indicates the box containing the material. The number following the colon refers to the file within the box. Incoming and outgoing correspondence are indicated by the designations “Incoming” and “Outgoing.”
    Adams, Ansel (incoming) Box 2, folder 10; Box 3, folder 17
    Adams, Ansel (outgoing) Box 3, folders 16-17
    Adams, Virginia (Mrs. Ansel)
    Adams, Virginia (Mrs. Ansel) (incoming) Box 3, folder 17
    Adams, Virginia (Mrs. Ansel) (outgoing) Box 3, folder 16
    Ahlm, Betty (Mrs. Yngve) (incoming) Box 3, folder 26
    American Alpine Club (incoming) Box 3, folder 26
    American Alpine Club (outgoing) Box 3, folder 26
    Angel's Books (outgoing) Box 3, folder 26
    Baxter, Alfred (incoming) Box 3, folder 26
    Baxter, Alfred (outgoing) Box 3, folder 26
    Belcher, C. Francis (incoming) Box 3, folder 26
    Bishop, James (outgoing) Box 3, folder 17
    Book Addict, The (outgoing) Box 3, folder 26
    Carmain, Karen (incoming) Box 3, folder 23
    Carter, H. Adams (incoming) Box 3, folder 27
    Castle Press Box 2, folders 11-13; Box 3, folders 20-21
    Castle Press (incoming) Box 2, folder 9
    Castle Press (outgoing) Box 3, folder 28
    Clark, James H. (incoming) Box 3, folder 26
    Clinch, Nicholas B. Box 1, folders 1-2
    Clinch, Nicholas B. (incoming) Box 3, folders 17, 26, 27, 31
    Clinch, Nicholas B. (outgoing) Box 3, folders 17, 26-27
    Cox, James R. (incoming) Box 2, folders 10, 15; Box 3, folders 17, 26-29
    Cox, James R. (outgoing) Box 2, folders 9-10, 12, 15; Box 3, folders 17, 23-24, 26-31
    Crenshaw, Jesse M. (incoming) Box 3, folder 26
    Dahlstrom, Grant Box 2, folders 11-13; Box 3, folders 19-21, 28
    Dahlstrom, Grant (incoming) Box 2, folder 9; Box 3, folder 28
    Dahlstrom, Grant (outgoing) Box 3, folder 28
    Dahlstrom, Mrs. Grant (incoming) Box 3, folder 28
    Davis, James (outgoing) Box 2, folder 10
    Dawson, Glen (incoming) Box 3, folder 29
    Dawson, Muir (incoming) Box 3, folders 26, 29, 31
    Dawson, Muir (outgoing) Box 3, folder 29
    Dawson's Book Shop (incoming) Box 3, folder 29
    Delavega, Frank (incoming) Box 3, folder 26
    Direccion Provincial de Cultura, Mendoza [Argentina] (outgoing) Box 3, folder 17
    Ellmore, Mrs. J.R. (incoming) Box 3, folder 26
    Fabian, Jerry (incoming) Box 3, folder 23
    Farquhar, Francis P. Box 1, folders 1-2
    Farquhar, Francis P. (incoming) Box 3, folders 16, 30-31
    Farquhar, Francis P. (outgoing) Box 3, folder 31
    Farquhar, Marjory (Mrs. Francis P.)
    Farquhar, Marjory (Mrs. Francis P.) (incoming) Box 2, folder 15; Box 3, folders 26, 30-31
    Farquhar, Marjory (Mrs. Francis P.) (outgoing) Box 3, folder 30
    Farquhar, Peter (incoming) Box 3, folders 16, 26
    Farquhar, Roger P. (incoming) Box 3, folder 26
    Fuller, Carl (incoming) Box 3, folder 26
    Fuller, Carl (outgoing) Box 3, folder 26
    Grolier Educational Corporation (incoming) Box 3, folder 31
    Guinle, Jose Oscar (outgoing) Box 3, folder 17
    Hamilton, Douglas L. (outgoing) Box 3, folder 16
    Hammond, George (incoming) Box 3, folder 26
    Hare, James R. (incoming) Box 3, folder 26
    Hare, James R. (outgoing) Box 3, folder 26
    Hawley, Robert L. (incoming) Box 3, folder 26
    Hawley, Robert L. (outgoing) Box 3, folder 26
    Heimbucher, Clifford V. (incoming) Box 3, folder 26
    Heimbucher, Clifford V. (outgoing) Box 3, folder 26
    Hutchins, Steve (incoming) Box 3, folder 26
    Hutchins, Steve (outgoing) Box 3, folder 26
    Illustrated London News, The (outgoing) Box 3, folder 17
    Johnson, Bruce (incoming) Box 3, folder 26
    Johnson, Bruce (outgoing) Box 3, folder 26
    K2 Box 3, folder 19
    Kilness, Helen (incoming) Box 3, folder 26
    Kilness, Helen (outgoing) Box 3, folder 26
    Kruska, Dennis (outgoing) Box 3, folder 26
    Landry, Werner R. (incoming) Box 3, folder 26
    Landry, Werner R. (outgoing) Box 3, folder 26
    Leonard, Richard M. (incoming) Box 3, folder 26
    Leonard, Richard M. (outgoing) Box 3, folder 26
    Maggs Brothers, Limited (outgoing) Box 3, folder 26
    Marshall, Elva (incoming) Box 2, folder 12
    Marshall, Elva (outging) Box 3, folder 28
    Marshall, George (outgoing) Box 3, folder 27
    Matterhorn Box 3, folder 18
    McKenzie, Jean L. (outgoing) Box 3, folder 26
    Mendenhall, Ruth (incoming) Box 3, folder 26
    Moore, Everett T. (outgoing) Box 3, folder 30
    Murphy, Franklin D. (outgoing) Box 3, folder 26
    Museum of Science, Boston (incoming) Box 3, folder 26
    Museum of Science, Boston (outgoing) Box 3, folder 26
    National Geographic Magazine (outgoing) Box 3, folder 17
    Off Belay (incoming) Box 3, folder 26
    Pollock, John (outgoing) Box 3, folder 26
    Powell, Lawrence Clark (incoming) Box 3, folder 26
    Powell, Lawrence Clark (outgoing) Box 3, folder 26, 31
    Randall, Mike (outgoing) Box 2, folder 15
    Razquin, Bernardo (incoming) Box 3, folder 17
    Sherrick, Michael (incoming) Box 3, folder 26
    Sierra Club Bulletin (June 1972) Box 1, folder 1
    Sierra Club Foundation, The (outgoing) Box 3, folder 17
    Smith, Thomas R. (outgoing) Box 3, folder 17
    Smutek, Ray (incoming) Box 3, folder 26
    Snyder, Theodore A., Jr. (incoming) Box 3, folder 26
    Southern Sierran (January 1975) Box 1, folder 1
    Stengle, Thomas R. (incoming) Box 3, folder 26
    Stengle, Thomas R. (outgoing) Box 3, folder 26
    Strickland, Anita (outgoing) Box 3, folder 26
    Swan, Lawrence (incoming) Box 3, folder 26
    Turnage, Andrea (incoming) Box 2, folder 10; Box 3, folder 17
    Turnage, Andrea (outgoing) Box 3, folder 17
    Vosper, Robert (incoming) Box 3, folder 31
    Vosper, Robert (outgoing) Box 3, folder 31
    Waite, Peter A. (outgoing) Box 3, folder 26
    Waller, Theodore (incoming) Box 3, folder 31
    Washburn, Bradford (incoming) Box 3, folder 26
    Washburn, Bradford (outgoing) Box 3, folder 26
    Wheat, Francis M. (incoming) Box 3, folder 26
    Whiting, Brooke (incoming) Box 3, folders 24, 31
    Wyndham, Richard (outgoing) Box 3, folder 26
    Zeitlin, Jacob I. (incoming) Box 3, folder 26
    Zimmerman, T.C. Price (incoming) Box 3, folder 26
    Zimmerman, T.C. Price (outgoing) Box 3, folder 26