Shippey (Lee) Papers, 1915 - 1970

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Summary

Title:
Lee Shippey Papers
Dates:
1915 - 1970
Creators:
Shippey, Lee, 1884-1969
Abstract:
The papers of Lee Shippey, writer and journalist for the Los Angeles Times (1923-1958), include correspondence, poetry, published and unpublished manuscripts, lyrics, scrapbooks, and newspaper clippings. The scrapbooks document his Los Angeles Times daily column "Leeside o' L.A.," and his weekly column "The Seymour Family," as well as articles and columns for San Diego area newspapers and from his two years in Mexico.
Extent:
3.2 Linear feet (6 archives boxes and 6 oversize folders)
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

Lee Shippey Papers, MSS 147. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego Library.

Background

Scope and content:

The Lee Shippey Papers contain biographical materials, memorabilia, correspondence, published and unpublished manuscripts, and scrapbooks containing clippings of Shippey's columns and articles. The papers date from 1915-1970.

Arranged in five series: 1) BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS, 2) CORRESPONDENCE, 3) WRITINGS, 4) SCRAPBOOKS, and 5) NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS.

Biographical / historical:

Lee Shippey was born on February 26, 1884, in Memphis, Tennessee. The start of his career in 1906 coincided with his accidental blinding; he dictated his first humor columns for the Kansas City Star from his bed. Shippey never regained full sight and, unable to enlist, became war correspondent for the newspaper during World War I. His story on the end of the war in Verdun, France, attracted the attention of Los Angeles Times publisher Harry Chandler.

After the war, Shippey edited an English language newspaper for two years in Tampico, Mexico. In the early 1920s, he moved his family to California and contacted Chandler, beginning a long association with the Times. His popular column "Leeside o' L.A.: Personal Glimpses of Famous Southlanders," ran daily from 1927 to 1958. Shippey also wrote the columns "Martian Observer," "Joshua Little," "How It Looks to Mars," and "Needles-Eye View." His weekly column, "The Seymour Family," was a humorous look at American families.

Though Shippey became known as the "dean of Southern California columnists," he had always aspired to be a poet. He published both poetry and prose, and was active in several professional writers organizations on both sides of the Atlantic. His published works include Personal Glimpses of Famous Folks (1929) from "Leeside o' L.A.;" Folks You Should Know (1930); Where Nothing Ever Happens (1935); The Girl Who Wanted Experience (1937); a textbook entitled California Progress (1937) co-authored with Herbert Floercky; The Great American Family (1938); If We Only Had Money (1939); It's an Old California Custom (1948); Los Angeles Book (1950); his autobiography, Luckiest Man Alive (1959); and "The Chivalry of Adolescence" (1964), a chapter from The Great American Family, reprinted in Chucklebait: Funny Stories for Everyone. Two of Shippey's books were adapted into plays by others: The Great American Family ("The Great American Family: A Comedy") and It's an Old California Custom.

Shippey retired to Del Mar, California, and contributed several columns to the San Diego Union and Del Mar Surfcomber: "Surfside o' Del Mar," "Southwest Corner," "Lee Shippey Says," and "Lee Shippey Asks" through the late 1960s. He died in Encinitas, California, on December 30, 1969.

Acquisition information:
Not Available
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Special Collections Archives, UC San Diego Library
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-12-12 13:17:16 -0800 .

Access and use

Terms of access:

Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.

Preferred citation:

Lee Shippey Papers, MSS 147. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego Library.

Location of this collection:
9500 Gilman Drive, Dept. 0175
La Jolla, CA 92093-0175, US
Contact:
(858) 534-2533
spcoll@ucsd.edu
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