Charles Nordhoff Papers, 1907-1953, bulk 1909-1947

Collection context

Summary

Abstract:
This collection contains the professional and personal papers of American writer Charles Bernard Nordhoff (1887-1947), who collaborated with James Norman Hall to write The Mutiny on the Bounty, Men Against the Sea, Pitcaim's Island, and other novels.
Extent:
5.34 Linear Feet (9 boxes, 1 oversize folder)
Language:
Materials are in English and French.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Charles Nordhoff papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

Professional and personal papers of writer Charles Nordhoff (1887-1947). The material consists of typescripts of Nordhoff's works, correspondence to and from Charles Nordhoff to his co-author James Hall, to various publishers, and letters to and from a variety of friends and relations, including former Secretary of the Interior Gifford Pinchot, Adlai Stevenson, A.P. Watt, Ellery Sedgwick, and others. The collection includes typescripts of Nordhoff's works, extensive family and writing-related correspondence, numerous photographs, and copies of magazines, journals, and comic books in which articles or works by Nordhoff were published. There are approximately one dozen items in French, primarily incoming correspondence.

Biographical / historical:

Novelist Charles Bernard Nordhoff (1887-1947), alone and in collaboration with James Norman Hall, drew from experiences in turn-of-the-century California, where he was raised, in France during his stint as a pilot and ambulance driver during World War I, and in the South Seas, notably Tahiti, as well as from historical events and native myths to produce successful and popular novels. During the course of his life he authored or co-authored sixteen books between 1919 and 1946, as well as numerous articles and essays.

Nordhoff was best-known for his collaborative efforts with Hall in the writing of Mutiny on the Bounty, Men Against the Sea,and Pitcairn's Island. The two men's approaches combined well, as they often wrote alternating chapters in their works, integrating their styles more and more seamlessly as the years passed.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Mrs. L.G.W. Nordhoff, June 1983.
Processing information:

Processed by Huntington staff. In 1998, Xiuzhi Zhou created the finding aid, with supplementary encoding and revision by Diann Benti in June 2017.

Arrangement:

Arranged by type of material.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Terms of access:

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.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Charles Nordhoff papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191