Hamlin Garland Papers: Finding Aid mssGD
Processed by Huntington Library staff; supplementary encoding and revision supplied by Brooke Dykman Dockter; revised by Diann
Benti in 2016. Finding aid updated on June 17, 2022, by Melissa Haley.
The Huntington Library
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1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Note
Finding aid last updated on November 28, 2023 by Kelly Kress
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Hamlin Garland papers
Creator:
Garland, Hamlin, 1860-1940
Identifier/Call Number: mssGD
Physical Description:
28.52 Linear Feet
(30 boxes, 8 oversize folders)
Date (inclusive): 1757-1973, bulk 1910-1941
Abstract: This collection contains the papers of American novelist, playwright, and author Hamlin Garland (1860-1940) and consists primarily
of letters written by Garland to his wife Zulime Mauna (Taft) Garland and to his daughters. Subject matter chiefly includes
biographical information on Garland, his literary activities while on the lecture circuit, his experiences in England and
Europe in 1924-1925, and general family matters. Business correspondence is concentrated in the years 1930-1940.
Language of Material: English.
Conditions Governing Access
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader
Services.
Conditions Governing 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.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Box 30: Audiovisual materials housed in cold storage; extended retrieval and delivery time required.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item]. Hamlin Garland papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The majority of collection was purchased from Mary Isabel (Garland) Johnson Lord in 1968. 39 additional letters purchased
from Constance (Garland) Harper Doyle in March 1968 have been incorporated into the collection.
Biographical / Historical
Hamlin Garland (1860-1940) was an American novelist, playwright, and author. Born on September 14, 1860, and raised on farms
in Wisconsin and the Midwest, Garland was provided early on with the practical experience of farm and mid-western life that
was to become the foundation for his realistic style of writing and unsentimental accounts of farm life in both his fictional
and non-fictional accounts.
Garland's literary career did not begin until 1884 when he left the West for Boston. He was just able to support himself teaching
and lecturing on literature, and writing for journals such as the
Transcript,
American Magazine,
Harper's Weekly, and
Century. Only a portion of his writing dealt with reviewing or discussing literature; mainly Garland expressed his own views of life
in the West through fiction, non-fiction, and verse. His early writings were praised for their accurate depiction of farm
life in the Midwest. His famous
Son of the Middle Border (1917) was based on the life of his father, Richard Garland, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning
Daughter of the Middle Border (1921) traced the homestead life of his mother, Isabelle Charlotte (McClintock) Garland. The popularity of these books prompted
him to continue putting his family saga down on paper. The result was a series of books that cover his father's boyhood, his
parents' lives, and his own life until roughly 1928.
Garland married Zulime Mauna Taft (1870-1942) in 1899, sister to sculptor Lorado Taft. Though the Garlands lived in Chicago
and New York, they spent summers in West Salem, Wisconsin, and upstate New York. The Garlands had two children, Mary Isabel
(Garland) Johnson Lord (1903-1988) and Constance (Garland) Harper Doyle (1907-1988).
Garland spent the last 10 years of his life residing in Hollywood, California, mainly occupied by an interest researching
psychic phenomena. He also continued to write articles and books, and to give lectures for various literary groups. He died
on March 5, 1940.
Scope and Contents
This collection primarily contains the personal papers of American writer Hamlin Garland, chiefly dealing with various family
matters, Garland's experience travelling abroad and in the United States, and publication matters. The collection also contains
diaries and notebooks from Garland's European and domestic travels. The correspondence consists chiefly of letters written
by Garland to his wife, Zulime Mauna (Taft) Garland, and daughters, Mary Isabel (Garland) Johnson Lord, and Constance (Garland)
Harper Doyle. The letters chiefly contain biographical information on Garland: his literary activities while on the lecture
circuit, books and articles in progress, work with publishers, and general family matters. His business correspondence is
concentrated in the years 1930-1940.
A large number of letters to his daughter, Mary Isabel (Garland) Johnson Lord, during the years 1936-1937 describe his activities
with Mr. & Mrs. Parent and his searches for buried Spanish and Indian crosses which lead to the published work,
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses. Another large group of letters to his family shares his experiences in England and Europe in 1924 and 1925.
In addition, the collection contains two typescript letters signed from Theodore Roosevelt, one to Hamlin Garland, 1903 June
30, and one to Mary Isabel Garland, 1917 August 15; and one William H. Taft typescript letter signed to Hamlin Garland, 1918
June 9 (GD 1129).
Processing Information
This finding aid was updated in 2022 by Melissa Haley as part of the American Presidential Papers Project with enhanced description
of the presidential material present. In September 2022, Mari Khasmanyan added the audiovisual materials into the collection
and included links to their digital reproductions.
General
Individual call numbers included in the collection: mssGD 1-1167, mss FAC 1285.
Existence and Location of Copies
Selected audiovisual items from this collection have been digitized. Digital reproductions are available in the
Internet Archive.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in the following 8 series:
- Diaries (Boxes 1-6)
- Notebooks (Boxes 7-8)
- Manuscripts (Boxes 9-10)
- Correspondence (Boxes 11-27)
- Scrapbooks (Box 28)
- Ephemera (Box 29).
- Oversize folders (GD 1159-1166)
- Audiovisual materials (GD 1167)
Bibliography
Åhnebrink, Lars.
The Beginnings of Naturalism in American Fiction. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. 1950.
Holloway, Jean.
Hamlin Garland, A Biography. University of Texas Press, Austin. 1960.
Pizer, Donald.
Hamlin Garland: Newspaper and Periodical Publications, 1885-1895: A Bibliography. Bulletin of Bibliography. Vol. 22, no. 2. Jan.- Apr. 1957.
Pizer, Donald, ed.
Hamlin Garland's Diaries. The Huntington Library, San Marino. 1968.
Contemporary Authors, vol. 104, p. 160.
Dictionary of Literary Biography, vol. 12, pp. 203-212; vol. 71, pp. 71-81; vol. 78, pp. 179-194.
National Cyclopedia of American Biography, vol. 8, p. 37.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
American literature -- 20th century
Authors, American -- 19th century -- Archives
Authors, American -- 20th century -- Archives
Diaries -- United States
Ephemera -- United States
Letters (correspondence) -- United States
Manuscripts for publication -- United States
Notebooks -- United States
Garland, Hamlin, 1860-1940 -- Archives
Garland, Zulime Mauna Taft, correspondent.
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919
Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930
Notes - Oklahoma. GD 44
1900
[Notebook: Scotland and England]. GD 45
[1906]
[Notebook: Europe, Scotland, and England]. GD 46
1906
[Notebook: Italy]. GD 47
1906
[Notebook:] London. GD 48
1922
[Notebook:] England. GD 49
1922
[Notebook:] London, Dakota. GD 50
1923
Box 8
Miscellaneous Notebooks and Datebooks
Meetings with authors: lecture notes. GD 51
[Approximately 1900-before 1941]
The Shadow World: psychological notes. GD 52
[Approximately 1923]
The Story of Grant McLane: A Chronicle of the West. GD 53
1898
Scope and Contents
In Pittman-Gregg shorthand. Later published as
Boy Life on the Prairie, which was used as the basis of
Son of the Middle Border.
Notebook / Date book. GD 54
1934
Year book / Date book. GD 55
1935
Year book / Date book. GD 56
1936
Year book / Date book. GD 57
1937
Box 10
Manuscripts GD 87-98, FAC 1285
Box 11
Correspondence: A-C. GD 99-156
Box 12
Correspondence: D-Garland, Hamlin (to C) GD 157-208
Box 13
Correspondence: Garland, Hamlin (to D-Zulime Mauna [Taft] Garland, 1899-1900) GD 209-270
Box 14
Correspondence: Garland, Hamlin (to Zulime Mauna [Taft] Garland, 1901-1908) GD 271-335
Box 15
Correspondence: Garland Hamlin (to Zulime Mauna [Taft] Garland, 1910-1938) GD 336-393
Box 16
Correspondence: Garland Hamlin (to Zulime Mauna [Taft] Garland, before 1941, - Gar) GD 394-456
Box 17
Correspondence: Garland, Hamlin (to Gr-Mary Isabel [Garland] Johnson Lord, 1903-1934) GD 457-530
Box 18
Correspondence: Garland, Hamlin (to Mary Isabel [Garland] Johnson Lord, 1935-1937) GD 531-603
Box 19
Correspondence: Garland, Hamlin (to Mary Isabel [Garland] Johnson Lord, after 1937-before 1941) GD 604-670
Box 20
Correspondence: Garland, Hamlin (to Mary Isabel [Garland] Johnson Lord, after 1941) GD 671-735
Box 21
Correspondence: Garland, Hamlin (to Mary Isabel [Garland] Johnson Lord and Constance [Garland] Harper Doyle) GD 736-800
Box 22
Correspondence: Garland, Hamlin (to his children)- Garland, Richard Hays GD 801-859
Box 23
Correspondence: Garland, Zulime Mauna (Taft)-Gua GD 860-913
Box 24
Correspondence: H-L GD 914-979
Box 25
Correspondence: M-Si GD 980-1046
Box 26
Correspondence: Sl-Taft, Lorado Zadock (to Hamlin Garland) GD 1047-1105
Box 27
Correspondence: Taft, Lorado Zadock (to Zulime Mauna [Taft] Garland)-W GD 1106-1155
Scope and Contents
Includes William H. Taft typescript letter signed to Hamlin Garland, 1918 June 9 (GD 1129, 1 page).
Box 28
Scrapbooks/Photograph albums
Scrapbook: chiefly family photographs. GD 1156
1903-1906
Scope and Contents
Includes Theodore Roosevelt, Oyster Bay, New York, typescript letter signed to Hamlin Garland, West Salem, Wisconsin, 1903
June 30 (1 page).
Scrapbook: chiefly family photographs. GD 1157
1903-1911
Scrapbook with photographs, ephemera, and clippings. GD 1158
1908-1917
Scope and Contents
Includes Theodore Roosevelt, New York, typescript letter signed to Mary Isabel Garland, Tannersville, New York, 1917 August
15, with autograph corrections. (1 page).
Box 29, Folder 1
American Central Insurance Company. Automobile substitution endorsement.
17 December 1938.
Box 29, Folder 2
Beaman, A. G. Financial notes.
18 November 1938.
Box 29, Folder 3
Bullock's Wilshire. Receipt for purchase.
Box 29, Folder 4
Campbell, Claude. Bill for services rendered.
12 June 1939.
Box 29, Folder 5
Doyle, Constance (Garland) Harper. Pen & ink drawings.
Box 29, Folder 6
Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States. Receipt for dividend.
14 December 1938.
Box 29, Folder 7
Friends of the Middle Border. Articles of Incorporation.
1939.
Box 29, Folder 8
Garland, Hamlin. Address book.
Box 29, Folder 9
Garland, Hamlin. Newspaper articles by Garland.
Box 29, Folder 10
Garland, Hamlin. Financial notes.
1935-1936.
Box 29, Folder 11
Garland, Hamlin. Miscellaneous notes.
Box 29, Folder 12
Garland, Hamlin. Passports.
Box 29, Folder 13
Garland, Hamlin. A Pioneer Mother: printed version.
Box 29, Folder 14
Garland, Hamlin. Poems: printed versions.
Box 29, Folder 15
Garland, Hamlin. Typescript of The Afternoon Landscape by Thomas Wentworth Higginson.
Box 29, Folder 16
Garland, Hamlin. William Bacon's Man: printed version with author's autograph corrections.
Box 29, Folder 17
Garland, Hamlin and Lord, Mary Isabel (Garland) Johnson. Memories of the Middle Border: A Combined Lecture Reading: [program]
Box 29, Folder 18
Guaranty Trust Company of New York. Income tax notes.
1935-1938.
Box 29, Folder 19
Guaranty Trust Company of New York. Receipt for payment.
2 December 1938.
Box 29, Folder 20
Herr, A. V. Bill for services rendered.
February 1937.
Box 29, Folder 21
Hunter, N.Y. Receipt for payment of school tax.
September 1933.
Box 29, Folder 22
Hunter, N.Y. Receipt for property tax payment.
1934-1937.
Box 29, Folder 23
Hunter, N.Y. Property tax statements.
1934-1937.
Box 29, Folder 24
Los Angeles. Registrar of Voters. Voter registration for Hamlin Garland.
16 September 1939.
Box 29, Folder 25
The National Spiritualist. Form letter.
30 August 1939.
Box 29, Folder 26
New York (state). Income tax forms.
1931-1935.
Box 29, Folder 27
New York (state). Bureau of Local Assessment. Application for Revision of Real Property Assessment.
Box 29, Folder 28
Newark Fire Insurance Company. Receipt for payment.
31 August 1939.
Box 29, Folder 29
Onteora Club. Receipts.
1927-1935.
Box 29, Folder 30
Payne Furnatce & Supply Company. Contract for work.
5 July 1939.
Box 29, Folder 31
Railway Express Agency. Shipper's collect receipt.
24 January 1940.
Box 29, Folder 32
St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Company. Inspection chart and diagram of home on 2045 DeMille Drive.
3 March 1939.
Box 29, Folder 33
Savage-Haldeman Company. Repair order.
20 January 1939.
Box 29, Folder 34
Security-First National Bank of Los Angeles. Duplicate deposit slips.
1938.
Box 29, Folder 35
Society of Midland Authors. Informational pamphlet.
1917.
Box 29, Folder 36
Taylor, Fielding Lewis, et al. Proposal for a tribute to Irving Bacheller.
Box 29, Folder 37
United States. Treasury Department. Federal income tax forms.
1928-1937.
Box 29, Folder 38
Van Waters, George. Political Geography: printed schoolbook.
1853.
Box 29, Folder 39
Victoria Hotel, Cairo. Bill for services.
September 1930.
Box 29, Folder 40
Western Union Telegraph Company. Bill for telegrams sent.
1 September 1919.
Box 29, Folder 41
Wolff, Peter. The Story Behind Leland Stanford University's Greatest Mystery: magazine article.
Box 29, Folder 42
Death momento for Rebecca McClintock Garland.
1842.
Box 29, Folder 43
List of books by Hamlin Garland sent to Fort Wayne Library.
Box 29, Folder 45
Newspaper clippings: reviews of John Hodgdon Bradley's Patterns of Survival.
Box 29, Folder 46
Newspaper clipping: Henry Blake Fuller.
Box 29, Folder 47
Newspaper clippings: Hamlin Garland.
Box 29, Folder 48
Newspaper clippings: death of Hamlin Garland.
Box 29, Folder 49
Newspaper clippings: reviews of Hamlin Garland's books.
Box 29, Folder 50
Newspaper clipping: Zulime Mauna (Taft) Garland.
Box 29, Folder 51
Newspaper clippings: Hardesty Johnson.
Box 29, Folder 52
Newspaper clippings: miscellaneous.
Box 29, Folder 53
Newspaper clippings: Lorado Zadock Taft.
Box 29, Folder 55
Printed programs & announcements.
Box 29, Folder 56
The Step Ladder: A Monthly Journal of Bookly Ascent.
April 1940.
Box 29, Folder 58
Unidentified correspondence.
Box 31
Doyle, Richard Coyne. Last Will and Testament. GD 1160
1942, May 29.
Box 31
Garland, Mary M. Quit claim deed for land in La Crosse County, transferred to Hamlin Garland and Franklin M. Garland. GD 1161
1914, November 20.
Box 31
Garland, Mary M. Quit claim deed for land in La Crosse county, transferred to Hamlin Garland. GD 1162
1914, November 20.
Box 31
Garland, Zulime Mauna (Taft). Possibilities of Sculpture in American Cities: [essay]. GD 1163
1929.
Box 31
Horn, Charles E. and George P. Morris. A Western Refrain: [song]. GD 1164
1941.
Box 31
New York Indemnity Company. Completion bond given by Harley S. Bradley in favor of Hamlin Garland. GD 1165
1930, June 17.
Box 31
Farran, Don. Two poems: Prairie Saga and Overmantle. GD 1166
1934, February 19. Both autographed.
Audiovisual materials
Digital reproductions of selected items from the Hamlin Garland papers.
Existence and Location of Copies
Selected items from this collection have been digitized. Digital reproductions are available in the
Internet Archive.
Scope and Contents
This series contains three 16mm films by Guy D. Haselton on Hamlin Garland. One of the film titles reads, "Guy D. Haselton
Travelettes present Hamlin Garland: Dean of American Letters."
Box 30
Hamlin Garland, Dean of American Letters: a Guy D. Haselton Travellette
mssGD 1167
approximately 1925-1927
Scope and Contents
This "travelette" includes three film reels of Hamlin Garland, his wife Zulima, and their daughters and grandchildren in and
around their Hollywood home at 2045 De Mille Drive, where Hamlin resided for the last ten years of his life.
