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Sterling (George) Papers
mssGS
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: George Sterling papers
Creator:
Sterling, George, 1869-1926.
Identifier/Call Number: mssGS
Physical Description:
15 Linear Feet
(12 boxes, 1 envelope)
Date (inclusive): 1895-1927
Abstract: This collection contains
correspondence, manuscripts, photographs and watercolors pertaining to the life and work of
California lyric poet George Sterling (1869-1926). Much of the correspondence in the
collection is between Sterling and other American writers and poets, who discuss their own
work and the work of other individuals. Almost all of the correspondence in the collection
by Sterling is addressed to his friend, and fellow author, Jack London
(1876-1916).
Language of Material: English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at
the Huntington Library for more information.
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.
[Identification of item]. George Sterling papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino,
California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Thor Liliencrantz, nephew of George Sterling, in 1954.
Related material in the Huntington Library
Additional manuscripts and letters by George Sterling may be found in the
Samuel Loveman papers
(Call number:
mssHM 46222-46267).
An agreement with Douglas Fairbanks Pictures Organization was received as addenda, possibly
in 1955, but cataloged separately as mssHM 45960.
George Sterling (1869-1926) was an American poet, prose stylist and playwright. Sterling
was born in Sag Harbor, New York, and moved to California in 1892, where he met and became a
pupil to Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?). Sterling's poetry was first published through the aid
of Bierce, who included some of Sterling's verse in his
San Francisco
Examiner
column. In 1903, Sterling's first book of poetry was published,
The Testimony of the Suns, and was followed by nine more volumes of
verse in the years to come, including
A Wine of Wizardry and Other
Poems
(1908). In 1908 Sterling and his wife, Caroline Rand, moved from Oakland to
Carmel. Then, after several years in New York, Sterling lived at the Bohemian Club in San
Francisco. Sterling was good friends with author Jack London. Sterling died by his own hand
in 1926.
In addition to writing poetry Sterling also wrote several plays (many of which he composed
for the Bohemian Club of San Francisco to perform), short stories, and a critical text on
Robinson Jeffers (1887-1962). He published ten volumes of verse, five separately published
poems, four dramatic poems, and much uncollected magazine prose and verse. Carey McWilliams
writes of Sterling: "The remarkable range and the intimate quality of his acquaintance,
coupled with his long residence in the West, gave a cultural significance to his career
quite apart from his writing."
This collection contains correspondence, manuscripts, photographs and watercolors
pertaining to the life and work of George Sterling. Contents include 544 pieces of
correspondence; 116 manuscripts; 3 photographs; and 2 watercolors.
Much of the correspondence in the collection is between Sterling and other American writers
and poets, who discuss their own work and the work of other individuals. Almost all of the
correspondence in the collection by Sterling is addressed to his friend, and fellow author,
Jack London (1876-1916). The collection contains manuscripts written by Sterling as well as
manuscripts by Ambrose Bierce and others. Most of the collection's manuscripts are poems,
although the section also contains epigrams, diaries, vocabulary aids and prose. The
photographs within the collection are of Sterling and his friends and associates, and all of
the collection's watercolors were painted by Sterling.
Subjects addressed within the collection include Ambrose Bierce, American poetry
(1915-1925), Prohibition (with frequent mention in H. L. Mencken's letters), and European
description and travel (chiefly in the early letters of Herman George Scheffauer).
Correspondents and authors include: William Rose Benét, Ambrose Bierce, Witter Bynner,
Margaret Smith Cobb, Sidney Bert Cooksley, Ina Donna Coolbrith, Countee Cullen, Benjamin De
Casseres, May S. Greenwood, James Hopper, Rolfe Humphries, Robinson Jeffers, Leslie Nelson
Jennings, Sinclair Lewis, Vachel Lindsey, Charmian London, Jack London, Samuel Loveman,
William Somerset Maugham, Henry Louis Mencken, Leo Bergin Mihan, John Gneisenau Neihardt,
Joseph O'Carroll, John Myers O'Hara, Louis Alexander Robertson, Theodore Roosevelt, Carl
Sandburg, Herman George Scheffauer, George Ansel Sterling, Charles Hanson Towne, Grace
Wallace, Herbert George Wells, Edward Lucas White, Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Gaylord Wilshire,
and Audrey Wurdemann.
Persons represented by five or more pieces:
- Bynner, Witter: 5 pieces, 1913-24
- Cobb, Margaret Smith: 34 pieces, 1923-26
- Coolbrith, Ina Donna: 26 pieces, 1907-26
- De Casseres, Benjamin: 8 pieces, 1926
- Greenwood, May Snowdrop: 65 poems 1917-26
- Hopper, James: 5 pieces, 1926-28
- Humphries, Rolfe: 6 pieces, 1924-25
- Jeffers, Robinson: 12 pieces, 1924-26
- Jennings, Leslie Nelson: 45 pieces, 1917-22
- London, Jack: 18 pieces, 1902-16
- Loveman, Samuel: 19 pieces, 1915-26
- Mencken, Henry Louis: 63 pieces, 1916-26
- Neihardt, John Gneisenau: 50 pieces, 1912-25
- Sterling, George: Poems: 43 to Miscellaneous persons: 5 To London: 72 (1910-16)
- Mihan, Leo Bergin: 5 pieces, 1924-26
- O'Carroll, Joseph: 9 pieces, 1923-26
- O'Hara, John Myers: 5 pieces, 1911-16
- Robertson, Louis Alexander: 7 pieces, 1904-08
- Scheffaeur, Herman George: 57 pieces, 1904-21
- White, Edward Lucas: 5 pieces, 1925
- Wilcox, Ella (Wheeler): 5 pieces, 1914-15
Some notable items include:
- Benet, William Rose. 1921, Nov. 17. About Sterling's verse.
- Coolbrith, Ina. 1907, Feb. To Blanche Partington. He is the best boy in the world as well as one of its few great poets...
- Jeffers, Robinson. 12 letters, mostly about poetry. 1924-26
- Lindsey, Vachel. 1913, June 1. Long letter on his own career and poetry.
- London, Jack. 1916, Mar. 7. Critique of severl short stories by Sterling.
- London, Jack. 1908, Feb. 10. And I speculate and speculate, trying to make you out, trying to lay hands on the inner side of you...
- Mencken, Henry L. 63 letters, containing numerous references to Prohibition
- O'Hara, John Myers. 1911, May 7. Letter of praise and criticism.
- Osbourne, Lloyd. 1895, Oct. 24. Advising Sterling against a proposed adventure to Samoa.
- Scheffauer, Herman George. 1904, June 19. Description of visit to St. Louis fair.
- Scheffauer, Herman George. 1904, Sep. 8. Description of trip through Scotland and England
- Scheffauer, Herman George. 1904, Dec. 20. Letter of 52 pages, octavo, describing trip through Germany and France. His letters are of above average interest.
- Sterling, George. Letters to Jack London. 1910-1916.
- Sterling, George. Notebook containing vocabulary aid. c.1915.
- Sterling, George. 1919, Apr. 9. To W. S. B. Braithwaite. Draft of a letter of protest over the misprinting of his poems.
The collection has been arranged with the correspondence and manuscripts first, in
alphabetical order by author, followed by ephemera, photographs, and watercolors.
Individual call numbers included in the collection: mssGS 1-611.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
American poetry -- 20th century
Poets, American -- 20th century
Prohibition -- United States
Europe -- Description and travel
Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- 20th century
Manuscripts -- United States -- 20th century
Photographs -- United States -- 20th century
Watercolors -- United States -- 20th century
Bierce, Ambrose,
1842-1914?
Sterling, George,
1869-1926
Benét, William Rose, 1886-1950
Bierce, Ambrose, 1842-1914?
Bynner, Witter, 1881-1968
Cobb, Margaret Smith.
Cooksley, Sidney Bert, 1903-
Coolbrith, Ina D. (Ina Donna),
1841-1928
Cullen, Countee, 1903-1946
De Casseres, Benjamin, 1873-1945
Greenwood, May S.
Hopper, James, 1876-1956
Humphries, Rolfe.
Jeffers, Robinson, 1887-1962
Jennings, Leslie N. (Leslie Nelson),
1892-
Lewis, Sinclair, 1885-1951
Lindsey, Vachel.
London, Charmian.
London, Jack, 1876-1916
Loveman, Samuel, 1887-1976
Maugham, W. Somerset (William Somerset),
1874-1965
Mencken, H. L. (Henry Louis),
1880-1956
Mihan, Leo Bergin.
Neihardt, John G., 1881-1973
O'Carroll, Joseph.
O'Hara, John Myers, 1870-1944
Robertson, Louis Alexander, 1856-1910
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919
Sandburg, Carl, 1878-1967
Scheffauer, Herman George, 1878-1927
Sterling, George Ansel.
Towne, Charles Hanson, 1877-1949
Belasco, Grace Wallace.
Wells, H. G. (Herbert George),
1866-1946
White, Edward Lucas, 1866-1934
Wilcox, Ella Wheeler, 1850-1919
Wilshire, Gaylord, 1861-1927
Wurdemann, Audrey, 1911-1960