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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Conditions Governing Access
  • Conditions Governing Use
  • Preferred Citation
  • Immediate Source of Acquisition
  • Biographical / Historical
  • Scope and Contents
  • Processing Information
  • Related materials in the Huntington Library
  • Existence and Location of Copies
  • Arrangement
  • General

  • Contributing Institution: The Huntington Library
    Title: Jack London papers
    Identifier/Call Number: mssJL
    Physical Description: 860.57 Linear Feet (613 boxes, 177 volumes, 71 oversize folders)
    Date (inclusive): 1866-1977
    Date (bulk): 1904-1916
    Abstract: The collection contains the papers of American writer Jack London (1876-1916) and includes literary manuscripts of most of London's works, extensive correspondence files, documents, photographs, ephemera, and scrapbooks.
    Language of Material: The records are in English.

    Conditions Governing Access

    Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.
    NOT AVAILABLE: Albums 1-92 and Large albums 1-30: Do not circulate. Use digital reproductions in the Huntington Digital Library.
    RESTRICTED: Boxes 283, 284, 287, 433, 591, 592, 594, 624 and Volumes 1-30: Available with curatorial approval. Requires extended retrieval and delivery time.
    RESTRICTED: Boxes 595, 596, 623: housed in cold storage; extended retrieval and delivery time required.

    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 permission rests with the researcher.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item]. Jack London papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

    Immediate Source of Acquisition

    The nucleus of the collection was purchased by Henry Huntington from Charmian London in 1925. Additional groups of material were acquired by both gift and purchase from Mrs. London and later from literary executors Irving Shepard and I. Milo Shepard over many years. Further material has been acquired from other sources; the provenance of these items is noted on the individual folders.

    Biographical / Historical

    Jack London (1876-1916) was an American author best known for his fiction about California, Alaska, and the Pacific. His novel The Call of the Wild is among the most internationally popular works by an American. An autodidact, he directed his thirst for knowledge toward several passions, including sailing, ranching, and photography. He traveled widely, to Hawaii and throughout the South Pacific, through California, Oregon, Nevada, to Korea during the Russo-Japanese war, Mexico during the Mexican Civil War, and London, England, experiences which are reflected in his writing and his photographs.

    Scope and Contents

    The 622-box Jack London Collection could properly be termed the author's personal archive, because of its size and completeness. With only a few exceptions, the collection contains autograph or typescript versions of almost everything Jack London wrote. Included in the archive are most of the London correspondence files; his literary notes, documents, and contracts; memos and letters regarding the operation of his Sonoma County Beauty Ranch; most of his personal and family papers; his financial records; and his library and photograph collection. The majority of the pieces range in date from 1903 to 1917.
    The collection includes addenda consisting of a variety of materials acquired from the estate after the initial cataloging of the collection, including publication files and Shepard family materials.

    Processing Information

    Processed by David Mike Hamilton and Huntington Library staff in 1980.
    The collection does not have boxes with the following numbers: 513-516 and 523-532.

    Related materials in the Huntington Library

    Jack London's personal library is housed in the Rare Books Department of the Huntington Library.
    Additional materials, not acquired from the Jack London Estate are cataloged separately, including the papers of Joan London Miller, the daughter of Jack London:
    1. Joan London papers (mssMI 1-1474)  

    Existence and Location of Copies

    Visit the Huntington Digital Library   to view digitized items from this collection.

    Arrangement

    The collection is organized into the following series:
    1. 1. Manuscripts
    2. 2. Correspondence
    3. 3. Irving Stone file
    4. 4. Harvey Taylor file
    5. 5. Kittredge file
    6. 6. Documents
    7. 7. Photographic prints
    8. 8. Photographic positives
    9. 9. Photograph albums
    10. 10. Ephemera
    11. 11. Scrapbooks
    12. 12. Broadsides
    13. 13. Information files [RESTRICTED] and legacy summary and register
    14. 14. Jack London life mask
    15. 15. Addenda

    General

    Individual call numbers included in the collection: mssJL 1-25307, mssJLB 1-67, mssJLE 1-3525, mssJLK 1-133, mssJLP 1-782, mssJLS 1-76, mssJLT 1-127.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Authors, American -- California -- Archives
    Personal papers -- United States -- 20th century
    Contracts -- United States
    Ephemera -- United States
    Financial records -- United States
    Letters (correspondence) -- United States
    Manuscripts for publication -- United States
    Photographs
    Photograph albums
    London, Jack, 1876-1916 -- Archives
    London, Charmian -- Archives
    London, Charmian
    Shepard, Eliza London