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London (Jack) Papers
mssJL
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Table of contents
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.
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.
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.
[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.
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.
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.
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:
Joan London papers, mssMI 1-1474.
Existence and Location of Copies
Selected items from this collection have been digitized. Digital reproductions are available in the
Huntington Digital Library.
The collection is organized into the following series:
- 1. Manuscripts
- 2. Correspondence
- 3. Irving Stone file
- 4. Harvey Taylor file
- 5. Kittredge file
- 6. Documents
- 7. Photographic prints
- 8. Photographic positives
- 9. Photograph albums
- 10. Ephemera
- 11. Scrapbooks
- 12. Broadsides
- 13. Information files [RESTRICTED] and legacy summary and register
- 14. Jack London life mask
- 15. Addenda
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
Shepard, Eliza London