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Guide to the Joseph Henry Jackson papers, [ca. 1931-1955]
BANC MSS C-H 40  
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Collection Details
 
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  • Collection Summary
  • Information for Researchers
  • Biography
  • Scope and Content

  • Collection Summary

    Collection Title: Joseph Henry Jackson papers,
    Date (inclusive): [ca. 1931-1955]
    Collection Number: BANC MSS C-H 40
    Creator: Jackson, Joseph Henry, 1894-1955
    Extent: Number of containers: 14 boxes, 1 portfolio, 7 cartons
    Repository: The Bancroft Library.
    Berkeley, California 94720-6000
    Physical Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
    Abstract: The collection consists mainly of correspondence (both letters written to Jackson and his replies); manuscripts of a few books and articles; notes and research materials; royalty statements; clippings of his book review columns; and some photographs. They cover the period 1931-1955 but date mainly from 1949. Jackson apparently shared the failing of many newspaper men, in not saving papers. What remains of the earlier period are chiefly the clippings and letters from famous authors. Correspondents include: Melvin Belli, Alistair Cook, Edith M. Coulter, George Creel, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, James D. Hart, James Laughlin, Cornelia Otis Skinner, Upton Sinclair, Wallace Stegner, Carl Van Doran, Carl I. Wheat, Erskin Caldwell, Earl Stanley Gardner, Owen Lattimore, Carey McWilliams, H.L. Mencken, Wright Morris, Irving Stone, Dalton Trumbo, Robert Penn Warren, and Edward Weston.
    Languages Represented: English

    Information for Researchers

    Access

    Collection is open for research.

    Publication Rights

    Copyright has not been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Joseph Henry Jackson papers, BANC MSS C-H 40, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

    Related Collections

    • Related collection:
      Title: Joseph Henry Jackson Papers -additions
      Identifier/Call Number: (BANC MSS 68/59 c).
    • Photos transfered to the Bancroft Library Pictorial Collection
      Identifier/Call Number: (BANC PIC 1905.13577-.13579--PIC)

    Biography

    Joseph Henry Jackson was born in Madison, New Jersey on July 21, 1894, and received his schooling in the East. After World War I he moved to California and began his literary career. He was associate editor and managing editor of Sunset magazine from 1920-1926, and editor from 1926-1928. In 1929 he became literary editor of the San Francisco Argonaut, and in 1931 he joined the staff of the San Francisco Chronicle, also as literary editor. He gained a wide following with his daily book review column, "A Bookman's Notebook", and with his radio program, "The Reader's Guide", broadcast over NBC's Pacific network. In addition to his work on the Chronicle, he wrote a number of books, including Mexican Interlude(1936), Tintypes in Gold (1939), Anybody's Gold(1941), and My San Francisco (1953), and edited several more -notably Continent's End, a collection of California writing (1944), San Francisco Murders (1947) and The Western Gate: a San Francisco Reader (1952).
    Jackson made his home in Berkeley and it was there he died in July, 1955. Most of the Jackson papers were acquired from his widow, Charlotte Cobden Jackson, in 1956. Some material had been given earlier, in 1952, by Jackson himself. These items have been so identified in their folders.

    Scope and Content

    The collection consists mainly of correspondence (both letters written to Jackson and his replies); manuscripts of a few books and articles; notes and research materials; royalty statements; clippings of his book review columns; and some photographs. They cover the period 1931-1955 but date mainly from 1949. Jackson apparently shared the failing of many newspaper men, in not saving papers. What remains of the earlier period are chiefly the clippings and letters from famous authors.
    Additional letters received from Mrs. Jackson, June 3, 1960.