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Manuscripts

Correspondence


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    Documents

    Manuscripts

    The vast majority of documents in the London Collection (Boxes 443-456) are literary contracts either for Jack London to write a story, a publisher to publish a book, or a dramatist to dramatize one of London's stories. Also included in this section of the collection are the legal papers regarding Charmian's 1928 suit against Columbia Pictures, London's 1905 divorce from Bessie Maddern London, his suit against Joseph J. Noel and the Millergraph and Biograph Companies, and his suit against Slayton Lyceum Bureau. There are also some land documents pertaining to the Jack London Ranch. All the documents have been individually catalogued. Cards are filed in the alphabetical section of the manuscripts catalog and the Jack London Collection file in the chronological manuscripts catalog.

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    Subjects

    Manuscripts

    Articles not part of London's subject file, filed according to topic. Included are materials about the Jack London Club, the Jack London Memorial Library, Jack London Grape Juice Company, and London's copyright certificates.

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    Photographic Prints

    Manuscripts

    The photographs are all original (either contemporary prints made prior to 1917 or later prints made from the original negative). Each print is individually numbered with a "JLP" prefix and filed in its own envelope. Included in this section are a number of photographs of Elizabeth Wiley Baxter; Marshall and Louis Bond; Romaine Fielding; Hawaiian scenes (such as Diamond Head); Jack London Ranch scenes (including the cottage where the Londons lived, the dam and lake, eucalyptus fields, Jack London's gravesite, and the vineyards); George Wharton James; Martin Johnson; Dayelle and Willard Kittredge; Charmian London (over 31 photographs from 1879-1940); Elizabeth May Maddern London; Flora Wellman London; Jack London (over 54 photographs from 1896-1916); John London; Joan London Miller; New York, New York; Edward Biron Payne; Virginia Prentiss; Ninetta Wiley Eames Payne Springer; Louis Edwin Stevens; Vallejo, California; Venice, Italy; Vera Cruz, Mexico; Wake Robin Lodge (in Glen Ellen, California); Anna Strunsky Walling; and Jack London's Wolf House, as well as an array of South Sea Island photographs, some featuring Jack London's yacht Snark.

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    Scrapbooks

    Manuscripts

    The Jack London scrapbooks were assembled first by Jack and then by Charmian London. Included are most of London's clippings, reviews of his books, and newspaper accounts of his activities. The scrapbooks form the single most important printed source of London's life and literary work, and give an excellent overview of how London was seen in his own time. The scrapbooks have been microfilmed, and copies of articles in the scrapbooks may be made only from this microfilm. The microfilm is in Box 517.

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    Manuscripts

    Manuscripts

    There are nearly three thousand separate manuscripts and manuscript notes in the Jack London Collection. As could be expected, the majority of the manuscripts are those written by Jack London himself. However, a significant number of the manuscripts in the collection were written by other persons: Charmian London, Sinclair Lewis, George Sterling, or others who sent London their work for his commentary or were paid to dramatize Jack London stories. A complete listing of all the manuscripts in the collection is available in the Jack London Register of Manuscripts -- a separate, bound volume located in the reference stacks or by request from the Manuscripts Department. However, in summary, the collection contains written notes, typewritten or holograph versions of almost everything Jack London wrote. The following books are represented in the manuscript collection: The Abysmal Brute, The Acorn Planter, Adventure (including the notes), The Assassination Bureau Ltd., Before Adam, Burning Daylight, Cherry (including a number of variant versions augmented by Charmian London and Jack London's original holographic version), The Cruise of the Snark, Dutch Courage ("Whose Business is to Live" only), Hearts of Three, The House of Pride (including some original artwork for "Koolau the Leper"), The Human Drift ("Nothing That Ever Came to Anything") and "A Classic of the Sea" are not included), The Iron Heel, Jerry of the Islands, John Barleycorn, The Kempton-Wace Letters (incomplete), The Little Lady of the Big House, Lost Face ("Flush of Gold" is not included), Love of Life ("Love of Life" and "The Story of Keesh" are not included), Martin Eden, Michael, Brother of Jerry, Moon Face (only "All Gold Canyon" and "Planchette" are available), The Mutiny of the Elsinore, The Night-Born (except "Winged Blackmail" and "Under the Deck Awnings"), On the Makaloa Mat (except "On the Makaloa Mat"), The Red One ("The Hussy" only), Revolution and Other Essays ("The Dignity of Dollars," "The Golden Poppy," "The Shrinkage of the Planet" and "Foma Gordyeeff" are not included), The Road, The Sea-Wolf, Scorn of Women, Smoke Bellew, A Son of the Sun, South Sea Tales, The Star-Rover, The Strength of the Strong (except "The Enemy of All the World" and "The Dream of Debs"), Theft, The Turtles of Tasman (except "The First Poet"), The Valley of the Moon, War of the Classes (Table of Contents and Preface only), White Fang, and A Wicked Woman. London's manuscripts are arranged by title for each individual piece however. Thus a short story collection such as The Son of the Sun is scattered throughout the manuscripts according to the title of each individual story. The collection is also rich in manuscript material written by Charmian London. Included are a number of manuscript versions of The Book of Jack London, Our Hawaii, The Log of the Snark and Charmian's ending to Eyes of Asia (Cherry). Other notable manuscripts include Charmian's notes for "Us" which later became The Book of Jack London. Also notable are her diaries from 1900-1947. The diaries were previously restricted and readers were required to obtain special permission from the Jack London estate. As of 2004, these restrictions have been lifted and the diaries are available for use without special permission. Among the manuscripts not written by the London family are those by: ATHERTON, Frank. "My Boyhood Days with Jack London." A somewhat unreliable, but nonetheless important reminiscence of Jack London's early days in Oakland. FOX, Barry. "Nakata, Son of Jack London." An article about one of Jack London's later Japanese servants. JENSEN, Emil. "Jack London at Stewart River." Recollections of London's months in the Klondike. LEWIS, Sinclair. "Plot Summaries." Some seventeen ideas for stories and novels which Sinclair Lewis sold to Jack London between 1911 and 1913. MORRELL, Edward. "Statement ... made to Jack London ..." An account of Morrell's prison experiences which London used as the basis for The Star-Rover. OPPENHEIMER, Jacob. "The Prison Tiger." Another prison story, which London incorporated into The Star-Rover. STERLING, George. Poems. Some 128 poems, some holograph, some typed, most signed, which George Sterling sent to Jack London during the many years of their friendship. THOMPSON, Fred. "Diary of Yukon Experiences." A copy of the diary which Thompson made during his trek to Dawson City with Jack London in 1897. WALLING, Anna Strunsky. "The Kempton-Wace Letters." Anna Walling's notes and writings about the book she and Jack London wrote in 1903.

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    Ranch Notes

    Manuscripts

    An extremely rich source of material about the construction of the Jack London Ranch, including many notes written by Jack London or Eliza Shepard about the farm, clippings London culled about farming and ranching, a few notes about the Wolf House, and material about London's ill-fated investment in eucalyptus trees.

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