Mission of the Library:
The Henry Miller Library is a public benefit, non-profit organization championing the
literary, artistic and cultural contributions of the late writer, artist, and Big Sur resident Henry Miller. The Library also
serves as a cultural resource center, functioning as a public gallery/performance/workshop space for artists, writers, musicians and
students. In addition, the Library supports education in the arts and the local environment. Finally, the library serves
as a social center for the community. With this mission in mind, it becomes clear that preservation of our archives is an
essential component of our work.
Purpose of the archives at the library:
People comment on the beauty, the quirks, and the charm of the Henry Miller Library.
Guests have a relaxing afternoon in the sun, or an evening at the movies in this place. There is a hidden profundity that
follows visitors through our redwood haven and hand selected independent bookstore. It is the work of the Henry Miller Library
Archives Project to give palpable authenticity to that unspeakable seriousness by bringing a real historical and academic face to the
Library.
History of the archives:
The Archives project has been in the works at the library since its inception, and has gained speed
and momentum since 2005 with the work of summer interns and now a full-time, year-round resident archivist. The holdings of the
archives are now preserved in acid-free, pH-neutral storage boxes, and all are located with the help of an accession number system
designed to suit our unique collection. All titles and dates are searchable in an electronic database which is the foundation
for a publishable index of all items. A researcher can walk in from the highway, sit down at a computer with a list of interests, and
within minutes with the help of an archives assistant, have at his or her fingertips all relevant materials the library has to
offer.
A Description of the Archives at the
Henry Miller Memorial Library
Date range: The dates of the
collection range from 1897 to the present, with many items specific to
1920s and 1930s (Henry’s time in Paris), and 1940s through 1980s in Big Sur (The Emil White
Collection and Big Sur History Collection).
Extent: 5682 items. 2345
letters, 1409 photographs, 212 legal documents, 79 manuscripts, 447 newsclippings, 180 essays, 133 magazines, hundreds of books, and a
great number of framed artworks all relating to Henry Miller, Emil White, Anais Nin, Big Sur and California History.
Scope:
The sub-collections within the archives are as
follows:
- The Anais Nin Collection – 19 items,
date range: 1967 - 1993
- Bertrand Mathieu Collection – 38
items, date range: 1939 - 1993
- Big Sur and the Henry Miller Library
Collection – 774 items, date range: 1897 - 2008
- Emil Schnellock Collection – 748
items, date range: 1930 - 1965
- Emil White Collection – 2160 items,
date range: 1901 - 1995
- Henry Miller Collection – 680 items,
date range: 1926 - 2000
- Jane Nelson and Lafayette Young
Collection – 40 items, date range: 1951 - 2003
- Joanne Humphrey Collection – 192
items, date range: 1946 - 1969
- June Lancaster Collection – 143
items, date range: 1938 - 2000
- Lucia Crocheron Greer Collection –
43 items, date range: 1937 - 1976
- Noel Young Collection – 205 items,
date range: 1931 - 1991
- Other Artists Collection – 196
items, date range: 1940 - 2008
- Robert Cross Collection – 148 items,
date range: 1939 - 2003
- The Olays - Emma Goldman Collection
– 237 items, date range: 1918 - 1986
Specific items that are of note:
O23.LW.MS.1 - Typescript of Tropic of
Cancer
O26.LW.MS.5 - Tropic of Capricorn Draft Version Submitted to Bradley With Original
Folder With Inscription to Emil Schnellock
O13.LW.MS.2 - Quiet Days in Clichy Annotated Typescript
I1.CR.TW.80 - Letter from Emma Goldman to John Powys - 7/31/1936
A1.CR.HW.11 - Letter
to Eve And Emil White from Henry Miller
D2.PH.XX.2 - Photo of Henry Miller by Man Ray Signed by Miller - 1941
A note regarding the Emil Schnellock
Collection:
“The number of manuscript items
from the 1920s, including the Mezzotints, typescripts
of literary sketches, and his first known letter of appeal, contains some things previously
unknown to Miller’s biographers and bibliographers alike. And if this wasn’t eough,
the
material from the 30s contains over one hundred pages from the first draft of Tropic of
Cancer that chronologically precedes what was here-to-fore been known as the
“First”
draft that was sold at auction a few years after Miller’s death. This collection appears
to contain something that is representative of every stage of Miller’s early struggle in
becoming a writer, culminating in the publication of his first book.”
- Roger Jackson, Miller scholar and bibliographer on the Emil Schnellock
collection
Contact: Keely Richter,
Archivist. keely@henrymiller.org
If you are conducting research
on Henry Miller or any of his associates, you may be interested in consulting our information directory, a comprehensive listing of other archives,
libraries, and journals with Miller-related holdings.
