University of Oregon Libraries
Special Collections & University Archives
1299 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-1299
URL: http://libweb.uoregon.edu/speccoll/index.html

Guide to the Edwin Booth Papers, 1946-1981


Coll. 184





Finding aid prepared by Jenny Palm

Finding aid encoded by Jenny Palm, March 2004
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.


Overview of the Collection
 
Repository Name:
 

University of Oregon Libraries
Special Collections & University Archives

1299 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-1299
URL: http://libweb.uoregon.edu/speccoll/index.html
 
Collection Number:
 

Coll. 184
 
Creator:
 

Booth, Edwin
 
Title:
 

Edwin Booth Papers
 
Dates:
 

1946-1981 (inclusive)
 
Quantity:
 

31 linear feet
60 containers, 59 free-standing volumes
 
Languages:
 

Collection materials are in English.  

 
Summary:
 

Edwin Booth (1906-1980) was a writer of Western fiction. The Edwin Booth Papers contain personal and professional literary correspondence with authors who were contemporaries of Booth, as well as literary manuscripts. The manuscript series contains manuscripts of novels and short stories. The collection also includes published copies of Booth's novels and anthologies of short stories. Booth wrote American westerns as well as mystery literature.

 

Biographical Note

Edwin Booth, who also wrote under the names Don Blunt and Jack Hazard, was born in 1906 in Beatrice, Nebraska. He attended public schools in Nebraska and Iowa before moving to Colorado, where he studied civil engineering at Colorado College. During summer vacations Booth drove a milk truck, worked as a postal clerk, and guided tourists through Colorado's Cave of the Winds. In New Mexico, he worked as a ranch hand. After moving to California, Booth worked in a chain grocery store while studying accounting. He later started his own accounting firm which supported him until he became established as an author of westerns and mystery stories. In the 1960s, Edwin Booth was an officer in Western Writers of America, an organization of writers dedicated to the advancement and promotion of literature about the American West.

Content Description

The collection includes correspondence concerning Booth's work as a writer, including letters to and from Bill Cox, Noel Loomis, Merle Costiner, and Thomas Thompson, all of whom were writers of westerns.

The collection also includes 56 book length manuscripts, most with first, second and final drafts; 121 story length manuscripts, most with early and final drafts; some unidentified manuscript fragments; and one folder of reference material.

Arrangement

Collection is organized into the following series: Series I. Correspondence; Series II. Manuscripts; Series III. Reference Material. Correspondence is arranged chronologically. Manuscripts are arranged alphabetically by title.

Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Access 

Collection is open to the public.

Collection must be used in Special Collections & University Archives Reading Room.

Restrictions on Use 

Property rights reside with Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries. Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to the Manuscripts Librarian in Special Collections & University Archives. The reader must also obtain permission of the copyright holder.

Preferred Citation 

[Identification of item], Edwin Booth Papers, Coll. 184, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.

Subjects

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.

 
Booth, Edwin--Archives
Costiner, Merle--Correspondence
Costiner, Merle--Correspondence
Cox, William Robert, 1901---Correspondence
Loomis, Noel M., 1905---Correspondence
Thompson, Thomas, 1913---Correspondence
West (U.S.)--In literature
Authors, American--20th century
Detective and mystery stories, American--Authorship
Western stories--Authorship
Manuscripts for publication
Western stories

Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.


 

Series I:  Correspondence, 1946-1973
 
Container(s)
Description
Dates
 
box
1		 folder
1
1946-June 1947
   1946-June 1947
 
2
July 1947-December 1947
   July 1947-December 1947
 
3
1948-1949
   1948-1949
 
4
1950-1956
   1950-1956
 
5
1957-1959
   1957-1959
 
6
1960
   1960
 
2 1
1961-1962
   1961-1962
 
2
1963-1968
   1963-1968
 
3
1969-1973
   1969-1973
 
4
Undated
  
 

Series II:  Booth Manuscripts
 
Container(s)
Description
   
Subseries A:  Novel Length Manuscripts
  
 
box
2		 folder
5
"The Black Shooters," first draft
  
 
6
"The Black Shooters," first draft (cont.)
  
 
7
"The Black Shooters," first draft (cont.)
  
 
3 1
"The Black Shooters," second draft
  
 
2
"The Black Shooters," second draft (cont.)
  
 
3
"The Black Shooters," second draft (cont.)
  
 
4
"The Black Shooters," final draft
  
 
5
"The Black Shooters," final draft (cont.)
  
 
6
"The Black Shooters," final draft (cont.)
  
 
4 1
"Bonanza," draft
  
 
2
"Boot Heel Range," first draft
  
 
3
"Boot Heel Range," first draft (cont.)
  
 
4
"Boot Heel Range," first draft (cont.)
  
 
5
"Boot Heel Range," first draft (cont.)
  
 
6
"Boot Heel Range," final draft
  
 
7
"Boot Heel Range," final draft (cont.)
  
 
5 1
"Boot Heel Range," final draft (cont.)
  
 
2
"Boot Heel Range," final draft, annotated
  
 
3
"Boot Heel Range," final draft, annotated (cont.)
  
 
4
"Bushwhack," typed draft
  
 
5
"Bushwhack," typed draft
  
 
6
"Bushwhack," typed draft, annotated
  
 
7
"Bushwhack," typed draft, annotated
  
 
6 1
"Bushwhack," draft
  
 
2
"Bushwhack," draft
  
 
3
"Bushwhack," outline and synopsis
  
 
4
"The Chance," draft
  
 
5
"The Color of Blood," draft
  
 
6
"The Colorado Gun," final draft
  
 
7
"The Colorado Gun," final draft (cont.)
  
 
8
"The Colorado Gun," final draft (cont.)
  
 
7 1
"The Crooked Spur," first draft
  
 
2
"The Crooked Spur," first draft (cont.)
  
 
3
"The Crooked Spur," first draft (cont.)
  
 
4
"The Crooked Spur," typed draft
  
 
5
"The Crooked Spur," typed draft (cont.)
  
 
6
"The Crooked Spur," final draft
  
 
7
"The Crooked Spur," final draft (cont.)
  
 
8
"Danger Trail", first draft
  
 
8 1
"Danger Trail," first draft (cont.)
  
 
2
"Danger Trail," typed draft
  
 
3
"Danger Trail," typed draft (cont.)
  
 
4
"Danger Trail," final draft
 
 
5
"Danger Trail," final draft (cont.)
  
 
6
"Dead Giveaway," first draft
  
 
7
"Dead Giveaway," first draft (cont.)
  
 
8
"Dead Giveaway," first draft (cont.)
  
 
9 1
"Dead Giveaway," typed draft
 
 
2
"Dead Giveaway," typed draft (cont.)
  
 
3
"Dead Giveaway," final draft
  
 
4
"Dead Giveaway," final draft (cont.)
  
 
5
"Desperate Dude," first draft
  
 
6
"Desperate Dude," first draft (cont.)
  
 
7
"Desperate Dude," first draft (cont.)
  
 
10 1
"Desperate Dude," typed draft
  
 
2
"Desperate Dude," typed draft (cont.)
  
 
3
"Desperate Dude," typed draft (cont.)
  
 
4
"Desperate Dude," final draft
  
 
5
"Desperate Dude," final draft (cont.)
  
 
6
"Devil's Canyon," first draft
  
 
7
"Devil's Canyon," first draft (cont.)
  
 
8
"Devil's Canyon," first draft (cont.)
  
 
11 1
"Devil's Canyon," typed draft
  
 
2
"Devil's Canyon," typed draft (cont.)
  
 
3
"Devil's Canyon," final draft
  
 
4
"Devil's Canyon," final draft (cont.)
  
 
5
"Double Exposure," first draft
  
 
6
"Double Exposure," first draft (cont.)
  
 
7
"Double Exposure," first draft (cont.)
  
 
12 1
"Double Exposure," typed and annotated draft
  
 
2
"Double Exposure," typed and annotated draft (cont.)
  
 
3
"Double Exposure," final draft
  
 
4
"Double Exposure," final draft (cont.)
  
 
5
"The Dry Gulchers," first draft
  
 
6
"The Dry Gulchers," first draft (cont.)
  
 
7
"The Dry Gulchers," first draft (cont.)
  
 
13 1
"The Dry Gulchers," typed draft
  
 
2
"The Dry Gulchers," typed draft (cont.)
  
 
3
"The Dry Gulchers," final draft
  
 
4
"The Dry Gulchers," final draft (cont.)
  
 
5
"Guns of Sun Dog," first draft
  
 
6
"Guns of Sun Dog," first draft (cont.)
  
 
7
"Guns of Sun Dog," typed draft
  
 
8
"Guns of Sun Dog," typed draft (cont.)
  
 
14 1
"Guns of Sun Dog," typed draft (cont.)
  
 
2
"Guns of Sun Dog," typed draft (cont.)
  
 
3
"Grudge Killer," first draft
  
 
4
"Grudge Killer," first draft (cont.)
  
 
5
"Grudge Killer," first draft (cont.)
  
 
6
"Grudge Killer," typed draft
  
 
7
"Grudge Killer," typed draft (cont.)
  
 
8
"Grudge Killer," typed draft (cont.)
  
 
9
"Grudge Killer," final draft
  
 
15 1
"Grudge Killer," final draft (cont.)
  
 
2
"Grudge Killer," proofs
  
 
3
"Grudge Killer," fragments and notes
  
 
4
"Hardcase Hotel," first draft
  
 
5
"Hardcase Hotel," first draft (cont.)
  
 
6
"Hardcase Hotel," first draft (cont.)
  
 
7
"Hardcase Hotel," typed draft
  
 
8
"Hardcase Hotel," typed draft (cont.)
  
 
16 1
"Hardcase Hotel," final draft
  
 
2
"Hardcase Hotel," final draft (cont.)
  
 
3
"Hardesty," first draft
  
 
4
"Hardesty," first draft (cont.)
  
 
5
"Hardesty," first draft (cont.)
  
 
6
"Hardesty," typed draft
  
 
7
"Hardesty," typed draft (cont.)
  
 
8
"Hardesty," typed draft (cont.)
  
 
17 1
"Hardesty," final draft
  
 
2
"Hardesty," final draft (cont.)
  
 
3
"Hardesty," final draft (cont.)
  
 
4
"I Have a Little Shadow," first draft
  
 
5
"I Have a Little Shadow," first draft (cont.)
  
 
6
"I Have a Little Shadow," first draft (cont.)
  
 
7
"I Have a Little Shadow," typed draft
  
 
8
"I Have a Little Shadow," typed draft (cont.)
  
 
18 1
"I Have a Little Shadow," final draft
  
 
2
"I Have a Little Shadow," final draft (cont.)
  
 
3
"I'll Laugh at Your Hanging," first draft
  
 
4
"I'll Laugh at Your Hanging," first draft (cont.)
  
 
5
"John Marsh," draft, chapters 1 and 2
  
 
6
"John Marsh," draft, notes
  
 
7
"John Sutter, Californian," notes
  
 
19 1
"John Sutter, Californian," first draft
  
 
2
"John Sutter, Californian," first draft (cont.)
  
 
3
"John Sutter, Californian," first draft (cont.)
  
 
4
"John Sutter, Californian," revised first draft
  
 
5
"John Sutter, Californian," revised first draft (cont.)
  
 
6
"John Sutter, Californian," final form first draft
  
 
7
"John Sutter, Californian," final form first draft (cont.)
  
 
20 1
"John Sutter, Californian," second draft
  
 
2
"John Sutter, Californian," second draft (cont.)
  
 
3
"John Sutter, Californian," second draft (cont.)
  
 
4
"John Sutter, Californian," final form second draft