What is in the Collection?
Steinbeck Bibliography of secondary materials contains over 9,000 abstracted citations in a multi-variate searchable format.
Other Steinbeck Collections and Resources
Books by Steinbeck
The Center is a repository of all of the author's published works in various
editions and languages. The collection includes several signed first editions. A Primary Bibliography is in progress and should be available soon: a searchable database of the author's works.
Steinbeck Contributions to Books and Periodicals
The Center houses original editions of anthologies containing Steinbeck's
contributions as well as numerous periodicals containing his stories, essays,
articles and serialized or condensed books. Xerox copies of all his nonfiction
are available.
Manuscripts, Galley Proofs, Typescripts, Movie and Television Scripts
The major autograph manuscripts held by the Center include the Long
Valley Ledger, containing journal entries and drafts of short stories in The
Long Valley.
Manuscript copies of the Le Figaro articles with photocopied
typescripts; the Elaine Steinbeck manuscript and letters collection; the Sharon
Brown Bacon collection of letters and manuscripts of Carol Henning Steinbeck;
and shorter Steinbeck manuscripts including an autograph original of the
author's obituary for Ernie Pyle, a typescript for the screen play of The
Pearl, and the original manuscript of The Wizard, an early
attempt at playwriting. The Center houses a photocopy of the autograph
manuscript of The Grapes of Wrath as well as photocopies of the
corrected galley proofs and typescripts of both The Grapes of Wrath and Sea of Cortez. In addition, the Center has photocopies of
Steinbeck's original script for the film The Forgotten Village.
Correspondence
A growing number of original letters and postcards are among the Center's
holdings, including the Elaine Steinbeck Collection donated to the Center in
1996 by Elaine Steinbeck: over 275 letters to Steinbeck from prominent 20th
century Americans. The University of Virginia has also provided photocopies of
Steinbeck's letters. Xerox copies of the Harry Guggenheim collection of letters
from John Steinbeck are held by the Center.
Material Related to the Life and Works of John Steinbeck
The Center houses copies of virtually every book published about Steinbeck and
his work, as well as the world's most extensive collection of scholarly articles, newspaper articles, reviews, and commentaries of general interest. The Center houses the Carol Steinbeck scrapbooks, one Gwyndolyn Steinbeck
scrapbook and correspondence and manuscripts donated by Elaine Steinbeck.
Scrapbooks compiled by the Center contain clippings relating to Steinbeck's
works, including announcements and reviews of his plays, as well as background
information about his friends, homes, and haunts.
Dissertations and Theses
The Center's holdings include all doctoral dissertations and selected Masters
theses relating to Steinbeck.
Photographs (a searchable database is in progress)
A particularly rich collection of over 2,000 photographs of the writer and his
family, play and movie stills, and historical photos of areas associated with Steinbeck, are part of the Center's holdings.
Audio/Visual
The Center's collection includes copies of most of Steinbeck's
films in DVD, VHS, and reel-to-reel. The Center holds reel-to-reel of Of Mice & Men (1939), The Forgotten Village, The Pearl, and Flight.
DVDs are available for viewing on a walk-in basis.
Oral Histories/Interviews
Available at the Center are numerous taped interviews by Dr. Martha Cox and Dr.
Susan Shillinglaw with relatives, friends, and associates of the author.
Memorabilia
Furnishings in the Center include six dining room chairs
that belonged to the author, the gift of Gwyndolyn Steinbeck as well as the
Cannery Row collection, artifacts from the Hovden Cannery and Santa Barbara High School. Original oil, charcoal, and pencil drawings and paintings include
portraits of Carol Steinbeck (by Richard Lofton), Gwyn Steinbeck, John
Steinbeck (one by Pepe Romero, one by Ellwood Graham, one by Judith Deim, one
by Barnaby Conrad), Ed Ricketts (by Ellwood Graham) and friends. The Center
also houses all artwork that John had on the walls of "Joyous Garde," his Sag Harbor writing house, as well as two pencils from that room. The Center
houses the Carol Henning Steinbeck collection of letters, photographs, and
scrapbooks.
The Center also houses film memorabilia from East
of Eden, Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath, and
other films. Press books, lobby cards, and posters are included.
Edward F. Ricketts Material
The collection also houses items relating to Edward Ricketts and his Pacific
Biological Laboratory, including two of the Laboratory's catalogs, and some
preserved specimens. Of particular note is a photocopy of a forty-nine page
verbatim transcription of Ricketts's notes on the Gulf of California trip as
well as numerous photographs of Ricketts donated to the Center by Mr. George
Robinson and Ed Ricketts, Jr.
The Center's Collections by Name
Elaine Steinbeck Collection, Virginia Scardigli Collection, Edward F. Ricketts
Collection, Barnaby Conrad Letters, Joel Hedgepath Letters, Peter Stackpole
Letters, Lee Richard Hayman Collection.
