Zeitlin (Jake) Papers on D. H. Lawrence Manuscripts, 1933-1981, bulk (bulk 1933-1955)

Printable guide [HTML]
Request items

Summary

Title:
Jake Zeitlin Correspondence and Papers Related to D.H. Lawrence Manuscripts,
Dates:
1933-1981, bulk (bulk 1933-1955)
Creators:
Zeitlin, Jake, 1902-
Abstract:
Correspondence between Jake Zeitlin, a Los Angeles antiquarian book dealer, Frieda Lawrence and others regarding the sale of D.H. Lawrence manuscripts. Includes correspondence with book dealers, publishers, and academic institutions regarding the appraisal and exhibition of Lawrence manuscripts, books, and related materials.
Extent:
1 oversize box
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Jake Zeitlin Papers on D. H. Lawrence Manuscripts (Collection 1353). Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.

Background

Scope and content:

After D.H. Lawrence's death in 1930, his widow Frieda Lawrence made the financially necessary decision to sell the manuscripts that he left behind. In 1936, Galka Scheyer introduced Frieda Lawrence to Los Angeles book dealer Jake Zeitlin, and she agreed to make Zeitlin her exclusive agent. The financial and emotional negotiations for these papers between Frieda Lawrence, her partner Angelo Ravagli, and Jake Zeitlin are the central subjects of the correspondence. The collection also includes drafts and correspondence related to the sale catalog (written by Lawrence Clark Powell with an introduction by Aldous Huxley, and printed by Ward Ritchie with an M.F.K. Fisher frontispiece). Zeitlin's various appraisals, exhibition-related materials from the Los Angeles Public Library, and three photographs of Frieda Lawrence.

Biographical / historical:

Jake Zeitlin was born on November 4, 1902, in Racine, Wisconsin and worked as a bookseller, poet and book reviewer in Ft. Worth, Texas before moving to Los Angeles in 1925. He began his career in bookselling when employed by Holmes Book Company and the book departments of the May Company and Bullock's before opening his first shop, designed by Lloyd Wright, in 1927. Wright designed a more elaborate shop in 1929 that became a meeting place for the city's intellectuals. In collaboration with his wife, Josephine Ver Brugge, Zeitlin moved his shop into a large red barn on La Cienega Blvd. in 1948, selling rare books, prints and paintings. He lectured widely on subjects related to rare books and the history of science, and was instrumental in bringing many collections to UCLA, including the Grunewald Graphic Arts Collection. He personally donated several manuscript collections to the Department of Special Collections before his passing in August 1987.

Frieda Lawrence was born Frieda von Richthofen August 11, 1879 to Prussian Baron Friedrich von Richthofen and Anna Marquier von Richthofen, near Metz, Germany. David Herbert Lawrence was born in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, England, Sept. 11, 1885. In 1912 Frieda met Lawrence, then a student of her first husband. They eloped, and the Lawrences were married in July 1914. They traveled continuously for the next few years in France, Italy, Germany and Australia before settling at Kiowa Ranch near Taos, New Mexico. D.H. Lawrence was a novelist, essayist, and poet, best known for Lady Chatterley's lover (1928); his numerous publications include: Sons and Lovers (1913), Women in Love (1920), and The Plumed Serpent (1926). Lawrence died in France in 1930; after his death, Frieda traveled to Europe briefly before returning to the ranch in 1931 with her companion, Angelo Ravagli. Frieda and Ravagli married in 1950, and she died in New Mexico August 11, 1956.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Jacob Zeitlin, ca.1981.
Processing information:

Lilace Hatayama arranged the collection into topical folders and created an item-level inventory in 1985. Four series levels were assigned in 2004 to enhance ease of access. The title has also been changed in the online catalog from "Correspondence and papers related to D. H. Lawrence manuscripts, 193--1981, bulk 1936-1955" to the current title. Front matter by Geneva Gano, with assistance from Laurel McPhee as part of the CFPRT project, August 2004.

Arrangement:

Arranged in the following series:

  1. Correspondence (1933-1981).
  2. Appraisals (1937-1954).
  3. Exhibitions and catalogs (1937-1938).
  4. Photographs (1955).

Physical location:
Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Antiquarian booksellers--California--Los Angeles--Archival resources.
Correspondence.
Indexes:

Name Index

Abramson, Ben, 1898-1955.
Argus Book Shop, Chicago.
Aldington, Richard, 1892-1962.
Best, Marshall A.
Biddle, George, 1885- .
Blanck, Jacob Nathaniel, 1906-1974.
Brett, Hon. Dorothy, 1883- .
Brewster, Aschah Barlow.
Brewster, Earl Henry, 1878- .
Brill, Abraham Adren, 1874-1948.
Carswell, Catherine McFarlane, 1879-1946.
Cerf, Bennett Alfred, 1898- .
Chaplin, Charles, 1889- .
Collamore, Bacon.
Duschnes, Philip C.
Gregory, Horace, 1898- .
Haflin, Harry James.
Hogan, Francis Joseph, 1877-1944.
Huxley, Aldous Leonard, 1894-1962.
Johnson, Spud.
Lawrence, Frieda (von Richthofen), 1879-1956.
Ludington, Flora Belle.
Luhan, Mrs. Mabel Dodge (Ganson), 1879-1962.
MacDonald, Edward David
McWilliams, Carey, 1905-1980.
Maggs bros., London.
Powell, Lawrence Clark, 1906- .
Ravagli, Angelo.
Rota, Bertram.
Ruder, Barnet B., bookseller, New York.
Rugg, Harold Goddard, 1883- .
Sproul, Robert Gordon, 1891- .
Warren, Althea Hester, 1886-1958.
Van Patten, Nathan, 1887- .
Worthen, John.

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Lilace Hatayama arranged the collection into topical folders and created an item-level inventory in 1985. Four series levels were assigned in 2004 to enhance ease of access. The title has also been changed in the online catalog from "Correspondence and papers related to D. H. Lawrence manuscripts, 193--1981, bulk 1936-1955" to the current title. Front matter by Geneva Gano, with assistance from Laurel McPhee as part of the CFPRT project, August 2004; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé and edited by Josh Fiala, Caroline Cubé, Laurel McPhee and Amy Shung-Gee Wong.
Date Prepared:
© 2005
Date Encoded:
Original finding aid text rekeyed by Caroline Cubé from in-house paper finding aid, January 2005 then later, machine-readable finding aid created by ByteManagers using OAC finding aid conversion service specifications. Additions derived from database containing container list structure and data, encoding added via MS Access and Notetab Pro by Caroline Cubé. Online finding aid edited by Josh Fiala and Caroline Cubé and Amy Shung-Gee Wong. Date of source: 2005 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.

Terms of access:

Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Jake Zeitlin Papers on D. H. Lawrence Manuscripts (Collection 1353). Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.

Location of this collection:
A1713 Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
Contact:
(310) 825-4988
AskLSC@library.ucla.edu
Website