Harris (Frank) Collection, 1896-1928

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Summary

Title:
Frank Harris Collection
Dates:
1896-1928
Abstract:
This finding aid describes the Clark Library's collection of material created by and related to Frank Harris, and includes correspondence, manuscripts, news clippings, typescripts and proofs.
Extent:
0.75 Linear Feet 2 boxes and other items and (2 boxes and other items)
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Frank Harris Collection, William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Background

Scope and content:

This finding aid describes the Clark Library's collection of material created by and related to Frank Harris, and includes correspondence, manuscripts, news clippings, typescripts and proofs.

Materials in this collection are not all physically housed together, because of the different acquisition dates and because of various organization schemes developed over time by the Clark. Box numbers listed below indicate the collection with which each item is physically placed.

Biographical / historical:

Frank Harris was born James Thomas Harris in Galway, Ireland, February 14, 1856. He emigrated alone to the United States in 1869 and after years of study and work both in America and on the European continent, he returned to London in 1882. Harris become the editor of the London Evening News in 1883. In 1886, he left the Evening News for a post editing the Fortnightly Review, which he would continue to do until 1894. From 1894 to 1898, he edited the Saturday Review. In his posts at these publications, he became acquainted with many of the notable figures of fin-de-siècle London, including Oscar Wilde.

Harris struggled with financial stability often after this period, and moved a great deal, living in the south of France and in London in the years before World War I. In 1915, he returned to New York, where he wrote a number of anti-British articles as well as his volumes of Contemporary Portraits. He was the editor of Pearson's Magazine from 1915-1922 and got into many clashes with American censors and others who found him and his work offensive. During this period, he also began dictating his sprawling and sexually explicit memoirs, My Life and Loves, which was published in various forms (expurgated and not) after 1922.

In 1923, he settled permanently in Nice with his longtime partner, Nellie O'Hara, who he married in 1927. He died in Nice in 1931.

Acquisition information:

This finding aid gathers together material from multiple accessions.

The exact provenance of some materials is unclear. Other material described here originated in accessions MS.1982.004 and MS.2010.005, as indicated in the container list.

Processing information:

Processed by Rebecca Fenning, March 2010. Revised April 2024.

Much of this material is also described in the finding aids for the Oscar Wilde and His Literary Circle Collection: Correspondence and Oscar Wilde and His Literary Circle Collection: Manuscripts and Miscellaneous Materials.

Arrangement:

The collection is organized into the following series:

  • Series 1. Correspondence, 1895-1928, undated
  • Series 2. Manuscripts and Proofs, 1915-1925

Physical location:
Clark Library
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Processed by Rebecca Fenning Marschall
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-09-10 09:49:01 -0700 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The Clark Library owns the property rights to its collections but does not hold the copyright to these materials and therefore cannot grant or deny permission to use them. Researchers are responsible for determining the copyright status of any materials they may wish to use, investigating the owner of the copyright, and obtaining permission for their intended publication or other use. In all cases, you must cite the Clark Library as the source with the following credit line: The William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Frank Harris Collection, William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Location of this collection:
2520 Cimarron Street
Los Angeles, CA 90018, US
Contact:
(424) 442-6172
clark@humnet.ucla.edu
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