The Robert E. Howard Bookshelf

The Robert E. Howard Bookshelf
compiled by Rusty Burke

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS | INTRODUCTION | EXPLANATORY NOTES

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

APPENDIX ONE: UNIDENTIFIED BOOKS

APPENDIX TWO: MISCELLANEA

APPENDIX THREE: BOOKS DONATED TO REH COLLECTION AFTER HIS DEATH

APPENDIX FOUR: BOOKS NOTED BY ACCESSION LIST BUT PROBABLY NOT PART OF REH COLLECTION

APPENDIX FIVE: THE HOWARD PAYNE COLLEGE ACCESSION LIST

APPENDIX SIX: THE INTERNATIONAL ADVENTURE LIBRARY

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to respectfully and gratefully dedicate this work to the folks who got it all started:

John Bloom
Mrs. Corrine Shields
Dr. Charlotte Laughlin
Glenn Lord
Steve Eng

and to the guys who got ME started on it:

Vernon M. Clark
Steven R. Trout

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INTRODUCTION

“When you find an author who really grabs you, read everything he has done…. And then you can go read what he had read. And the world opens up in a way that is consistent with a certain point of view.”–Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth

The following listing is comprised of books, magazines, stories, articles, poetry, manuscripts and dramatizations that Robert E. Howard either may have possessed as part of his library, or that he mentions in his correspondence or stories. The list also includes writers he mentions, whether or not he names a work by them. The listing is intended to assist those who wish to study literary, historical and other influences that may have found their way into Howard’s work, and those who may wish to explore for themselves the world that opens up from the reading Robert Howard had done.

This project was originated by Vernon M. Clark and Steven R. Trout, who set out, initially, to acquire all the books listed as part of “Robert E. Howard’s Library” in The Dark Barbarian: The Writings of Robert E. Howard, A Critical Anthology (ed. Don Herron; Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1984). Glenn Lord provided them with the names of other authors and books mentioned in Howard’s letters, and the project began to mushroom. I joined in somewhat later, at first a bit hesitantly, later with real enthusiasm. Vern, Steve and I have each spent, probably, hundreds of hours in used book stores, and added hundreds of titles to our own libraries. I have pored over and over all of Howard’s letters (at least all that I am aware of!); I have gone into all his stories, for verse headings, quotations, allusions; I have been through the memoirs of his friends and associates, Tevis Clyde Smith, Novalyne Price Ellis, Harold Preece, and E. Hoffmann Price, to find mentions of writers and works he discussed with them; all in order to make this as encyclopedic a listing of Howard’s reading interests as it is possible to recreate. I have logged uncounted hours in the Library of Congress (one of the real perks of living in the Washington area!) and other libraries tracking down information about obscure authors and titles. I have also been assisted immeasurably by my friend Larry Richter, who introduced me to the wonders of Internet book searches (such as the excellent used-book search services, Bibliofind and Advanced Book Exchange), and keeps sending bibliographic information my way.

As much work as we have done, however, our task was made immeasurably easier by the pioneering efforts of Mrs. Corrine Shields, Dr. Charlotte Laughlin, Glenn Lord, and Steve Eng.

In the first issue of Paperback Quarterly, “A Journal For Paperback Collectors” (The Pecan Valley Press [Billy C. Lee], Brownwood, TX, Spring 1978), Dr. Laughlin recounted the events leading up to her publication, beginning with that issue, of “Robert E. Howard’s Library: An Annotated Checklist.” After first relating Dr. Isaac Howard’s donation of his son’s library, consisting of “some 300 books, the great majority of which deal [sic] history and biography” (Brownwood Bulletin, 29 June 1936), to Howard Payne College (now University) in Brownwood as the foundation of a Memorial Collection, she writes:

After the first few years, the Robert E. Howard Memorial Collection was forgotten at Howard Payne; and the books were gradually placed on the open shelves for general circulation. It was not until the recent revival of the popularity of Howard’s fiction that interest was again shown in separating the Robert E. Howard Memorial Collection from the rest of the Howard Payne Library. With the intervention of forty years much has been lost, but what we have been able to reestablish is the result of the work of an enterprising reference librarian.
When John Bloom, a reporter for the Dallas Times Herald, asked the librarian, Mrs. Corrine Shields, for help in researching an article on Robert E. Howard, she began trying to locate the remnants of his collection. She first checked the shelf lists; but she found that these did not begin until 1948, when the library had stopped keeping accession lists. She then located the old accession lists in a dusty library closet; but since the entries were not dated or alphabetical, she could not determine which books were in the Howard collection. Working from the information in the June 29, 1936, Brownwood Bulletin, she knew that a large part of the collection was history and biography. Mrs. Shields went to the section of the library where biographies are shelved and began to pull books off the shelves to look for the bookplate of ‘The Robert E. Howard Memorial Collection.’ After several failures, she hit the jackpot with The Saga of Billy the Kid by Walter Noble Burns. On the front pastedown endpaper, was the bookplate and stamped inside the book was the accession number. Armed with this number, she went back to the dusty accession records and found the book listed. She checked the preceding and following books in the accession records and established a list of 268 books which were probably in the original Howard collection. Checking first the card catalog and then the books themselves, Mrs. Shields found that many of the books are no longer in the library and that some which are in the library do not have the bookplate and therefore may be copies obtained from another source.
Of the 268 books believed to have composed the Robert E. Howard Memorial Collection, 45 remain with the bookplate in place. All of these have remnants of a blue slip of paper which was pasted on the back free endpaper. This slip, which is intact in The Saga of Billy the Kid, reads ‘THIS BOOK IS FOR USE IN THE LIBRARY.’ This evidence indicates that the books were placed originally in a special collection for library use only, as Dr. Howard had wished.

Before Laughlin had finished publication of her article (which ran in four issues), three more books had been located with the bookplate. Later, L. Sprague and Catherine Crook de Camp located a few others, during the course of their research.

Another transcription of the accession listing was made by Glenn Lord, then the agent for the heirs to Robert E. Howard’s work, and still the foremost authority on Howard, and circulated with the twelfth mailing (July 1978) of The Hyperborean League, an amateur press association dedicated to Howard and to Clark Ashton Smith. Lord’s listing differed from Laughlin’s in a few details; the original lists were handwritten in an accession ledger, and contained numerous errors, such as garbled titles, mistranscribed names (in one instance at least, an illustrator was credited as the author of the book), and other indications of haste and carelessness — to say nothing of simply illegible handwriting. Lord and Laughlin differed in some of their readings.

Steve Eng took Laughlin’s and Lord’s lists and prepared a revised and significantly improved listing of “Robert E. Howard’s Library” for The Dark Barbarian. Steve did yeoman work in libraries to track down information on the authors and titles, and the result must still be considered the standard listing of Howard’s library. While the present list corrects some errors in Eng’s (most carried over from the earlier ones), and fills in gaps, this listing is not confined to Howard’s library alone. For that matter, this listing includes authors whom Howard says he’s never read (such as Joseph Conrad)!

While the vast majority of the books originally donated to Howard Payne College by Dr. Howard were presumably owned or read by Robert, some may have belonged to his mother or father, to friends who had loaned them to him, etc. It appears, also, that the cataloging of the Howard collection was often interrupted in order to note other acquisitions: it is hard to imagine, for example, that Robert E. Howard owned two copies of a book titled Curriculum Making in the Elementary School! Eng dropped a number of such titles that had appeared in Laughlin’s listing. I have chosen to list them in Appendix Four. While books on pedagogical methods seem unlikely to have interested Howard, it is quite possible that some of the works on nature, such as guides to trees or birds, would be part of an author’s research library. And I, personally, wonder whether some of the books on religious subjects which were retained in Eng’s listing were indeed Howard’s: Howard Payne is a Baptist school.

But with a writer whose interests were as wide-ranging as Howard’s, and whose friends attested to his ability to pull a book from the shelf of a library or bookstore and in minutes have read it, with excellent recall, there can never be a “final word” as to what he did or did not read. It is my hope, however, that this listing will at least provide a solid foundation for such speculations, rather than the flimsy suppositions, based on superficial similarities in incident or plot, that have too often passed for “evidence” of “influence” on Howard’s work.

I can also personally vouch for another benefit to be gotten from this listing: I have made the acquaintance of a number of writers who would have otherwise remained unknown to me. If this project had introduced me only to Donn Byrne, once a popular writer of Irish romances, now seemingly forgotten, it would have been worth it: Howard doesn’t seem to have cared much for Byrne (finding his work “tainted” by his “Orange leanings”), but I have now acquired an almost complete collection of his works. My own library — and my own life — have been immeasurably enriched by the acquisition of many of the titles listed here. It is my hope that others will benefit similarly.

I can say with confidence that no man, however mature, ever loved reading for its own sake more than I. I did not read because of any particular urge for learning, or to merely pass the time, or to escape the realities of life. I read simply because I loved reading for its own sake alone. The printed page was like wine to me. — Robert E. Howard

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EXPLANATORY NOTES

At the time Robert E. Howard’s library was donated to Howard Payne College, the library recorded new accessions in an accounting ledger. The ledger in which the Howard collection was listed appears to have been previously used for accounting purposes — a few pages have what appear to be expenses posted on the first few lines (one is dated October 1924, and the others are in the same hand). At least two, and possibly three, different hands appear to have been involved in the listing of the Howard books. In the right-hand column is stamped an accession number for each book. For all those books which were listed in the Howard Payne accessions ledger, I have recorded this number following the publication information. The number is followed by initials indicating the previous listings of Robert E. Howard’s library in which the title appeared:

“PQ1,” “PQ2,” “PQ3,” and “PQ4” are references to the first through fourth issues, respectively, of Paperback Quarterly, “A Journal For Paperback Collectors” (The Pecan Valley Press [Billy C. Lee], Brownwood, TX) in which Dr. Laughlin’s “Robert E. Howard’s Library: An Annotated Checklist” first appeared.

“GL” refers to Glenn Lord’s listing in The Hyperborean League, Mailing Twelve (July 1978).

“TDB” refers to Steve Eng’s “Robert E. Howard’s Library,” in The Dark Barbarian: The Writings of Robert E. Howard, A Critical Anthology (ed. Don Herron; Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1984).

“Still in HPU holdings” indicates items from the Robert E. Howard Memorial Collection that are still in the special collection at Howard Payne University Library. The information on these editions is taken directly from the books in that collection.

For those books that are no longer in the Howard Payne library, we cannot know what edition Howard owned: the accessions listing made no note of editions, dates, etc. This is also, of course, true of the works which Howard mentioned in letters or stories but which were not a part of his actual library. I have generally recorded the date of the first edition, when known, with preference given to the first American edition when that information was available. For a number of the books which I have myself acquired, where I am reasonably certain there were not other contemporary editions, I have recorded the information directly from my copy. During Howard’s lifetime, however, it was a common practice to issue inexpensive reprints of popular books much sooner after first publication than is the practice in publishing today. In particular, Grosset & Dunlap and A.L. Burt & Co. were publishers of popular reprint fiction, and it seems likely that Howard would have bought these editions, when available. Howard was also a fan of Emmanuel Haldeman-Julius’ Little Blue Books, a series of 3½” by 5″ paperbound reprints of classic fiction, as well as many non-fiction works, from philosophy to self-improvement. He may have read a number of the works listed herein in those editions.

When Howard mentioned an author or work in his correspondence, this is indicated by reference to the correspondent and date (when known) of the letter, as in “REH to E. Hoffmann Price, 15 February 1936.” If the story or author was mentioned in a Howard story, poem, essay, or other work, the title is given. I have chosen to quote matter from the letters directly from photocopies of Howard’s typescripts, when available, rather than from later published sources, preserving all typographical errors, misspellings, punctuation, etc. When I do not have a copy of the actual typescript, I have used Glenn Lord’s transcripts of these; only as a last resort have I used published versions.

“SL 1” refers to Robert E. Howard: Selected Letters 1923-1930, edited by Glenn Lord (West Warwick, RI: Necronomicon Press, 1989). “SL 2” refers to Robert E. Howard: Selected Letters 1931-1936, edited by Glenn Lord (West Warwick, RI: Necronomicon Press, 1991). The number following the “SL” designation refers to the number assigned to that letter in those volumes.

Howard’s friend Tevis Clyde Smith wrote several brief memoirs of REH, in some of which were mentioned books and authors, including “Report on a Writing Man,” “Adventurer in Pulp,” “Conversation on the Bridge,” and “So Far the Poet…” (the last being notes for a planned biography of Howard). All of these were collected in Report on a Writing Man and Other Reminiscences of Robert E. Howard (West Warwick, RI: Necronomicon Press, 1991).

One Who Walked Alone is a memoir by Novalyne Price Ellis (West Kingston, RI: Donald M. Grant, 1986) of her relationship with REH during the final two years of his life, 1934-1936. This memoir was based on journals Mrs. Ellis (then Miss Price) was keeping at the time.

“The Eyrie” was the letters column of Weird Tales. Howard wrote several letters in praise of authors and stories in the magazine.

Of incalculable reference assistance were:

Ashley, Mike. Who’s Who in Horror and Fantasy Fiction. New York: Tapplinger Publishing Co., 1978.
Barns, Florence Alberta. Texas Writers of Today. Dallas: Tardy Publishing Co., 1935.
Benét, William Rose. The Reader’s Encyclopedia. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1965 [2nd edition]. 2 vols.
Bleiler, Richard. The Index to Adventure Magazine. Mercer Island, WA: Starmont House, 1990. 2 vols.
Jaffery, Sheldon and Fred Cook. The Collector’s Index to Weird Tales. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1985.
Joshi, S.T. H.P. Lovecraft: A Life. West Warwick, RI: Necronomicon Press, 1996.
Joshi, S.T. H.P. Lovecraft and Lovecraft Criticism: An Annotated Bibliography. Kent, OH: The Kent State University Press, 1981.
Parnell, Frank H. (with Mike Ashley). Monthly Terrors: An Index to the Weird Fantasy Magazines Published in the United States and Great Britain. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1985.

Special thanks to Charles Gatlin, David Gentzel, Leo Grin, Patrice Louinet, and Ed Waterman for additions and corrections to this listing.

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A

REH Bookshelf – A
compiled by Rusty Burke

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Abdullah, Achmed

(1881-1945) and T[homas] Compton Pakenham.

Dreamers of Empire.

New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co., 1929. 30714; PQ2; GL; TDB.

REH to E. Hoffmann Price, 15 February 1936: “My old interest in India has recently been revived by reading ‘Dreamers of Empire’ by Pakenham and Achmed Abdullah. Fine, sneering, swashbuckling biographies of such men as Sir Richard Burton, Henry Lawrence, John Nicholson, Chinese Gordon, etc.”

[Contents: Cecil John Rhodes / Richard Francis Burton / John Nicolson / Henry Montgomery Lawrence / William Walker / Charles George Gordon]

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Adam, G[raeme] Mercer

(1830-1912).

The Life of David Crockett.

[See “Crockett”]

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Adams, Bill

[Bertram Martin Adams] (1879-1953).

“Flower of the Morning”

(verse).

Appeared in Adventure, 10 September 1923, and in author’s collection, Fenceless Meadows: Tales of the Sea [New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co., 1923]. Howard quotes this poem in its entirety in eulogizing his friend Herbert Klatt, REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, circa May 1928 [see SL 1 #13; also “Herbert Klatt,” by Glenn Lord, The Dark Man 1 (Necronomicon Press, 1990)]

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Adlington, William (fl. 1566).

[See “Apuleius”]

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Adventure.

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 6 March 1933: “…let me quote from a letter written to Mr. Hoffmann, editor of Adventure, by your friend Whitehead (1923). He said in part…” [REH goes on to quote over half a single-spaced page; the quotation is from the issue of 10 November 1923.]

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. May-June, 1933 [SL 2 #67]: “Magazines were even more scarce than books. It was after I moved into ‘town’ (speaking comparatively) that I began to buy magazines. I well remember the first I ever bought. I was fifteen years old. I bought it one summer night when a wild restlessness in me would not let me keep still, and I had exhausted all the reading material on the place. I’ll never forget the thrill it gave me. Somehow it had never occurred to me before that I could buy a magazine. It was an Adventure. I still have the copy. After that I bought Adventure for many years, though at times it cramped my resources to pay the price. It came out three times a month, then….I skimped and saved from one magazine to the next; I’d buy one copy and have it charged, and when the next issue was out, I’d pay for the one for which I owed, and have the other one charged, and so on.”

REH to Carl Jacobi, ca. June 1934: “Yes, I noticed the Popular company had bought Adventure, and as you probably have read, they’ve changed editors again. Corcoran sold a serial to Cosmopolitan and threw up the job to free-lance — probably proving Jack London’s assertion that most editors wanted to be writers, secretly or otherwise.” [Howard submitted a number of stories to Adventure, but none were accepted. See also Appendix Two]

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A.E.

[pseudonym of George William Russell (1867-1935)].

REH to Harold Preece, ca. November 1930: “I heard A.E. speak – that is, his welcome banquet was broadcast. He has a most peculiar voice and though I highly enjoyed hearing him recite some of his poems, the strange quality of his voice got on my nerves somewhat. He talks more like a limey than a mick.”

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. January 1934: “Some notable men talk over the air; I’ve heard… that Irish poet – AE I believe he calls himself… among others.”

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Aesop

(ca. 620-560 B.C.).

Fables

30823; PQ2; GL; TDB. No edition stated.

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Aiken, Conrad [Potter]

(1889-1973)

American Poetry, 1671-1928

(ed.) New York: Modern Library, 1929 (Modern Library #101). 30656; PQ2; GL; TDB.

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Aison, Gerta

Modern American Poetry. (ed.) New York: The Galleon Press, 1933. 30765; PQ2; GL; TDB.

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, circa October 1933: “The Galleon Press has just brought out what they call the book of Modern American Poetry, which contains a couple of my rhymes, ‘To a Woman,’ and ‘One Who Comes at Even.'” [These are the version of “To A Woman” beginning “Though fathoms deep…” and “One Who Comes At Eventide.”] “When I submitted my stuff, they accepted these and asked me to buy twelve copies of the book. I told them I couldn’t do it, and to send my stuff back. They wrote and told me they wanted to publish it anyway, and I didn’t have to buy any copies if I didn’t want to. I told them I’d take a couple of extra copies and see if I could sell them.”

REH to August W. Derleth, circa October 1933: “I’m sending you an announcement of an anthology which contains a couple of my rhymes; I know very little about it; I sent my verses in on a venture, they suggested I buy so many volumes of the book, I replied that I didn’t care to pay for the privilege of having my junk published, and they said they’d include the rhymes anyway….” One Who Walked Alone, pp. 130-131, includes both poems from the anthology.

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Alger, Horatio, Jr.

(1832-1899).

The Cash Boy. 30748; PQ2; GL (as “The Cash Box”); TDB (as “The Cash Box (n.d., ca. 1908)”).
[Originally published in book form as Frank Fowler, The Cash Boy (New York: A.L. Burt, 1887). Originally serialized (as The Cash Boy) in 1875. Reprints of Alger’s works often appeared under variant titles.]

Joe’s Luck, or, A Boy’s Adventures in California. New York: A.L. Burt, 1887. 30750; PQ2; GL; TDB.
[Originally serialized in 1875.]

Mark Mason’s Triumph. 30816; PQ2; GL; TDB.
[Originally published in book form as Mark Mason’s Victory; or, The Trials and Triumphs of a Telegraph Boy (New York: A.L. Burt, 1899). Originally serialized as ADT 79. Reprints of Alger’s works often appeared under variant titles. One possibility is Mark Mason’s Triumph (New York: New York Book Co., 1911)]

Only an Irish Boy, or, Andy Burke’s Fortunes and Misfortunes. Philadelphia: Porter & Coates, 1894. 30593; PQ2; GL; TDB.
[Originally serialized in 1874.]

The Tin Box. 30666; PQ2; GL; TDB.
[Originally published in book form as Finding a Fortune (Philadelphia: Penn Publishing Co., 1904). Originally serialized as The Tin Box, or, Harry Gilbert’s Fortune, in 1882. Reprints of Alger’s works often appeared under variant titles.]

Tom, the Bootblack. 30602; PQ2; GL; TDB.
[Originally published in book form as The Western Boy, or, The Road to Success (New York: Street & Smith, with the G.W. Carleton Co. and American News Co., 1878). Originally serialized in 1873. Reprints of Alger’s works often appeared under variant titles.]

The Young Acrobat of the Great North American Circus. New York: Frank A. Munsey, 1888.
[Included on a list found among Howard’s papers. See Appendix Two, item 4. Originally serialized in 1887.]

The Young Miner, or, Tom Nelson in California. Boston: Loring, 1879. 30601; PQ2; GL; TDB.

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Allen, E[mory] A[dams]

(1853-1933?). The Prehistoric World, or, Vanished Races. Cincinnati: Central Publishing House, 1885. 30672; PQ2; GL; TDB.
[See also Appendix Two]

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“An Amateur Flagellant.”

Experiences of Flagellation

A Series of Remarkable Instances of Whipping Inflicted on Both Sexes; with Curious Anecdotes of Ladies Fond of Administering Birch Discipline. London: Printed for Private Circulation, 1885. 30638; PQ3; GL; TDB.

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Anderson, Paul L.

This author is not mentioned by REH, but his work was clearly the inspiration for Howard’s very early (ca. 1923), handwritten poem, “Am-ra the Ta-an” (incomplete) and the fragment “The Tale of Am-ra,” as well as his first published story, “Spear and Fang.” Anderson wrote a series of novelettes, appearing in Argosy, about a tribe of Crô-Magnons called the Ta-an. Howard’s “Am-ra” fragments are brief, but even so share some common elements with Anderson’s series: the hero is both a warrior and an artist, he is exiled due to a clash with the tribe’s priests, he fights against a race of black men, the Ta-an are referred to as “the people of the caves,” etc. Such similarities seem unlikely to be coincidental. Anderson’s Ta-an series consisted of “The Son of the Red God” (Argosy, 31 January 1920), “The Lord of the Winged Death” (Argosy, 6 March 1920), “The Cave That Swims on the Water” (Argosy, 8 May 1920), “The Master of Magic” (Argosy, 17 July 1920), “The Wings of the Snow” (Argosy, 28 August 1920), and “Up From the Abyss” (Argosy, 22 March 1924). [It is possible, but I am unsure, that this is Paul Lewis Anderson (1880-1956), author of a number of photography books (and a noted photographer), as well as such novels as A Slave of Catiline (1930), For Freedom and For Gaul (1931), The Sword of Sergestus (1932), etc.]

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Anderson, Sherwood

(1876-1941).

Mentioned in “The Fastidious Fooey Mancucu” (parody, included in REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. October 1927).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932, includes Anderson among a group of writers of whom Howard says, “…three ringing razzberries for the whole mob….they’re all wet smacks.”

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Andreyev, Leonid [Nikolayevich]

(1871-1919).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. 20 February 1928 [SL 1 #10]: “I have carefully gone over, in my mind, the most powerful men – that is, in my opinion – in all of the world’s literature and here is my list: Jack London, Leonid Andreyev, Omar Khayyam, Eugene O’Neill, William Shakespeare.”

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Ansley, Henry

(“The Jackass of the Plains”).

I Like the Depression. New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1932. 30779; PQ2; GL; TDB.
A humorous look at the benefits of having to return to a simpler life-style, by an Amarillo newspaperman.

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Apuleius, Lucius

(ca. 155).

The Golden Ass.

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. May 1932: [REH ordered the book from Argosy bookstore in New York City] “A confounded fake. Adlington’s translation, and expurgated much more than your copy. The illustrations were nothing much….This edition was privately printed — why, I can’t imagine.” [This may be The Golden Asse of Lucius Apuleius (New York: Rarity Press, 1931), a privately printed edition with illustrations by Jean de Bosschère. Translation of William Adlington, fl. 1566.]

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Arabian Nights, The

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1930 [SL 1 #49]: “Speaking of Arabian Nights, one of my first books was a copy of that great work — I was six, I believe.” “The Voice of El-Lil”: “It’s like a nightmare-or a tale from The Arabian Nights.”

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Argosy.

REH, in “Argonotes,” Argosy, 20 July 1929: “…I have been a reader of Argosy for years – since before the combining of Argosy with All-Story. I suppose I have every Argosy I ever bought, for I have a stack of back numbers about four feet high.”

REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. June 1931 [SL 2 #53]: “I’m surprized that Argosy rejected your stories, especially in the old days, when the magazine was superior to the present one. But what can you expect from any standardized publication? They’d turn down the master-pieces of all the ages, if they chanced to depart from the regular pattern.” [Howard submitted a number of stories to Argosy, some of which were published.]

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Aristophanes

(445-ca. 380 B.C.).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. November 1928 [SL 1 #17]: “You’re a mixture of Aristophanes and Diogenes…”

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Arlen, Michael

(1895-1956).

Mentioned in “The Fastidious Fooey Mancucu” (parody, included in REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. October 1927).

“The Little People”: “My sister threw down the book she was reading. To be exact, she threw it at me. | ‘Foolishness!’ said she. ‘Fairy tales! Hand me that copy of Michael Arlen.'”

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Armour, J[onathan] Ogden

(1863-1927).

Mentioned in “A Fable for Critics” (verse). His book, The Packers, the Private Car Lines, and the People (1906) was a collection of articles written for The Saturday Evening Post. Also wrote Business Problems of the War (1917).

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Asbury, Herbert

(1891-1963).

The Barbary Coast: An Informal History of the San Francisco Underworld. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1933.

REH to E. Hoffmann Price, February 15, 1936: “Glad you found the Barbary Coast book of some interest….¶ Getting back to the Barbary Coast, some of the dives and customs described therein reminded me of the oil boom.”

The Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the Underworld. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1928.

[Tevis Clyde Smith to REH, 14 March 1931: “Have you read Sins of New York, by Edward Van Every? …. I enjoyed it more than I did Asbury’s book.”] REH discusses New York gangs of the 19th century, REH to H.P. Lovecraft, 22 September 1932 [SL 2 #64]. While these gangs are discussed in Asbury’s book, it is also possible Howard had read about them in such publications as The Police Gazette.

“Hatrack.” The American Mercury, April 1926.
Howard wrote, in letters to Tevis Clyde Smith in 1929, two parodies of Sax Rohmer’s Fu Manchu stories in which he gave the name “Hatrack” to the character representing Rohmer’s “Petrie.” Asbury’s story told of a prostitute in the small town in which he grew up. It caused a sensation when published, and H.L. Mencken (editor of The American Mercury) was arrested for selling copies of the magazine in Boston Common.

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Aspasia (of Athens)

(ca. 440 B.C.).

REH to Harold Preece, ca. December 1928 [SL 1 #20]: “You forget the greatest philosopher of all times: Aspasia of Athens.” [There is a chapter devoted to Aspasia in Volume 1 of Woman, in all ages and in all countries (q.v.).]

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REH Bookshelf – B
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Babylonian Legend of Ishtar

The heading of “The House of Arabu” consists of seven lines from this ancient text, also known as “Descent of Ishtar to the Nether World.” The quotation seems to be from Morals in Ancient Babylon, by Joseph McCabe (Little Blue Book #1076), slightly modified (in the quotation, a second clause in each of the first two lines has been dropped; the first part of these lines, and the rest of the quotation, is identical to the McCabe text).

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Bacon, Francis

(1561-1626)

“Of Revenge”

One Who Walked Alone, p. 204: [REH makes the suggestion that Shakespeare’s plays might have been written by Bacon (an idea first put forth in the mid-19th century; see “Shakespeare”)] “‘Can’t you just see those old Elizabethans sitting around talking, trying to decide whether revenge should be done by the next of kin or by the State? Bacon was especially interested in things like that. That’s why he wrote his essay on revenge…. You read that essay and then read Hamlet,’ Bob said. ‘See if you don’t think that was one of Hamlet’s problems.'”

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Baldwin [Cuthrell], Faith

(1893-1978)

“Song For Three Seasons”

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 14 April 1926: [This poem is quoted in full, the title given as “Song of the Seasons”] “At first there don’t seem to be much to that poem, but think about it awhile!” [The poem appeared in Argosy, 16 December 1922, and is included (revised) in the author’s collection, Sign Posts (Boston: Small, Maynard & Co., 1924)]

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Balzac, Honoré de

(1799-1850)

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 2 November, 1932 [SL 2 #65]: “Balzac is better [than Rabelais], but I never could get interested in him.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. May-June 1933 [SL 2 #67]: “My tastes and habits are simple; I am neither erudite nor sophisticated. I prefer jazz to classical music, musical burlesques to Greek tragedy, A. Conan Doyle to Balzac, Bob Service’s verse to Santayana’s writing, a prize fight to a lecture on art.”

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Barlow, Robert H[ayward]

(1918-1951)

“Annals of the Jinns”

REH to R.H. Barlow, June 14, 1934: “I’ve read your stories in The Fantasy Fan with the keenest interest, and I think you have real literary talent.” Seven episodes in this series had appeared between October 1933 and June 1934.

The Dragon-Fly
REH to Robert H. Barlow, postcard, 14 February 1936: “This is to express, somewhat belatedly, my thinks and appreciation for the fine copy of ‘Cats of Ulthar’ and ‘The Dragon Fly’.”

“The Battle That Ended the Century”
(See under “Lovecraft, H.P. and Robert H. Barlow”)

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Barrie, Sir James M[atthew]

(1860-1937)

The Admirable Crichton. (1902).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. September 1933: “I quite agree with your estimate of the average newspaper, and do not differ radically with your opinion of radio programs. And yet it would be erroneous to say that all radio programs are entirely without cultural value… I have heard, among other things, such plays as ‘The Admirable Creighton’… Of course I had rather see these things on the stage, but as my chances of doing that are so slim they are practically non-existant, I was grateful for the opportunity of hearing them over the air.”

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Baudelaire, Charles [Pierre]

(1821-1867)

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 2 November, 1932 [SL 2 #65]: “I like Villon’s poems, and Verlaine’s and Baudelaire’s, but don’t think any of them can equal the greatest English poets.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft ca. September 1933: “If I can enjoy (for instance) both Service and Baudelaire, I see no reason why I should feel inferior to the man who can only enjoy Baudelaire, any more than to the man who can enjoy only Service.”

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Baxter, William

(1650-1723)

Glossarium Antiquitatum Brittanicarum, sive syllabus etymologicus antiquitatum veteris Brittaniæ atque Iberniæ, temporibus Romanorum. Auctore Willielmo Baxter… Accedunt… Edvardii Luidii… De fluviorum, montium, urbium, &c. in Brittaniâ nominibus, adversaria posthuma. Londini, typis W. Bowyer, 1719.

REH to Farnsworth Wright, ca. July 1930 [SL 1 #30]: “Baxter, the highly learned author of Glossario Antiquae Brittaniae, upholds this theory….” In my opinion, Howard probably picked up the information about Baxter from O’Reilly and O’Donovan’s Irish-English Dictionary (q.v.); on p. 399 of that work, under “Remarks on the letter P,” is found: “Mr. Baxter (in Glossario Antiquæ Brittaniæ, p. 90) remarks, that the oldest Brigantes, whom he esteems the first inhabitants of Britain….”

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Beach, Rex [Ellingwood]

(1877-1949)

Flowing Gold. New York: Harper & Bros., 1922.

REH to August W. Derleth, ca. February 1933: “That reminds me of a kid…who went to Ranger during the big boom (fictionized by Rex Beach in ‘Flowing Gold’)….”

Son of the Gods. New York: Harper & Bros., 1929. 30899; PQ2
This book does appear on the accessions list, but earlier than what I believe to be the starting point of the Howard Memorial Collection.

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Beadle, Charles

“The Bowl of Alabaster.” Adventure, 15 September 1920. [See Appendix Two]

“Buried Gods.” Adventure, 1 September 1921.
[See Appendix Two]

“Gifts of Diamonds.” Adventure, 20 June 1922.
[See Appendix Two]

“Land of Ophir.” Adventure, 10 March – 30 March, 1922 (3 parts).
[See Appendix Two]

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Bede (“The Venerable Bede”)

(ca. 673-735).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, 1 July 1930 [SL 1 #39 (mistakenly dated “9 August 1930”)] quotes Bede regarding the successive settlements of Britons, Picts and Scots in Britain. REH to Harold Preece ca. October 1930 refers to this same passage. The quotation is found in Williams (ed.), The Historians’ History of the World (q.v.), vol. XXI, p. 7.

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Benét, Stephen Vincent

(1898-1943).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: Benét is listed among a number of poets Howard likes (“the Benets — Stephen Vincent better than William Rose”). Tevis Clyde Smith, “Adventurer in Pulp,” names Benét as one of REH’s favorite poets.

John Brown’s Body. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Doran & Co., 1928. 30746; PQ2; GL; TDB.

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Benét, William Rose

(1886-1950).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: Benét is listed among a number of poets Howard likes (“the Benets — Stephen Vincent better than William Rose”).

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Benoit, Pierre

(1886-1962).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. January 1931: “I’ve never read the novel you mention by Benoit.” [Cf. H.P. Lovecraft to Clark Ashton Smith, 1 October 1927 (H.P. Lovecraft, Selected Letters II.298): “Atlantideer, by Pierre Benoit, has excellent style but is more adventurous than fantastic.” Benoit’s L’Atlantide (1919) was first published in the United States as Atlantida (New York: Duffield & Co., 1920).]

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Beowulf

(ca. 8th c.)

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 10 August 1931: “…the first Nordic folk-tale I ever read was Beowulf.”

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The Bible

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. February 1931 contains a lengthy discussion of Saul and David, and of Samson. REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. June 1931[SL 2 #53]: “As for Biblical history, my real interest begins and ends with the age of Saul, outside of snatches here and there, as in the case of Samson.” REH to August W. Derleth, 4 July 1935, quotes Proverbs 6:6. There are a number of other Biblical allusions in Howard’s letters. At the end of “The Moon of Skulls,” Solomon Kane quotes from Isaiah: in the passage beginning, “And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear…,” the quoted verses are Isaiah 24:18, 25:2, 29:5, and 29:9. A number of Howard’s poems, notably “Dreaming in Israel,” “The Dust Dance (Selections, version II),” “The Odyssey of Israel,” and “Samson’s Broodings,” deal in whole or in part with Biblical persons or themes, and many others feature prominent Biblical names, such as Cain, Belshazzar, etc.

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Bierce, Ambrose [Gwinett]

(1842-1914?)

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. October 1930 [SL 1 #47]: “I have read…a good deal of Bierce…” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: Bierce is listed among those Howard refers to as “my favorite writers.” In the same paragraph, he asks, “…where is the Frenchman who writes, or wrote, with…the mysticism of Ambrose Bierce…?” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, 6 March 1933: “…de Castro tells us Bierce was very proud of his skill at knife-throwing…” [He appears also to have read de Castro’s memoir of Bierce (see under “de Castro”).] Bierce is mentioned in Howard’s parodies (all included in letters to Tevis Clyde Smith), “The People of the Winged Skulls” (prob. ca. 1928; “Biercey!” “Ambroselems!”), “King Hootus” (ca. January 1928, “Ambeer Bierce”), and “The Rump of Swift” (ca. June 1928), and in the humorous poem, “A Fable for Critics.” Tevis Clyde Smith, “Adventurer in Pulp”: “Ambrose Bierce…[was] among his favorite writers….”

Fantastic Fables. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1899.
[A list found among Howard’s papers indicates this book cost $ .49 + .14 postage. See Appendix Two.]

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Birkhead, L[eon] M[ilton]

(1885-1954).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. April 1930 [SL 1 #35]: “I got a letter from Preecel, i.e. Hink [Harold Preece] and he said he…had met E.H.J., Birchead, or Birkhead, or something like that whoeverthehellheis, also Joseph McCabe.” Birkhead was minister of the All-Souls Unitarian Church in Kansas City, Missouri, 1917-1939, acted as an adviser to Sinclair Lewis during the writing of Elmer Gantry (1926-1927), and author of several Little Blue Books.

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Bishop, Zealia Reed

(1897-1968)

“The Curse of Yig.” Weird Tales, November 1929.
(See under “Lovecraft.”)

“Medusa’s Coil.”
(See under “Lovecraft.”)

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Blackwood, Algernon

(1869-1951).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. October 1930 [SL 1 #47]: “…I do not think that I ever read a line of Blackwood, for instance.” [Lovecraft had sent REH a copy of his “Supernatural Horror in Literature,” in which Blackwood and many others are discussed.] REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1930 [SL 1 #49]: “I highly appreciate your offer to lend me the Blackwood books and intend to take advantage of your kindness at some future date when my plans are not quite so uncertain as they are now.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. August 1931: “Some day I must read…the tales you mention by Blackwood…”

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Blasco Ibanez, Vicente

(1867-1928).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 7 July 1923, in a listing of parodic book titles is “‘The Four Horsemen of the Eucalyptus,’ by Blasco Ibanez” [The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, 1916].

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Boas, Franz

(1858-1942).

In “Children of the Night,” Kirowan says: “Boaz has demonstrated, for instance, that in the case of immigrants to America, skull formations often change in one generation.” Boas, in his Anthropology and Modern Life (New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1928), wrote: “Nevertheless detailed study shows that the form and size of the body are not entirely shaped by heredity. Records of the stature of European men that date back to the middle of the past century show that in almost all countries the average statures have increased by more than an inch. It is true, this is not a satisfactory proof of an actual change, because improvement in public health has changed the composition of the populations, and although it is not likely that this should be the cause of an increase in stature, it is conceivable. A better proof is found in the change of stature among descendants of Europeans who settle in America. In this case it has been shown that in many nationalities the children are taller than their own parents, presumably on account of more favorable conditions of life.” (p. 33) A note on p. 238-239 states, “Comparisons of parents and their own children are given in F. Boas, Changes in Bodily Form of Descendants of Immigrants, pp. 28, 30.” Clark Wissler, in Man and Culture (q.v.), cites Boas on p. 317: “It came about that some years ago a distinguished anthropologist hit upon the idea of rounding up in America the descendants of the foreign born and comparing them with their parents. The result was rather startling, for in matters of head form there were clear-cut differences between the parents who grew up in Europe and their children who were born here. For example, the longer-headed parents of European growth, produced children in America who grew up with shorter heads, greater stature, etc.” His notes cite Boas, Franz, Changes in Bodily Form of Descendants of Immigrants (The Immigration Commission, Senate Document No. 208, Washington, 1910).

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Boccaccio, Giovanni

(1313?-1375).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 25 February 1925: “I’ve read Boccaccio…and a lot of those old libertines…” In “Children of the Night,” Conrad’s library is said to include “the Mandrake Press edition of Boccaccio.” The Mandrake Press published two works of Boccaccio: (1) Amorous Fiammetta. “Reprinted from the original English edition, translation of Bartholomew Young (1587); now edited with an introduction by K.H. Josling and decorated in colour by M. Leone.” Limited to 550 copies. 28 plates. (London: The Mandrake Press, 1929); (2) Ten Tales from the Decameron. “The text of these tales is based on the anonymous translation of 1741, which was revised by J.W. Orson in 1896. The book is printed by the Riverside Press, Edinburgh, for Mandrake Press, Ltd., London. The edition is limited to twelve copies on Japanese vellum…and 500 copies on Old York Parchment paper, numbered 13 to 512.” (London: Privately printed [for the Mandrake Press], 1930).

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Bodenheim, Maxwell

(1893-1954)

“Minna and Myself”

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. March 1928, quotes five lines from this poem, taken from pp. 16-17 of Clement Wood’s The Truth About Greenwich Village (q.v.), Little Blue Book 1106.

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Bok, Edward W[illiam]

(1863-1930).

Mentioned in Howard’s humorous poem, “A Fable for Critics.” Bok was editor of The Ladies’ Home Journal (1889-1919) and won a Pulitzer in 1920 for his autobiography.

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Bond, John.

Mussolini, the Wild Man of Europe. Washington, D.C.: Independent Publishing Co., 1929.

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, 11 February 1936 [SL 2 #77]: “Mussolini’s no Caesar; he’s a damned rogue, a fact which has been brought more forcibly to my recognition by recently glancing at a book of his career by a newspaper man named Bond…”

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The Book of History.

A History of All Nations from the Earliest Times to the Present, with over 8000 illustrations. New York: The Grolier Society, and London, The Educational Book Co., n.d. [1915]. 12 volumes. 30557-30568; PQ1 (author as “Flinders, W.M., et al.”); GL (same as PQ1); TDB (same as PQ1). Still in HPU holdings.

[Note in PQ1: “On the upper right corner of the front free endpaper is penciled the price, ’12 vols. $20.00′”] Later editions were expanded to 15, and then 18 volumes. The page numbering remains the same, although the division into volumes differs. W.M. Flinders Petrie (q.v.) is first-listed among “Contributing Authors” on the title page. Stanley Lane-Poole (q.v.) is also listed. REH quotes Professor Eduard Heyck (q.v.) and Professor Heinrich Schurtz (q.v.) from this source. Volume 1: Man and The Universe, Old Japan, pp. 1-531; Volume 2: New Japan, Australia and New Zealand, pp. 532-1100; Volume 3: Pacific Ocean, The Middle East, The Near East, pp. 1101-1644; Volume 4: The Near East, pp. 1645-2216; Volume 5: Africa, Ancient Greece, Macedon, The Roman Empire, pp. 2217-2806; Volume 6: Eastern Europe to the French Revolution, pp. 2807-3368; Volume 7: Western Europe in the Middle Ages, pp. 3369-3910; Volume 8: Western Europe in the Middle Ages, pp. 3911-4464; Volume 9: Western Europe to the French Revolution, The Napoleonic Era, pp. 4465-5014; Volume 10: Europe During the 19th Century, pp. 5015-5536; Volume 11: Europe Since 1871, South and Central America, The North and South Poles, pp. 5537-6050; Volume 12, The United States, Canada, Newfoundland, The West Indies, pp. 6051-6684.

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Bower [Sinclair], B[ertha] M[uzzy]

(1871-1940)

Chip of the Flying U. New York: G.W. Dillingham, 1906. 30800; PQ2; GL; TDB.

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Brann, W[illiam] C[owper]

(1855-1898).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. October 1930 [SL 1 #47]: “The Judge was a close friend of Brann the Iconoclast, who was keeping Texas in an uproar, and this shooting [Judge G.B. Gerald’s shootout with the Harris brothers in Waco (Howard spelled the name “Jarrell”)] occurred not long before Brann and Davis shot each other to death on the streets of Waco.” Brann became a newspaperman after moving to Texas in 1886, and founded The Iconoclast, “a monthly publication through which he proposed to combat hypocrisy, intolerance, and other evils.” By 1897 circulation in the U.S. and abroad had climbed to 98,000 copies a month. Brann’s attacks on the administration of Baylor University proved unpopular in Waco, provoking partisan violence. As he was preparing to leave on one of his frequent lecture tours, he and T.E. Davis mortally wounded one another in an encounter on a Waco street. [From The Handbook of Texas.]

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Brisbane, Arthur

(1864-1936).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: “I think it was Brisbane who deriding sports and physical development, spoke of the uselessness of athletics….” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, 13 May 1936: “I realize that Mussolini has a number of rump-kissers in America — Arthur Brisbane being the foremost and most blatant…” Brisbane is mentioned in Howard’s humorous poem, “A Fable for Critics.” [Brisbane was an important newspaper columnist of the 1920s and ’30s, writing a daily column for the Hearst chain.]

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Bromfield, Louis

(1896-1956).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932, includes Bromfield among a group of writers of whom Howard says, “…three ringing razzberries for the whole mob….they’re all wet smacks.”

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Brooke, Rupert

(1887-1915).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: Brooke is listed among a number of poets Howard likes. REH to H.P. Lovecraft, 6 March 1933: “…Rupert Brooke was fond of diving and hiking…” Brooke is mentioned in Howard’s humorous poem, “A Fable for Critics” (as “Rupey Brooks”). [Howard’s copy of Robert W. Service’s The Pretender (q.v.) bore the inscription, on the front free endpaper: “My dear Sassoon: | See the cuckoo in | the tree | And when you | see him think of me | Rupert Brooke.” In my opinion, the handwriting is that of Clyde Smith.]

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Brown, Robert Carlton

(1886-1959).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. February-March, 1928, quotes four poems by Brown (“Big-Footed People,” “The Red Mill,” “Combination Salad,” and an untitled verse), all taken from The Truth About Greenwich Village by Clement Wood (q.v.), pp. 14-15.

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Browning, Elizabeth Barrett

(1806-1861).

REH to Harold Preece, ca. December 1928 [SL 1 #20]: Browning is listed among the world’s great women.

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Browning, Robert

(1812-1889).

“Waring.”

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. Fall 1927, quotes the first stanza and the last two lines of the poem, and then writes a parody of it.

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Bunyan, John

(1628-1688).

The Holy War, made by Shaddai upon Diabolus, for the regaining of the metropolis of the world; Or, the losing and taking again of the town of Mansoul. London: Printed for Dorman Newman at the Kings Arms in the Poultry, and Benjamin Alsop at the Angel and Bible in the Poultry, 1682. 30788; PQ2; GL; TDB.

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Burke, Edmund

(1729-1797).

One Who Walked Alone, p. 141: [quoting Howard] “Did you ever read what Edmund Burke said: ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.'” [Although widely attributed to Burke, this statement is not found among his extant works.]

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Burns, Robert

(1756-1796).

The Poems and Songs of Robert Burns. The Harvard Classics, Volume 6. New York: P.F. Collier and Son, 1909. 30736; PQ3; GL; TDB.

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Burns, Walter Noble

(1872-1932).

The Saga of Billy the Kid. Garden City, NY: Garden City Publishing Co. [The Star Series], [1926]. 30770; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 25 July 1935: “Of Lincoln [New Mexico] Walter Noble Burns, author of ‘The Saga of Billy the Kid’ has said: ‘The village went to sleep at the close of the Lincoln County war and has never awakened again. If a railroad never comes to link it with the far-away world, it may slumber on for a thousand years. You will find Lincoln now just as it was when Murphy and McSween and Billy the Kid knew it. The village is an anachronism; a sort of mummy town……” [The quotation is from page 33 of the book.]

Tombstone, An Iliad of the Southwest. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Page & Co., 1927. 30678; PQ2; GL; TDB.

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Burroughs, Edgar Rice

(1875-1950).

“The Last Man”: “It was, I reflected, just such a scene as had been described by Edgar Rice Burroughs, a highly imaginative writer of fiction, who flourished in the early part of the twentieth century.”

At the Earth’s Core. Chicago: A.C. McClurg & Co., 1922. 30798; PQ2; GL; TDB.

The Beasts of Tarzan. Illustrated by J. Allen St. John. New York: A.L. Burt Co., 1916. 30802; PQ1; GL; TDB list. Still in HPU holdings.
[Note in PQ1: “Stamped in blue ink on the verso of the front free endpaper is the name ‘ROBERT E. HOWARD,’ which indicates that the book originally belonged to him. On the back pastedown endpaper is the penciled signature, ‘Henry Potts.'”]

The Gods of Mars. Chicago: A.C. McClurg & Co., 1918. 30773; PQ2; GL; TDB.

The Mucker. Chicago: A.C. McClurg & Co., 1921. 30312 (as “The Musker”); PQ2; GL; TDB.

A Princess of Mars. Chicago: A.C. McClurg & Co., 1917. 30706; PQ2; GL; TDB.

The Return of Tarzan. Chicago: A.C. McClurg & Co., 1915. 30795; PQ2; GL; TDB.

The Son of Tarzan. Chicago: A.C. McClurg & Co., 1917. 30786; PQ2; GL; TDB.

Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar. Chicago: A.C. McClurg & Co., 1918. 30785; PQ2; GL; TDB.

Tarzan of the Apes. Chicago: A.C. McClurg & Co., 1914. 30792; PQ2; GL; TDB.

Tarzan, the Terrible. Chicago: A.C. McClurg & Co., 1921. 30780; PQ2; GL; TDB.

Thuvia, Maid of Mars. Chicago: A.C. McClurg & Co., 1920. 30713; PQ2; GL; TDB.

The Warlord of Mars. Chicago: A.C. McClurg & Co., 1919. 30737; PQ2; GL; TDB.

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Burton, Sir Richard Francis

(1821-1890).

E. Hoffmann Price, “A Memory of R.E. Howard,” in The Last Celt: “Howard admired Sir Richard Francis Burton. ‘Burton, I think, is a God-damned liar half the time, at least,’ he told me, and hastened to add, ‘No disrespect intended, a man’s got to be a liar to tell a good story.'” (See also Price, “Long Ago,” Amra #63, April 1975). [See also Abdullah, Achmed…]

The Kasîdah of Hâjî Abdû El-Yezdî: a lay of the Higher Law. Translated and annotated by his friend and pupil, F.B. [Frank Baker, pseudonym of Burton]. London: Privately printed, n.d. [1880].

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, week of 20 February 1928 [SL 1 #10]: “The fellow who wrote The Kasidah strung a lot of fine words together but I can’t see that he said such a hell of a lot…. Next day. Maybe I was too rough on the author of The Kasidah. That is a really great poem even though it does merely (as far as I’ve read) uphold and expound facts I reasoned out for myself years ago.”

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Byrne, Donn [Brian Oswald Donn-Byrne]

(1889-1928).

Crusade. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1928.

REH to Harold Preece, ca. September 1929: “In Crusade, who did [Byrne] glorify? Why, the O’Neills — God knows they’re as true and fine a pure Irish family as ever lived but he made the hero half Norman and why did he pick the O’Neills? Because they’re Ulster stock; maybe the reason why a just God hasn’t blasted Ulster long ago. And he can’t even give the O’Donnells of Donegal justice. Aborigine, he calls them and all other native Irish families. Oh well — you said he’s half d’Arcy, didn’t you? I’ve gotten so I’m suspicious of all Celtic seemings. I expect to find a Fitzpaul or a Fitzgerald lurking under every straightforward Costovan and O’Brien.” [Donn-Byrne’s mother was Jane D’Arcy McParland. I find it curious that Howard made his Crusader hero, Cormac Fitzgeoffrey, “Son of a woman of the O’Briens and a renegade Norman knight…” (“Hawks of Outremer”).]

Destiny Bay. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1928.

REH to Harold Preece, ca. September 1929: “I’ve been reading Destiny Bay and in a way the book’s left a bad taste in my mouth. I remember several years ago, picking up the magazine with one of those stories in it. I read it avidly for awhile, until — I remember what a distinct shock it was when I suddenly discovered that the characters were a bunch of damned Orangemen. I was not only shocked but astounded. In those days, I in my innocence supposed that the only Irish who ever found their way into decent literature were South-country people. I supposed that, naturally, all Irish writers and men of intellect came from the South — and that the Ulstermen, realizing their low moral and psychic status, make it a point to conceal their shame as much as possible. Such the innocence of youth. Yet here was an Orangeman flouting his shame, and his people’s shame, in my very face — blatantly and brazenly announcing his color, and apparently proud of it. I have received many literary shocks. Few have equalled this. I felt vaguely outraged and insulted. I finally took up the reptilian thing and tried to read it, but the zest had gone out of it. Bred in the traditions of Munster and Connaught, or at least a handed down remnant of those traditions, a violent hatred of all things Orange was as natural to me, and as much a part of me, as patriotism and love for the striped flag is to the average American youth, reared with Boy Scout standards. ¶ Well, I know more now and I’m broader-minded. I’m no more like an old Irish acquaintance of mine from Leinster who used to almost have apoplexy at the very slightest mention, even, of Belfast. But still I can’t stomach that Orange tint with which the late Byrne besmeared all his works — well, maybe not all. He professed a fine national Irish flavor. And he was a liar when he did.” REH to Harold Preece, postmarked 18 September 1929: “I’ve been reading Destiny Bay. There’s a book for you! Take it by and large, I believe I like Hangman’s House better, but Destiny Bay is fine in spite of its Orange leanings. Ah well, Brian Oswald Donn Byrne grew up in Ulster so it’s like he’d write about what he was familiar with.” [Contents of Destiny Bay, with magazine appearances in parentheses: “Tale of My Cousin Jenico at Spanish Men’s Rest” (Saturday Evening Post, 10 & 17 October, 1925, as “Spanish Men’s Rest”) | “Tale of My Aunt Jenepher’s Wooing” (Pictorial Review, July 1925, as “County People”) | “Tale of James Carabine” (Saturday Evening Post, 9 May 1925, as “In Praise of James Carabine”) | “Tale of the Piper” (no magazine appearance prior to book publication) | “Tale of My Uncle Cosimo and the Fair Girl of Wu” (Pictorial Review, April 1925, as “The Fair Girl of Wu”) | “Tale of Golfer Gilligan” (no magazine publication) | “Tale of the Gypsy Horse” (Saturday Evening Post, 9 & 16 October, 1926, as “The Derby Rule”) | “Tale of Kerry” (Pictorial Review, July 1926, as “The Wall That Is High”) | “Tale Told in Destiny Bay” (no magazine publication).]

Hangman’s House. New York: The Century Co., 1926.

REH to Harold Preece, postmarked 18 September 1929: “Take it by and large, I believe I like Hangman’s House better, but Destiny Bay is fine in spite of its Orange leanings.”

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Byron, George Gordon, Lord

(1788-1824).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, 6 March 1933: “Lord Byron was fond of boxing…”

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Cabell, James Branch

(1879-1958)

One Who Walked Alone, p. 92: “…he said he might come back next week and pick up that book and another one — that one by Cabell.” One Who Walked Alone, p. 264: [quoting letter from REH] “I learn with interest your struggles with Cabell. Hold on to it for a few days, until I can get over there. I’ve never read that particular book, and I’d like to look it over with you.” Cabell is mentioned in Howard’s humorous poem, “A Fable for Critics.”

The Cream of the Jest: A Comedy of Evasions. Eighth printing; first Modern Library edition. New York: Modern Library, 1927 [originally published 1917]. 30701; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.

Something About Eve. New York: Robert M. McBride & Co., 1927.
REH reviewed this book in The Junto, date unknown; reprinted in Amra #47 (August 1968), The Conan Grimoire (Baltimore: Mirage Press, 1972), The Spell of Conan (New York: Ace Books, 1980).

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Cambrensis [see Giraldus]

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Canot, Theodore

Adventures of an African Slaver. Being a True Account of Captain Theodore Canot, Trader in Gold, Ivory and Slaves on the Coast of Guinea: His Own Story Told in the Year 1854 to Brantz Mayer, and Now Edited with an Introduction by Malcolm Cowley. New York: Albert & Charles Boni, 1928. 30777; PQ2; GL; TDB.

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Carr, Robert Spencer

(1909- ).
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. September 1932 [SL 2 #63]: “Remember Robert Carr, ‘the prophet of the flamboyant younger generation’? I’ve often wondered what ever became of him since he dropped out of sight in the literary world. Price writes me that he forsook American literature in order to help build up Soviet Russia. According to Price, he is holding down some sort of job there, apparently a pretty good one.” [Carr had six stories published in Weird Tales, prior to the publication of his first novel, The Rampant Age (1928). He was the younger brother of novelist John Dickson Carr.]

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Carrington, Charles [See “X, Dr. Jacobus”]

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The Catholic Encyclopedia

An international work of reference on the constitution, doctrine, discipline, and history of the Catholic Church. Edited by Charles G. Herbermann et al. 15 volumes. New York: Robert Appleton Co., 1910.

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, 1 July 1930 [SL 1 #39 (mistakenly dated “9 August 1930”), p. 51]: “To further establish the identity of these first Celtic invaders I here quote from The Catholic Encyclopedia which contains a very exhaustive study of all Irish subjects.” Sources of the quotations are: “Ogygia, or the Ancient Island” is from the article “Ireland: Early History,” by E.A. D’Alton, in vol. 8, Infamy-Lapparent, p. 98; “The Firbolgs…were kindred…” (which should be a separate quotation from the foregoing), ibid., pp. 98-99. His quotation from Zimmer (q.v.) is from “Ireland: Irish Literature,” by Douglas Hyde, vol. 8, p. 118.

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Cellini, Benvenuto

(1500-1571).

The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini. (Translated by John Addington Symonds [1840-1893]). 30790 (as “Symonds, Addington – Benvenuto Cellini”); PQ4; GL; TDB. [No edition specified]
Truett Vinson to REH, ca. Fall 1925: “I am under the impression that you liked this book… $1.50 and it is yours.”

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Chambers, Robert W[illiam]

(1865-1933).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 10 August 1931: “Some day I must read…those tales you mention by… Chambers.” [This may refer to the Chambers stories mentioned by Lovecraft in Supernatural Horror in Literature: The King in Yellow (New York: F. Tennyson Neely, 1895), “The Yellow Sign” (included in The King in Yellow), The Maker of Moons (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1896), and In Search of the Unknown (New York, Harper and Brothers, 1904).] REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: Chambers is listed among those Howard refers to as “my favorite writers.”

America, or, the Sacrifice. A Romance. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1924. 30787; PQ2; GL; TDB.

The Drums of Aulone. New York: D. Appleton and Co., 1927. 30594; PQ2; GL; TDB.

The Little Red Foot. New York: George H. Doran Co., 1921. 30808; PQ2; GL; TDB.

The Maid-at-Arms. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1902. 30813; PQ2; GL; TDB.

The Slayer of Souls. New York: G.H. Doran Co., 1920. 30700; PQ2; GL; TDB.

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Chesterton, G[ilbert] K[eith]

(1874-1936).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: Chesterton is listed among a number of poets Howard likes. Tevis Clyde Smith, “Adventurer in Pulp,” refers to Chesterton as one of Howard’s favorite poets.

REH to Emil Petaja, July 23, 1935: “Glad you like the bits of verse I sometimes use for chapter headings. They are mine, except where due credit is given to the author – in the past I have used quotations from Chesterton, Kipling, Poe, Swinburne, and possibly others which I do not at present recall.

“Lepanto.”
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 6 August 1926: “You’re right. There is great poetry being written now. G.K. Chesterton, for instance. Especially that ‘Lepanto.'” [C.L. Moore to REH, 29 January 1935, quotes lines from this poem.]

The Ballad of the White Horse. New York: Dodd, Mead and Co., 1924. 30703; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. September 1927 [SL 1 #6]: “Several books I purchased on my trip [to Austin, week of August 22], among them G.K. Chesterton’s The Ballad of the White Horse. Ever read it? It’s great.” [Quotes Book I, ll. 235-238, 5-8, 13-17, 23-26, 46-50] REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. October 1927 [SL 1 #7]: “Say, you should read The Ballad of the White Horse.” [Quotes Book IV, ll. 298-303; Book VI, ll. 108-118; Book II, ll. 13-18; Book I, ll. 95-99, 86-90; Book II, ll. 5-8, 131-141; Book V, ll. 152-156] “Skull-Face” (Weird Tales, October, November, December 1929 [3 part serial]: heading for Chapter 8 is from Book I, ll. 258-259; for Chapter 12 is from Book II, ll. 103-104; for Chapter 13 is from Book IV, ll. 68-69; for Chapter 16 is from Book II, ll. 16-18. “The Moon of Skulls” (Weird Tales, June 1930): heading for Chapter 1 is from Book I, ll. 239-244; for Chapter 2 is from Book I, ll. 100-104; for Chapter 4 is from Book III, ll. 104-107; for Chapter 5 is from Book VI, ll. 235-236; for Chapter 6 is from Book VIII, ll. 295-298; for Chapter 7 is from Book IV, ll. 302-303. “Iron Men” (“The Iron Man”) (Fight Stories, June 1930): in an unpublished draft of this story, a character “muttered a sports-writer parody of Chesterton’s lines, which had once taken his fancy: ‘I call the muster of iron men / From ship and ghetto and Barbary den / To break, and be broken God knows when / And only God knows why.’” The lines echo Book II, ll. 69-72. “Kings of the Night” (Weird Tales, November 1930): heading for Chapter 3 is from Book IV, ll. 203-208. “The Dark Man” (Weird Tales, December 1931): heading is from Book IV, ll. 288-291. “The Grey God Passes” (submitted to Weird Tales ca. December 1931): heading is from Book III, ll. 367-368 (misquoted). [C.L. Moore to REH, 29 January 1935: “I could quote Kipling for hours. Or Chesterton. That was a grand scrap about ‘King Alfred’s battle-sword, broken in his left hand’. What’s it from?” (“And bare and bloody and aloft | They bore before their band | The body of their mighty lord, | Colan of Caerleon, and the horde, | That bore King Alfred’s battle-sword | Broken in his left hand.” From Book VII, ll. 300-305.)] REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 25 July 1935: in describing a painting titled “The Stoic,” of an old Crow Indian who had learned of his son’s death, Howard says, “I was reminded of Chesterton’s lines, about the old Viking: | ‘And a man hopes, being foolish, | Till in white woods apart | He finds at last the lost bird dead, | But a man can still hold up his head, | Though nevermore his heart.'” From Book III, ll. 261-265, probably quoted from memory, as it is not verbatim.

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Chidsey, Donald Barr

(1902-1981).

Sir Humphrey Gilbert, Elizabeth’s Racketeer. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1932. 30730; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.

[Note in PQ1: “On p. 2 of this book, a paragraph is carefully underlined which might well have served as a description of one of Howard’s own characters. ‘Contemporaries were fond of referring to “gentle Humphrey.” It is well not to be misled. The man was anything but “gentle” in the modern sense of the word. He was a dreamer, yes, and a scholar; but he was also a man of action, who on the field of battle could be as brutal, as bloodthirsty, as any personage in history – far more so than most of them.'”]

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Clarke, Joseph I[gnatius] C[onstantine]

(1846-1925).

“The Fighting Race.”

C.L. Moore to REH, 29 January 1935: “And that four-line bit from Clarke, about ‘Hessian blood on the blade’…” [indicating that Howard had quoted these lines in his letter to her.] Joseph I.C. Clarke, “The Fighting Race,” in The Fighting Race, and Other Poems and Ballads (American News Co., 1911), ll. 33-36: “My grandfather fell on Vinegar Hill, | And fighting was not his trade; | But his rusty pike’s in the cabin still, | With Hessian blood on the blade.” Howard also wrote a parody (“Then Stein the peddler with rising joy”) on the fourth stanza of this poem, in REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. July 1930.

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Cobb, Irvin S[hrewsbury]

(1876-1944)

Back Home; Being the Narrative of Judge Priest and His People. New York: George H. Doran Co., 1912. 30818; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.

[Note in PQ1: “In this book, the bookplate of the Robert E. Howard Memorial Collection has been placed on top of a larger bookplate which reads, ‘THIS BOOK IS THE PROPERTY OF THE CROSS PLAINS CIRCULATING LIBRARY LOCATED AT THE CITY DRUG STORE.'” ]

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. January 1934: “Some notable men talk over the air; I’ve heard Irvin S. Cobb…”

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Coleridge, Samuel Taylor

(1772-1834)

“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” (1798).
Glenn Lord, in Zarfhaana #8, October 1976, reported “…Lindsey Tyson telling me on more than one occasion that REH memorized Coleridge’s ‘Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner’ in only two readings….”

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Comparetti, Domenico

(1835-1927).

See “Sappho.”

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Compton’s Pictured Encyclopedia

Chicago: F.F. Compton & Co. [No edition noted.] 10 volumes. 30569-30578; PQ2; GL; TDB.

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Connor, Ralph

[pseudonym of Charles William Gordon (1860-1937)].

Corporal Cameron of the North West Mounted Police; A Tale of the Macleod Trail. New York: Grosset and Dunlap Publishers, [1912]. 30776; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.
[Note in PQ1: “The front free endpaper contains the ink inscription ‘Robert E.| Howard Jan. 22, 1920’.” The final digit of the year has actually been obscured; I believe it to be a “3.”]

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Conrad, Joseph

[Teodor Jósef Konrad Korzeniowski] (1857-1924).
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: “I’ve never read any of Conrad’s work.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, 6 March 1933: “I may read Conrad some day. I don’t know.”

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Cooper, James Fenimore

(1789-1851). A Tale. 30712; PQ2; GL; TDB.

There is no Cooper book by this title, but The Prairie (1827) is so subtitled.

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Cooper, Rev. William M.

[pseudonym of James Glass Bartram (1824-1892)].

Flagellation and the Flagellants: A History of the Rod in All Countries From the Earliest Period to The Present Time. London: J.C. Hotten, 1870. 30610 (as “A History of the Rod”); PQ2; GL (listed under “Data on the following is incomplete and/or questionable”); TDB.
[Note in TDB: “Illustrated, and a list found in REH’s papers indicates he paid $7.50 for this, according to Lord, who suggests this book and other flagellation erotica in REH’s library may reflect his unsuccessful try at writing for such pulp magazines as Terror Tales and Thrilling Mysteries.” See Appendix Two.]

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Corbett, James J.

(1866-1933).

The Roar of the Crowd; The True Tale of the Rise and Fall of a Champion. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1925. 30769; PQ2; GL; TDB.

Post Oaks and Sand Roughs, p. 18: “His only literature, practically, was The Saturday Evening Post which was at the time running the life story of the great James J. Corbett, written by himself. Steve devoured this insatiately and read little else.” The Post serialized the book in six weekly installments, 11 October through 15 November, 1924. Howard wrote a parody, “The Bore of the Cowed,” in a letter to Tevis Clyde Smith, 6 April 1925.

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Coronado, Francisco Vasquez de

(c. 1500-1554).
“Nekht Semekeht” heading is a quotation from Coronado: “And what I am sure of is that there is not any gold or any other metal in that country.” The quotation may have been taken from The Great Plains, by Walter Prescott Webb (q.v.), ch. IV.2, p. 107.

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Cosmopolitan

See Masters, Edgar Lee.

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Crane, Nathalia

[Clara Ruth] (1913- ).
Harold Preece, “The Last Celt,” in The Last Celt, p. 95: “I remember that Bob had bought several books during the trip, and they were in sight. One was a collection of verse by a talented child named Nathalia Crane, then making a sizable splash in the American literary world.” [The trip mentioned was to Austin, Texas, ca. 22 August 1927, during which REH and Preece first met.] REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: Crane is listed among a number of poets Howard likes.

Lava Lane and Other Poems. New York: Thomas Seltzer, 1925. 30625; PQ2; GL (title as “Laura Lane”); TDB.

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Crane, Stephen [Townley]

(1871-1900).

Mentioned in Howard’s parody, “King Hootus” (ca. January 1928).

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Crockett, David

(1786-1836).

Life of David Crockett, the original humorist and irrepressible backwoodsman. An autobiography to which is added an account of his glorious death at the Alamo while fighting in defense of Texan independence. With an introduction by G. Mercer Adam. New York: The Perkins Book Co., 1903. 30668 (author as “Adam, G. Mercer”); PQ2 (same as accessions list); GL (same as accessions list); TDB (author as “Adam, G[raeme] Mercer (1839-1912)”).

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Cummings, Ray[mond King]

(1887-1957).

“Explorers Into Infinity.” Weird Tales, April, May and June 1927 (3 part serial).
REH to The Eyrie, June 1927: “Certainly no magazine has ever offered a tale as unique and thought-inspiring as the serial by Mr. Cummings.”

“The Girl in the Golden Atom.” All-Story Weekly, 15 March 1919.
Harold Preece to Lenore Preece, 16 January 1965 (in The Howard Collector, vol. 2, no. 5, whole no. 11, Spring 1969; reprinted in The Howard Collector, NY: Ace Books, 1979): “I can remember one morning when we discussed the possibility of being an inhabited world — this because we had both read in old Argosy Magazine a serial by Ray Cummings entitled ‘The Girl in the Golden Atom.'” This story was not a serial; Preece may have been recalling its sequel, “People of the Golden Atom,” serialized in 1920; both were published in book form as The Girl in the Golden Atom.

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Cunningham, Eugene

(1896-1957)

Triggernometry: A Gallery of Gunfighters; With Technical Notes on Leather Slapping as a Fine Art, gathered from many a Loose Holstered Expert over the Years. New York: The Press of the Pioneers, 1934. 30844; PQ2; GL; TDB.

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Curiosa of Flaggelants; History of Flaggellation; 2 Vols. in One.

Facetious anecdotes of ladies fond of administering birch discipline. The provocative experiences of flagellants of both sexes, as told by a flagellant. Illustrated with old drawings. n.p.: Privately printed, n.d. 30591; PQ3; GL; TDB.
[A list found among REH’s papers indicates he paid $3.00 for this book. See Appendix Two.]

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Curwood, James Oliver

(1878-1927)

The Valley of Silent Men, A Story of the Three River Country. New York: The Cosmopolitan Book Corp., 1920. 30705; PQ2; GL; TDB.

[Main Menu]

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REH Bookshelf – D
compiled by Rusty Burke

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Darwin, Charles [Robert]

(1809-1882).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, week of 20 February 1928 [SL 1 #10]: lists Darwin among the thinkers who “look[ed] beyond the human” to the Cosmic.

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Daudet, Alphonse

(1840-1897).

REH to Harold Preece, ca. December 1928 [SL 1 #20]: [Regarding Sappho] “Has it been proved that she was a Lesbian in the generally accepted sense of the word? Who ever accused her but… Daudet, a libertine, a grovelling ape who could see no good in anything…” [Daudet’s novel, Sapho, was published in 1884. Mitchell Carroll, in Greek Women, Volume I of Woman; in all ages and in all countries (q.v., under “Various authors”), wrote: “As says Daudet, who of all recent writers has done most to degrade the name: ‘The word Sappho itself, by the force of rolling descent through ages, is encrusted with unclean legends, and has degenerated from the name of a goddess to that of a malady.'” (p. 114).]

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Deaton, E.L.

Indian Fights on the Texas Frontier. A True Account of the Last Exciting Encounters With Redskins in Hamilton, Comanche, Brown, Erath and Adjoining Counties, as Recorded by E.L. Deaton, a Texan of Pioneer Days, and Republished by One of His Descendants — Floyd J. Holmes, Fort Worth, Texas. Fort Worth: Pioneer Publishing Company, The Bunker Press, 1927. 30791 (author as Holmes, Fred; title as “Indian Frontier Fighters”); PQ3 (same as accessions list); GL (same as accessions list); TDB (author as “Holmes, Fred (probably Frederick Lionel Holmes, 1883-1946)”; title same as accessions list). Still in HPU holdings.

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. May 1933: “I picked up an interesting book in Austin, by one Deaton, an old timer of Comanche County, dealing with Indian raids in Comanche, Brown, Hamilton, Erath and Bosque Counties in the 50’s, 60’s and early 70’s.” [Originally published as Indian Fights on the Texas Frontier, A History of Exciting Encounters Had with Indians in Hamilton, Comanche, Brown, Erath and Adjoining Counties (Hamilton, TX: C.M. Boynton, 1894). There is no similar title by Frederick Lionel Holmes, nor by any other Fred Holmes.]

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De Casseres, Benjamin

(1873-1945)

“The Closed Room.”

“The Door to the World” (aka “The Door to the Garden”): “I returned to my book and re-read those lines of de Casseres: ¶ ‘I am at the door of the Closed Room, | I stand without, whispering and chatting to myself in many fantastic attitudes, | Like gnomes that skulk in castle-moats. | There are finger-marks on the door-knob – | Many, many have gone in, no one ever came out.’ ¶ I re-read this and a curious impression stole over me, as if I had almost stumbled onto a depth of meaning beyond the accepted meaning of the lines….” [This poem appears in Frothingham, Songs of Adventure (q.v.).]

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De Castro, Adolphe

[originally Gustave Adolphe Danziger] (1859-1959).

Portrait of Ambrose Bierce. New York: The Century Co., 1929. 30680 (as “Castro”); PQ2; GL; TDB.

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. November 1932 [SL 2 #65]: “By the way, before I forget it: Belknap Long, who wrote the introduction to Danziger’s Portrait of Ambrose Bierce – is he Frank Belknap Long, Jr.’s father?” [H.P. Lovecraft to REH, 7 November 1932: “Long Jr. himself – not his father, who is a dentist – wrote the preface to old de Castro’s Bierce book, and also revised the text. I passed up the job because de Castro wouldn’t meet my price. At that period Long had a temporary affectation of leaving off his first name.”] REH to H.P. Lovecraft, 6 March 1933: “…de Castro tells us Bierce was very proud of his skill at knife-throwing; de Castro himself found it necessary to put in a year at muscle-building.”

“The Electric Executioner.” Weird Tales, August 1930.

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. August 1930 [SL 1 #41]: “Adolph de Castro, I note, mentions these gods, places, or whatever they are, only the spelling is different, as Cthulutl, Yog Sototl.” H.P. Lovecraft to REH, 14 August 1930: “Regarding the solemnly cited myth-cycle of Cthulhu, Yog Sothoth…etc. – let me confess that this is all a synthetic concoction of my own…. The reason for its echoes in Dr. de Castro’s work is that the latter gentleman is a revision-client of mine – into whose tales I have stuck these glancing references for sheer fun.”

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Defoe, Daniel

(1660-1731).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 7 July 1923, in a listing of parodic book titles is “‘Snobinson Do-So,’ by Daniel DeFoe.” [Robinson Crusoe, 1719]

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de Gourmont, Rémy

(1858-1915)

“Orange.”

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 25 February 1925: “I’ve read Boccaccio, Dumas, Hugo, and a lot of those old libertines, but for polished obscenity, Remy de Gourmont takes the cake. I’ll quote a few lines, direct from one of his stories: ‘The captain’s hand slipped from her shoulder to her breast, while the other supported her yielding waist. It is an eminently classical pose, the sequel of which is, not far from a bed of verdure, the difficulty of lifting a skirt caught under a recumbent body. Sometimes the tender victim, her sense of folds not entirely lost in the ecstasy of her senses, comes to the lover’s aid.’ And so on.” The quotation is from “Orange,” originally published in Couleurs, contes nouveaux suivis de choses anciennes (1908). This story is included in Little Blue Book #541, Stories in Green, Zinzolin, Rose, Purple, Mauve, Lilac and Orange: Howard’s quotation does not match it quite word-for-word, but he may have quoted from memory. I have found no other English translation of “Orange” prior to 1929.

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De Halve Maen

[Publication of The Holland Society.]

REH to Wilfred B. Talman, ca. July 1932: “Thanks very much for De Halve Maen. I found it very interesting indeed, particularly the list of words of Dutch origin. Noting that the Holland society is made up of people whose ancestors came to America before 1675 makes me feel almost like a recent immigrant.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. November 1933: “Thanks for the loan of De Halve Maen. Talman used to mail me a copy, but I didn’t get it this time. I read the article you mentioned with much interest…” [See Lovecraft, “Some Dutch Footprints in New England.”]

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de la Mare, Walter

(1873-1956)

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: de la Mare is listed among a number of poets Howard likes.

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Dell, Floyd

(1887-1969).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932 includes Dell among a group of writers of whom Howard says, “…three ringing razzberries for the whole mob….they’re all wet smacks.” Dell is mentioned in Howard’s humorous poem, “A Fable for Critics.”

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Delmar, Viña

(1905- ).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. 14 March 1931: “As for Tyline Perry, I’ve never read anything by her, but I guess she’s hot on the heels of Vina Delmar — not in style, for I know naught of her line, but in fame, fortune and fertility.”

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de Maupassant, Guy

(1850-1893).

Post Oaks and Sand Roughs, p. 36, named as a writer Lars [Jansen = Fowler Gafford] “had never heard of…” From “Surrender – Your Money or Your Vice” [a review of the movie Surrender (Universal, 1927), which Howard wrote for The Junto, September 1928]: “This picture follows the ancient and musty theme first exploited by de Maupassant, and is unusually dreary and lacking in interest…” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. November 1932 [SL 2 #65]: “De Maupassant has power – undoubted power. Too much power for me to read extensively. Talk about Nordic gloom – his tales of French peasant life are enough to make a man want to cut his own throat. After reading some of his more realistic yarns, I’ve been unable to see any good in anything, except thankfulness for the fact that I wasn’t a Frenchman.” De Maupassant is mentioned in Howard’s poem, “A Poet’s Skull” (as “de Maupason”).

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De Quincey, Thomas

(1785-1859).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. December 1928 [SL 1 #19]: “I’ve been reading the old masters for the past days and find that I get more solid enjoyment out of them than the moderns. That age was more robust than ours, and they thought deeper, if more heavily – De Quincey at least, was certainly the forerunner of the school to which Poe contributed and I at present honor with my presence – literarily speaking – I mean the school of fantasy and horror writing.”

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Derleth, August William

(1909-1971).

REH began corresponding with Derleth at the end of 1932 and continued to do so until his death. REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. September 1930 [SL 1 #44]: “I got a letter from Lovecraft and he referred to August Derleth; you know, the fellow that writes the very short stories that appear regularly in Weird Tales. I was amazed to learn that Derleth is only twenty-one years old. He must have started writing when he was about ten.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. September 1930 [SL 1 #43]: “I was amazed to learn that August W. Derleth is only twenty-one. He must have begun marketing his work at a very early age, for it seems that I have been reading his stories in Weird Tales for years. My friends and I have often commented on the excellence of his products and wondered why he did not try his hand at longer stories.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. September 1932: “Good for Derleth! Which of his stories got the citations? I’ve known for years that was of ‘the right girt’, as John A. Murrell used to say. He’s deserved much more notice from Weird Tales readers than he’s gotten — doubtless because of the shortness of his stories; the readers seem to like ’em long, generally. More power to him; I wish him all the luck in the world.” REH to August W. Derleth, ca. 15 December 1932: “I have followed your work in Weird Tales for several years, with great interest, and have more than once expressed my admiration for your stories both to Lovecraft and to the editors of the magazine.”

“Afternoon in June.”
REH to August W. Derleth, 4 July 1935 [SL 2 #75]: “Thanks very much for the article, ‘Afternoon in June’. I got a big kick out of it.”

“An Elegy for Mr. Danielson.” Weird Tales, August 1933.
REH to August W. Derleth, ca. August 1933: “I got a kick out of your story in the current Weird Tales. The idea of the Druidic stones and that chant for raising corpses carried real power and seemed to partly raise a dim curtain on monstrous twilight vistas.”

“Birkett’s Twelfth Corpse.” The Fantasy Fan, December 1933.
REH to August W. Derleth, ca. December 1933: “I read with much interest your recent story in Fantasy Fan. I remember you mentioning this yarn to me, when you first wrote it, saying it had been suggested by a drowning in the Wisconsin River. It was a damned good story.”

“A Cloak from Messer Lando.” Weird Tales, September 1934.
REH to August W. Derleth, ca. October 1934: “I liked your ‘Cloak From Messer Lando’. You handle this type of story remarkably well.”

Evening in Spring. Ms. [New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1941]
REH to August W. Derleth, ca. November 1933: “I am reading your splendid ‘Evening in Spring’ sent me by your friend in Arizona. It is not a work to be read sketchily, and I am reading it slowly and with the deepest appreciation. Thanks for the opportunity of seeing it.” REH to August W. Derleth, ca. December 1933: “Yes, I’m enjoying ‘Evening in Spring’ very much indeed. I must finish it before I’ll feel capable of expressing my exact reactions, but all I’ve read so far has impressed me with your keen insight into human nature, and what is of equal value to me, your broad understanding of humanity, which is the only basis for intelligent tolerance.”

“Five Alone.” Pagany, July-September 1932.
REH to August W. Derleth, 23 March 1933: “By the way, in what publication was the story, ‘Five Alone’ published? I’d like very much to read it.” REH to August W. Derleth, ca. May 1933: “I sure would like to read ‘Five Alone’ if you can lend me a copy of it.” REH to August W. Derleth, ca. July 1933: “Thanks immensely for the opportunity of reading ‘Five Alone’. It is magnificent; real power, there. I was gripped by it. It really got under my hide as few stories can do. The living members of that strange family, clinging to their morbid obsession, conversing with departed kin – say, did you draw them from real life? Anyway, you managed to invest them with a startling reality…. I’m sure glad to hear that ‘Five Alone’ is to be published in the anthology you mentioned; it certainly deserves it.” REH to August W. Derleth, ca. August 1933: “Yes, I certainly did enjoy ‘Five Alone’ and am not at all surprized that it received recognition from O’Brien and others.” [See also Derleth, Place of Hawks]

“Hawk on the Blue.” Ms. [London Daily Express, 4 October 1934].
This story is based on an incident related to Derleth by Howard in a letter ca. October 1933. In his next letter (also October 1933), Howard says, “By all means use the hawk incident if you wish… Far from having any objections, I’d feel sincerely honored. I wish you the best of luck with it.” REH to August W. Derleth, ca. November 1933: “I enjoyed reading your ‘Hawk on the Blue’ very much indeed. That’s the difference between a real writer and an ordinary one. It never occurred to me that the incident held any particular literary possibilities, yet you have woven it into as fine a story of its kind as I ever read.” REH to August W. Derleth, ca. December 1933: “I think Scribner’s was nuts to turn down ‘Hawk on the Blue.'”

“Hawks Down the Wind.”
REH to August W. Derleth, 28 November 1935: “Thanks for the opportunity of reading of ‘Hawks Down the Wind’ and ‘Woodcock in the Marshes’. I admired very much the vividness of their style, and I heartily agree with their sentiments.”

The Heritage of Sauk City. Preface (and alterations) by E.K. Hayes. Sauk City, WI: The Pioneer Press, 1931.
REH to August W. Derleth, ca. February 1933: “…thank you again for the book. I found it most fascinating, and am rather sorry you decided to publish it anonymously; surely so rich and accurate a work should bear the name of its creator. ¶ It is easy to see that you have done a vast amount of research in gathering your data, and you are to be complimented on your energy, as well as on your ability in presenting this data.¶ Again, let me thank you for the history of Sauk City….”

“January Thaw.”
REH to August W. Derleth, ca. January/February 1935: “First of all let me express belated thanks for the article ‘January Thaw’ which I read with much interest and appreciation.”

“July Night.”
REH to August W. Derleth, 1 November 1935: “I should have written you months ago to thank you for the opportunity of reading ‘July Night’, one of the finest bits of literature I’ve seen in many a day.”

“Lesandro’s Familiar.” Weird Tales, May 1936.
REH to August W. Derleth, 9 May 1936: “I enjoyed your ‘Lesandro’s Familiar’ a lot. It was the best yarn in an issue not otherwise remarkable.”

“The Metronome.” Weird Tales, February 1935.
REH to August W. Derleth, ca. January/February 1935: “I got a big kick out of ‘The Metronome’; one of the best weird shorts I ever read.”

“Mr. Berbeck Had A Dream.” Weird Tales, November 1935.
REH to August W. Derleth, 1 November 1935: “I enjoyed your story in the current Weird Tales – clever, and very well written, as of course all your yarns are. It was somewhat different from most of your stories, but just as interesting.”

“Nellie Foster.” Weird Tales, June 1933.
REH to August W. Derleth, 3 July 1933: “I hardly have to say that I liked your latest story, because I’ve never encountered a story of yours that I didn’t like.” (Mention of Derleth’s comments on “Black Colossus” make it likely it is the story in the June 1933 issue to which he refers.)

“Nine Strands in a Web.”
REH to August W. Derleth, ca. August 1933: “I look forward to reading… ‘Nine Strands in a Web’.” [See also Derleth, Place of Hawks]

“The No-Sayers.” [Brooklyn Eagle Magazine of Features, 21 April 1935].
REH to August W. Derleth, ca. December 1933: “I think Scribner’s was nuts to turn down ‘Hawk on the Blue.’ Hope you’ve hit them in the belly with ‘The No-Sayers’.”

“One Against the Dead.”
REH to August W. Derleth, ca. October 1933: “Thanks very much for the opportunity of reading ‘One Against the Dead’, which I enjoyed greatly. Like most of your work it has an intense feeling of reality – as if it must have happened. I don’t see why any high class magazine should reject it. I especially like the suggestion of eeriness running through the story, not over-emphasized, but none the less powerful. Or at least so it seems to me.”

“Panelled Room.” Westminster Magazine, 1933.
REH to August W. Derleth, ca. October 1933: “And I intend to read your ‘Panelled Room’ if I can find the magazine mentioned.”

“Phantom Lights.” The Fantasy Fan, May 1934.
REH to August W. Derleth, 30 May 1934: “I enjoyed your story in Fantasy Fan…”

Place of Hawks. New York: Loring & Mussey, 1935.
REH to August W. Derleth, ca. May 1933: “I hope you’ve had good luck with ‘Place of Hawks’ and the other stories.” REH to August W. Derleth, ca. August 1933: “I look forward to reading ‘Place of Hawks’…” REH to August W. Derleth, ca. September 1933: “Hope you placed the ‘Place of Hawks’ with Scribner’s.” REH to August W. Derleth, ca. March/April 1934: “I look forward to seeing ‘Place of Hawks’ in book form…” [The volume contains “Five Alone,” “Faraway House,” “Nine Strands in a Web,” and the title story.]

“Retreat to Nature.”
REH to August W. Derleth, 9 May 1936: “Thanks very much for ‘Retreat to Nature.’ You’ve put into words, vividly and powerfully, what I’ve tried to say in my stumbling way several times – to derision of various would-be sophisticates. I’m going to keep your article handy and brandish it in their faces next time instead of busting them over the head with a branding iron as I contemplated.”

“Tendency.”
REH to August W. Derleth, ca. October 1933: “The announcement of ‘Tendency’ looks good.”

“Those Who Seek.” Weird Tales, January 1932.
REH to The Eyrie, March 1932: “If I were to express a preference for any one of the tales, I believe I should name Derleth’s Those Who Seek…”

Unnamed poems.
REH to August W. Derleth, ca. July 1933: “Thanks too for the poem; it is a fine piece of work. I’d like to see more of your poetry.” REH to August W. Derleth, ca. August 1933: “Thanks immensely for the poems. You can certainly conceive magnificent titles, and the poems match the titles. I like your verse fully as well as your prose, and that, God knows, is no depreciation of your prose. There is depth and power in your poetry, a strong tranquill flowing as of a deep river. I am not merely weaving complimentary images politely; this is my honest emotion.” REH to August W. Derleth, 4 September 1933: “I found your poems, as always, delightful. I don’t know which I like best. Each has poignant charm of its own, and all its own. Your poetry clings close to the very roots of Life.” REH to August W. Derleth, ca. October 1933: “I also liked your poem, and sympathize with your feeling in regard to hawks.” REH to August W. Derleth, ca. December 1933: “I enjoyed your poem greatly. I do not pretend to understand all its imagery…But I have read it again and again, fascinated by its melody and depth and power.”

Unnamed story.
REH to August W. Derleth, ca. October 1933: “I note with interest Scribner’s criticism of your story, saying that the atmosphere was too much superior to the story. That is a peculiar criticism. As far as I’m concerned, atmosphere and story are both splendid.” REH to August W. Derleth, 11 December 1934: “I liked your story in the Not at Night Anthology.”

“Woodcock in the Marshes.”
REH to August W. Derleth, 28 November 1935: “Thanks for the opportunity of reading of ‘Hawks Down the Wind’ and ‘Woodcock in the Marshes’. I admired very much the vividness of their style, and I heartily agree with their sentiments.”

Derleth, August, and Mark Schorer. “Colonel Markeson.” Weird Tales, June 1934.
REH to August W. Derleth, 30 May 1934: “I…look forward to your story in the June Weird Tales.”

Derleth, August, and Mark Schorer. “A Matter of Faith.” Weird Tales, December 1934.
REH to August W. Derleth, 11 December 1934: “I enjoyed your yarn in the latest Weird Tales. You have collaborated with Schorer on quite a number of stories, have you not? I do not seem to remember ever having seen his name except in collaboration with you, though doubtless he has written numbers of stories.”

Derleth, August, and Mark Schorer. “The Return of Andrew Bentley.” Weird Tales, September 1933.
REH to August W. Derleth, 4 September 1933: “I liked your story in the current Weird Tales very much, also.”

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Dickens, Charles

(1812-1870)

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. November 1932 [SL 2 #65]: “I wouldn’t take anything, though, for my early readings of Scott, Dickens, and other English writers. I doubt if I could read Dickens now – with the exception of Pickwick Papers which is my favorite of all his books. He gets on my nerves, not so much by his tedium, as by the spineless cringing crawling characters he portrays. I don’t doubt he was drawing them true to life, but that realization makes the matter more damnable. Nicholas Nickleby was about the only one of his characters who had any guts at all. Why good gad, his characters submitted to indignities and insults and outrages that made me grind my teeth merely to read about. And I’m a peacable man.” Tevis Clyde Smith, “Adventurer in Pulp,” names Dickens among Howard’s favorite writers.

The Posthumous Papers of The Pickwick Club. Being a Faithful Record of the Perambulations, Perils, Travels, Adventures, and Sporting Transactions of the Corresponding Members. Edited by “Boz.” London: Chapman and Hall, 1837.
[See above, in general section on Dickens.]

The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby. London: Chapman and Hall, 1839. 30603; PQ2; GL; TDB.
[See above, in general section on Dickens.]

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Digby, [George] Bassett

(1888- )

Tigers, Gold and Witch Doctors. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1928. 30695; PQ2; GL; TDB.

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Dingle, Captain A[ylward] E[dward]

(1874- ).

“The Burial of Billy.” Adventure, 20 March 1922.
[See Appendix Two]

“Red Saunders’ Protege.” Adventure, 1 July 1921.
[See Appendix Two]

“A Shot at a Venture.” Adventure, 20 May – 10 June 1922 (3 parts).
[See Appendix Two]

“Smuggled Guns.” Adventure ?
[See Appendix Two]

“Tides of Hate.” Adventure, 20 January 1922.
[See Appendix Two]

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Dixon, Olive K.

(1873-1954).

Life of “Billy” Dixon; Plainsman, Scout and Pioneer; A Narrative in which are Described Many Things Relating to the Early Southwest, with an Account of the Fights Between Indians and Buffalo Hunters at Adobe Walls and at Buffalo Wallow, for which Congress voted the Medal of Honor to the Survivors. Originally published in 1914; Revised Edition, Dallas: P.L. Turner Co., 1927. 30592; PQ2; GL; TDB.

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, 13 May 1936, quotes passages from pages v., 5-6, 116-117, 243, 249, and 251 of the revised edition.

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Dobie, James Frank

(1888-1964).

Coronado’s Children; Tales of Lost Mines and Buried Treasures of the Southwest. Dallas, The Southwest Press, 1930. 30675; PQ2; GL; TDB.
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. February 1931: “Dobie’s book has certainly made a hit; and I understand he had the Devil’s own time getting it published.” REH to August W. Derleth, 3 July 1933: “I have Dobie’s ‘Coronado’s Children’ which I’ll be glad to lend you, if you wish.” REH to August W. Derleth, ca. July 1933: “You will read much of San Saba river and the surrounding territory in ‘Coronado’s Children.'” One Who Walked Alone, p. 147: “‘Ever read Coronado’s Children?’ he asked. ¶ ‘No,’ I said, ‘but I’ve heard of it. J. Frank Dobie’s?’ ¶ ‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘It’s a damn good book. You ought to read it.'”

A Vaquero of the Brush Country. Dallas: The Southwest Press, 1929.
REH to August W. Derleth, 3 July 1933: “His ‘Vaquero of the Brush Country’ has even more solid meat in it [i.e., than Coronado’s Children], though it doesn’t make quite such interesting reading.”

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Dos Passos, John

(1896-1970).

Mentioned in Howard’s humorous poem, “A Fable for Critics.”

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Downey, Fairfax [Davis]

(1893-1990).

The Grande Turke; Suleyman the Magnificent, Sultan of the Ottomans. New York: Minton, Balch & Co., 1929. 30768; PQ2; GL; TDB.

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Dowson, Ernest [Christopher]

(1867-1900).

“Non Sum Qualis Eram Bonae Sub Regno Cynarae.”

This poem has long been thought the source of the second line of Howard’s suicide couplet, “All fled, all done, so lift me on the pyre; | The feast is over and the lamps expire.” In the fourth stanza of Dowson’s poem appears the phrase, “But when the feast is finished and the lamps expire….” However, our research has unearthed a seemingly likelier source for Howard’s couplet. See Garvin, Viola.

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Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan

(1859-1930).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 7 July 1923: “If you know of any other Doyle books I can get cheap, please let me know.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 7 July 1923, in a listing of parodic book titles are “‘The Valley of Beer,’ by A. Conan Doyle” [The Valley of Fear, 1915] and “‘The Return of Sheerluck Holmes,’ by A. Conan Doyle” [The Return of Sherlock Holmes, 1905]. Post Oaks and Sand Roughs, p. 36, named as a writer Lars [Jansen = Fowler Gafford] “had never heard of…” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: Doyle is listed among those Howard refers to as “my favorite writers.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. May-June 1933 [SL 2 #67]: “My tastes and habits are simple; I am neither erudite nor sophisticated. I prefer jazz to classical music, musical burlesques to Greek tragedy, A. Conan Doyle to Balzac, Bob Service’s verse to Santayana’s writing, a prize fight to a lecture on art.”

Conan Doyle’s Best Books Sherlock Holmes Edition. New York: P.F. Collier & Son, n.d. 30661(vol. IV[?])-30662 (vol. II); PQ2 (no vol. no.); GL (vol. II, IV); TDB (vol. II, IV).
[There were only three volumes in this set: on the accessions list, what looks like a Roman numeral “IV” may simply be a hastily written “III”. Volume I: A Study in Scarlet, and Other Stories, includes “The Original of Sherlock Holmes” by Dr. Harold Emery Jones; A Study in Scarlet; “A Scandal in Bohemia”; “A Case of Identity”; “My Friend the Murderer”; “The Surgeon of Gaster Fell”; “Cyprian Overbeck Wells”; “The Ring of Thoth”; and “John Huxford’s Hiatus.” Volume II, The Sign of The Four, and Other Stories, includes The Sign of the Four; “The Mystery of Sasassa Valley”; “The American’s Tale”; “Our Derby Sweepstakes”; “A Night Among the Nihilists”; “Bones”; “Elias B. Hopkins”; “John Barrington Cowles”; “The Secret of Goresthorpe Grange”; “The Captain of the ‘Pole-Star'”; “J. Habakuk Jephson’s Statement”; “The Great Keinplatz Experiment”; “The Man From Archangel”; and “That Little Square Box.” Volume III: The White Company; Beyond the City includes just those two stories.]

The Firm of Girdlestone. London: Chatto & Windus, 1890. 30613; PQ2; GL; TDB.

His Last Bow. London: John Murray, 1917. 30793; PQ2; GL; TDB.
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 7 July 1923: “I’m going to buy your ‘His Last Bow’ by A. Conan Doyle.” [Contents: “Preface” by Dr. John H. Watson, M.D.; “The Adventure of the Wisteria Lodge”; “The Adventure of the Cardboard Box”; “The Adventure of the Red Circle”; “The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans”; “The Adventure of the Dying Detective”; “The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax”; “The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot”; “His Last Bow.”]

The Hound of the Baskervilles. London: George Newnes, Ltd., 1902. 30781; PQ2; GL; TDB.
This title was included in the International Adventure Library (q.v.)

The Lost World. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1912. 30612; PQ2; GL; TDB.
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 7 July 1923: “As for ‘The Lost World,’ I bought that a month ago.”

The Maracot Deep, and Other Stories. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Doran, 1929. 30821; PQ2; GL; TDB.
[Contents: The Maracot Deep | The Disintegration Machine | The Story of Spedegue’s Dropper | When the World Screamed.]

The Poison Belt; Being an Account of Another Amazing Adventure of Professor Challenger. New York: Hodder and Stoughton/George H. Doran Co., [1913]. 30708; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.
[Note in PQ1: “In the lower left corner of the front pastedown endpaper is the stamp, ‘A.F. Von Blon for Books | Waco Texas.'”]

The Return of Sherlock Holmes. London: George Newnes, Ltd., 1905. 30704; PQ2; GL; TDB.
[Contents: “The Adventure of the Empty House”; “The Adventure of the Norwood Builder”; “The Adventure of the Dancing Men”; “The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist”; “The Adventure of the Priory School”; “The Adventure of Black Peter”; “The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton”; “The Adventure of the Six Napoleons”; “The Adventure of the Three Students”; “The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez”; “The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter”; “The Adventure of the Abbey Grange”; “The Adventure of the Second Stain.”]

The Sign of Four. London: Spencer Blackett, 1890. 30598 (as “The Sign of the Four”); PQ2; GL; TDB.
[The Sign of The Four is Doyle’s original title for this novel, as originally published in Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine, London, 1890. It was first published under the title The Sign of Four in The Bristol Observer, 1890, and has been published in numerous editions under either title.]

The Valley of Fear. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1915.
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 7 July 1923: “Would you set a price on your ‘Valley of Fear’ by A. Conan Doyle, or do you care to sell it?” Tevis Clyde Smith to REH, 2 August 1923: “How did you like ‘The Valley of Fear’?”

The White Company.
[See above, Conan Doyle’s Best Books.] REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. 9 August 1932: “Like Samkin Aylward, I warm to a man with the bitter drop in him.” Aylward is a character in The White Company. On page 70 of the Conan Doyle’s Best Books edition (Volume III), Aylward is quoted: “I warm to a man who hath some gall in his liver.”

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Drama (general).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. week of 20 February 1928: (following untitled scenario) “…I never studied the technique of drama and never read very many.” REH to Harold Preece, ca. December 1928: “I seldom read drama.”

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Dreiser, Theodore [Herman Albert] (1871-1945).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932, includes Dreiser among a group of writers of whom Howard says, “…three ringing razzberries for the whole mob….they’re all wet smacks.

An American Tragedy. New York: Boni & Liveright, 1925.
One Who Walked Alone, p. 258: “He kept saying it reminded him of Theodore Dreiser’s book, An American Tragedy. Bob said men like that, who got out on the street corner and tried to preach, were tragic, inarticulate fools.”

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Dulles, Foster Rhea (1900-1970).

The Old China Trade. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., The Riverside Press Cambridge, 1930. 30599; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.
[Note in PQ1: “Some of the illustrations in this book would have been appropriate in Howard’s own books. The following are from the list of illustrations: ‘The “Boston” Taken by Savages at Mootka Sound,’ ‘Attack and Massacre of Crew of Ship “Tonquin” by the Savages of the Northwest Coast,’ ‘A Chinese Opium Den,’ and ‘The Capture of Ting-Hai, Chusan.'”]

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Dumas, Alexandre (1802-1870).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 7 July 1923, in a listing of parodic book titles is “‘The Vicomte de Brag-a-lot,’ by Alexandre Dumas” [The Vicomte de Bragelonne, 1847]. REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 25 February 1925: “I’ve read… Dumas…and a lot of those old libertines…” Post Oaks and Sand Roughs, p. 36, named as a writer Lars [Jansen = Fowler Gafford] “had never heard of…” REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. November 1932 [SL 2 #65]: “Dumas has a virility lacking in other French writers – I attribute it to his negroid strain – but his historical fiction lacks, at least to me, the gripping vividness of Sir Walter Scott, for instance…” Tevis Clyde Smith, “So Far the Poet…”: “His defense of Milady de Winter and her son Mordaunt. ‘She was his mother’; We argued over this several times.” Milady de Winter is a character in The Three Musketeers, while her son Mordaunt is featured in Twenty Years After.

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Dunn, J[oseph] Allan [Elphinstone] (1872-1941).

[See Appendix Three]

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Dunsany, Lord [Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett] (1878-1957).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. October 1930 [SL 1 #47]: “I have read…some of…Dunsany…” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: Dunsany is listed among a number of poets Howard likes. REH to H.P. Lovecraft , 6 March 1933: “As far as I’m concerned, your stories and poems are superior to anything of the sort ever written by Dunsany, Machen, Poe, or any of the others.”

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Duval, John C[rittendon] (1816-1897).

The Adventures of Bigfoot Wallace, the Texas Ranger and Hunter. Macon, GA: J.W. Burke, 1870. 30775; PQ2; GL; TDB.

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. May 1931: “Thanks very much for the Frontier Times… Did you read Big-Foot’s adventures? Boy, Pink [Lindsey Tyson] and I nearly busted laughing over it. There was a red-blooded character in a red-blooded epoch!” [REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. 18 May 1931: “Wish you’d get me a Frontier Times and keep it till I see you; I want to see my reprint.” Frontier Times (q.v.), June 1931, reprinted Howard’s “The Ghost of Camp Colorado.” In that same issue appeared an installment of The Adventures of Big-Foot Wallace (chapters 39-42, though not indicated in the magazine) by John C. Duval, with the note, “First published in 1870.” Also included was “Letters of ‘Big Foot Wallace,’ contributed by Mrs. Nora C. Franklin McCormick, in the introduction to which it is stated that “for the past year or more Frontier Times has been publishing the ‘Adventures of Big Foot Wallace’ serially…” Howard may have either sought out or borrowed earlier issues of Frontier Times, or have bought the original edition of the book, because in REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. October 1931, he relates the story of Big-Foot’s “Fight with the ‘Big Indian'” in a manner which suggests he had read chapter 13 of the book. A reprint edition of the book was issued in 1936.]

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Dwyer, Bernard Austin (1897-1943).

“Brooklyn Nights.”

Bernard A. Dwyer to REH, n.d. (probably December 1931 or January 1932): “The Brooklyn faun story – I had long desired to make some record of the electric-litten nights of Brooklyn, the Y which seemed to me a recreation of ancient Greece, and the extraordinary physical beauty and grace of that youngster.” Bernard A. Dwyer to REH, n.d. (probably ca. March/April 1932): “The only manuscript I can find to enclose is ‘Brooklyn Nights,’ for which you may not care. The title isn’t strikingly original, but as my memories of the times described in the story is mostly of the electrically litten nights of Brooklyn, The YMCA and Atlantic Avenue, it seemed the most apposite I could think of. As I said once before, the story is merely a more or less successful attempt to crystallize on paper some of the impressions of the city made on me, a country boy, at the time – also to give some faint idea of my reaction to the ‘Y’, and the grace and beauty of the young diver therein mentioned….I did not imagine the story would sell – I hardly see how it could, in W.T. It is, however, a relation of simple fact – with the exception of the faun’s inadvertent ‘recollection’ – up to the point where we take that walk – thereafter all is obviously fantasy. One writer has told me that the shift from reality to fantasy is too abrupt. Doubtless this is true. You will notice that I have stricken off the appended afterword. It is not needed, and I think the story much more effective to learn it when the narrator, after the disappearance of the faun, finds himself alone, gazing into the enchanted pool in the haunted greenwood. Pardon the Poe cadences – I can’t help them. They will creep in, despite of all I can do. I know the ending sounds almost identical with that of ‘The Island of the Fay’… I don’t think this story is effective – I am learning to try to cut down on description and give more action. It doesn’t satisfy me, reading it over. The only idea was, as I said, to get down impressions of those nights in Brooklyn, around the green pool in the YMCA.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 24 May 1932: “Your mention of Dwyer reminds me that I owe him a letter. He recently let me read his ‘Brooklyn Nights’ which I found fascinating. He is a natural poet.” H.P. Lovecraft to REH, 8 June 1932: “Yes – Dwyer’s ‘Brooklyn Nights’ is real poetry of a sort. It is the only thing that ever made me able to see Brooklyn in a favorable light!”

“Ol’ Black Sarah.” Weird Tales, October 1928.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. September 1930 [SL 1 #43]: “I have noted Mr. Dwyer’s letters in ‘The Eyrie,’ and remember the poem you mention.” [This was Dwyer’s sole contribution to Weird Tales.]

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Eliot, T(homas) S(tearns)

(1888-1965).

“Sweeney Among the Nightingales.” (1919).
Howard gave an unnumbered copy (from an edition of 1200) of The Satyricon of Petronius Arbiter [q.v.] to Tevis Clyde Smith, inscribed: “‘Apeneck Sweeney spreads his knees / Letting his hands hang down to laugh. / The zebra stripes along his jaw / swell to macculate giraffe.’ / Yet in spite of this here between / these covers is proof that the world / was once even more mad than it is / now. / Bob”

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Ellis, [Henry] Havelock

(1859-1939).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, 5 December 1935 [SL 2 #76]: “As for the definition of the term ‘sadism’ I must indeed be ineffectual in my style of expression if I left the impression that I’m so ignorant that I don’t know what the term means. At least I’ve read what Havelock Ellis and other leading psychologists have had to say about it…” [Reference is probably to Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume III: Analysis of the Sexual Impulse; Love and Pain; The Sexual Impulse in Women (Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Co., 1927].

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The Encyclopedia Americana

The Encyclopedia Americana. New York and Chicago: Americana Corp.

[No edition noted].

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, 9 August 1930 [SL 1 #39]: cites this encyclopedia as the source of quotations regarding Celtic languages. No edition is noted. In Volume 6 of the 1929 edition, the sources of quotations are as follows: “The view that there was on the continent….” (SL 1 p. 50): article “Celtic Peoples,” by Joseph Dunn, p. 185; “Correct in a purely linguistic sense…” (SL 1 p. 50): article “Celtic Languages,” by Joseph Dunn, p.178; “Were it not for a common vocabulary….” (SL 1 p. 50): ibid., p. 179. Howard fails to note some omissions with ellipses.

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England, George Allan

(1877-1936)

The Flying Legion. Chicago: A.C. McClurg & Co., 1920. 30699; PQ3; GL; TDB.
Included on a list, headed “Library,” found among Howard’s papers. See Appendix Two.

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Erskine, John

(1879-1951)

Galahad; Enough of His Life to Explain His Reputation. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1926. 30720; PQ3; GL; TDB.

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Ervine, St. John [Greer]

(1883-1971)

John Ferguson. (1915).
REH to August W. Derleth, ca. February 1933: “P.S. and irrelevantly, I just heard the play ‘John Ferguson’ given over the radio, and by God, the micks in it must be a different brand than those that settled up Texas.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. September 1933: “I quite agree with your estimate of the average newspaper, and do not differ radically with your opinion of radio programs. And yet it would be erroneous to say that all radio programs are entirely without cultural value… I have heard, among other things, such plays as… ‘John Ferguson’… Of course I had rather see these things on the stage, but as my chances of doing that are so slim they are practically non-existant, I was grateful for the opportunity of hearing them over the air.”

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Eulenberg, Albert

(1840-1917)

Sadism and Masochism.

Algolagnia: The Psychology, Neurology and Physiology of Sadistic Love and Masochism. New York: New Era Press, 1934. Translated by Harold Kent.

REH to H.P. Lovecraft , 5 December 1935 [SL 2 #76]: “…I…have in my possession a very good work on sadism and masochism by a noted German scholar.” [A list of books found among Howard’s papers included “Sadism and Masochism, Eulenberg, New Era Press.” This is a translation of Sadismus und Masochismus. See Appendix Two.]

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Ewen, Cecil Henry L’Estrange

(1877- )

A History of Surnames of the British Isles; A Concise Account of their Origin, Evolution, Etymology. New York: Macmillan Co., 1931 (1st US). 30846; PQ3 (as “Owen”); GL; TDB.
While this book is not mentioned, letters from REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, written from San Antonio in March 1931, refer to his pursuit of genealogical research at a library there.

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The Fantasy Fan

REH to Charles D. Hornig, 1 November 1933: “Thanks for the copy of The Fantasy Fan. I found it very interesting, and think it has a good future. Anybody ought to be willing to pay a dollar for the privilege of reading, for a whole year, the works of Lovecraft, Smith, and Derleth. I am glad to see that you announce a poem by Smith in the next issue. He is a poet second to none. I also hope you can persuade Lovecraft to let you use some of his superb verse. Weird poetry possesses an appeal peculiar to itself and the careful use of it raises the quality of any magazine. ¶ I liked very much the department of ‘True Ghost Stories’ and hope you will continue it. The world is full of unexplained incidents and peculiar circumstances, the logical reasons of which are often so obscure and hidden that they are lent the illusion of the supernatural. ¶ Enclosed find my check for a year’s subscription. I shall be glad to submit some things, if you wish.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. 3 November 1933: “I’ve read a copy of Fantasy Fan, and subscribed for a year.” REH to Charles D. Hornig, 3 May 1935: “I’m very sorry to learn that ‘The Fantasy Fan’ has to be discontinued. I enjoyed the magazine very much, and had hoped that it would be able to carry on. It doesn’t seem quite fair for the editor of a fan magazine to have to bear all the financial loss of the magazine’s failure. In the case of my unfinished subscription, at least, let’s split the expense. I’m taking the liberty of returning half the stamps you sent me. I got all my money’s worth and more out of the pleasure I derived from the magazine.” [See entries on Robert H. Barlow, August Derleth, H.P. Lovecraft, William Lumley, and Clark Ashton Smith for references to particular stories or poems in this fan magazine.]

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Farnol, [John Jeffery]

(1878-1952).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: Farnol is listed among those Howard refers to as “my favorite writers.”

Black Bartlemy’s Treasure. New York: A.L. Burt Co., 1920. 30752; PQ3; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.

The Broad Highway. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1911. 30648; PQ3; GL; TDB.

Guyfford of Weare. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1928. 30628; PQ3; GL; TDB.

Martin Conisby’s Vengeance. New York: A.L. Burt Co., n.d. [1921]. 30764; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.
[Note in PQ1: Penciled on the title-page is this statement. “Read ‘Black Bartlemy’s Treasure’ first. This is a sequel to it.”]

Sir John Dering. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1923. 30650; PQ3; GL; TDB.

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Ferber, Edna

(1887-1968)

Cimarron. 1930. 30614; PQ3; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.
[Note in PQ3: “…Cimarron, by Edna Ferber, does not have the bookplate, but accession records indicate that it probably is the copy which was originally in Robert E. Howard’s library. A section on page 35 of that book has been underlined twice, once in pencil, and once in ink. If we could be sure that this passage had been so emphasized by Howard, we might better understand Howard’s unusual dependence on his mother. The passage reads, ‘Twenty-one, and the yoke of her mother’s dominance was beginning to gall her. Now, at her own inner rage and sickening disappointment, all the iron in her fused and hardened.'”]

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Field, Eugene

(1850-1895).

In “The Fastidious Fooey Mancucu” (parody, included in REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. October 1927), Howard has a character say: “He thought it was merely Eugene Field and one of his pranks.” According to The Reader’s Encyclopedia, Field was “Expelled from three colleges because of his pranks….”

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Fielding, William J[ohn]

(1886-1973).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. March 1928: “Long live such men as Markun and Fielding, who realize that psychology has its roots deep in biology.” Fielding was the author of books on psychology, including a number of Little Blue Books (q.v.). The Puzzle of Personality (Little Blue Book #217), adapted from Fielding’s The Cave Man Within Us (1922), pertains particularly to this topic.

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Firkins, Chester.

“Canoe Song of the North.” Argosy All-Story Weekly, 6 January 1923.
Howard used lines 6-8 of this poem as a heading for the second issue of his amateur journal, The Right Hook, in 1925. The opening stanza, “On lakes adream our paddles gleam, | Ashore the grim pines croon; | On waves of light we ride the bright | Gold highways of the moon,” seems to have inspired one of the verses in “Men of the Shadows” (untitled but later published as “The Chant of the White Beard”): “O’er lakes agleam the old gods dream; | Ghosts stride the heather dim. | The night winds croon; the eery moon | Slips o’er the ocean’s rim.”

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Fitzgerald, Edward

(1809-1883) (translator).

The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. (1861). 30827 (as “Khayyam – The Rubyiat”); PQ3 (author as “Khayam”), PQ4; GL (as “Khayyam, Omar, The Rubyiat”); TDB (listed among books which “were donated to the Robert E. Howard Memorial Collection and never formed part of Howard’s own library.”). Still in HPU holdings.

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 8 June 1923: “In the words of Omar Khayyam: ‘East is East and West is West | To a ramblin’ gay galoot.'” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 6 August 1925, quotes four stanzas (in the 5th edition, stanzas II, LXXV, XII, XIV). REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. 20 February 1928 [SL 1 #10]: “I have carefully gone over, in my mind, the most powerful men – that is, in my opinion – in all of the world’s literature and here is my list: Jack London, Leonid Andreyev, Omar Khayyam, Eugene O’Neill, William Shakespeare. ¶ “All these men, and especially London and Khayyam, to my mind stand out so far above the rest of the world that comparison is futile, a waste of time. Reading these men and appreciating them makes a man feel life is not altogether useless.” “Skull-Face” (Weird Tales, October, November, December 1929 [3 part serial]): Heading for Chapter 1 is from Stanza LXVIII, ll. 1-2 (5th ed.); for Chapter 2 is from Stanza XXXI, ll. 1-2 (5th ed.); for Chapter 3 is from Stanza LXX, ll. 3-4 (5th ed.); for Chapter 4 is from Stanza XXXII, ll. 1-2 (5th ed.). REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: Omar Khayyam is listed among a number of poets Howard likes. One Who Walked Alone, p. 92: “Bob’s attention was centered on a copy of The Rubáiyat. He already had a copy, but he said he might come back next week and pick up that book…” [Steve Trout is of the opinion that Howard’s quotations from Khayyam are taken from Little Blue Book #1, which follows the text of the 5th edition. The copy in the REH Memorial Collection at HPU was donated by Howard’s father (see Appendix Three), but as can be seen from the above, Howard obviously had at least one copy of the book.]

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Fitzgerald, Francis Scott Key

(1896-1940).

Mentioned in “The Fastidious Fooey Mancucu” (parody, included in REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. October 1927) as “F. Scotch Hitsgerald” and his new book, “The Snootiful But Damned” (The Beautiful and Damned, 1921). REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932 includes Fitzgerald among a group of writers of whom Howard says, “…three ringing razzberries for the whole mob….they’re all wet smacks.”

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Flannagan, Roy [Catesby]

(1897-1952).

The Whipping. New York: Jonathan Cape & Harrison Smith, 1930. 30774; PQ3; GL; TDB.
Mainstream novel of a woman in a small Southern town who is whipped by a Ku Klux Klan-like gang

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Flecker, James Elroy

(1884-1915).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: Flecker is listed among a number of poets Howard likes. Tevis Clyde Smith, “Adventurer in Pulp”: “James Elroy Flecker…[was] among his favorite poets…”

“The Gates of Damascus.”
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. October 1930 [SL 1 #47]: “By the way, I recently sold Weird Tales a short story, ‘The Children of the Night’ … quoting lines from Flecker’s ‘Gates of Damascus’ and lending them a cryptic meaning which I’m sure would have astounded the poet remarkably!” From “The Children of the Night” (Weird Tales, April/May 1931): “Do you remember Von Junzt’s hints of ‘a city in the waste’? What do you think of Flecker’s line: ¶ ‘Pass not beneath! Men say there blows in stony-deserts still a rose | ‘But with no scarlet to her leaf – and from whose heart no perfume flows.'”

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Fleischer, Nat[haniel S.]

(1887-1972).

Jack Dempsey; The Idol of Fistiana; An Intimate Narrative with Numerous Illustrations. New York: Ring Library, 1929. 30696; PQ3; GL; TDB.
[Note in TDB: Lord notes that Fleischer edited Ring Magazine.]

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Flinders, W.M.

[See The Book of History and “Petrie, Sir W.M. Flinders”]

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Folk Songs and Ballads.

Howard was a student of folk songs and ballads. He corresponded with the early collector of folk songs, Robert W. Gordon (1888-1961), during the period Gordon edited the “Old Songs That Men Have Sung” department for Adventure magazine. REH to R.W. Gordon, 4 February 1925, included lyrics to “Young Johnny” [appeared in Adventure, 23 August 1926], “Rain No Mo’,” and “The Mermaid” (as “Title Unknown”); REH to R.W. Gordon, 15 February 1926 included “On the Lakes of the Pontchartrain,” “Sanford Burns” [appeared in Adventure, 1 March 1927], and “My Old Beaver Cap”; REH to R.W. Gordon, 9 April 1926 included “omitted” stanza of “Barbara Allen,” “The Belle of Edinburgh Town,” “Pretty Polly,” “A Fragment” (“Oh, Caroline won’t you be mine”), “Nancy Till” (as “Nelly Till”), “Brady,” and “Tavern Song”; REH to R.W. Gordon, 2 January 1927 included “Botany Bay,” “The Highwayman,” and “Blow Boys Blow”; REH to R.W. Gordon, 17 March 1927 included “The Scout’s Lament,” “Mississippi Gals,” “The Amsterdam Maid,” “Tommy’s Gone to Hilo,” “Blow the Man Down,” and “The Jubilee”; REH to R.W. Gordon, 14 May 1928 included an untitled song (“Now the stars are all gleaming”).

Howard mentioned or quoted from many folk songs in his letters to H.P. Lovecraft. REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1930 [SL 1 #49]: “…very seldom do you even hear any of the old range songs any more – ‘Sam Bass,’ ‘The Killing of Jesse James,’ ‘The Old Chisholm Trail,’ ‘Utah Charlie,’ ‘San Antonio,’ ‘The Ranger.’ ¶ But Texas was never as prolific in the matter of songs as Arkansas, for instance. In the Scotch-Irish settlement of Holly Springs where William Benjamin Howard settled in 1858, they still sang songs that carried the tang of the heather, though the singers were generations removed from the old country. Forty years ago such songs were popular there, as ‘Barbara Allen,’ ‘William Hall, a Young Highlander,’ ‘The Wearin’ of the Green,’ ‘Little Susie, the Pride of Kildare,’ ‘Shamus O’Brien,’ one the name of which I forget but it had to do with the elopement of ‘pretty Polly’ with one ‘Lord Thomas’ who had drowned ‘six king’s daughters,’ ‘Caroline, the Belle of Edinburgh-town,’ and one which began ¶ ‘Young Johnny’s been on sea, | Young Johnny’s been on shore, | Young Johnny’s been in New Orleans | Where he has been before.’ ¶ Narrating the triumph of a prosperous young sailor over an avaricious landlady. Then there was another, the name of which I do not know, but it contained the lines ¶ ‘Oh, come to me arms, Nora darlint, | Bid your frinds and ould companions good-boi, | For it’s happy we will be in thot dear land av the free, | Livin’ happily wid Barney McCoy.’ ¶ Then there was one which must be very old, dealing with ‘Fair Elinor,’ ‘Lord Thomas’ and ‘the brown girl.’ Lord Thomas married the brown girl because of her wealth, but invited Fair Elinor to the banquet, where the jealous brown girl killed her with ‘a wee penknife.’ Thus the horrific climax: | ‘Lord Thomas having a Hielan’ sword, | It being sharp and small, | He cut off the brown girl’s head | And threw it against the wall!'” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. January 1931: “And Sam Bass, of whom the old song narrates: ¶ ‘Sam Bass was born in Indiana, that was his native home, | And at the age of seventeen, young Sam began to roam. | He first came out to Texas, a drover for to be, | And a kinder hearted fellow, you seldom ever see. | Sam used to deal in race stock, one called the Denton Mare; | He matched her in scrub races and took her to the Fair. | Sam used to coin the money, and he spent it just as free, | He always drank good whiskey, where-ever he might be.’ REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. August 1931: “We of the Southwest – of the old stock, at least – are inclined to be a gloomy race. Our folk-songs reflect our natures. The greater majority of the songs and ballads which grew up in, or were favorites in the early Southwest, dealt almost exclusively with battle, murder and sudden death. Listen to some of the lines of a few: ¶ ‘As I rode by Tom Sherman’s barroom, Tom Sherman’s barroom, so | early one day, | ‘I saw a young cowboy, so young and so handsome, all wrapped in | linen, as though for the grave!’ | And: | ‘Twas in the merry month of May, when all sweet buds were swelling, | ‘Sweet William on his death-bed lay, for the love of Barbara Allen!’ | And: | ‘One morning, one morning, one morning in May, | ‘I heard an old soldier, lamentingly say – ‘ | And: | ‘Come all you punchers and listen to my tale, | ‘While I tell you of my troubles on the Old Chisholm Trail – ‘ | And: | ‘Oh, beat the drum slowly and play the fife slowly, | ‘And play the death-march as you bear me along! | ‘Take me to some green valley and lay the sod o’er me, | ‘For I’m a young cowboy and I know I’ve done wrong!’ | And: | ‘He had wasted in pain, till o’er his brow, | ‘The shades of death were gathering now. | ‘And he thought of his home and his loved ones nigh | ‘And the cowboys gathered to see him die!’ | And: | ‘Early in the morning, in the month of May, | ‘Brady came down on the morning train, | ‘Brady came down on the Shining Star, | ‘And he shot Mr. Duncan in behind the bar!’ | And: | ‘Oh, once in the saddle I used to go dashing, | ‘Oh, once in the saddle I used to look brave, | ‘I then got to drinking, and then took to gambling, | ‘Got into a fight, and now for the grave.’ | And: | ‘Oh, put me in that dungeon, oh, put me in that cell – | ‘Put me where the north wind blows from the southeast | corner of Hell!’ | And: | ‘The dogs they did howl, the dogs they did bark, | ‘When Stackerlee the murderer went creeping through the dark – | ‘Everybody talk about Stackerlee!’ | And: | ‘Come all of you my brother scouts, | ‘And listen to my song; | ‘Come let us sing together | ‘Though the shadows fall so long.'” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. October 1931: “It’s strange how old some of those songs are, and how long the old ballads lingered. For instance, ‘Barbara Allen’ at one time sung all over the South and Southwest. It’s age can be calculated when it is known that the last stanza of the original version – which stanza I have never heard sung – is as follows: ¶ But by and rade the Black Douglas, | And wow, but he was rough! | For he tore up the bonny briar | And threw it in St. ____’s Loch. ¶ I’ve forgotten the name of the Loch and so leave it blank. [REH to R.W. Gordon, 9 April 1926, gives this last line as “And thraw it in St. Levins (?) loch.”] And then there was an old drinking song very popular in taverns a generation ago: ¶ Old Compass lies dead and is under the ground, | Ho, ho! under the ground! | A green apple tree grew over his head, | Ho, ho! over his head! ¶ The revellers had long forgotten who or what ‘Old Compass’ was, but in correspondence with Gordon, the ardent collector and student of folk-songs, I learned that this was a distortion of an old English song of the days of the Commonwealth, and that ‘Old Compass’ was none less than the bloody hypocrite himself, Cromwell. But this song was never popular in Texas; it flourished in the Irish communities of Arkansas.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. October 1932 [SL 2 #64]: quotes three verses of ‘The Lakes of the Pontchartrain’ REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. November 1932 [SL 2 #65]: quotes ‘Oh, Susanna,’ ‘John Brown’s Body,’ ‘We’ll hang Abe Lincoln to a sour-apple tree,’ ‘The Bonny Blue Flag,’ ‘The Battle-Cry of Freedom,’ ‘Get Along, Little Dogies,’ ‘Tom Quick,’ ‘The Pride of the Mohawk Vale,’ and “the old New England ballad relating the fate of ‘Deacon Jones’s oldest son’ who ‘just had turned his twenty-one.’ Who was nipped in the heel by a ‘venomous rep-tile’, and the ballad of which concluded with the warning, ¶ ‘Come all, young men, | And warning take, | And never get bit | By a big black snake.'” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. July 1934: “On the way back to Brownwood [St. Patrick’s Day] I enlivened our progress by bellowing ‘Wearin’ of the Green’, ‘The Shan Van Vocht’, ‘The Risin’ of the Moon’ and other belligerent Gaelic chants… “The Last Ride” (Western Aces, October 1935, with Robert Enders Allen), incorporates verses from “Brady.” “Knife, Bullet and Noose” incorporates a verse from (apparently) “Jesse James.” “Drums of the Sunset” (Cross Plains Review, 2 November 1928 through 4 January 1929 [9 part serial]) incorporates verses from “The Old Chisholm Trail,” “The Dying Cowboy,” and “Sam Bass.” [The quoted lines from “Sam Bass” (“He first come in the money and he spent it just as free! | He always drank good liquor wherever he might be.”) differ from the same lines quoted to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. January 1931: “Sam used to coin the money, and he spent it just as free, | He always drank good whiskey, where-ever he might be.” ] “Lord of Samarkand” (Oriental Stories, Spring 1932) uses verses from an old Scottish ballad, “The Ballad of Otterbourne” (probably the version in Parrot and Long, English Poems from Chaucer to Kipling [q.v.]) as headings for Chapters 2 (ll. 33-36), 3 (ll. 21-24, 4 (ll. 45-48), and 8 (ll. 73-76). “‘For the Love of Barbara Allen'” (originally untitled) is based upon the folk song of that title, and incorporates verses from it.

One Who Walked Alone, p. 226, refers to Howard’s interest in old folk ballads, “wanting me to write them down exactly as Mammy sang them.”

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Ford, Corey

(1902-1969).

Three Rousing Cheers for the Rollo Boys. New York: George H. Doran, 1925.
Tevis Clyde Smith, “Report on a Writing Man”: “…the pleasure a number of us received during the Christmas Holiday in 1925 from reading Three Rousing Cheers for the Rollo Boys, a clever book by Corey Ford.” [See also Riddell, John]

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Fort, Charles [Hoy]

(1874-1932).

Lo! New York: Claude Kendall, 1931. 30870; PQ3; GL.

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Foxcroft, Frank

(1850-1921) (ed.).

War Verse. Eighth printing. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1918. 30820; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.

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France, Hector

(1840-1908).

Musk, Hashish and Blood. London and Paris: “Printed for Subscribers Only,” 1900. [A later edition, privately printed by the Panurge Press, New York, in an edition of 2010 copies, also exists, as may other editions.] 30629; PQ3; GL; TDB.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, 13 May 1936: “You ought to read Hector France’s ‘Musk, Hashish and Blood’…if you want to get a realistic view of French colonial policy.”

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Franklin, Benjamin

(1706-1790).

Mentioned in Howard’s parody, “The Rump of Swift” (written ca. June 1928).

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Frazer, Sir James George

(1854-1941).

The Golden Bough. A Study in Comparative Religion. 2 volumes. London and New York: Macmillan and Co., 1890.

“Spectres in the Dark”: “I had settled myself comfortably with a volume of Fraser’s Golden Bough…” [Originally published in two volumes, by 1915 this work had expanded to twelve. Frazer himself then produced a one-volume abridgement, The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion (New York: The Macmillan Co., 1922) which went through many printings.]

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French literature.

REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. 2 November 1932 [SL 2 #65]: “I admire many points of the French character, but I can not include their literature. This is no criticism, only my own personal viewpoint. I certainly don’t consider myself a critic, but I know what I like and what I don’t like. And I don’t like French literature. If I were able to read it in the untranslated original, I might like it better, but I doubt it. There’s a polished hardness about the literature of the Latins that I don’t relish. Even when it lack this polish, I don’t care for it.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. December 1932: “No doubt the French excel us in many phases of literature. The point is that personally I can’t endure much of the stuff. After wading through a few chapters, my teeth get on edge and I am aware of an almost overpowering desire to spring from my chair and kick somebody violently in the pants…. Maybe the French excel the British in some ways, but where is the Frenchman who writes, or wrote, with the fire of Jack London, the mysticism of Ambrose Bierce, or the terrific power your own weird masterpieces possess?” [See entries for “Balzac,” “Baudelaire,” “De Maupassant,” “Dumas,” “Gautier,” “Rabelais,” “Villon,” “Verlaine,” et “Voltaire.”]

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Friel, Arthur O[lney]

(1885-1959).

REH to Carl Jacobi, ca. June 1934: “I was much interested to note that you are acquainted with Arthur O. Friel. He has been one of my favorite authors for years. I have not read the book you mention, but it sounds good.”

“The Barrigudo.” Adventure, 1 June 1921.
[See Appendix Two]

“Black Hawk.” Adventure, 10 March 1922.
[See Appendix Two]

“The Jararaca.” Adventure, 30 December 1921.
[See Appendix Two]

“The Pathless Trail.” Adventure, 10 October – 10 November 1921 (4 parts).
[See Appendix Two]

“The Tailed Men.” Adventure, 14 February 1921.
[See Appendix Two]

“Tupahn-The Thunderstorm.” Adventure, 10 May 1922.
[See Appendix Two]

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Frontier Times.

See entry for John C. Duval, Adventures of Bigfoot Wallace. This magazine also reprinted Howard’s “The Ghost of Camp Colorado” in the June 1931 issue.

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Frost, Robert

(1874-1963).

Mentioned in Howard’s parody, “The People of the Winged Skulls” (probably written ca. 1928) and in the poem, “A Fable for Critics”

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Frothingham, Robert (ed.).

Songs of Adventure; An anthology selected and arranged by Robert Frothingham. Cambridge, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co., The Riverside Press, 1926.
This collection is listed here because it contains “The Closed Door,” by Benjamin De Casseres (q.v.) and “The House of Cæsar” by Viola Garvin (q.v.). The latter appears to be the source of Howard’s suicide couplet, and this is the only appearance of the poem that I have been able to locate. The anthology also includes Bill Adams’ “Flower of the Morning” (q.v.), although under the title “Light of Morning.” Also included are verses by J. Allan Dunn, George Allan England, James Elroy Flecker, Rudyard Kipling, Henry Herbert Knibbs, and Talbot Mundy, all of whom appear in this listing. Frothingham originated the “Old Songs That Men Have Sung” department in Adventure.

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Garvin, Viola.

“The House of Cæsar.”
This poem seems the likely source for the couplet Howard typed out before committing suicide: “All fled, all done, so lift me on the pyre; | The feast is over and the lamps expire.” Sprague de Camp, in 1966, suggested that the second line was a paraphrase from Ernest Dowson’s (q.v.) “Non sum qualis eram bonae sub regno Cynarae” (or “Cynara”), the last stanza of which contains the phrase, “But when the feast is finished and the lamps expire,” and this came to be the accepted derivation. However, Garvin’s poem seems much likelier, and since it is little known, it is printed in entirety here:

THE HOUSE OF CÆSAR

Yea – we have thought of royal robes and red.
Had purple dreams of words we utterèd;
Have lived once more the moment in the brain
That stirred the multitude to shout again.
All done, all fled, and now we faint and tire –
The Feast is over and the lamps expire!

Yea – we have launched a ship on sapphire seas,
And felt the steed between the gripping knees;
Have breathed the evening when the huntsman brought
The stiffening trophy of the fevered sport –
Have crouched by rivers in the grassy meads
To watch for fish that dart amongst the weeds.
All well, all good – so hale from sun and mire –
The Feast is over and the lamps expire!

Yet – we have thought of Love as men may think,
Who drain a cup because they needs must drink;
Have brought a jewel from beyond the seas
To star a crown of blue anemones.
All fled, all done – a Cæsar’s brief desire –
The Feast is over and the lamps expire!

Yea – and what is there that we have not done,
The Gods provided us ‘twixt sun and sun?
Have we not watched an hundred legions thinned,
And crushed and conquered, succorèd and sinned?
Lo – we who moved the lofty gods to ire –
The Feast is over and the lamps expire!

Yea – and what voice shall reach us and shall give
Our earthly self a moment more to live?
What arm shall fold us and shall come between
Our failing body and the grasses green?
And the last heart that beats beneath this head –
Shall it be heard or unrememberèd?
All dim, all pale – so lift me on the pyre –
The Feast is over and the lamps expire!

– Viola Garvin

The poem is included in Frothingham, Songs of Adventure (q.v.). My research has identified two different Viola Garvins: Viola Gerard Garvin (1898- ), an editor at the London Observer and author of Dedication (London: Victor Gollancz Ltd., 1928); and Viola (Taylor) Garvin, author of As You See It (London: Methuen & Co., 1922). “The House of Cæsar” is not included in any collection by either, and is not listed among the copyright acknowledgements in Songs of Adventure. I am inclined toward the former by stylistic similarities between this poem and those in Dedication.

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Gautier, Théophile

(1811-1872).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. November 1932 [SL 2 #65]: “Gautier bores me immeasurably.”

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Gibbon, Edward

(1737-1794).

REH to Harold Preece, ca. February 1930 [SL 1 #30]: “Gibbon, than whom no more despisable pseudo-chronicler ever lived, pulled the same stuff. That the Irish came from Scotland. Why, that swine didn’t even have guts enough to marry the woman he wanted, because it would mean losing his inheritance.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, 9 August 1930 [SL 1 #39]: “Gibbon sought to refute the so-called legend that Ireland was the original home of the Scots, maintaining that the Gaels spread into the smaller island from Scotland, but the converse has since been proven.”

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Gilbert, Sir William S[chwenck]

(1836-1911).

The Best Known Works of W.S. Gilbert. New York: Illustrated Editions, 1932. 30684; PQ3; GL; TDB.
[The “Gilbert” of “Gilbert and Sullivan.”]

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Gildas

(ca. 540).

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Gill, Ottie.

Harold Preece to Lenore Preece, 16 January 1965 (in The Howard Collector [New York: Ace Books, 1979]): “Ottie Gill, of the Brownwood group, was somebody whom I’d first met in McKinney as a Lone Scout. ¶ Ottie should also be asked by Glenn to write about Bob. He, I, Truett and Clyde were at the home of the Gills, several times.” Gill had poems published in poetry magazines in 1925-1926.

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Giraldus Cambrensis [Giraldus de Barri]

(ca. 1146-ca. 1220).

In “Spears of Clontarf,” REH used a quotation from Giraldus as a footnote. His likeliest source for the quotation is P.W. Joyce’s A Short History of Gaelic Ireland (q.v.), p. 115.

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Gladewater Journal.

[Newspaper, Gladewater, Texas.]
H.P. Lovecraft to REH, 22 September 1932: “Many thanks for the interesting issue of the always-vigorous Gladewater Journal! The editor is surely up to his usual form.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, late September 1932 [SL 2 #64]: “Glad you found the Gladewater paper interesting. Its one of the few organs of the people against the crushing tread of the big interests. The editor packs plenty of power, too; immediately after he accused the state government of sending Rangers to the East Texas fields to co-erce the voting, the order was countermanded. It had been announced that thirty-five Rangers were to be sent there to clean out ‘certain gangsters from the North.’ The editor of the Journal point-blank accused certain high officials of sending these Rangers to East Texas to bulldoze the voters in the coming election, and he added a warning which might easily have been read as a threat. Anyway, the thirty-five Rangers who were already on their way to the fields, were recalled…” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. May/June 1933 [SL 2 #67]: “Since the Ferguson election…the whole Ranger company which worked in the East Texas fields was dropped from the force – the work of the Gladewater Journal, or I miss my guess.”

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Glyn, Elinor [pseudonym of Nellie Sutherland]

(1864-1943)

“The Dominant Male”: “It’s a book by Elinor Glynn.”

Pioneer of erotic fiction for Women, Three Weeks (1907) for example, Glyn is best known for creating Hollywood’s first “It Girl,” Clara Bow.

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Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von

(1749-1832).

“The Thessalians” (The Yellow Jacket [Howard Payne College], 13 January 1927): “…we played Shakespeare, Marlow, Goethe, and some of the moderns.”

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Gold, Grace [pseudonym of Maria Frink].

How To Be Happy. A collection of beautiful lessons intended to inspire noble thoughts and actions, and enable one to become useful, lovable, happy and wise. Valparaiso, IN: F&M Frink, 1893. 30677; PQ3; GL; TDB.
A later edition published as How To Be Happy; The Life Book. A casket of jewels containing gems of thought from the world’s greatest writers. Chicago: Laird & Lee, 1908.

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Gold, Mike [pseudonym of Irving Granich

(1894-1967)].

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. September 1931 [SL 2 #56]: “Lizzen my children and you shall be told | Of the midnight ride of Mikey de Gold! | In feathers and tar he rode away | On a ten-foot rail at the break of day. | And Hebrews cheer when the tale is told | Of the thrilling ride of Mikey de Gold. ¶ “Wotta life, wotta life! Here is de low-down on Mikey de Gold: ‘As a Jew I know that anti-Jewish prejudice exists. I will fight it to the death. I will stand up for my race, as I will for a Negro or Italian in like circumstances. And I refuse to run away, even if there were an escape in Palestine or Africa, as there certainly is not. America is our country, as much as anyone’s. We will plant ourselves here, not retreat to some mythical fatherland in the deserts of Palestine or Africa.'” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932 includes Gold among a group of writers of whom Howard says, “…three ringing razzberries for the whole mob….they’re all wet smacks.”

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Goldsmith, Oliver

(1731-1774).

The Vicar of Wakefield. (1766).
REH wrote a class report on this book in high school, which still survives. Glenn Lord contributed a photocopy of this report to the 118th mailing of the Robert E. Howard United Press Association (REHupa). In the section for “Opinions” Howard wrote: “‘The Vicar of Wakefield’ is, doubtless a true picture of English country life but in my opinion it is a very unsatisfactory book. It begins as an insipid comedy and passes to the other extreme, then returns to the light comedy with a happy ending. The happy ending is much to be said in the favor of the book. The characters irritate the reader, some by their simpleness, others by their depravity and others by their humbleness. The Vicar for instance, who did not consider the wrongs to his two girls, sufficient cause to seek vengeance on their betrayer and abductor. Burchell is the only real man in the book. The Vicar is a fanatical fool, his wife is an ignorant fool, his oldest son is an honorable fool and most of the other characters are more or less foolish in proportion to their importance in the book. This summing up may be unjust but it is my candid opinion. The happy ending is good enough but there is on thing that is incomplete. That the just retribution that should have overtaken Thornhill. Of course, he was forced to marry, but marriage though bad enough, is not enough repayment for the wrongs he had done. Thornhill should have died by cord or steel to complete the happy ending. As I suppose I must say something in favour of the book I will say that it is well written with flashes of humor throughout. A characteristic of Goldsmith who was Irish.” [Howard received an “A” for this book report.] REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. November 1932 [SL 2 #65]: “…The Vicar of Wakefield, one of the most abominable books ever penned. I’ve never had any respect for Goldsmith since reading it. The old cuss in the book had one daughter seduced, if I’m not mistaken, and the other abducted by the same egg. So he stood around mouthing pious platitudes – the old jackass. And when his son wanted to fight the abductor a duel, a squall of disapproval was raised to the shamed skies. I read this abomination as a part of my high school work, and in writing my report, I let myself go the only time I ever did in school, and gave my own honest opinion in my own honest words, allowing myself the freedom of frothing at the mouth. I expected to flunk the course, so many teachers being slaves of the established, but that particular teacher was a black-headed Irish woman who evidently entertained similar ideas on the subject to mine, and she gave me a good grade instead of the tongue-lashing I expected. Somewhere I read an essay on that book, and the writer spoke of the Vicar as the highest type of human imaginable, praising his meekness and humility and long-suffering and Christian spirit. Bah! A whole flock of bahs. In some cases humility is out of place. To my mind he was a lousy old worm, ten times lower down than the libertine that misused his daughters.” One Who Walked Alone, pp. 215-216, Novalyne and Bob discuss The Vicar of Wakefield. Howard is quoted as saying, “I think it’s the sorriest damn book I ever read…,” and “I’ll tell you what I think… I think the Vicar was a lousy old bastard. The villain seduced and raped his daughters, and the damned old fool took it piously.”

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Gordon, Robert W[inslow]

(1888-1961).

Gordon edited the “Old Songs That Men Have Sung” department for Adventure, 1923-1927. From 1925 to 1927, Howard corresponded with him and sent him versions of a number of songs, two of which appeared in the department. See under “Folk Songs.” [Robert W. Gordon to REH, 12 March 1928: “The New York TIMES began running a series for me in the Sunday editions, Magazine Section. So far fifteen articles have appeared in this first series and three more are to come…. ¶ Here is one of my TIMES articles that may be of passing interest to you since it deals with a few of the negro chanties and work songs of this particular district.” (Gordon was in Darien, Georgia.)] REH to Robert W. Gordon, 14 May 1928: “Your article was great — that’s all that can be said about it — it was superb. I’m glad your publishing your findings and look forward to your book.”

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Gorki, Maksim [Aleksei Maksimovich Peshkov]

(1868-1936).

Mentioned in an untitled scenario by Howard, included in REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. week of 20 February 1928, in which a character says, “What is London, what is Gorky, what is Tolstoy to the average man – even the man who reads them? The great writers die and fade into the dust of their works. Their books become their bones and their volumes range the shelves of fools, like withered mummies.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. November 1932 [SL 2 #65]: “Gorky seems to ramble interminably, without doing anything.”

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Gorman [probably Herbert S[herman] Gorman

(1893-1954)].

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1930 [SL 1 #49]: “I have not read the books by Gorman you mention, but the titles sound intriguing. The witch-cult offers great possibilities in itself, and a writer need not tie himself down to the actual limits of the thing….” [Herbert S. Gorman’s The Place Called Dagon (New York: George H. Doran, 1927) concerns a young doctor in an isolated New England town who learns of a secret witch-cult. The novel was mentioned favorably in Lovecraft’s “Supernatural Horror in Literature” (q.v.). It is not known what other books may have been referred to.]

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Green, Paul Eliot

(1894-1981).

REH to Harold Preece, ca. December 1928 [SL 1 #20]: “I’ve never read anything by Green. I seldom read drama.” [Green’s In Abraham’s Bosom won a Pulitzer Prize for Best American Play of 1927.]

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Gregg, Josiah

(1806-1850).

A Reprint Edition of Commerce of the Prairies, The Journal of a Santa Fe Trader, by Josiah Gregg. First published 1844. Dallas: The Southwest Press, 1933. 30620; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft 13 May 1936, quotes four paragraphs from Chapter XXIV, pp. 319-320 of this edition.

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Gregory, Jackson

(1882-1943).

Six Feet Four. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1918. 30715; PQ3; GL; TDB.
[Western novel.]

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Grenard, Fernand

(1866- ).

Baber. First of the Moguls. New York: Robert M. McBride & Co., 1930. Translated and adapted by Homer White and Richard Glaenzer. 30869; PQ3; GL; TDB.

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Grey, Zane

(1872-1939).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 7 July 1923, in a listing of parodic book titles are “‘Gliders of the Purple Stage,’ by Zane Grey” [Riders of the Purple Sage, 1912], “‘The Dessert of Cream-of-Wheat,’ by Zane Grey” [The Desert of Wheat, 1919], and “‘The Short Pause,’ by Zane Grey” [The Short-stop, 1909]. Post Oaks and Sand Roughs, p. 36: “His [Lars Jansen = Fowler Gafford] fiction was limited to O. Henry, Zane Grey, and Jack London….” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: Grey is listed among those Howard refers to as “my favorite writers.” The same source also has, apparently as a negative judgment on H.L. Mencken (q.v.): “I’d rather read Zane Grey the rest of my life.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft , 6 March 1933: “If I like it, then as far as I’m concerned it’s good, whether the author is Zane Grey or Voltaire…”

The Border Legion. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1916. 30719; PQ3; GL; TDB.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft , late September 1932 [SL 2 #64]: “…the Harps, who to my mind were the most terrible outlaws that ever cursed this Continent, not even excluding Boone Helm, from whom Zane Grey apparently drew his hellish ‘Gulden’ of The Border Legion.”

To the Last Man. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1922. 30751; PQ3; GL; TDB.

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Gross, Milt

(1895-1953).

Dun’t Esk!! New York: George H. Doran Co., 1927. 30801; PQ3; GL; TDB.
[Yiddish humor, in dialect.]

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Grosse, Karl (or Carl) Friedrich August

(1768-1847).

Horrid Mysteries. A Story. London: Printed for William Lane, at the Minerva Press, 1796.
“Children of the Night”: “-look, there’s a rare feast – Horrid Mysteries, by the Marquis of Grosse – the real Eighteenth Century edition.”

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Guerber, H[élène] A[deline]

(1859-1929).

Myths of Greece and Rome. New York: American Book Co., 1893. 30822; PQ3; GL; TDB.

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Guest, Edgar A[lbert]

(1881-1959).

In an untitled scenario, included in REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. week of 20 February 1928, “Mike” (the protagonist, apparently Howard’s viewpoint character) is in a drug store and is approached by the manager, who says, “You know, I been readin’ Eddie Guest since I heard you cussin’ him and I like his style.” To which Mike replies: “You would… Yes, he’s the high prophet of all you damned Rotarians and Kiwanians…. he’s the trumpet of a system I hate and despise. Because he’s the court fool of a system that forces me to write platitudinous rot in order to make a living. Such as he are dragging down great sums of money while real poets – did you ever hear of George Sylvester Viereck?…. A man like him starves in the attics of the cities while Eddie Guest and his crowd are wined and dined by the swine they laud and uphold…. I have nothing against his dear little optimism outside the fact that no thinking man can be an optimist. But he knows nothing of rime, rhythm, meter or the first real principles of poetry…. Here, here’s a poem by an author I never heard of, but it’s good. Read it and forget such fools as Eddie Guest.” Guest is also mentioned in Howard’s poem, “A Fable for Critics.” “Musings of a Moron” (The Junto, September 1929): “‘Listen,’ said Harold, ‘and take this to mind, ‘A Heap o’ Livin’ – He recited seven Eddie Guest poems.”

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[Main Menu]

H

[Main Menu]

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H.D. [Hilda Doolittle]

(1886-1961).

REH to Harold Preece, ca. December 1928 [SL 1 #20], includes H.D. among a list of the world’s great women.

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Haeckel, Ernst

(1834-1919).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. 20 February 1928 [SL 1 #10]: [Upton Sinclair, in The Profits of Religion] “relegates to the limbo of intellectual oblivion such men as Haeckel… I think that a man like Haeckel, who spent ten years in classifying a single atomic insect, certainly should be granted the title of ‘Thinker.'” The same source also has Haeckel named among men who “looked beyond the human” to the cosmic. REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. March 1928 [SL 1 #11], contains a fairly lengthy digression concerning Haeckel and his theory of “material monism.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. March 1928: “…either Haeckel’s right and there is no such thing as a ‘soul’ in the accepted sense…” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 9 August 1932: “…I used to be a violent admirer of Haekal, though I don’t remember much about him now…”

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Haggard, Sir H[enry] Rider

(1856-1925).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 7 July 1923: “If you know of any other Doyle books I can get cheap, please let me know. Or any of Sir Rider Haggard’s books, either.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 7 July 1923, in a listing of parodic book titles is “‘King Solomon’s Shines,’ by H. Rider Haggard [King Solomon’s Mines, 1885]. REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: Haggard is listed among those Howard refers to as “my favorite writers.”

Allan Quatermain. London: Longmans, Green, 1887. 30711; PQ3; GL; TDB.

The Ancient Allan. London: Longmans, Green, 1920. 30797; PQ3; GL; TDB.

The People of the Mist. London: Longmans, Green, 1894. 30694; PQ3; GL; TDB.

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Haldeman-Julius, E[manuel]

(1889-1951).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 6 August 1925: “One of my friends here and I have been having some arguments… I gave him some of E. Haldeman-Julius’ papers and he said E. Haldeman J. was a damn fool.” The Right Hook, vol. 1, no. 1: “And speaking of negroes, we see that Haldeman Julius recommends social equallity…. We could pardon anything else in Haldeman J.” EHJ is mentioned in “The Fastidious Fooey Mancucu” (parody, included in REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. October 1927), as “E. Helldemon Jew-less.” He is also mentioned in Howard’s poem, “A Fable for Critics.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. April 1930 [SL 1 #35]: “I got a letter from Preecel, i.e. Hink [Harold Preece] and he said he had sold a debunking article to EHJ and had met EHJ, Birchead, or Birkhead, or something like that whoeverthehellheis, also Joseph McCabe. I would have liked to have heard EHJ’s and Harold’s conversation.” [Haldeman-Julius (often referred to as EHJ) was the publisher of the Little Blue Books (q.v.), of which Howard appears to have been an avid reader, as well as “free-thinker” publications such as The American Freeman.]

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Haley, J. Evetts

(1901- ).

Review of Tevis Clyde Smith, Frontier’s Generation, in The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, April 1932.
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. April 1932 [SL 1 #62]: “Haley gave you a nice write-up, but no more than you deserve.”

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Hall, James Norman.

[See “Nordhoff, Charles and James Norman Hall.”]

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Hamilton, Edmond [Moore]

(1904-1977).

REH to The Eyrie, March 1932: “…I consider the current magazine [i.e., January] uniformly fine, of an excellence surprizing considering the fact that neither Lovecraft, Quinn, Hamilton, Whitehead, Kline nor Price was represented.”

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Hamlin, Charles Hunter

(1890-1973).

The War Myth in United States History. New York: Vanguard Press, 1927. 30745; PQ3; GL; TDB.

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Hammett, Samuel Dashiell

(1894-1961) (ed.).

Creeps By Night; Chills and Thrills Selected by Dashiell Hammett. New York: The John Day Company, 1931.

[H.P. Lovecraft to REH, 12 September 1931: “By the way – did I mention before that both Long and I are to be represented in the coming weird tale anthology ‘Creeps by Night’ – edited by Dashiell Hammett and published by the John Day Co.? Long’s tale will be ‘A Visitor from Egypt’, and mine, ‘The Music of Erich Zann’. I’m glad of the latter choice, for ‘Zann’ is one of my favourites among my own stuff.”] REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. October 1931: “I am most delighted to hear that Long’s story and your ‘Erich Zann’ are appearing in book form. Let me know when the book appears, for I most certainly will enrich my book collection with a copy. What makes me more eager for it is that I’ve never read ‘Erich Zann’ and look forward to a rare literary treat.'”

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Hanshew, Mary E. and Thomas W.

(1857-1914).

The Riddle of the Frozen Flame. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Page & Co., 1920. 30685; PQ3; GL; TDB.

The Riddle of the Mysterious Light. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Page & Co., 1921. 30681; PQ3; GL; TDB.

Hanshew, Thomas W.

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 7 July 1923, in a listing of parodic book titles are “‘Meek of the Forty Races,’ by Thomas Hanshew” [Cleek of the Forty Faces, 1911] and “‘Cleek’s Government Cases of Real Scotch,’ by T. Hanshew” [Cleek’s Government Cases, 1917]

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Hardin, John Wesley

(1853-1895).

The Life of John Wesley Hardin; From the Original Manuscript as Written by Himself. [n.p.]: Smith and Moore, 1896.

REH to August W. Derleth, ca. March 1933: “And in John Wesley Hardin’s autobiography, or rather in that part of it covering his life from his birth, in 1853, to the time he went to prison in 1878, descriptions are made of, or references to, the killings of 66 men. More than half of these were killed by Hardin himself.” REH to August W. Derleth, ca. October 1934: “John Wesley Hardin had one of the finest minds that this continent ever knew… His autobiography is remarkably vivid and lucid.” There are numerous references to Hardin in Howard’s letters to Lovecraft and Derleth.

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Harper, Jack and John Newbern.

Odd Texas. Dallas: Banks Upshaw & Co., 1936. 30740; PQ3; GL; TDB.
[A collection of a syndicated, illustrated newspaper feature, similar to the more famous “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!,” featuring odd bits of Texas lore and unusual facts. The first printing of the book was in March 1936 so Howard can’t have had it long (if at all).]

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Harris, Frank

(1855-1931).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, 6 March 1933: “Frank Harris was once a prizefighter…” [Harris was the author of a number of books of fiction, literary biography and criticism. Several of his titles were in the Little Blue Book series (q.v.). His My Reminiscences As a Cowboy (1930) was called by J. Frank Dobie “a blatant farrago of lies” and seems to be considered by authorities quite the most worthless book on the subject ever written.]

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Hart, Bertrand K[elton]

(1892-1941).

[H.P. Lovecraft to REH, 21 January 1933: “Enclosed is a cutting by a very sensible and well-rounded commentator (Bertrand K. Hart, Literary Editor of the Providence Journal) in which some of Jack London’s limitations are suggested.”] REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. 6 March 1933: “I read Mr. Hart’s essay about Jack London, but found nothing new or original in it. Many of his remarks are merely repetitions of what Jack himself said not long before his death, set forth in a different style… Mr. Hart takes in quite a bit of territory when he says nobody ‘in the world’ reads Jack’s books. I read them, continually, and several of my friends do.”

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Harte, [Francis] Bret[t]

(1836-1902).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: Harte is listed among a number of poets Howard likes.

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Hauptmann, Gerhardt

(1862-1946).

Die versunkene Glocke (The Sunken Bell). (1896).
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. January 1934, mentions having heard over the radio “a remarkable German play about a bell that was lost in a deep lake.”

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Hay, Thomas Robson

(1888-1974).

Hood’s Tennessee Campaign. New York: Walter Neale Publisher, 1929. 30657; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.

From title page: “To this essay was awarded the Robert M. Johnston Military History Prize by the American Historical Association for 1920.”

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Heald, Hazel

(1896-1961).

“The Horror in the Museum.” Weird Tales, July 1933.
[See under “Lovecraft.”]

“Out of the Eons.” Weird Tales, April 1935.
[See under “Lovecraft.”]

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Hecht, Ben

(1893-1964).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 23 June 1926: “In re sexual perverts, I’ve decided that a large percent of present day novelists are of that type. Notably Ben Hecht. This way; a form of perversion prompts small boys to scribble obscenities on the walls of houses, fences and the like. Why, no one can say, unless it is a debased desire to flaunt filth in the faces of the public. Thus, when the same youths grow older, they scribble on paper instead and flaunt the result in the faces of the public who eagerly hails them as bold, free writers. Some authors depict life as it really is to point a moral, to open people’s eyes, to reform conditions. But men of Hecht’s type simply – write. Seemingly not to point out the vileness as Upton Sinclair does, but to aid people to take such vileness as necessary products of civilization. Certainly their portrayals are true pictures but I believe it is to satisfy their own innate depravity.” Hecht is mentioned in Howard’s parodies (all included in letters to Tevis Clyde Smith), “The Fastidous Fooey Mancucu” (ca. October 1927), “Wolfsdung” (ca. January 1928), and “King Hootus” (written ca. January 1928), and in the poem, “A Fable for Critics.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. December 1928 [SL 1 #19]: “I like the style of those old fellows. Then English was a language – now it is a bastard motley, of which the modern writers use a weakened substitute – a transition from the flowery Victorian to the brutal and straightforward mode which is after all merely a reversion and an adaptation of the early and middle English style. Hecht be thanked.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932 includes Hecht among a group of writers of whom Howard says, “…three ringing razzberries for the whole mob….they’re all wet smacks.”

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Hemingway, Ernest [Miller]

(1899-1961).

Winner Take Nothing. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1933. 30758; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.

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Hemyng, Bracebridge

(1841-1901).

Jack Harkaway in Cuba. 30595; PQ3; GL; TDB.

[Tevis Clyde Smith to REH, ca. 2 August 1923: “I thought the Harkaway book was keen.” ] Tevis Clyde Smith, “Report on a Writing Man”: “He was equally at home in discussing Macbeth and Jack Harkaway.” Tevis Clyde Smith, “So Far the Poet…,” includes a cryptic note, “The Harkaway Books.” Hemyng’s Jack Harkaway was a popular series of “boys’ books” of the late 19th century. Jack Harkaway’s Adventures in America and Cuba ; Being a continuation of Adventures around the world (New York: Allison & Co., 1870) was reprinted under variant titles. One possibility is Jack Harkaway in Cuba (Chicago: M.A. Donohue, n.d. [Boys Series]).

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Henley, W[illiam] E[rnest]

(1849-1903).

“Invictus.”

In Howard’s scenario, “Irony,” the character “Gloria” quotes, “‘I am the master of my fate’ – ” to which “Costigan” replies, “Tripe! Absolute and indisputable tripe!” The last two lines of Henley’s poem read, “I am the master of my fate: | I am the captain of my soul.”

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Henry, O. [pseudonym of William Sidney Porter

(1862-1910)].

Post Oaks and Sand Roughs, p. 36: “His [Lars Jansen = Fowler Gafford] fiction was limited to O. Henry, Zane Grey, and Jack London….” Post Oaks and Sand Roughs, p. 48: Lars Jansen says, “Then I got to readin’ old Jack London and O. Henry, and the thought come that I’d like to write.” REH to Harold Preece, ca. 20 October 1928 [SL 1 #16]: “About O. Henry and the ostrich feather business – I can’t work up much resentment against a girl who’s that childish – too much like the action of a little kid who isn’t responsible for her thoughts.” [This is apparently a reference to The White Plume; or O. Henry’s Own Short Story, by Florence Stratton and Vincent Burke (Beaumont, TX: Szafir Co., 1931), which, according to a review in The Dallas Morning News (27 December 1931), “appeared originally in Bunker’s Monthly in 1928.” It concerns Porter’s courtship of Miss Clarence Crozier, the niece of a shopkeeper whom he visited when he came to pick up the mail for the ranch where he was employed. “Aunt Kitty, the owner of a great white plume which was in Clarence’s eyes the embodiment of queenly elegance, received those evening sallies with pert alarm. How she traded the white plume to Clarence in return for the girl’s forgetfulness in regard to Mr. Porter – but never delivered the plume! – is told simply, but with spirit and understanding.” (Vivian Richardson, Dallas Morning News review).

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Henty, G[eorge] A[lfred]

(1832-1902).

The Bravest of the Brave; or, With Peterborough in Spain. London: Blackie & Son, Ltd., 1887. 30604; PQ3; GL; TDB.
Henty was a very popular author of “boys’ books” in the latter part of the 19th century.

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Herbert, Sydney

(1886- ).

The Fall of Feudalism in France. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co., n.d. [1920]. 30658; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.

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Hergesheimer, Joseph

(1880-1954).

“Musings of a Moron” (The Junto, September 1929): ” ‘Damn Joseph Hergesheimer,’ said Harold… ‘Forever yapping about futility; if I had his money-‘”

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Heyck, Eduard

(1862-1941).

“The Peoples of Western Europe.” In The Book of History (q.v.), volume 7, Western Europe in the Middle Ages.

REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. September 1933: “For what reasons did the German tribes go to war? Was it, as moderns are prone to suppose without bothering to ascertain the true fact, merely because of a blood-thirsty ferocity? I quote Professor Eduard Heyck: ‘Their one desire was to secure a permanent settlement upon good arable ground; this was an indispensable condition.'” [The quotation is from p. 3431.]

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Hill, Robert T[homas]

(1858-1941).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. January 1931, included a clipping of a published letter to the editor (probably from a Fort Worth paper) written by Hill. Hill was a noted geologist whose reputation rested in large part on his work on the geology of Texas. He taught at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, and lived in a hotel there. It is possible that Hill was the geologist who explained the Wegener theory to Howard. (REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. June 1931 [SL 2 #53]: “What you say of the unfortunate Boskops interested me greatly, also your remarks about the Wegener theory. I first heard of that theory about three years ago – or perhaps it was a different theory based on similar principles – I had gone up to Fort Worth to see the Doss-Chastain fight and the college professor with whom I stayed talked quite a bit about the theory of land driftage, and suggested I write a story based on it.”) Several of Howard’s letters to Lovecraft and to August Derleth note features of Texas geology, and his story “Marchers of Valhalla” is based on it.

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Hobbs, Edward W.

Sailing Ships at a Glance; a Pictorial Record of the Evolution of the Sailing Ship from the Earliest Times Until Today. With an Introduction by L.G. Carr Laughton. With 150 Illustrations by the Author. New York and London: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, The Knickerbocker Press, 1926. 30615; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.
[According to a list found among his papers, REH paid $ .89 plus $ .14 postage for this book.]

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Holmes, Frederick Lionel.

[See “Deaton, E.L.”]

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Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Sr.

(1809-1894).

The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table. (1858) (2 copies). 30896, 30890; PQ3.

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Homer.

REH to Harold Preece, 4 January 1930: “You will note a striking resemblance between Greece’s heroic age, sung by Homer, and the Red Branch Cycle of the Irish legends.” Howard’s poem, “Autumn,” begins, “Now is the lyre of Homer flecked with rust.”

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Hood, Thomas

(1799-1845).

“The Dream of Eugene Aram.”
“Skulls in the Stars” (Weird Tales, January 1929) uses ll. 67-72 as a heading.

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Hopper [Chesson], Nora

(1871-1906).

“The Dark Man.”

REH to Harold Preece, 4 January 1930: “As for Nora Hopper’s poem, when I enjoy the theme and rhythm of a poem I do not trouble my brain overmuch about the psychic interpretation. I know that ‘dark man’ is the Gaelic term for blindness and whether she meant this in a physical or spiritual way, I do not know nor am I overly interested.” [Nora Hopper was an English poet, daughter of an Irish father and Welsh mother, who became a popular poet of the late 19th century, much influenced by the “Celtic Twilight” school. “The Dark Man” appears in her collection, Under Quicken Boughs (London: John Lane, The Bodley Head, 1896). It is interesting to note that Howard sold his story “The Dark Man” to Farnsworth Wright in March 1930.]

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House, Boyce

(1896-1961).

Were You in Ranger? Illustrations by Winston Croslin. Second printing. Dallas, Texas: Tardy Publishing Co., 1935. 30635; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.

[Note in PQ1: “On p. 46, a paragraph about a visit of Jess Willard, the world’s heavyweight boxing champion, to Eastland County is underlined.”]

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Hughes, [James] Langston

(1902-1967).

“The Negro Speaks of Rivers.”

Robert H. Barlow found a typewritten copy of this poem among poetry mss. sent to him by Howard’s father after REH’s death.

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Hughes, Rupert

(1872-1956).

Mentioned in the poem, “A Fable for Critics.” [Novelist and composer]

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Hugo, Victor [Marie]

(1802-1885).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 7 July 1923, in a listing of parodic book titles is “‘The Hunchback of Nota Damn,’ by Victor Hugo” [The Hunchback of Notre Dame, 1831]. REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 25 February 1925: “I’ve read…Hugo, and a lot of those old libertines…” Post Oaks and Sand Roughs, p. 36, named as a writer Lars [Jansen = Fowler Gafford] “had never heard of…”

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Hull, Edith M[aude]

The Sheik. Boston: Small, Maynard & Co., 1921.

Included on a listing, headed “Library,” found among Howard’s papers [See Appendix Two]. Hugely popular novel (74 printings between February 1921 and March 1922) made into a hugely popular movie starring Rudolph Valentino (Paramount, 1928). REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 7 July 1923, in a listing of parodic book titles is “‘The Speak,’ by E.M. Hull” [The Sheik, 1921].

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Hurst, S[amuel] B[ertram] H[aworth]

(1876- ).

“The Head.” Weird Tales, January 1932.

REH to The Eyrie, March 1932: “…the stories by Smith, Long, Hurst and Jacobi could scarcely be excelled.”

“Strange Bedfellows.” Oriental Stories, October 1930.

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. November 1930: “I quote from Farnsworth’s last letter: ‘”The Voice of El-Lil” is tied for first place with “Strange Bedfellows” in the letters and votes received so far for the first issue of Oriental Stories.'”

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Huxley, Thomas Henry

(1825-1895).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. 20 February 1928 [SL 1 #10]: Huxley is listed among those who “looked beyond the human” to the cosmic.

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Huysmans, J[oris] K[arl]

(1848-1907).

From “The Children of the Night” (Weird Tales, April/May 1931): “But look there… sandwiched between that nightmare of Huysmans’, and Walpole’s Castle of Otranto – Von Junzt’s Nameless Cults.” [Huysmans’ Là-Bas (1891; U.S. edition as Down There, 1902) is a classic work of occult fiction, based on his own experiences.]

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I’Anson, Alice.

“Teotihuacan.” Weird Tales, November 1930.

REH to The Eyrie, January 1931: “I was particularly fascinated by the poem by Alice I’Anson in the latest issue… The writer must surely live in Mexico, for I believe that only one familiar with that ancient land could so reflect the slumbering soul of prehistoric Aztec-land as she has done. There is a difference in a poem written on some subject by one afar off and a poem written on the same subject by one familiar with the very heart of that subject. I have put it very clumsily, but Teotihuacan breathes the cultural essence, spirit and soul of Mexico.” [Farnsworth Wright appended a note that I’Anson “lives in Mexico City.”]

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Ingraham, J[oseph] H[olt]

(1809-1866).

Throne of David; From the Consecration of the Shepherd of Bethlehem to the Rebellion of Prince Absalom. Being An Illustration Of The Splendor, Power, & Dominion Of The Reign Of The Shepherd, Poet, Warrior, King, & Prophet, Ancestor & Type Of Jesus; In A Series Of Letters Addressed By An Assyrian Ambassador, Resident At The Court Of Saul & David, To His Lord & King On The Throne Of Nineveh; Wherein The Glory Of Assyria, As Well As The Magnificence Of Judea, Is Presented To The Reader As By An Eye-Witness. Philadelphia: G.G. Evans, 1860. 30784; PQ3; GL; TDB.

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Inman, Herbert Escott.

Wulnoth the Wanderer; A Story of King Alfred of England. New York: A.C. McClurg, 1908. 30589; PQ3; GL; TDB.

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International Adventure Library

International Adventure Library. New York: W.R. Caldwell & Co., n.d. 30763; PQ4 (author as “Stoker”); GL (author as “Stokes”].

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 5 October 1923: “I’ve had two cousins visiting me, whom I hadn’t seen in fifteen years. They’d read the International Adventure Library, and from what they said, ‘Dracula’ is a humdinger. I’m going to order the set right away.” [“See “Stoker.” See also Appendix Six for a listing of books in the International Adventure Library.]

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The Irish Annals.

REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. 9 August 1930 [SL 1 #39]: “I think such Latin authors as mention the above matters agree with this account, in that the Britons precede the Picts and the Picts, the Scots or Gaels. The legends of the various races coincide with it, as do, I think, the narratives of the British historians, Gildas and Nennius. I have not read The Irish Annals nor The Pictish Chronicle but if I am not much mistaken both agree in placing the arrival of the Gaels much later than that of the Picts and Britons.” [See Henry Smith Williams, ed., The Historians History of the World]

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Irish Manuscripts, Ancient.

“Musings of a Moron” (The Junto, September 1929): “I recited the seventy-five lost books of the Tain Bo Cualgne in a dreary voice.” [The Tain is the Irish national epic.] In “The Cairn on the Headland” (Strange Tales, January 1933), Howard mentions The Four Masters, “The Book of Leinster, compiled in the late 1150’s,” and “the Book of Lecan, compiled by the MacFirbis about 1416.”

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Irving, Washington

(1783-1859).

Knickerbocker Tales. (1809).

REH to Wilfred Blanch Talman, ca. September 1931: “The American occupancy of the Nederlandsche people always interested me, and Irving’s Knickerbocker Tales are some of my most enjoyable memories – the reading of them, I mean.” [The proper title of this work- seldom used today – is A History of New York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty, as by “Diedrich Knickerbocker.”] Irving is mentioned in Howard’s parody, “Wolfsdung” (written ca. January 1928).

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Jacobi, Carl

1908-1997).

“The Curse Pistol.”

REH to Carl Jacobi, ca. March 1932: “I shall also look for ‘The Curse Pistol’ in Strange Tales.” [The story never appeared. Strange Tales ceased publication, the final issue dated January 1933.] REH to Carl Jacobi, 17 March 1933: “I’m sorry you suffered from the collapse of Strange Tales. I, too, had a story with the company which was returned unpublished and unpaid for.”

“The Haunted Ring.” Ghost Stories, December 1931/January 1932.

[Carl Jacobi to REH, 4 March 1932: “…perhaps you saw my ‘The Haunted Ring’ (title changed by editor from ‘The Coach on the Ring’) in the January GHOST STORIES.”] REH to Carl Jacobi, ca. March 1932: “It was not my fortune to read either of the other stories you mentioned [this story and “Moss Island”]; in fact, I live so far out of civilization, as it were, that I can’t keep track of magazines very well. It’s forty miles to the nearest first-class news-stands, so my magazine reading is rather desultory.”

“Mive.” Weird Tales, January 1932.

REH to The Eyrie, March 1932: “…the stories by Smith, Long, Hurst and Jacobi could scarcely be excelled. In the latter’s tale especially there are glimpses that show finely handled imagination almost in perfection – just enough revealed, just enough concealed.” Carl Jacobi to REH, 4 March 1932: “In the Eyrie column of the current issue of WEIRD TALES I have noted your kind comments regarding my very short tale, “Mive,” which appeared in the January number. Permit me to express my thanks and appreciation.” REH to Carl Jacobi, ca. March 1932: “…if my comments on your story ‘Mive’, have helped you with the editors, I am sincerely glad. I consider that story as the finest of its kind have ever read.”

“Moss Island.” Amazing Stories, Winter 1932.
[Carl Jacobi to REH, 4 March 1932: “…I would be pleased to know you had read my ‘Moss Island’ now current on the stands in the Winter issue of AMAZING STORIES QUARTERLY…”] REH to Carl Jacobi, ca. March 1932 (see above, “The Haunted Ring.”)

“Revelations in Black.” Weird Tales, April 1933.
REH to Carl Jacobi, 17 March 1933: “I am glad to write to Wright, commenting favorably on ‘Revelations in Black’. It is an unusual and well written story, reflecting the same imaginative quality which caught my attention in ‘Mive’. Frankly, you have an imagination of a subtle and poetic nature rarely met with, and should go far in the writing profession.”

“The Satanic Piano.” Weird Tales, May 1934.
REH to Carl Jacobi, ca. June 1934: “I enjoyed ‘The Satanic Piano’ and look forward to reading more of your work in the near future.”

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James, Henry

(1843-1916).

One Who Walked Alone, p. 83: “I said that sometimes bad things were just below the surface and that they might determine life or death…as it sometimes does in a Henry James novel. Bob said, ‘To hell with Henry James.'”

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James, Marquis

(1891-1955).

They Had Their Hour. New York: Blue Ribbon Books, Inc., 1934. 30709; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.

Contents: The Remarkable Voyage of Captain Thomas Jones, Pirate; On the King’s Errand [Captain William Kidd]; Benjamin Franklin, Electrician; Listen, My Children [Paul Revere]; Thomas Jefferson Goes Shopping [writing of Declaration of Independence]; The Wrong Road [Benedict Arnold and John André]; Deguelo [The Alamo]; The Plot That Failed [Pinkerton foils plot to assassinate President-elect Lincoln]; The Stolen Railroad Train [the “General”]; Jordan’s Banks [Private Sam Davis]; A Crime of Murder [Lincoln assassination]; Pursuit [death of John Wilkes Booth]; Expiation [trial of Lincoln conspirators]; The Twain Shall Meet [the “Golden Spike”]; First Prize, $600,000 [the Louisiana Lottery]; The Life and Death of Dick Yeager [Oklahoma outlaw].

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James, Montague Rhodes

(1862-1936).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 10 August 1931: “I note that another book of ghost-lore has blossomed from the pen of Montague Rhodes James – of whom I had never heard in my life before I read your fascinating article on horror-literature in The Recluse [i.e., “Supernatural Horror in Literature”]. I would like to read some of this gentleman’s work. Could you tell me what company handles his stuff, or where I could obtain it?” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 4 October 1931: “I’ll appreciate the address of M.R. James.” [Probably refers to The Collected Ghost Stories (London: Edward Arnold Ltd., 1931).]

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Johnson, Burges

(1877-1963).

Bashful Ballads. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1911. 30634; PQ3; GL; TDB.

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Johnson, Fenton

(1888-1958).

“Tired.”

Robert H. Barlow found a typewritten copy of this poem among poetry mss. sent to him by Howard’s father after REH’s death. The poem is included in Little Blue Book #298, Today’s Poetry, edited by Nelson Antrim Crawford and David O’Neil.

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Johnson, Samuel

(1709-1784).

Mentioned in “The Rump of Swift,” (parody, included in REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. June 1928).

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Johnston, Alexander

(1879- ).

Ten – and Out!; The Complete Story of the Prize Ring in America. New York: Ives Washburn, 1927. 30676; PQ3; GL; TDB.

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Joyce, P[atrick] W[eston]

(1827-1914).

A Short History of Gaelic Ireland from the earliest times to 1608. Dublin and Cork: The Educational Company of Ireland; London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1924. 30688; PQ3; GL; TDB.

REH to Harry Bates, 1 June 1931: “In gathering material for this story [i.e., “Spears of Clontarf”] I have drawn on such sources as Joyce’s ‘History of Gaelic Ireland’, ‘The Saga of Burnt Nial’ Spenser’s ‘View of the State of Ireland’, ‘The Wars of the Gaels with the Galls’ and other histories.” It appears likely that Joyce was actually Howard’s source for material from all of these, as he repeats Joyce’s rather idiosyncratic versions of the titles, and all the names and incidents in the story are found in Joyce. See entries for The Saga of Burnt Njal; Spenser, Edmund, A View of the Present State of Ireland; Todd, James [Henthorn], Cogadh Gaedhel re Gaillabh. The War of the Gaedhil and the Gaill; or the Invasion of Ireland by the Danes and Other Norsemen; and Giraldus Cambrensis.

The Story of Ancient Irish Civilization. London: Longmans, Green & Co./Dublin: M.H. Gill & Son, Ltd., 1907.

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. October 1930 [SL 1 #47]: “I am highly intrigued by the drawings of the images but am unable to give you any information about them. It might be possible that the works of P.W. Joyce might throw some light on them, though Joyce was more of a historian than an archaeologist. However, his works are veritable store-houses of knowledge, and it is possible that his ‘The Story of Ancient Irish Civilization’ might contain references to the origin or use of such images. This book is printed by The Talbot Press, Dublin, and published by Longmans, Green and Co., 39 Paternoster Row, London.”

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Kant, Immanuel

(1724-1804).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. 20 February 1928 [SL 1 #10], following a list of men who “looked beyond the human” to the cosmic: “Kant looked beyond and saw nothing.”

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Keller, David H

(1880-1966).

REH to August W. Derleth, ca. December 1933: “Frankly, it seems to me that the average pseudo-scientific tale (always excepting the really fine work of such men as Wandrei, Williamson, Keller and a few others) is pretty poor stuff…”

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Kellogg, Elijah, Jr.

(1813-1901).

“Spartacus to the Gladiators at Capua.”
A brief quotation from this declamation is used as a heading for Howard’s poem, “A Son of Spartacus.”

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Khayyam, Omar.

(See “Fitzgerald, Edward”).

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Kipling, Rudyard

(1865-1936).

Post Oaks and Sand Roughs, p. 74: “Steve [Costigan = REH] tried rhymes. He wrote a great deal of jingling, jangling verse on the order of Robert W. Service, for whom he entertained a regard second only to Rudyard Kipling. Clive [Hilton = Tevis Clyde Smith] considered Service the greatest poet of all time, but Steve leaned toward Kipling, because, as he said, Service wrote a few rotten poems, but Kipling never did.” Mentioned in Howard’s untitled parody (“‘Hatrack!’ a voice came to me dimly…”), included in REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. March 1929, as “Rudyard Dribbling.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. June 1929 [SL 1 #25]: “Writing is a lot like architecture. The whole structure has to suit – each piece has to be in place. A master of the game, like Kipling, for instance,…always places the pieces right.” REH to The Eyrie, November 1929: “[E. Hoffmann] Price has captured the true spirit of the East in his tales, just as Kipling did.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1930 [SL 1 #49]: “…Kipling, Mundy, a few others, they can write convincingly of Oriental mysticism; not many others that I have read after.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: Kipling is listed among those Howard refers to as “my favorite writers,” as well as among a number of poets Howard likes. The same source has: “Of all these foreigners, I prefer Kipling’s works. He’s made remarks about America that made me want to break his back, but I’ve got much solid enjoyment out of his prose and verse. He has guts at least, which so many modern writers utterly lack.” In One Who Walked Alone, p. 119, Mrs. Ellis relates an incident in which Howard quoted Kipling and she began reciting entire poems to him.

REH to Emil Petaja July 23, 1935: “Glad you like the bits of verse I sometimes use for chapter headings. They are mine, except where due credit is given to the author – in the past I have used quotations from Chesterton, Kipling, Poe, Swinburne, and possibly others which I do not at present recall.

“The Ballad of East and West.”
“Skull-Face” (Weird Tales, October, November, December 1929 [3 part serial]): Chapter 5 heading is l. 62 of this poem. One Who Walked Alone, p. 119, Howard is said to have quoted the last two lines of the opening stanza.

“The Betrothed.”
One Who Walked Alone, p. 119, Howard is said to have quoted the line ‘A woman is only a woman but a good cigar is a smoke.'”

“The Finest Story in the World.”
REH to Harold Preece, ca. October/November 1930: “I don’t believe I’ve ever read that tale of Kipling’s, ‘The Finest Story in the World’…”

“Heriot’s Ford.”
“Lord of Samarcand” (Oriental Stories, Spring 1932): Chapter 5 heading is ll. 1-4 of this poem, apparently misquoted (“Inclusive Edition”)

The Jungle Book. London & New York: Macmillan, 1894. 30782; PQ3; GL; TDB.
Included on a listing, headed “Library,” found among Howard’s papers. See Appendix Two. Originally published in two volumes; both Howard’s own listing and the accessions list indicate only one volume, probably a combined edition.

Land and Sea Tales; for Scouts and Guides. London: Macmillan & Co., 1923. 30804; PQ3; GL; TDB.

“The Man Who Was.”
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 22 June 1923: “Did you ever read ‘The Man That Came Back’ by Kipling? In it a phrase is used, ‘Rung Ho! Hira Singh!’ which is the titles of two of Talbot Mundy’s books.” There is no such title among Kipling’s works. The phrase appears in the story, “The Man Who Was” (about a British soldier who returns to his regiment, in India, many years after being captured by the Russians in the Crimea).

One Volume Kipling. New York: Doubleday, Doran & Co., 1928. 30590; PQ3; GL; TDB.

“A Pict Song”

The similarity of Howard’s “The Song of a Mad Minstrel” to this poem has frequently been noted.

The Phantom ‘Rickshaw and Other Tales. Allahabad: A.H. Wheeler & Co., 1888. 30692; PQ3; GL; TDB.

A listing, headed “Library,” found among Howard’s papers includes “The Phantom Rickshaw and Other Stories.” See Appendix Two. REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 7 July 1923, in a listing of parodic book titles is “‘The Phantom Hawkshaw,’ by Rudyard Kipling.” Contents: “The Phantom ‘Rickshaw” | “My Own True Ghost Story” | “The Strange Ride of Morrowbie Jukes” | “The Man Who Would Be King”

Rudyard Kipling’s Verse; Inclusive Edition; 1885-1918. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Page & Co., 1925. 30596; PQ3 (as “Kipling (verse inclusive ed.)”); GL; TDB.

“The Sea-Wife.”
“Sea Curse” (Weird Tales, May 1928): Story heading is ll. 41-44 of this poem.

“The Sending of Dana Da.”
REH to Clark Ashton Smith, ca. March 1934 [SL 2 #73]: “I remember in one of Kipling’s yarns somebody haunted somebody else with a ‘sending’ of cats.”

“The Song of Diego Valdez.” (1902).
“El Borak”: “‘He is a Spaniard and his name is’ (here it seemed to me the Arab hesitated and his eye wandered from me) ‘Diego Valdez,’ he said. ¶ ‘Any relation to the originaI?’ I asked innocently. ¶ ‘Original?’ He darted a quick glance at me. ¶ ‘And in the face of Fortune and last in mazed disdain / I made Diego Valdez, High Admiral of Spain.’ ¶ I quoted. In that brief instant of hesitation before the name it had seemed to me that his wandering glance had rested on a book on the table and that book bore the name of ‘Kipling’ on its vellum binding.” The quoted lines are 61-64 of the poem.

“The Winners.”
Tevis Clyde Smith, “Report on a Writing Man”: “All the time, Bob kept repeating Kipling: ‘Down to Gehenna, or up to the throne, he travels the fastest who travels alone,’…” Lines 5-6 of the first stanza of this poem.

“With Scindia to Delhi.”
“The Road of Azrael” (submitted to Clayton Publications ca. March 1932): Story heading is ll. 61-64 of this poem, apparently misquoted (“Inclusive Edition”)

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Kline, Otis Adelbert

(1891-1946).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1930 [SL 1 #49]: [After saying he found the first issue of Oriental Stories “slightly disappointing”] “However, with such writers as Hoffmann Price, Owen and Kline, I look for better things.” REH to The Eyrie, March 1932: “…I consider the current magazine [i.e., January] uniformly fine, of an excellence surprizing considering the fact that neither Lovecraft, Quinn, Hamilton, Whitehead, Kline nor Price was represented.” Howard retained Kline as his agent from the spring of 1933 through his death in June 1936, and Kline continued as the agent for REH’s work until his own death.

Kline, Otis Adelbert and E. Hoffmann Price. “Thirsty Blades.” Weird Tales, February 1930.
REH to The Eyrie, April 1930: “Thirsty Blades is fine…It moves like a cavalry charge, with an incessant clashing of steel that stirs the blood. Gigantic shadows from the outer gulfs fall across the actors of the drama, yet the sense of realism is skilfully retained.”

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Knibbs, H[enry] H[erbert]

(1874-1945).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 7 July 1923, in a listing of parodic book titles is “‘Partners of Dance,’ by H.H. Knibbs” [Partners of Chance, 1921]. REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 6 August 1926: “I’ve ordered a couple of H.H. Knibbs’ books of poems… I like Knibbs, what little I’ve read of him.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: Knibbs is listed among a number of poets Howard likes. Knibbs’ poems occasionally appeared in Adventure magazine. Howard’s library included one collection (see below). Other of Knibbs’ collections included Songs of the Outlands (1914) and Saddle Songs (1922).

Songs of the Trail. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1920. 30742; PQ3; GL; TDB.

“The Valley That God Forgot.”
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 23 April 1933, quotes ll. 3-6 of this poem. Included in Songs of the Trail.

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Kramer, Edgar Daniel.

“Bride of Baal.” Weird Tales, May 1936.
REH to August W. Derleth, 9 May 1936: [Referring to the May 1936 Weird Tales] “I did like Smith’s poem, and Kramer’s.”

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Kubin, Alfred

(1877-1959).

Damonen und Nachtgesichte. Mit Einer selbstdarstellung des Künstlers und 130 Bildtafeln. Dresden: Carl Reissner Verlag, 1926. 30724; PQ3; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.
REH to F. Wright, ca. July 1930 (SL 1 #38 p. 48): “…a suggestion of nameless semi-human monstrosity, like the suggestion gotten from a study of Kubin’s Waldgespenst.” The book title translates as “Demons and Faces of the Night. With an Autobiography of the Artist and 130 Illustrations.” “Waldgespenst” translates “The Forest Ghost”; the work is included in Damonen und Nachtgesichte.

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Lamarre, Joseph.

The Passion of the Beast. Boston: The Stratford Co., 1928. 30611; PQ3; GL; TDB.
An unusual novel, about the strange hold a gorilla exerts on an aristocratic French family. In Paris, William St. Clair meets Armand Dumesnil, who presently asks the American to accompany him to his family estate. There St. Clair meets Armand’s beautiful sister, Yvonne, and learns that there is some mystery surrounding the family. He comes to learn that their father, Hippolyte Dumesnil, while on safari, had seen a female gorilla and her children killed by his bearers. He prevented them from killing her mate, whom he captured and named Melek. Melek soon thereafter saved Dumesnil’s life, and was brought to live on the family estate. Dumesnil had come to believe that the lives of his own children, Armand and Yvonne, were owed to the ape, who proved to be extremely jealous of any attentions to Yvonne. Armand has brought St. Clair to the estate in hopes he can help them break Melek’s psychological hold on the family. St. Clair, of course, falls in love with Yvonne, and his efforts to rescue her from this strange captivity culminate in a chase through the south of France. REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. March 1929, includes a satiric cast listing: “The line up for The Fashion of the Cheese. | The Whoreson – William | His Friend – Edmund | The Bastard – Hippolyte Dumesnil | His Son – Armand | His Daughter – Yvonne | The Blistering Damn Monkey – Melek”

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Lamb, Harold Albert

(1892-1962).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. December 1932: Lamb is listed among those Howard refers to as “my favorite writers.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. May/June 1933 [SL 2 #67]: “I do not possess an indiscriminate antipathy for intellectuals; for such men as, for instance, Harold Lamb, I have only respect and a keen admiration.”

The Crusades; The Whole Story of the Crusades Originally Published in Two Volumes as Iron Men and Saints and The Flame of Islam. New York: Doubleday & Co., 1930, 1931. 30687; PQ3; GL; TDB.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 22 September 1932 [SL 2 #64]: “Lamb, writing on the crusades, seems to discount the theory of trade-routes, at least in connection with the First Crusade. As near as I can learn, he maintains that movement was begun by Urban for his own particular purposes…”

Tamerlane; the Earth-Shaker. Fourth printing. New York: Robert M. McBride & Co., 1930 [originally published 1928]. 30621; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.
Note in PQ1: Stamped on title page, “A.F. Von Blon | Rare Book Dealer | Waco, Texas.”

“The Three Palladins.” Adventure, July 30, 1923 (Part I); August 10, 1923 (Part II); August 20, 1923 (Part III).
“The Department of Weapons: The Sword,” in “The Golden Caliph”: “I quote Harold Lamb, in ‘The Three Palladins’, ‘Mukuli Khan’s sword was a two-handed affair, a hundred pounds in weight.’”

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Lane-Poole, Stanley

(1854-1931).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: Lane-Poole is listed among those Howard refers to as “my favorite writers.”

Saladin; and the Fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1898. 30691; PQ4; GL; TDB.

Turkey. By Stanley Lane-Poole, Assisted by E.J.W. Gibb and Arthur Gilman. London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1888. 30618; PQ3; GL; TDB.

REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. 9 August 1932: “…do you know what year the Danube Canal was constructed…?…Evidently it existed in 1683, because Stanley Lane-Pool speaks of ‘the island suburb of Leopoldstadt’…” The same source has: “Even Stanley Lane-Pool deplores the action of Milosh Kabilovitch…” Both references are to this book. The first is to p. 228: “The island suburb of Leopoldstadt soon fell into the hands of the Turks, and became a smouldering pyre.” The second is to p. 45: “Milosh Kobilovich, for this treacherous assassination, has ever since been regarded as a Serbian hero….the igonominy of betrayal has been absolved by posterity in consideration of the utility of the result. An assassin thus becomes a sort of inverted hero.”

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Lanier, Sidney

(1842-1881).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 21 August 1926: “I’ve about decided that the only American poets worth much are Sidney Lanier, Poe and [George Sylvester] Viereck; they are equal to any England ever produced.” REH to Robert W. Gordon, 2 January 1927: “How many really classical poets have we produced? Lanier, Poe, Viereck – and who else.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: Lanier is listed among a number of poets Howard likes.

“Barnacles.” (1867).
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 6 August 1926: “Say, Weird Tales is publishing some fine poetry, reprints, you know. This last issue they published… ‘Barnacles’ by Lanier.”

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Lardner, Ring[old Wilmer]

(1885-1933).

One Who Walked Alone, p. 200: “‘Did you ever read any of Ring Lardner’s baseball stories?…Well, I’ll tell you,’ Bob said, ‘what he did for the baseball players ought to be done for the American cowboy.'”

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Larson, Laurence M[arcellus]

(1868-1938).

History of England and the British Commonwealth. New York: Henry Holt, 1924. 30901; PQ3.

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Lawrence, T[homas] E[dward]

(1888-1935).

Revolt in the Desert. Garden City, New York: Garden City Publishing Co., Inc., 1927. 30767; PQ2; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.

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Ledwidge, Francis

(1891-1917).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: “Francis Ledwedge” is listed among a number of poets Howard likes. [An Irish poet, discovered and sponsored by Lord Dunsany, he had two volumes of poetry published during his lifetime. He was killed in Flanders during WWI.]

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Lehmann, Herman

(1859-1932)

Nine Years Among the Indians: the story of the captivity and life of a Texan among the Indians, edited by J. Marvin Hunter, 1927. Von Boeckmann-Jones, Austin, Texas. Still in HPU holdings.

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Lehmer, Derrick Norman

(1868-1938).

Fightery Dick and Other Poems. A Book of Free Ballads. New York: The Macmillan Co., 1936. Still in HPU holdings.
This book was not included in previous listings of Howard’s library, and is not found on the Howard Payne accessions list, but has the bookplate of the REH Memorial Collection. Publication date was February 1936. It is possible the book was donated to the collection, though there is no inscription.

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Leslie, A. [pseudonym of Leslie Scott]

(1893-1975).

“Cravetheen the Harper.” Weird Tales, September 1928.
REH to Harold Preece, ca. August 1928: “I have a rime in this month’s Weird Tales which you might like, and tucked away in the back of the magazine is a real poem by Leslie – a better verse than I’ll probably ever write.” [Scott also wrote westerns under his own name, and as “Bradford Scott” and “Jackson Cole.”]

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Lewis, Sinclair

(1885-1951).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932 includes Lewis among a group of writers of whom Howard says, “…three ringing razzberries for the whole mob….they’re all wet smacks.” One Who Walked Alone, p. 226: [referring to an unnamed Lewis book which Truett Vinson had given to Novalyne Price] “Bob read the page and began talking about what a damn fool Sinclair Lewis was! Said he’d call Lewis a jackass, if he were sure my grandmother were out of earshot.”

Babbitt. New York: Harcourt & Brace, 1922.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. May-June 1933 [SL 2 #67]: “All in all, I qualify, according to the standards of the ‘professional intellectuals’ as a Babbitt….”

[Lewis, Sinclair. Main Street; The Story of Carol Kennicott. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Howe, 1920. 30555; TDB]
I believe it is questionable whether this title was part of the Howard collection. It appears on the accessions list immediately before the listing of multi-volume sets, with which I believe the cataloging of the Howard collection begins.

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Lhuyd, Edward

(1660-1709).

REH to Farnsworth Wright, ca. June 1930 [SL 1 #38]: “And I note from the fact that Mr. Lovecraft has his character speaking Gaelic instead of Cymric, in denoting the Age of the Druids, that he holds to Lhuyd’s theory as to the settling of Britain by the Celts. ¶ “This theory is not generally agreed to, but I scarcely think that it has ever been disproved, and it was upon this that my story ‘The Lost Race’ was based…” [Lhuyd was the author of Archæologia Brittanica; giving some account additional to what has been hitherto publish’d, of the languages, histories and customs of the original inhabitants of Great Britain; from collections and observations in travels through Wales, Cornwal, Bas-Bretagne, Ireland and Scotland. Oxford, 1707. Lhuyd may also have contributed to, or been a source for, William Baxter’s Glossarium Antiquitatum Britannicarum (q.v.). Howard may have learned of him from O’Reilly and O’Donovan’s Irish-English Dictionary (q.v.). For instance, in Bishop O’Brien’s (q.v.) “Remarks on the letter A,” p. 6: “…the first Celts who came to Ireland (whether they arrived there immediately from Gaul, or rather after remaining for some tract of time in the greater British Isle, as Mr. Lhuyd gives good grounds to think….” And in “Remarks on the letter P,” p. 400: “If the old Brigantes were really of the first inhabitants of Britain, it would follow that they were a part of the Guidelian or Gaulish colony, who went over to Ireland, and whom Mr. Lhuyd evidently proves to have been the first inhabitants of all that part of Great Britain which now comprehends England and Wales.”]

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The Life and Battles of John L. Sullivan.

Post Oaks and Sand Roughs, p. 40: “Steve [Costigan = REH] yearned for The Life and Battles of John L. Sullivan which was just being published, but he felt that he could not afford the $4.00 which it cost.” No book of this title is found in the National Union Catalog. This may refer to a reprint edition of John L. Sullivan, the Champion Pugilist. His Life and Battles, with a full history of his great battle with Paddy Ryan. (New York: R.K. Fox, 1882. The Police Gazette (q.v.) (of which Fox had been Sporting Editor) published several books with the title “Life and Battles of…” during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and may have offered reprintings to readers, but the N.U.C. lists only Jack Johnson, James J. Corbett, Joe Collins (Tug Wilson), John Morrissey, and Yankee Sullivan (no relation to John L.).

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Lillie, Gordon W[illiam]

(1860-1942).

Buffalo Bill. 30747 (as “Little, W. Gordon”); PQ3 (same as accessions list); GL (same as accessions list); TDB.
[Note in TDB: “Memoir of Cody’s rival and later partner, ‘Pawnee Bill’; not in Natl. Union catalog, this could be Life Story of Pawnee Bill, 1926.” ] This could also be Thrilling Lives of Buffalo Bill and Pawnee Bill, by Frank Winch (New York: S.L. Parsons & Co., 1911). The title page of this book is so laid out that an inattentive librarian might take Pawnee Bill for the author and Buffalo Bill for the subject.

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Lippman, Walter

(1889-1974).

A Preface to Morals. New York: Macmillan, 1929. 30826; PQ3; TDB.

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Little Blue Books

Little Blue Books. Girard, KS: Haldeman-Julius Co.
“The Fastidious Fooey Mancucu” (parody, included in REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. October 1927): “I suspect Fooey of a plot to buy up all the Little Blue Books and plunge the civilized race into ignorance.” Post Oaks and Sand Roughs, p. 76: “Grotz [“Hubert Grotz” = Herbert Klatt] lived on a farm and was handicapped by a lack of proper books, and the continuous necessity of hard work, but he was struggling. ¶ To such youths, as to Steve [Costigan = REH], the Little Blue Books were a godsend.” [See “Haldeman-Julius, E[manuel],” “Fielding, William,” “McCabe, Joseph,” “Markun, Leo,” “Swinburne, Algernon Charles,” “Viereck, George Sylvester,” etc.]

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Logan, James

(1794?-1872).

The Scottish Gael; or Celtic Manners, as preserved among the Highlanders, being an historical and descriptive account of the inhabitants, antiquities, and national peculiarities of Scotland; more particularly of the northern, or Gaelic parts of the country, where the singular habits of the aboriginal Celts are most tenaciously retained. London: Smith, Elder, 1831?.
REH to Wilfred B. Talman, ca. March 1932: “I was much interested in your remarks concerning that book The Scottish Gael. I was not aware that such a document was in existence. I’m sure it must be very interesting. Really authentic books on Celtic subjects are rare. If written by English authors, they are usually prejudiced against their subject, and if by Irish authors, they are often rabidly biased. As a rule, German historians are the most reliable. And there’s been more study of Celtic history by Germans than one would think.” REH to Wilfred B. Talman, ca. July 1932: “About An Albanach Goidhel, I would indeed like to read it, though it seems pretty much of an imposition on you, especially in light of the new postage rates.”

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London, Jack [John Griffith London]

(1876-1916).

Mentioned in “King Hootus” (parody, included in REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. January 1928) as “Jack Lunding.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. 20 February 1928 [SL 1 #10]: “Yet a man’s mind must strive after GREATNESS and when he has progressed to the point where no commonplace human thought is really great in scope consistently, he must look beyond the human and if he finds nothing there – Jack London died because he could not untwine the Human from the Cosmic.” The same source has: “I have carefully gone over, in my mind, the most powerful men – that is, in my opinion – in all of the world’s literature and here is my list: Jack London, Leonid Andreyev, Omar Khayyam, Eugene O’Neill, William Shakespeare. ¶ “All these men, and especially London and Khayyam, to my mind stand out so far above the rest of the world that comparison is futile, a waste of time. Reading these men and appreciating them makes a man feel life is not altogether useless.” In an untitled scenario included in this same letter, Howard has “Mike” (the protagonist, apparently his viewpoint character) say, “What is London, what is Gorky, what is Tolstoy to the average man – even the man who reads them? The great writers die and fade into the dust of their works. Their books become their bones and their volumes range the shelves of fools, like withered mummies.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. March 1928 [SL 1 #11]: “I remember Jack London said something about monism being metaphysics.” Mentioned in “The Rump of Swift” (parody, included in REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. June 1928). Mentioned in “A Fable for Critics.” Post Oaks and Sand Roughs, p. 36: “His [Lars Jansen = Fowler Gafford] fiction was limited to O. Henry, Zane Grey, and Jack London; and Steve [Costigan = REH] always felt it was from the latter that Lars drew his inspired desire to write.” Post Oaks and Sand Roughs, p. 39: Lars Jansen [Fowler Gafford] says, “If I could just let it slide off free and easy like old Jack London! He uses the simplest language I ever seen, and yet he makes his ideas perfectly clear.” Post Oaks and Sand Roughs, p. 48: Lars Jansen says, “Then I got to readin’ old Jack London and O. Henry, and the thought come that I’d like to write.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. October 1928 [SL 1 #15]: “No one judges George Bernard Shaw, Upton Sinclair, or Jack London by what they wrote in their early youth when they were struggling up the long ladder…” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. late 1928: “The poem you sent me was as fiery and virile as anything you’ve ever written…Especially the second part went to my brain like the flaming liquor of insanity. No one else besides Jack London has the power to move me just that way.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. June 1929 [SL 1 #25]: “Writing is a lot like architecture. The whole structure has to suit – each piece has to be in place. A master of the game, like…Jack London, always places the pieces right.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: London is listed among those Howard refers to as “my favorite writers.” Same letter also has: “Maybe the French excel the British in some ways, but where is the Frenchman who writes, or wrote, with the fire of Jack London, the mysticism of Ambrose Bierce, or the terrific power your own weird masterpieces possess?” REH to H.P. Lovecraft , 6 March 1933: “…Jack London loved to box, fence and wrestle…” REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. 6 March 1933: “Mr. Hart takes in quite a bit of territory when he says nobody ‘in the world’ reads Jack’s books. I read them, continually, and several of my friends do. As far as I’m concerned, he stands head and shoulders above all other American writers.” (See “Hart.”) REH to Carl Jacobi, ca. June 1934: “Yes, I noticed the Popular company had bought Adventure, and as you probably have read, they’ve changed editors again. Corcoran sold a serial to Cosmopolitan and threw up the job to free-lance — probably proving Jack London’s assertion that most editors wanted to be writers, secretly or otherwise.” Alvin Earl Perry, “A Biographical Sketch of Robert E. Howard,” Fantasy Magazine, July 1935: “Jack London is this Texan’s favorite writer…”

The Faith of Men; and Other Stories. New York: Macmillan, 1904. 30799; PQ3; GL; TDB.

The Human Drift. New York: Macmillan, 1919. 30817; PQ3; GL; TDB.

REH paid $ .49 + .14 postage for this book; see Appendix Two.

The Iron Heel. New York: Macmillan, 1908. 30811; PQ3; GL; TDB.

John Barleycorn. New York: Macmillan, 1913.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. 9 August 1932: “Jack London analyzed the liquor question far better than I, or any other man, can ever hope to do, in his book ‘John Barleycorn’ which every man should read.”

Martin Eden. New York: Macmillan, 1909.
REH to August W. Derleth, ca. October 1933: “If you ever read London’s ‘Martin Eden’ you remember how Martin used to get drunk on Sunday to forget the toil of the week. Well, I didn’t work as furiously as Martin did, but I didn’t get that day off, like he did.”

The Mutiny of the Elsinore. New York: Macmillan, 1914.
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. April 1930: “…I believe in days gone yore you parodied The Mutiny of the Elsinore, but I think I’ll try my handel at it.” (“The Mutiny of the Hellroarer”)

The Star Rover. New York: Macmillan, 1915. 30698; PQ3; GL; TDB.
REH to Harold Preece, ca. October/November 1930: “…London’s ‘The Star Rover’ is a book that I’ve read and re-read for years, and that generally goes to my head like wine.” “A Thunder of Trumpets” (in collaboration with Frank Thurston Torbett, Weird Tales, September 1938): story heading is a quotation from Chapter 21.

The Strength of the Strong. New York: Macmillan, 1914. 30759; PQ3; GL (lists title under heading “Data on the following is incomplete and/or questionable); TDB (under “unknown authors”)

The Valley of the Moon. New York: Grosset and Dunlap Publishers, 1916. 30660; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.

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Long, Frank Belknap, Jr.

(1903-1994).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. August 1930 [SL 1 #41]: “…I am highly honored to know that Mr. Long and Mr. Clark Ashton Smith have noticed my efforts. Both are writers and poets whose work I very much admire, having carefully preserved all of their poems…that have appeared in Weird Tales since I first made my acquaintance with the magazine.” [In Long’s case, this would include: “Stallions of the Moon,” August 1925; “The Inland Sea,” March 1926; “Advice,” June 1927; “The White People,” November 1927; “Night Trees,” March 1928; “The Horror on Dagoth Wold,” February 1930; and “On Icy Kinarth,” April 1930.]

“The Beast-Helper.” Weird Tales, August 1934.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. January/February 1935: “I hope you enjoyed your trip to see Long in New York. I learn with interest that Long is now a Communist. But I suspected it when I read his story in Weird Tales some months ago – the one about the dictator and the ape.”

“The Black Dead Thing.” Weird Tales, October 1933.
REH to August W. Derleth, ca. October 1933: “I got a big kick out of Lovecraft’s story, as well as those of Smith, Long etc.”

The Goblin Tower.
REH to Robert H. Barlow, 17 December 1935: “Thank you very much for the copy of The Goblin Tower; a neat, attractive job of printing and binding which does credit to Long’s splendid verse.”

“The Horror from the Hills.” Weird Tales, January, February-March 1931.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. January 1931: “The dream you described is most fascinating, particularly the names, etc., and the culmination. I remember reading the incident in Long’s serial, which, by the way, is the best thing appearing in Weird Tales since Mr. Wright published your last story. Long lacks something of your own master touch, but he is a good craftsman and this story is splendid.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. February 1931: “I’ve read the concluding chapters of Long’s story – a splendid tale and very well written. The narration of the dream was the high spot of the whole story, and to my mind, exceeded the final climax. The language used in the whole chapter of the dream, is nothing short of pure poetry and I have reread it repeatedly and with the utmost admiration. The finely worked plot with its shuddery hints and horrific climax in the night-mantled hills is an absolute triumph in Gothic literature – a story within a story.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. June 1931: “Yes, I got quite a kick out of Long’s story, and wrote to Mr. Wright praising the author’s work and urging him to use more of the same sort. I have not seen the unfavorable comment on his work you mentioned – in fact, I’m not familiar with the Editor magazine – but I cannot see how any sincere objection to his style could be made. I like Long’s work, and if anything I can do, can help offset the criticism you referred to, I’ll be more than glad to do it. Yet, though the whole story was excellent, in my honest opinion, your interwoven dream was the high spot.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft , 11 February 1936: “I remember very well indeed the Roman dream of yours which Long used in his story. As I told you then it was an imaginative and poetic masterpiece.”

“The Malignant Invader.” Weird Tales, January 1932.
REH to The Eyrie, March 1932: “…the stories by Smith, Long, Hurst and Jacobi could scarcely be excelled.”

A Man from Genoa, and Other Poems. Athol, MA: W. Paul Cook, 1926.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. September 1930 [SL 1 #43]: “I am highly obligated to both yourself and Mr. Long for the loan of ‘A Man From Genoa’. I have not gotten the book yet, mail service being rather irregular in this part of the world, but I am looking forward to its perusal with the greatest anticipation.” [A postscript to the same letter reads:] “I have received Mr. Long’s book since writing the above; I have not yet had time for a proper study of it, but from my first perusal, I can see that the poems come up fully to all expectations.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. September 1930 [SL 1 #45]: “I have re-read ‘A Man From Genoa’ many times and each reading has strengthened my first estimate of the author – that he is truly a magnificent poet.”

“A Visitor from Egypt.” Weird Tales, September 1930.
[In anthology, Creeps By Night. See under “Hammett.”]

“When Chaugnar Wakes.” Weird Tales, September 1932.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 9 August 1932: “Long’s poem in the current Weird Tales is superb.”

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Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth

(1807-1882).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: Longfellow is listed among a number of poets Howard likes.

“The Luck of Eden Hall.”
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. October 1930 [SL 1 #47]: “I have heard of the famous ‘Luck of Eden Hall’ and would like very much to see it. In my early childhood I memorized Longfellow’s poem about it.”

“A Psalm of Life.”
“The Fastidious Fooey Mancucu” (parody, included in REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. October 1927): “Myth…recited some of Longfellow’s verse. “Tell me not in coocoo numbers | “Life is but a drunkard’s dream | “‘Tis the petticoat that cumbers | “And girls are not like they scream.” This is a parody of the first four lines of Longfellow’s poem.

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Lorimer, George Horace

(1867-1937).

Mentioned in “A Fable for Critics.” [Editor of Saturday Evening Post, 1899-1936.]

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Louÿs, Pierre [Pierre Louis]

(1870-1925).

The Collected Works of Pierre Louÿs. New York: Liveright, 1932.
One Who Walked Alone, pp. 133-140: [Novalyne Price had told REH that she would like a history book for Christmas. He gave her a copy of The Collected Works of Pierre Louÿs.] “…Bob said the book described very vividly our ‘rotting civilization.'” ¶ “I read the inscription again, trying to make sense out of it: ‘The French have one gift – the ability to gild decay and change the maggots of corruption to the humming birds of poetry – as demonstrated by this volume. | Bob | December 21, 1934.'” [After trying to read the story of Leda and the Swan, in “The Twilight of the Nymphs,” she is upset and angry with Howard. Later, when she asks him why he gave her the book, they get into an argument over the differences in their beliefs about civilization. Howard is quoted as referring specifically to “The Songs of Bilitis” and “The Adventures of King Pausole,” and as saying, “It’s a masterpiece…” One passage (pp. 140-141) seems to suggest that this book may have influenced the writing of “Red Nails.”]

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Lovecraft, Howard Phillips.

(1890-1937).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. July 1930 [SL 1 #39]: “I am indeed highly honored to have received a personal letter from one whose works I so highly admire. I have been reading your stories for years, and I say, in all sincerity, that no writer, past or modern, has equalled you in the realm of bizarre fiction. I realize that it is the custom for enthusiastic readers to compare a favorite author with Poe, and their comparison is seldom based on any real estimate, or careful study. But after a close study of Poe’s technique, I am forced to give as my personal opinion that his horror tales have been surpassed by Arthur Machen, and that neither of them ever reached the heights of cosmic horror or opened such new, strange paths of imagination as you have done in ‘The Rats in the Walls’, ‘The Outsider’, ‘The Horror at Red Hook’, ‘The Call of Cthulhu’, ‘The Dunwich Horror’ – I could name all the stories of your’s I have read and not be far wrong.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. July 1930 [SL 1 #40]: “I got a long letter from Lovecraft. That boy is plenty smart. And well read, too… He’s out of my class…” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 9 August 1930 [SL 1 #41]: says he has preserved all of Lovecraft’s poems “that have appeared in Weird Tales since I first made my acquaintance with the magazine.” [This could include “Nemesis,” April 1924; “To A Dreamer,” November 1924; “Yule-Horror,” December 1926; “The Ancient Track,” March 1930; “Recapture,” May 1930]; in the same letter, he inquires as to the “significance” of the names “Cthulhu, Yog Sothoth, R’lyeh, Yuggoth, etc. …And the Arab Alhazred and the Necronomicon.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. late August 1930 [SL 1 #42] quotes from Lovecraft’s reply concerning Cthulhu et al., and says “…I’m going to ask Lovecraft if I can use his mythology in my own junk…” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. September 1930 [SL 1 #43]: “I have always been fascinated by his [i.e., Machen’s] work, though I will say, frankly and with no intent to flatter, that I consider him inferior to yourself as a horror story writer.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. September 1930 [SL 1 #45]: “It takes a master of the pen, such as Machen and yourself, to create a proper SUGGESTION of unseen and unknown horror.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1930 [SL 1 #49]: “I particularly hope that you will find it convenient to contribute to the magazine [Oriental Stories], since with your magnificent talents and your sincere interest in things Oriental, you should turn out some splendid work.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. January 1931: “I lack your grasp on cosmic thoughts, your magnificent imagination, your command of rhetoric and vocabulary, your power to invest the unreal with a grisly reality — in short, I am a mere novice where you are a master.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. February 1931: “Have you ever tried Argosy? I believe you could sell them some weird stories — they gobble up Merritt’s stuff and you have him beat seven ways from the ace. Not that Merritt isn’t good; he is. But his work lacks the sheer, somber and Gothic horror of your tales. A touch of mere fantasy sometimes mars his work, whereas your horror-tales are built starkly of black iron, with no slightest hint of tinsel — and therein lies their greatness. I’ve been reading your tales over again, in the old magazines — The Unnamable, The Temple, He, The Terrible Old Man, The Silver Key — and I hope that Farnsworth will see his way to publish all of them in book form soon — together with ‘The Festival’ and ‘The Music of Erich Zann’ both of which I missed, somehow. These must have been published in the old Weird Tales.” REH to Wilfred B. Talman, ca. May 1931: “Our mutual friend, Mr. Lovecraft, writes me that a publishing house had been corresponding with him in regard to possibly bringing out his stories in book form. I most sincerely hope that they close the deal satisfactorily to all parties, for literature would be enriched exceedingly by the appearance of his tales on the book shelves of the world.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. June 1931 [SL 2 #53]: “I most certainly hope that Putnam & Sons have decided to bring out your work in book form — both for your own sake and for the sake of American literature as a whole. I look forward to the appearance of the volume with eager anticipation, and hope I can have the honor of being the first to review it for the Southwestern papers.” [From the same letter:] “I’m surprized that Argosy rejected your stories, especially in the old days, when the magazine was superior to the present one. But what can you expect from any standardized publication? They’d turn down the master-pieces of all the ages, if they chanced to depart from the regular pattern.” [From the same letter:] “I’m glad you liked ‘Children of the Night’… As regards my mention of the three foremost weird masterpieces — Poe’s [“The Fall of the House of Usher”], Machen’s [“The Novel of the Black Seal”] and your own [“The Call of Cthulhu”] — its my honest opinion that these three are the outstanding tales. Though I consider your ‘Dunwitch Horror’, ‘Horror at Red Hook’ and ‘Rats in the Walls’ quite worthy of ranking alongside Poe and Machen, also.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 10 August 1931: “I speak with full sincerity when I say I am bitterly disappointed that the Putnams rejected the mss. they were considering — disappointed not alone for your sake, but for the sake of literature as a whole. However, though set-backs and disappointments are part of every man’s life, the power of your work will eventually over-ride all obstacles. You cannot fail of eventual recognition, and with it the fame and monetary remuneration you so richly deserve.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 4 October 1931: “As for ‘The Black Stone’ my story appearing in the current Weird Tales, since reading it over in print, I feel rather absurd. The story sounds as if I were trying, in my feeble and blunderingly crude way, to deliberately copy your style. Your literary influence on that particular tale, while unconscious on my part, was none the less strong. And indeed, many writers of the bizarre are showing your influence in their work, not only in Weird Tales but in other magazines as well; earlier evidences of an influence which will grow greater as time goes on, for it is inevitable that your work and art will influence the whole stream of American weird literature, and eventually the weird literature of the world.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1931: “…certainly, no weird magazine is complete without your magnificent tales.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. September 1932: “I hope you decide to collaborate [with Harold Farnese, who set “The Fungi From Yuggoth” to music] on the proposed musical drama. Don’t tell me you’re not qualified for that sort of thing. You’re capable of any sort of literary expression, to my humble mind. You’d instill new vigor and fresh imagination in the dramatic world, which, from what I hear, is badly in need of some such stimulus. If the Californian did his part half as well as I know you’d do your’s, the success of the venture would be assured.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. October 1932 [SL 2 #64]: “Glad to hear that your work got its proper mention in the ‘American Author’; I didn’t see the article mentioned, the magazine not being on any of the stands I frequent, but I’m glad the writer referred to you. It ought to boost you with the editors.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: listed among those Howard refers to as “my favorite writers” is “last, but by no means least, yourself. Maybe the French excel the British in some ways, but where is the Frenchman who writes, or wrote, with the fire of Jack London, the mysticism of Ambrose Bierce, or the terrific power your own weird masterpieces possess?” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. May-June 1932 [SL 2 #67]: “I hope, also, that our argument has not caused you to doubt the sincerity of my admiration for your own artistic accomplishments. I think I have made it clear that for your type of artist, I have only the highest respect and admiration.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. September 1933: “And I wish you’d write some historical tales. You could do them finely. That bit of yours in Long’s serial [“The Horror from the Hills,” q.v.] showed how magnificently you could handle a tale with an historical Roman setting. I envy you your knowledge of history. With it, if you wished, you could roam the ages at will, dragging figures out of obscurity to gild with fictional lustre, lend new attributes to old heroes or drag false gods off their pedestals…. But what I started to say was, I wish you’d write some historical stories. ¶ But whatever you write, I can say with complete conviction that it will be a magnificent literary feast which I will admire with all sincerity.” REH to Charles D. Hornig, 1 November 1933: “I also hope you can persuade Lovecraft to let you use some of his superb verse.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1934: “I was glad to see an issue of the Fantasy Fan dedicated to you. Of course, I’ve been reading and enjoying your stories, poems and articles appearing in that magazine.” One Who Walked Alone, p. 151: “‘Lovecraft,’ he repeated, still emphatic. ‘One of the greatest writers of our time.'”

“Alienation.”
[See under “The Fungi From Yuggoth.”]

“At the Mountains of Madness.” Astounding, February, March, April 1936.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. June 1931 [SL 2 #53]: “I’m delighted to hear about your new story — the antarctic horror — and sincerely hope that you found a market for it. Literature, at a low ebb generally, is enriched by every stroke of your pen.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca 10 August 1931: “I am also very sorry that Mr. Wright rejected the antarctic story, and hope by this time you’ve marketed it else-where, if you should fail to sell it, I would like very much to read it sometime in manuscript form, if it isn’t asking too much.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 4 October 1931: “I hope Mr. Wright will reconsider and accept the antarctic tale, but if he shouldn’t, I’d like very much to read the ms.” Robert H. Barlow to REH, ca. November 1931: “Our mutual friend H.P. Lovecraft asked me to forward this mss. of his to you when I finished it…” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. November 1931: “This morning I took out a big registered enwelope with a ‘War Department’ letter-head… He also enclosed a 115 page ms. which he said Lovecraft had instructed him to forward me. Its the antarctic story which Farnsworth rejected, and which Lovecraft promised to let me read in the original.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. November 1931: “Many thanks for the opportunity of reading your magnificent ‘At the Mountains of Madness’. This story certainly deserves publication in book form and I hope some day to see it so published. There is not, as far as I can see, a single false or unconvincing note in the whole; the entire story has a remarkable effect of realism. And I marvel once more — as in so many times in the past — at the cosmic sweep of your imagination and the extent of your scientific and literary knowledge.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, 5 December 1935 [SL 2 #76]: “I’m also delighted to note the forthcoming appearance of your stories in Astounding Stories.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, 13 May 1936: “Glad, too, that the illustrations for your magnificent ‘Mountains of Madness’ are so suitable, though no illustrations could do justice to the story itself.”

“Background.”
[See under “The Fungi From Yuggoth.”]

“The Bells.”
[See under “The Fungi From Yuggoth.”]

“The Book.”
[See under “The Fungi From Yuggoth.”]

“The Call of Cthulhu.” Weird Tales, February 1928.
REH to The Eyrie, May 1928: “Mr. Lovecraft’s latest story, The Call of Cthulhu, is indeed a masterpiece, which I am sure will live as one of the highest achievements of literature. Mr. Lovecraft holds a unique position in the literary world; he has grasped, to all intents, the worlds outside our paltry ken. His scope is unlimited and his range is cosmic. He has the rare gift of making the unreal seem very real and terrible, without lessening the sensation of horror attendant thereto. He touches peaks in his tales which no modern or ancient writer has ever hinted. Sentences and phrases leap suddenly at the reader, as if in utter blackness of solar darkness a door were suddenly flung open, whence flamed the red fire of Purgatory and through which might be momentarily glimpsed monstrous and nightmarish shapes. Herbert Spencer may have been right when he said that it was beyond the human mind to grasp the Unknowable, but Mr. Lovecraft is in a fair way of disproving that theory, I think. I await his next story with eager anticipation, knowing that whatever the subject may be, it will be handled with the skill and incredible vision which he has always shown.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. July 1930 [SL 1 #39] (see above in general section on Lovecraft). “The Children of the Night” (Weird Tales, April/May 1931): “But in such tales as Poe’s Fall of the House of Usher, Machen’s Black Seal, and Lovecraft’s Call of Cthulhu – the three master horror-tales, to my mind – the reader is borne into dark and outer realms of imagination.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. June 1931 [SL 2 #53] (see above in general section on Lovecraft). REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. 4 October 1931: “I remember the earthquake used in ‘Cthulhu’…”

“Cats and Dogs.”
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1933: “Your essay was read with great interest; it was clever and well-written, though it seems less a defense of cats themselves, than a glorification of people who idealize cats. However I can not regard seriously any attempt to classify peoples’ mentality by their like or dislike of cats, or dogs.” [REH had sent Lovecraft a ms. copy of his “The Beast from the Abyss,” to which Lovecraft responded with his essay, originally written in 1926.]

The Cats of Ulthar. Cassia, Fla.: The Dragon-Fly Press [Robert H. Barlow], 1935. 30828; PQ3; GL; TDB.
[Limited to forty copies, apparently given to Lovecraft’s associates as a Christmas gift. Type hand-set by Barlow.] REH to Robert H. Barlow, postcard, 14 February 1936: “This is to express, somewhat belatedly, my thinks and appreciation for the fine copy of ‘Cats of Ulthar’ and ‘The Dragon Fly.'”

“The Courtyard.”
[See under “The Fungi From Yuggoth.”]

“The Curse of Yig.” Weird Tales, November 1929.
[Revision, appeared under the name of Zealia Reed Bishop, though the story is largely Lovecraft’s.] REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. February 1931: “I remember the ‘Yig’ story; it was a good one and I thought at the time that I could detect the touch of your master-hand here and there.”

“The Dreams in the Witch House.” Weird Tales, July 1933.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. May-June 1933 [SL 2 #67]: “As always, I experienced the keenest enjoyment in reading your latest story. “The Dreams in the Witch House” is truly magnificent, from the title (a splendid bit of imagery in itself) to the very last line. I shall doubtless re-read it many times, as I have your other splendid stories. You certainly dominated the current Weird Tales; indeed, it might be said that you had two stories in the magazine, since ‘The Horror in the Museum’ reflected your style and power in every line. Both stories were indeed fine, and I hope more of your work will appear soon. I make bold to remark that you are one of the very, very few men in the world who could handle ‘Brown Jenkin’. With the average writer, he would have appeared merely ludicrous, a fantastic image from a dream. But you invested him with a startling reality, and a crawling horror, that made him spring out in appalling clarity against a background of twilight mystery. He is, indeed, one of the most powerful and grisly creations that have ever stalked through the shadow-haunted twilight realms of your tales.” REH to August W. Derleth, ca. July 1933: “I enjoyed H.P.L’s stories in the Weird Tales, both the one he wrote and the one he revised.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. September 1933: “Yes, I did indeed enjoy your latest story in Weird Tales, and was glad to see the readers voted you first place — as indeed, I was sure they would.”

“The Dunwich Horror.” Weird Tales, April 1929.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. July 1930 [SL 1 #39] (see above in general section on Lovecraft). REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. September 1930 [SL 1 #45]: “I remember the idea of whippoorwills and psychopomps in your ‘Dunwich Horror’ and how I was struck with the unique grisliness of the notion…” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. June 1931 [SL 2 #53] (see above in general section on Lovecraft).

“The Dweller.”
[One of “The Fungi From Yuggoth.”] REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. July 1930 [SL 1 #39]: “Thank you very much for the poetry. ‘The Dweller’ especially intrigued me, as I found in it much of the quality of your most powerful prose stories – a sudden door-like opening on absolutely unguessed conjectures, that sets a sort of inarticulate madness that howls for expression, clawing at the reader’s brain.”

“The East India Brick Row.”
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. September 1930 [SL 1 #47]: “Thanks for letting me see the articles about Providence, also the splendid poem, ‘The East India Brick Row.’ I enjoyed scanning them all, particularly your poem, which is as fine as any of its kind I ever read.”

“The Elder Pharos.”
[See under “The Fungi From Yuggoth.”]

“Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family.” Weird Tales, April 1924 (as “The White Ape”); reprinted May 1935 (as “Arthur Jermyn”).
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. January 1931: “I’ve never read ‘Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jerwyn and His Family’, but I’d certainly enjoy doing so, if you have a spare copy or one you can lend me. I entirely sympathize with your irritation at the editor’s changing the title. The original title certainly was far superior in originality and interest.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. February 1931: “Thank you very much for loaning me the manuscript (which I’m returning with this letter). I found it fascinating, with its horrific hints of semi-human monstrosities, and Elder cities set in dark, grim jungles. Its the sort of horror story I like, with its weird foreshadowings and grisly climax — above all, the shadowy web-work of dark implication lying behind the visible action of the tale.”

“The Festival.” Weird Tales, January 1925; reprinted October 1933.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. February 1931: “…’The Festival’ … which I missed, somehow.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. September 1933: “I liked your ‘Festival’ reprint in the current Weird Tales. Indeed, I believe I like it as well as anything else I ever read of yours. It will quite overshadow my Conan yarn, but being overshadowed by your stories is no disgrace. I particularly like the subtle implication of an alien race, the ancestors of the central character. I wish you’d enlarge on that theme in another story.” REH to August W. Derleth, ca. October 1933: “I got a big kick out of Lovecraft’s story…”

“The Fungi from Yuggoth.”
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 9 August 1930 [SL 1 #41]: “Let me first thank you for the opportunity you have given me to read your poetry; I need not tell you that I appreciate your kindness highly. You have, in this sonnet-cycle, accomplished a superb artistic work, to my mind. It is not for me to say which of the poems were best; I read the whole with complete enjoyment. To say that some were superior to the others would be to imply that certain facets of a diamond were superior in luster to the rest. In expressing a preferance for some of the poems, I do not by any means seek to imply an inferiority of the others. But I was especially taken with ‘The Book’ ‘Recognition’ ‘The Lamp’ ‘The Courtyard’ ‘Star-Winds’ ‘The Window’ ‘The Bells’ ‘Mirage’ ‘The Elder Pharos’ ‘Background’ and ‘Alienation'”

Further Criticism of Poetry. Louisville, Kentucky: George G. Fetter, 1932.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 2 November 1932 [SL 2 #65]: “And let me thank you for the pamphlet of poetic criticism which you sent me. I have studied it with an appreciation I do not accord every critic. I am again impressed, as so many times before, by the extent of your artistic education.”

“The Haunter of the Dark.” Weird Tales, December 1936.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, 11 February 1936 [SL 2 #77]: “I received ‘The Haunter of the Dark’ from Price and sent it on to Rimel as instructed. I consider it a splendid piece of work. As a weird story and a work of art I have no criticisms to offer. I enjoyed reading it immensely and see no reason why it should not be accepted by any magazine dealing in the fantastic.” REH to E. Hoffmann Price, 15 February 1936: “Thanks for sending me H.P. Lovecraft ‘s yarn. I sent it on to Rimel as instructed. I thought it was a fine piece of work. Frankly, I don’t feel capable of criticising any of Lovecraft’s stories. I see no flaw in them, as weird stories and works of art, and if I seemed to see such a flaw, I’d hesitate to call it such, for I concede him a vastly greater knowledge and skill in constructing fantasies than I could ever attain.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft , 13 May 1936: “Yes, I certainly did like ‘Haunter of the Dark.'”

“He.” Weird Tales, September 1926.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. February 1931: “…I remember with what deep interest and absolute fascination I read your story, ‘He’, with its setting in the mysterious labyrinth of New York’s alleys and secret ways. I cannot praise that story too highly; the impelling sweep of its power held me positively enthralled and spell-bound.”

“The Horror at Red Hook.” Weird Tales, January 1927.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. July 1930 [SL 1 #39] (see above in general section on Lovecraft). REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. June 1931 [SL 2 #53] (see above in general section on Lovecraft).

“The Horror in the Museum.” Weird Tales, July 1933.
[Revision, published under the name of Hazel Heald, largely the work of Lovecraft.] REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. May-June 1933 [SL 2 #67]: “You certainly dominated the current Weird Tales; indeed, it might be said that you had two stories in the magazine, since ‘The Horror in the Museum’ reflected your style and power in every line. Both stories were indeed fine, and I hope more of your work will appear soon.” (See also “The Dreams in the Witch House.”) REH to August W. Derleth, ca. July 1933: “I enjoyed H.P.L’s stories in the Weird Tales, both the one he wrote and the one he revised. By the way, who is Hazel Heald?”

“Idealism and Materialism — A Reflection.” The National Amateur, July 1919.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1930 [SL 1 #49]: “I’ve received the magazine since writing the first part of this letter, and have read your story [“The Picture in the House”] and article with keenest interest…. And I enjoyed your philosophical article very much. I am hardly capable of judging it, since I never devoted any study to theology, philosophy or science, but I do not think that anyone could have handled the subject in a more masterly manner. I particularly like the point you made in that truth and necessity not always coinciding, some religion is necessary for the masses.”

“In the Vault.” Weird Tales, April 1932.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. October 1931: “Congratulations on the story, ‘In the Vault’. I hope Mr. Wright publishes it soon.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. April 1932: “Your latest story in Weird Tales is as grim and gripping a tale as I ever read. The lending of common-place, every-day things and events a macabre a soul-freezing significance is the most difficult of all literary feats, it seems to me, and you are the more to be congratulated because you succeed in this so splendidly.”

“The Lamp.”
[See under “The Fungi From Yuggoth.”]

“Medusa’s Coil.” Weird Tales, January 1939.
[Revision, published under the name of Zealia Reed Bishop, but largely the work of Lovecraft.] REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. September 1930 [SL 1 #43]: “I shall watch for the tale ‘Medusa’s Coil’ that you mentioned. Regardless of the author, if you instilled into the tale some of the magic of your own pen, it cannot fail to fascinate the readers.”

“Mirage.”
[See under “The Fungi From Yuggoth.”]

“The Music of Erich Zann.” Weird Tales, May 1925; reprinted November 1934.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. February 1931: “…’The Music of Erich Zann’…which I missed, somehow.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 4 October 1931: “I am most delighted to hear that Long’s story [“A Visitor From Egypt”] and your ‘Erich Zann’ are appearing in book-form. Let me know when the book appears; for I most certainly will enrich my book-collection with a copy. What makes me more eager for it, is that I’ve never read ‘Eric Zann’ and look forward to a rare literary treat.”

The Necronomicon.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. April 1932: “I dont wonder that you receive letters inquiring about the Necronomicon. You invest it with so much realism, that it fooled me among others. Until you enlightened me, I thought perhaps there was some such book or manuscript sufficiently fantastic to form the basis of fictionized allusions. Say, why don’t you write it yourself? If some exclusive house would publish it in an expensive edition, and give it the proper advertising, I’ll bet you’d realize some money from it.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 24 May 1932: “I like the idea of an ‘abridged’ Necronomicon. After all, it wouldnt be a good idea to let the general public in on ALL the dark secrets of antiquity! Besides, you might later, in a discreet way, bring out the suppressed chapters of the demoniac work, and cash in again. If you were careful enough to word these secret chapters so nobody could possibly understand the text, the average reader would lay it down with the feeling that he’d been dipping into genuine inside dope of the cosmos, his admiration for the author would mount to heights of actual worship, and I bet half a dozen new secret cults and occult societies would spring up like mushrooms.” “The Fire of Asshurbanipal” (Weird Tales, December 1936): “…the ancient, ancient City of Evil spoken of in the Necronomicon of the mad Arab Alhazred.”

“Night Gaunts.” The Phantagraph, June 1936.
[One of the “Fungi From Yuggoth,” q.v.] REH to H.P. Lovecraft , 13 May 1936: “And I got a big kick out of your sonnet in the current issue of the Phantagraph, which is the first copy of that publication I’d seen.”

“The Other Gods.” The Fantasy Fan, November 1933.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. January 1934: “I have also very much enjoyed the poetic beauty of your stories which have been appearing in ‘The Fantasy Fan’.” [Only this story, and perhaps “Polaris,” February 1934, had appeared in the publication at this time.]

“Out of the Eons.” Weird Tales, April 1935.
[Revision, published under the name of Hazel Heald, largely the work of Lovecraft.] REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 31 May 1935: “I enjoyed very much the story ‘Out of the Eons’. It might as well have carried your name beneath the title, for it was yours, all the way through. I hope you’ll write some more stories, this summer. You’ve been absent from Weird Tales too long.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 25 July 1935: “Yes, I found ‘Out of the Eons’ fascinating, and tantalizing — tantalizing because it roused my always voracious appetite for more of your stories. I felt greatly complimented that Von Junzt’s hellish book should play such a prominent part in it.”

“The Outsider.” Weird Tales, April 1926.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. July 1930 [SL 1 #39] (see above in general section on Lovecraft).

“Pickman’s Model.” Weird Tales, October 1927.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 4 October 1931: “I’m very glad that ‘Pickman’s Model’ has been used in a British publication, and will gladder when it appears in American covers.” [The story was included in Christine Campbell Thomson (ed.), By Daylight Only (London: Selwyn & Blount, 1929), part of the “Not at Night” series.]

“The Picture in the House.” The National Amateur, 1919. [Weird Tales, January 1924].
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1930 [SL 1 #49]: “Thank you very much for the magazine with your story; I am certain that ‘The Picture in the House’ will prove a real treat.” [Same letter:] “I’ve received the magazine since writing the first part of this letter, and have read your story and article with keenest interest. The tale lives up to my expectations; indeed you have never, in any later story, I think, created a more masterful atmosphere of almost intolerable ghastliness. I cannot praise the story too highly; it shows, as do all your tales, the master’s touch.”

“Polaris.” The Fantasy Fan, February 1934.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. January 1934: “I have also very much enjoyed the poetic beauty of your stories which have been appearing in ‘The Fantasy Fan’.” [Only “The Other Gods,” November 1933, and perhaps this story, had appeared in the publication at this time.]

“The Rats in the Walls.” Weird Tales, March 1924; reprinted June 1930.
REH to Farnsworth Wright, ca. July 1930 [SL 1 #38]: “I have long looked forward to reading Mr. Lovecraft’s ‘The Rats in the Walls’ and it certainly comes up to all expectations. I was amazed by the sweep of his imagination — not so much because of the extent of his reachings into the realms of imagination, which though cosmic enough in this story, he has exceeded in other tales, to my mind, but because of the strange and unthinkable bypath into which he has wandered in this tale. There, assuredly, he has taken a road never before traversed, or even dreamed of, by any writer or thinker, ancient or modern. He has painted an incredible word picture, that needs a Doré to put on canvas, and creates a suggestion of nameless semi-human monstrosity, like the suggestion gotten from a study of Kubin’s Waldgespenst. ¶ The climax of the story alone puts Mr. Lovecraft in a class by himself; undoubtedly he must have the most unusual and wonderfully constructed brain of any man in the world. He alone can paint pictures in shadows and make them terrifically real. As to the climax, the maunderings of the maddened victim is like a sweep of horror down the eons, dwindling back and back to be finally lost in those grisly mists of world-birth where the mind of man refuses to follow. And I note from the fact that Mr. Lovecraft has his character speaking Gaelic instead of Cymric, in denoting the Age of the Druids, that he holds to Lhuyd’s theory as to the settling of Britain by the Celts.” [This letter, forwarded by Wright to H.P. Lovecraft , began the REH-H.P. Lovecraft correspondence.] REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. July 1930 [SL 1 #39] (see above in general section on Lovecraft). REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. June 1931 [SL 2 #53] (see above in general section on Lovecraft).

“Recognition.”
[See under “The Fungi From Yuggoth.”]

“The Shadow Out of Time.” Astounding, June 1936.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 25 July 1935: “Have you submitted your ‘Shadow Out of Time’ to Weird Tales? I certainly hope to see it in print soon. In fact, I’d like to see a story of yours in every issue.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, 5 December 1935 [SL 2 #76]: “I’m also delighted to note the forthcoming appearance of your stories in Astounding Stories.”

“The Shadow Over Innsmouth.”
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, 13 May 1936: “Glad to hear that ‘Innsmouth’ is coming out in book form.” [The Shadow Over Innsmouth (Everett, Penn.: Visionary Publishing Co. [William L. Crawford], 1936). “Copyright page declares that the book was published in April 1936, but it was not actually distibuted until the end of the year; Lovecraft received his copy only in November.” — S.T. Joshi, H.P. Lovecraft: An Annotated Bibliography.]

“The Silver Key.” Weird Tales, January 1929.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. February 1931 (see above in general section on Lovecraft). REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 10 August 1931: “I just finished reading your latest story in Weird Tales [“The Strange High House in the Mist”], and am fascinated by its beauty and mystic depths. It calls to mind ‘The White Ship’ and ‘The Silver Key’ — shimmering etchings of pure beauty.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. July 1933: “I remember ‘The Silver Key’ — yet remember is hardly the word to use. I have constantly referred to that story in my meditations ever since I read it, years ago — have probably thought of it more than any other story that ever appeared in Weird Tales. There was something about it that struck deep. I read it aloud to Tevis Clyde Smith, some years ago, and he agreed with me as to its cosmic sweep.” One Who Walked Alone, pp. 150-151: [quoting Howard] “Now, a friend of mine wrote a yarn a few years ago. It was one of the greatest yarns I ever read. I think about it a lot. Sometimes when I finish a yarn and am getting another one ready, I think about that yarn of his, and why I think it was good. Sometimes I sit at my typewriter and think about it. I think about it on my way to and from the post office. Why, girl, I even think about that yarn when I go out to milk the cow. As I think about it, I begin to have my own thoughts and ideas. Maybe there was something I believe about life that he didn’t say.” [She then notes that he began telling her about the story, “and I was sure he was repeating it word for word!”]

“Some Dutch Footprints in New England.” De Halve Maen, 18 October 1933.
[Publication of The Holland Society.] [H.P. Lovecraft to REH, 2 November 1933: “…I’ve just had an article in young Talman’s Holland Society magazine which may interest you – on Dutch influences in New England. I’ll enclose a copy when I get home…”] REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. November 1933: “Thanks for the loan of De Halve Maen. Talman used to mail me a copy, but I didn’t get it this time. I read the article you mentioned with much interest; it was news to me. I admire your extensive grasp on New England history, and the lucidity with which you expound it.” [Talman is Wilfred B. Talman, a correspondent of both Howard and Lovecraft, who edited De Halve Maen at this time.]

“Star-Winds.”
[See under “The Fungi From Yuggoth.”]

“The Strange High House in the Mist.” Weird Tales, October 1931.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 10 August 1931: “I note with delight that you have a story appearing in the next Weird Tales. I await it with impatience.” [Postscript to the same letter:] “I just finished reading your latest story in Weird Tales, and am fascinated by its beauty and mystic depths. It calls to mind ‘The White Ship’ and ‘The Silver Key’ — shimmering etchings of pure beauty.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 4 October 1931: “Yes, I did indeed like ‘The Strange High House.’ Its pure poetry of the highest order, and like all great poetry, stirs dim emotions and slumbering instincts deep in the wells of consciousness.”

“Supernatural Horror in Literature.” The Recluse, 1927.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. September 1930 [SL 1 #45]: “I should very much like to see…your own survey [of weird fiction]. I believe you said your article was published in The Recluse. Do you suppose I could obtain a copy containing it?” REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. September 1930 [SL 1 #47]: “Thank you very much for ‘The Recluse’. I have read and re-read your article with the utmost interest. You handle the subject in a clean-cut and highly intelligent manner, and certainly no one in the present literary world is more capable of dealing with that subject. I certainly wish you would enlarge this article into book form. I must admit my ignorance — the majority of the stories you mention I have never read — some I had never before even heard of. I have read most of Poe’s work, a good deal of Bierce, some of Machen, Dunsany, etc., but I do not think that I ever read a line of Blackwood, for instance. I am, frankly, not at all widely read.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1930 [SL 1 #49]: “I did indeed find the Recluse article fascinating and instructive and look forward to its enlarged and republished form. Nothing that anyone else could write could possibly be better or more comprehensive in its scope.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 10 August 1931: “…Montague Rhodes James — of whom I had never heard in my life before I read your fascinating article on horror-literature in The Recluse…. I find, looking over the tales you mention in your article, that I have read only a very small percent of them. Sometime I hope to be able to take off about a year and catch up with some reading. Your splendid article — which I have re-read repeatedly — whets my appetite for the bizarre. Some day I must read ‘Melmoth’ and the tales you mention by Blackwood, Chambers, Machen etc.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 3 November 1933: “I reread your ‘Supernatural Horror in Literature’ [in The Fantasy Fan] and was glad to see the readers of weird fiction are going to have the opportunity of reading it. I treasure the magazine of Mr. Cook’s in which it originally appeared, and re-read it from time to time, also for the purpose of quoting extracts to my various correspondents…” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. January 1934: “I read your article in Fantasy Fan with great interest, and noted the mistake you mention. I was sure that it was a misprint, and in reading it I substituted, ‘no’, for ‘an’.”

“The Temple.” Weird Tales, September 1925; reprinted February 1936.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. February 1931 (see above in general section on Lovecraft).

“The Terrible Old Man.” Weird Tales, August 1926.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. February 1931 (see above in general section on Lovecraft). REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 10 August 1931: “And well do I recall the Terrible Old Man who talked with haunted pendulums. I hope you will use him again.”

“The Thing on the Doorstep.” Weird Tales, January 1937.
[H.P. Lovecraft to REH, 2-5 November 1933 [H.P. Lovecraft SL IV #664]: “In recent weeks I have done a tremendous amount of experimenting in different styles and perspectives, but have destroyed most of the results. The one tale I have finished — The Thing on the Doorstep — is now starting on a circulation round which will include you. You’ll get it from Smith, and can forward it to Price.”] REH to Clark Ashton Smith, ca. 14 December 1933 [SL 2 #70]: “I received Lovecraft’s story, and thank you for sending it to me. I haven’t had time to read it yet, but I know it is a splendid yarn. All his stories are.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. January 1934: “Thanks also for the opportunity of reading ‘The Thing on the Doorstep’ which I enjoyed very much indeed. Your mastery of the weird theme is evident there, as in all your stories.”

“The Unnamable.” Weird Tales, July 1925.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. February 1931 (see above in general section on Lovecraft).

“The Whisperer in Darkness.” Weird Tales, August 1931.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca October 1930 [SL 1 #47]: “It is with greatest delight that I learn Mr. Wright has accepted ‘The Whisperer in Darkness’ and I look forward to its appearance with highest anticipation. If I had never read any of your work, the weird and cryptic fascination of the title would intrigue me, and as it is, knowing the high quality of your tales, I know that that title is a true indication of a superb piece of bizarre artistry. I only wish that the story appeared in the next issue of the magazine.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1930 [SL 1 #49]: “I hope that your ‘Whisperer in Darkness’ will be swiftly followed by many other tales; I can hardly wait for it!” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. January 1931: “Yet there is one advantage in the bi-monthly idea [for Weird Tales] — I’ll get to read your ‘Whisperer’ all at once, without having to wait a month for the last installment.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. June 1931 [SL 2 #53]: “I’ve been reading over the Eyrie of the lastest Weird Tales, and am gratified to note with what enthusiasm the readers hail your forthcoming tale — ‘The Whisperer in Darkness’… As for myself, I can hardly wait for the story to appear.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 14 July 1931: “Just a line to congratulate you on ‘The Whisperer in Darkness’… To say I enjoyed the story would be putting it lightly. Your subtle handling of the difficult theme again proves your mastery of the bizzare branch of literature. The subtle threading through shadowy mazes of horror, the dark implications, the tensing trend toward the horrific climax., marks this story as one as far above the general ruck of weird literature as any finished work of art is above the efforts of tyroes. The final implication, that the mask etc., MIGHT NOT BE OF WAX, was almost intolerably grisly, with the demoniac shadowy vistas of ghastly speculation at which it hinted.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 10 August 1931: “Yes, I did indeed like ‘The Whisperer in Darkness’…”

“The White Ape.” Weird Tales, April 1924.
[See “The Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family.”]

“The White Ship.” Weird Tales, March 1927.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 10 August 1931: “I just finished reading your latest story in Weird Tales [“The Strange High House in the Mist”], and am fascinated by its beauty and mystic depths. It calls to mind ‘The White Ship’ and ‘The Silver Key’ — shimmering etchings of pure beauty.”

“The Window.”
[See under “The Fungi From Yuggoth.”]

Lovecraft, H.P. and E. Hoffmann Price. “Through the Gates of the Silver Key.” Weird Tales, July 1934.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. July 1933: “I am sending on to you the enclosed manuscript, according to instructions. I read it the same day I received it, and I hardly know how to express my admiration for the splendid work you and Mr. Price have accomplished. I was most intrigued by the personalities of ‘Etienne de Marigny’ and ‘Ward Phillips’! And hope these fine characters will be used again. ¶ My sensations while reading this story are rather difficult to describe. The effect of reality was remarkable. Some of the speculations were over my head, at the first reading — not from any lack of clarity, but simply because of their cosmic depth. ¶ The Dhole-haunted planet of Yaddith conjures up tantalizing vistas of surmise, and I hope you will use it in future stories. I hope, too, that you’ll decide to get poor Randolph Carter out of his frightful predicament.” REH to August W. Derleth, ca. 4 September 1933: “I liked Price’s and Lovecraft’s story very much, and hope they’ll eventually be able to sell it.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. July 1934: “I naturally enjoyed re-reading your and Price’s story in the current Weird Tales. As I wrote to Mr. Wright, it is much more than a story; it is a philosophical masterpiece. I hope you are even now working on a sequel.”

Lovecraft, H.P. and Robert H. Barlow. “The Battle That Ended The Century.” Ms.
REH to Charles D. Hornig, 10 August 1934: “Yes, I received a copy of ‘The Battle That etc.’; it was mailed from Washington, D.C. It was cleverly done, and rather humorous. I don’t see how anybody but Lovecraft could have written it, because some of the points touched on were obscurely but unmistakably related to some matters that he and I have discussed and argued in our personal correspondence. ¶ The fight described was comical enough; though I’m afraid Dwyer would have considerable advantage of me in size; I’m a fraction of an inch under six feet and my best weight is only 210, while he is both taller and heavier, by a good deal.”

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Lowell, Joan

(1902-1967).

The Cradle of the Deep. Second printing. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1929. 30622; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. April 1932 [SL 2 #62]: [Referring to Ben Thompson’s “autobiography”]: “From what White [Owen P., Lead and Likker, q.v.] intimates, it handles the truth with an easy abandon reminiscent of Joan Lowell.”

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Lucian

(c. 120-200).

The Mimes of the Courtesans. New York: The Rarity Press, 1931. 30669; PQ3; GL; TDB.

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Lumley, William.

“Dweller.” The Fantasy Fan, February 1934.
REH to Clark Ashton Smith, ca. January 1934 [SL 2 #72]: “I hope Lumley markets his story, ‘The Ones of Hate,’ which you mentioned, and look forward reading his ‘The Dweller’ in Fantasy Fan.” REH to Clark Ashton Smith, ca. March 1934 [SL 2 #73]: “I read Lumley’s ‘The Dweller’ in the Fantasy Fan and liked it very much; it certainly reflects a depth of profound imagination seldom encountered. I hope the Fan will use more of his verse.” [See also the entry for The Fantasy Fan.]

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Lytle, Andrew Nelson

(1902- ).

Bedford Forrest and His Critter Company. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1931. 30617; PQ3; GL; TDB.

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[Main Menu]

M

[Main Menu]

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Macaulay, Thomas Babington

(1800-1859).

Lays of Ancient Rome. (1842).
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. February 1931: “My antipathy for Rome is one of those things I can’t explain myself. Certainly it isn’t based on any early reading, because some of that consisted of MacCauley’s ‘Lays of Ancient Rome’ from which flag-waving lines I should have drawn some Roman patriotism, it seems. At an early age I memorized most of those verses, but in reciting, changed them to suit myself and substituted Celtic names for the Roman ones, and changed the settings from Italy to the British Isles!”

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McCabe, Joseph

(1867-1955).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. April 1930 [SL 1 #35]: “I got a letter from Preecel, i.e. Hink [Harold Preece] and he said he… had met…Joseph McCabe.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. October 1930 [SL 1 #47]: “I found your remarks on witch-craft highly interesting. It was not until a few years ago that I realized that such a cult really did exist in former times — discovered this by reading an article by Joseph McCabe on the subject.” [Perhaps Witchcraft Facts, Little Blue Book #1132. McCabe was a former Catholic priest who wrote a number of Little Blue Books.]

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McGuffey, William Holmes

(1800-1873).

Eclectic Speaker. 30683 (as “Electric Speaker”); PQ3; GL; TDB.
[No edition noted.]

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McHarg, William [Briggs] Edwin Balmer

(1872-1951) and (1883-1959).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 7 July 1923, in a listing of parodic book titles is “‘The Indian Bum,’ by W. McHarg and E. Balmer” [The Indian Drum, 1917]

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Machen, Arthur

(1863-1947).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 9 August 1930 [SL 1 #39]: “…after a close study of Poe’s technique, I am forced to give as my personal opinion, that his horror tales have been surpassed by Arthur Machen, and that neither of them ever reached the heights of cosmic horror or opened such new, strange paths of imagination as you have done…” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. 18 August 1930 [SL 1 #42]: [Quoting from a letter from H.P. Lovecraft ]: “‘Incidentally, Long and I often debate about the real folklore basis of Machen’s nightmare witch cults (referring here, I guess, to “The Red Hand” and so on). I think they are Machen’s own inventions, for I never heard of them elsewhere; but Long cannot get over the idea that they have an actual source in European myth. Can you give us any light on this? We haven’t the temerity to ask Machen himself.’ ¶ Naturally I know nothing about it, but I’m going to tell Lovecraft if he’ll give me Machen’s address, I’ll write and ask him about it. I’d like to know myself.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. September 1930 [SL 1 #43]: “If you can get Machen’s address from Mr. Derleth, I’ll see what I can do. If Machen answers my inquire at all, his reply should be very interesting. I have always been fascinated by his work, though I will say, frankly and with no intent to flatter, that I consider him inferior to yourself as a horror story writer.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. September 1930 [SL 1 #44]: “I think if I get time, I’ll write to… Arthur Machen.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. October 1930 [SL 1 #45]: “It takes a master of the pen, such as Machen and yourself, to create a proper SUGGESTION of unseen and unknown horror.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. October 1930 [SL 1 #47]: “I have read…some of Machen…” From “The Children of the Night” (Weird Tales, April/May 1931): “‘The universe is full of the unexplainable.’ ¶ ‘And therefore the uninteresting, according to Machen,’ laughed Taverel.” [From the same story:] “‘You’ll find there a number of delectable dishes – Machen, Poe, Blackwood, Maturin…'” REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. August 1931: “Some day I must read…the tales you mention by…Machen…” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: Machen is listed among those Howard refers to as “my favorite writers.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 6 March 1933: “As far as I am concerned, your stories and poems are superior to anything of the sort ever written by Dunsany, Machen, Poe, or any of the others.”

“The Novel of the Black Seal.” (1895).
“The Children of the Night” (Weird Tales, April/May 1931): “But in such tales as Poe’s Fall of the House of Usher, Machen’s Black Seal, and Lovecraft’s Call of Cthulhu – the three master horror-tales, to my mind – the reader is borne into dark and outer realms of imagination.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. June 1931 [SL 2 #53]: “As regards my mention of the three foremost weird masterpieces — Poe’s, Machen’s and your own — its my honest opinion that these three are the outstanding tales.”

“The Red Hand.” (1895).
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. 18 August 1930 [SL 1 #42] (see above in general section on Machen).

“The Shining Pyramid.” (1925).
“The Little People”: “I did so mechanically, glancing at the volume which had incurred her youthful displeasure. The story was The Shining Pyramid by Arthur Machen. | ‘My dear girl,’ said I, ‘this is a masterpiece of outre literature.’… | ‘This tale is not intended to be an exponent of common-day realism,’ I explained patiently. | ‘…who were “The Little People” he speaks of — the same old elf and troll business?’ | … ‘The “Little People” spoken of by Machen are supposed to be descendants of the prehistoric people who inhabited Europe before the Celts came down out of the north.'”

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MacKaye, Percy

(1875-1956).

The Scarecrow; A Tragedy of the Ludicrous. (1914).
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. January 1934, mentions having heard over the radio, “‘The Scare Crow’ by Percy McKaye (was it?) a most strikingly weird and haunting thing…”

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McKenna, Edward L.

Hardware. New York: Robert M. McBride & Co., 1929.
REH to Harold Preece, ca. 18 September 1929: “I also glanced over a book by a fellow named McKenna, titled Hardware, and apparently dealing with the adventures of one of the Donegal Cronins.” [A short story of this title by the same author appeared in Adventure, April 1, 1927.]

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Macpherson, James

(1736-1796).

The Poems of Ossian. (1760-1763).
REH to Harold Preece, ca February 1930 [SL 1, #30]: “So you’ve been reading Macpherson? Well, don’t take him too seriously. He’s a damned fraud. I like his stuff because of their beauty and imagery — ” [quotes several lines from “Carthon”]. “Well, read him for his beauty, but realize his junk’s a hoax. It was the style then to ‘discover’ new unpublished manuscripts. As for him denying the origin of his race, damn him for a red-shanked gilly…. And if MacPherson says that Conaire ardri na Eireann was a Scotchman, he lies in his teeth.”

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Maeterlinck, Maurice

(1862-1949).

The Blue Bird. (1908).
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. September 1933: “I quite agree with your estimate of the average newspaper, and do not differ radically with your opinion of radio programs. And yet it would be erroneous to say that all radio programs are entirely without cultural value… I have heard, among other things, such plays as, ‘The Blue Bird’… Of course I had rather see these things on the stage, but as my chances of doing that are so slim they are practically non-existant, I was grateful for the opportunity of hearing them over the air.

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Magazines.

REH was a voracious reader of magazines and, of course, submitted stories to a great many. Magazines which he mentions, or to which he is known to have submitted stories, include: Ace-High, Action Stories, Adventure (q.v.), Argosy (q.v.), College Humor, Complete Stories, Cosmopolitan (q.v.), Cowboy Stories, Dime Sports, Far East, Fight Stories, Ghost Stories, Jack Dempsey’s Fight Magazine, Liberty, Magic Carpet, Oriental Stories, Police Gazette (q.v.), Red-Blooded, The Ring (q.v.), Romance, Saturday Evening Post (q.v.), Short Story, Spicy-Adventure Stories, Sport Story, Strange Detective Stories, Strange Tales, Super-Detective Stories, Tales of Mystery and Magic, Ten Story Book, Thrilling Adventures, Thrilling Mystery, Thrills of the Jungle, Top-Notch, True Stories, True Strange Stories, Weird Tales (q.v.), Western Aces, Western Story, Youth’s Companion.

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Maitland, Robert.

The Boy Scouts in Camp; or, Jack Danby’s Courage. Chicago: Saalfield, 1912. 30755; PQ3; GL; TDB.

The Boy Scouts to the Rescue, or, Jack Danby’s Fighting Chance. Chicago: Saalfield, 1912. 30743; PQ3; GL; TDB.

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Mandeville, Sir John.

See The Travels of Sir John Mandeville.

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Mansfield, Katherine [pen name of Kathleen Mansfield Beauchamp Murry]

(1888-1923).

Post Oaks and Sand Roughs, p. 76: [quoting a letter Steve Costigan (= REH) received from an editor] “Try reading something by Katherine Mansfield and learn from her what simplicity of style can do for a story.”

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March, Joseph Moncure

(1899-1977).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: March is listed among a number of poets Howard likes.

The Set-Up. New York: Covici, Friede, 1928. 30725; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.
Note in TDB: Narrative poem later made into movie. REH to August W. Derleth, ca. November 1933: “It makes me feel like an old man to watch fighters I knew in their prime, get slapped around by kids. ‘A fighter’s life is short at best, no time to waste, no time to rest; the spot-light shifts, the clock ticks fast, all youth becomes old age at last.'” [The quoted lines are from the third stanza of section two of the poem.]

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Markham, Lula Clark.

“In the Garden of Lindaraxa.” Argosy All-Story Weekly, 19 May 1923.
This poem, with its opening line “Teresa, Teresita!” may have suggested Howard’s untitled verse with the opening line “Keresa, Keresita!”

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Markun, Leo

(1901- ).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. March 1928: “Long live such men as Markun and Fielding, who realize that psychology has its roots deep in biology.” [Markun was the author of a number of Little Blue Books, among them The Psychology of Joy and Sorrow: What Behaviorists and Others Learned About Our Nature (#377) and The Psychology of the Criminal (#1459).]

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Marlowe, Christopher

(1564-1593).

Mentioned in “A Poet’s Skull” as “Kit Marlowe” (by which familiar name he was known to his contemporaries). “The Thessalians” (The Yellow Jacket [Howard Payne College], 13 January 1927): “…we played Shakespeare, Marlow, Goethe and some of the moderns.”

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Masefield, John

(1878-1967).
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: Masefield is listed among a number of poets Howard likes.

“A Consecration.”
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 2 November 1932 [SL 2 #65] quotes the first, fourth, sixth and seventh stanzas.

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Mashburn, W[allace] Kirk[patrick]

(1900-1968).

REH to Kirk Mashburn, ca. March 1932: “…I have been much interested in your work in Weird Tales. I particularly remember ‘Tony’, ‘Sola,’ ‘Placide’s Wife’, and your recent ‘Vengeance of Ixmal’ — a powerful tale. I hope to have the opportunity of reading more of your work soon.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. May 1932 [SL 2 #61]: “Kirk Mashburn, a damned good writer…”

“The Last of Placide’s Wife.” Weird Tales, September 1932.
REH to Kirk Mashburn, ca. September 1932: “Just a line (and rather belated, too) to congratulate you on ‘The Last of Placide’s Wife’. It’s a splendid story; you have the knack of making the impossible convincing, which is the true test of a weird story writer.”

“Placide’s Wife.” Weird Tales, November 1931.
REH to Kirk Mashburn, ca. March 1932 (see above in general section on Mashburn).

“Sola.” Weird Tales, April 1930.
REH to Kirk Mashburn, ca. March 1932 (see above in general section on Mashburn).

“Tony the Faithful.” Weird Tales, July 1928.
REH to Kirk Mashburn, ca. March 1932 (see above in general section on Mashburn).

“The Vengeance of Ixmal.” Weird Tales, March 1932.
REH to Kirk Mashburn, ca. March 1932 (see above in general section on Mashburn).

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Masters, Edgar Lee

(1868-1950).

“The Search.” Cosmopolitan, March 1917.
REH to Robert W. Gordon, 4 February 1925: “And now, there is a poem which I have been trying to re-discover…. It came out in the ‘Cosmopolitan’ magazine some nine years ago. I have even forgot the name and the author but it contains the following stanzas, fragments of which I remember.” [He quotes, surprisingly accurately, stanzas 12, 16-19, 37, 25-26, and 15.] “I don’t even know whether the lines were spaced like that or not. Just know that it was published in the Cosmopolitan.”

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Maturin, Charles Robert

(1787-1824).

Melmoth the Wanderer. (1820).
From “The Children of the Night” (Weird Tales, April/May 1931): “You’ll find there a number of delectable dishes – Machen, Poe, Blackwood, Maturin…” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 10 August 1931: “Some day I must read ‘Melmoth’…”

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Mencken, Henry Louis

(1880-1956).

Mentioned in “The People of the Winged Skulls” (parody, included in REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. 1928). Mentioned in “King Hootus” (parody, included in REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. January 1928) as “Aich Hell Stinckin.” Mentioned in “A Fable for Critics.” Post Oaks and Sand Roughs, p. 36, named as a writer Lars [Jansen = Fowler Gafford] “had never heard of…” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. November 1928 [SL 1 #17]: “When you strike your stride, people will forget there ever was a Mencken.” Mentioned in “The Case of the College Toilet” (parody, included in REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. February 1929). REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: “I don’t know of anything I’d enjoy more than striking a match on a pile containing all Mencken’s works, and if he was sitting on top of the heap at the time, it would be all right with me. I’d rather read Zane Grey the rest of my life.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 6 March 1933: “As for Mencken I esteem him no more than any other maggot spawned in buzzard’s puke.” One Who Walked Alone, p. 21: Howard is quoted as saying, “H.L. Mencken, the man who looks in the mirror and thinks he’s shaving God.” [Same source, p. 164:] “Bob was interested in talking about Mencken. Several years ago, Mencken wrote something in which he was most uncomplimentary toward Southerners. Bob read the article, and it made him so furious he never got completely over it, no matter what else Mencken wrote.” [Same source, p. 165:] “…he had to admit that he’d read some of Mencken’s things he liked.”

A Treatise on the Gods. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1930.
One Who Walked Alone, p. 165: “He said that he had enjoyed Mencken’s book: A Treatise on the Gods…. Bob insisted that A Treatise on the Gods was the best thing he’d read of Mencken’s.”

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Merritt, Abraham

(1884-1943).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. February 1931: “Have you ever tried Argosy? …they gobble up Merritt’s stuff and you have him beat seven ways from the ace. Not that Merritt isn’t good; he is. But his work lacks the sheer, somber and Gothic horror of your tales.. A touch of mere fantasy sometimes mars his work…”

“The Snake Mother.” Argosy All-Story, October 1930.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. January 1931: “I’m sending you some stuff under separate cover which I hope may be of interest. …a tale of A. Merritt’s which recently appeared in Argosy.”

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Millay, Edna St. Vincent

(1892-1950).

REH to Harold Preece, ca. December 1928 [SL 1 #20], includes Millay among a list of the world’s great women. REH to Harold Preece, ca. November 1930: “To my mind she [Lenore Preece, q.v.] is far superior to Edna St. Vincent Millay right now.”

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Miller, Warren Hastings

(1876-1960).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. May 1932: “Miller says further that the original Warren Hastings was an ancestor of his. [The “original Warren Hastings” (1732-1818) was the first British governor-general of India, 1773-1885]… He also said that some of his yarns, recently published in Oriental, had laid around for ten years without a buyer until Farnsworth came along.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 24 May 1932: “My knowledge of the Orient is extremely sketchy… Price and Miller, however, are a big help in the matter of Arabic names, grammar, etc..”

“Jungle Girl.” Oriental Stories, Spring 1932.
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. May 1932: “If you read ‘Jungle Girl’ in the latest Oriental, you might be interested to know that it has a factual base. Miller writes me, ‘Ah welladay; I won a bottle of champagne on that girl. She was the most beautiful female creature I ever laid eyes on, and Lord De B — had the nerve to bring her to the St. George in Algiers, where all the respectable matrons sniffed and gave her the icy lorgnette. I bet my aunt I could run off with her under his nose, and did. He had not begun to treat her mean yet, but I could see it coming; hence the story. He had her on safari with him down in Nigeria at that time.”

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Milton, John

(1608-1674).

Works of Milton. 30717; PQ3; GL; TDB (as Works).
[No edition noted.]

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Missale Romanum.

“Children of the Night”: Conrad’s library is said to include “a Missale Romanum, bound in clasped oak boards and printed in Venice, 1740.” This is the official altar book of the Roman Catholic Church, originally issued in 1570 after the Council of Trent decreed that all churches must use the same rites.

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Mitchell, Bess.

Cortes, Montezuma and Mexico past and present; the discovery and conquest of Mexico, its wars and revolutions, customs and costumes, ruins, antiquities, legends, amusements, and its future. Chicago: A. Flanagan, 1898. [The Teacher’s Helper, v. 5, n. 2] 30757; PQ3; GL; TDB.

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Molière [pseudonym of Jean Baptiste Poquelin

(1622-1673)].

Tartuffe. (1664).
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. September 1933: “I quite agree with your estimate of the average newspaper, and do not differ radically with your opinion of radio programs. And yet it would be erroneous to say that all radio programs are entirely without cultural value… I have heard, among other things, such plays as… ‘Tartuffe’… Of course I had rather see these things on the stage, but as my chances of doing that are so slim they are practically non-existant, I was grateful for the opportunity of hearing them over the air.”

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Mooney, Booth

(1912-1977).
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. March 1930 (SL 1 #34): “Booth said his story appeared this month….” REH to Harold Preece, postmarked 24 March 1930: [Mooney] “mentioned that his story was coming out in the next Ten Story Magazine….”

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Moore, C[atherine] L[ucille]

(1911-1987).

“Black God’s Shadow.” Weird Tales, December 1934.
C.L. Moore to REH, 29 January 1935: “Thanks for being flattering about Black God’s Shadow…”

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Mundy, Talbot [psuedonym of William Lancaster Gribbon]

(1879-1940).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 8 June 1923: “Have your Talbot Mundy books come yet?” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 22 June 1923: “I found your first letter waiting for me when I got back, also the Talbot Mundy books. I got them Monday. I’ve read ‘King of the Khyber Rifles,’ ‘The Ivory Trail,’ ‘The Winds of the World’ and have started on ‘The Eye of Zeitoon.’ [22 June 1923 was a Friday.][Ibid.:] “How do you like Talbot Mundy? Ranjoor Singh (‘Winds of the World,’ ‘Hira Singh’), Rustum Khan (‘The Eye of Zeitoon’) and Mahommed Gunga (‘Rung Ho!’) are my favorite characters, native, that is; a Sikh and two Rangar Rajputs. Did you ever read ‘The Man That Came Back’ by Kipling? In it a phrase is used, ‘Rung Ho! Hira Singh!’ which is the titles of two of Talbot Mundy’s books.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1930 [SL 1 #49]: “…Kipling, Mundy, a few others, they can write convincingly of Oriental mysticism…” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: Mundy is listed among those Howard refers to as “my favorite writers.”

“The Adventure of El-Kerak.” Adventure, 10 November 1921.
[See Appendix Two]

The Eye of Zeitoon. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1920. 30639; PQ3; GL.
Included on listing, headed “Library,” found among Howard’s papers. [See Appendix Two.] REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 22 June 1923 (see above in general section on Mundy).

Guns of the Gods; A Story of Yasmini’s Youth. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1921. 30753 (author as “Coll, Clement J.”); PQ2 (same as accessions list); GL (same as accessions list); TDB (author as “Coll, Clement S.”).
Included on listing, headed “Library,” found among Howard’s papers. [See Appendix Two.] [This book was illustrated by Joseph Clement Coll.]

Hira Singh; When India Came To Fight In Flanders. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1918. 30642, 30686; PQ3; GL; TDB.
Included on listing, headed “Library,” found among Howard’s papers. This title was listed twice. (REH apparently had 2 copies, as it is also listed twice on the accessions list.) [See Appendix Two.] REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 22 June 1923 (see above in general section on Mundy).

The Ivory Trail. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1919. 30641; PQ3; GL; TDB.
Included on listing, headed “Library,” found among Howard’s papers. [See Appendix Two.] REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 22 June 1923 (see above in general section on Mundy). “Skull-Face”: Heading for Chapter 14 is from Chapter 7 of this book.

King, of the Khyber Rifles; A Romance of Adventure. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1916. 30643; PQ3; GL; TDB.
Included on listing, headed “Library,” found among Howard’s papers. [See Appendix Two.] REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 22 June 1923 (see above in general section on Mundy).

“The Lion of Petra.” Adventure, 20 March 1922.
[See Appendix Two]

“The Lost Trooper.” Adventure, 30 May 1922.
[See Appendix Two]

Rung Ho! New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1914. 30761; PQ3; GL; TDB.
Included on listing, headed “Library,” found among Howard’s papers. [See Appendix Two.] REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 22 June 1923 (see above in general section on Mundy). “Skull-Face”: Heading for Chapter 10 is from Chapter 17 of this book; heading for Chapter 19 is from Chapter 32 of this book.

“The Seventeen Thieves of El-Kalil.” Adventure, 20 February 1922.
[See Appendix Two]

“The Shriek of Dum.” Adventure, 1 September 1919.
[See Appendix Two]

The Winds of the World. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1917. 30640; PQ3; GL; TDB.
Included on listing, headed “Library,” found among Howard’s papers. [See Appendix Two.] REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 22 June 1923 (see above in general section on Mundy). “Skull-Face”: Heading for Chapter 15 is from Chapter 3 of this book.

“The Woman Ayisha.” Adventure, 20 April 1922.
[See Appendix Two]

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Munn, Harold Warner

(1903-1981).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. September 1930 [SL 1 #45]: “I quite agree with your praise of Mr. H. Warner Munn. I have been reading his work in Weird Tales for many years and consider it of the highest quality. I should like very much to see the history of light weird fiction you say he is preparing…” [Munn’s stories in Weird Tales prior to this time were: “The Werewolf of Ponkert,” July 1925; “The City of Spiders,” November 1926; “The Return of the Master,” July 1927; “The Chain,” April 1928; “The Werewolf’s Daughter,” October, November, December 1928.] REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 24 May 1932: “Please extend my heartiest thanks, also, to Mr. Cook and Mr. Munn, both gentlemen for whose literary talents I have the sincerest regard…. I am sorry his [i.e., Munn’s] work does not appear more often in Weird Tales.”

“City of Spiders.” Weird Tales, November 1926.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 24 May 1932: “I remember his ‘City of Spiders’ as one of the most striking and powerful stories I have ever read…”

“Tales of the Werewolf Clan.”
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 24 May 1932: “…and his ‘Tales of the Werewolf Clan’ had the real historic sweep. He is evidently a deeply read student of history.” [Umbrella title for a series of stories appearing in Weird Tales: “The Werewolf of Ponkert” (July 1925), “The Return of the Master” (July 1927), “The Werewolf’s Daughter” (October, November and December 1928), “The Master Strikes” (November 1930), “The Master Fights” (December 1930), “The Master Has a Narrow Escape” (January 1931).]

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Mure, Geoffrey Reginald Gilchrist

(1893- ).

See “Sappho.”

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Musser, Benjamin F[rancis]

(1889-1951).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. July 1929 [SL 1 #26]: The main reason I’m writing this letter is to quote you what Musser, the editor of Contemporary Verse wrote to me” [quotes Musser’s letter]. “He also says that he can’t find Cross Plains in the atlas but wants to meet me when he comes to Dallas in October to lecture on modern poetry – a kind of lecture tour over the country, I gather.” In the August 1929 issue of Contemporary Verse, Musser wrote, “I’m planning to instruct midwestern USA and read to ’em in October…” The following month he listed among the addresses where he could be reached on his tour, “c/ Mrs. J.F. Robertson, Box 303, Rising Star, Texas, no later than October 12.” This was Lexie Dean Robertson (q.v.), herself a poet and contributor to Musser’s magazines. REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1930 [SL 1 #49]: “One shining example of tolerance and broadmindedness among the moderns is my friend Ben Musser, a poet of no small note.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, 6 March 1933: “I once met a noted poet, who had been kind enough to praise my verse most highly, and with whom I’d had an enjoyable correspondence. But I reckon I didn’t come up to his idea of what a poet should be, because he didn’t write me, even after he returned East, or even answer the letter I wrote him. I suppose he expected to meet some kind of an intellectual, and lost interest when he met only an ordinary man, thinking the thoughts and speaking in the dialect of the common people. I’ll admit that after a part-day’s conversation with him, I found relief and pleasure in exchanging reminiscences with a bus driver who didn’t know a sonnet from an axle hub.” [Musser published “Tides” in Contemporary Verse, September 1929, and “Red Thunder” in JAPM: The Poetry Weekly, 16 September 1929. He discontinued both his journals at the end of 1929 (they were merged with Bozart, “The Bi-Monthly Poetry Review”) and devoted the rest of his life to religious work (he was a tertiary of the order of St. Francis, i.e., a lay monk). In an autobiographical essay for The Book of Catholic Authors (Detroit: Walter Romig Co., 1945), Musser wrote of “…a period in which Bohemianism rivalled Catholicism for the field and finally, I pray forever, fell before the Cross. That ‘arty’ interlude included the editorship of several poetry magazines….” ]

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N

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Nathan, George Jean

(1882-1958).

Mentioned in “King Hootus” (parody, included in REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. January 1928) as “George Stein Stathan.” Mentioned in “A Fable for Critics.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932 includes Nathan among a group of writers of whom Howard says, “…three ringing razzberries for the whole mob….they’re all wet smacks.”

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Nennius

(ca. 8th century).

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Nicolson, J[ohn] U[rban]

(1885- ).

King of the Black Isles. Chicago: Pascal Covici, Publisher, 1926. 30809; PQ3; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.

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Nietzsche, Friedrich

(1844-1900).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. 20 February 1928 [SL 1 #10]: “Nietzsche never untwined the human from the cosmic…”

The Nomad.
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. March 1930 [SL 1 #33]: “No, you didn’t show me the Nomad but I have an idea of what its like. Reginald von Proudrear calls his valet: I say, me man, I think I’ll rough it in the wilds of Dutch Guinea awhile. Have the hotel person to give me a suite of room overlooking the jungle. And bah Jove, I’ll have the bally natives to do some of their dawnces foh me – I’m of old pioneer stock, you know.” [The Nomad was a travel magazine published in New York from 1924 until 1926 as Journeys Beautiful, from 1927 until 1931 as The Nomad.]

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Nordhoff, Charles Bernard and James Norman Hall

(1887-1947) and (1887-1951).

Pitcairn’s Island. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1934.
REH to August W. Derleth, 11 December 1934: “The best yarn I’ve read in years was ‘Pitcairn’s Island’, which I got hold of recently by chance. That was the real McCoy — realism without the pink pants or the blood-and-thunder. I’m going to read its companion books: ‘The Bounty’ (I believe that’s the title) and ‘Men Against the Sea.’ I first heard of the Mutiny on the Bounty when I was a child, and it made considerable of an impression on me; but that’s the first detailed account I ever got of it. I found a picture of Captain — later Governor — Bligh in one of my history books, and he looks just like the kind of a mutt that would ruin the lives of everybody he came in contact with, in his wrong-headed efforts to remold the universe according to his particular ideas. What a forsaken shame it was that somebody didn’t drop him on his head when he was an infant.”

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Norfleet, James Franklin

(1865-1967).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. October 1930 [SL 1 #47]: “But in a little town on the plains I met a figure who links Texas with her wild old past — no less a personage than the great Norfleet, one of modern Texas’ three greatest gunmen… Norfleet is not unknown in New York and Chicago and a few years ago gained national fame by tracking down a band of con-men who had swindled him out of considerable money; he landed them all in the pen, instead of shooting them. An interprizing firm published a book of his experiences, which reached an enormous sale. [J. Frank Norfleet, Norfleet; The actual experiences of a Texas Rancher’s 30,000-mile transcontinental chase after five confidence men (Fort Worth: White Publishing Co., 1924); revised and republished as Norfleet; The Amazing Experiences of an Intrepid Texas Rancher with an International Swindling Ring, “as told to Gordon Hines” (Sugar Land, Texas: Imperial Press, 1927).]

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Norse sagas.

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 10 August 1931: “Like you, the sagas of Norse gods and heroes fascinate me.”

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Northrop, Henry Davenport

(1836-1909).

Marvels of Natural History; Containing a Complete Description of the Animal Kingdom. Philadelphia: National Publishing Co., 1897. 30723; PQ3; GL; TDB.

Wonders of the Tropics, or Explorations and adventures, by Henry M. Stanley and other world-renowned travellers, containing thrilling accounts of famous expeditions, miraculous escapes, wild sports of the jungle, and plain, curious customs of savage races, journeys in unknown lands, and marvelous discoveries in the wilds of Africa, together with graphic descriptions of beautiful scenery, fertile valleys, vast forests, mighty rivers and cataracts, inland seas, mines of untold wealth, ferocious beasts, etc., etc., the whole comprising a vast treasury of all that is marvelous and wonderful in the dark continent, by Henry Davenport Northrop, D.D., Author of “Earth, Sea, and Sky,” etc., etc. Embellished with more than 100 striking illustrations. [Various publishers, (ca. 1889)]. 30673 (author as “Stanley, Henry M.”); PQ1 (same as accessions list); GL (same as accessions list); TDB (same as accessions list). Still in HPU holdings.
Note in PQ1: “[No place, date, or publisher is given.] The verso of the title-page gives some of this information, but the type is so battered that it is illegible.” The National Union Catalog lists at least 8 editions of this work, from various publishers, all dated 1889 or 1890. The edition in the HPU holdings has on the cover, “Explorations | and | Adventures | of | Henry M. Stanley.” The title on the spine reads, “Thrilling | Adventures | in the | Wilds | of | Africa.” The full title of the work, given on the title page of the edition I have, includes, following “Explorations and adventures,” the phrase “in the wilds of Africa,” and following “world-renowned travellers,” “including Livingstone, Baker, Cameron, Speke, Emin Pasha, Du Chaillu, Andersson, etc., etc.”

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Noyes, Alfred

(1880-1958).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: Noyes is listed among a number of poets Howard likes. REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. July 1934: “Noyes is one of my favorites. I like the music of drums and wind-harps that throbs through so much of his poetry.”

Dick Turpin’s Ride, and Other Poems. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co., 1927. 30667; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.

“The Parrot.”
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. July 1934: “Thanks for the kind things you said about my ‘Shadows in the Moonlight’. (My original title was ‘Iron Shadows in the Moon’.) I’m afraid I can’t claim originality in regard to the parrot and his repetition of the god’s invocation. I got the idea from a poem of Noyes’, entitled, I believe, ‘The Parrot’. As I remember, it goes something like this: [here he quotes, quite accurately, lines 1-12 and 17-20]. The poem ends on what seems to me a powerful and shuddersome note. [Here he quotes lines 37-40.] I don’t know whether I’ve quoted it correctly or not. But shucks, you’ve probably read it anyway.” [This poem is included in Dick Turpin’s Ride, and Other Poems, q.v.]

Tales of the Mermaid Tavern. Illustrated. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co., 1913. 30805; PQ3; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.

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O’Brien, John

( -1767).

REH to Harold Preece, ca. February 1930 [SL 1 #30]: in presenting the Irish alphabet, Howard says the letter “A” or “Ailm” means “the palm-tree (O’Brien) or the fir tree (O’Flaherty).” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 9 August 1930 [SL 1 #39]: “Bishop O’Brien of Cloyne scoffs at the legends representing the Gaels wandering from Scythia into Egypt and thence to Ireland, but admits that the Celtiberians were doubtless among the early settlers of Ireland.” [Bishop John O’Brien of Cloyne was the compiler of Facolóir gaodhilge-sax-bhéarla, or, An Irish-English dictionary; whereof the Irish part hath been compiled not only from various Irish vocabularies, particularly that of Mr. Edward Lhuyd, but also from a great variety of the best Irish manuscripts now extant. Paris, 1768; Dublin: Hodges and Smith, 1832. His “Remarks on the letter A” in O’Reilly and O’Donovan, An Irish-English Dictionary (q.v.), may have been the source of Howard’s citations. For instance, he wrote (p. 5): “It is distinguished by the appellative of Ailm, which seems to signify, strictly and properly, the palm-tree…; although Mr. O’Flaherty, notwithstanding the affinity of the words Ailm and Palma, interprets it the fir-tree, Lat. abies.” In the same article, some of his remarks are readily construed as “scoffing” at the legends Howard cites above. See also Lhuyd, Edward and Baxter, William.)]

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O’Donovan, John

(1809-1861).

[See “O’Reilly, Edward.”]

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O’Flaherty, Roderic

(1629-1718).

REH to Harold Preece, ca. February 1930 [SL 1 #30]: in presenting the Irish alphabet, Howard says the letter “A” or “Ailm” means “the palm-tree (O’Brien) or the fir tree (O’Flaherty).” [O’Flaherty was the author of Ogygia, or, a chronological account of Irish events: collected from very ancient documents, faithfully compared with each other, and supported by the genealogical and chronological aid of the sacred and prophane writings of the first nations of the globe. Dublin, 1793. (First published in Latin, 1685). Howard’s probable source for the above is Bishop John O’Brien’s (q.v.) “Remarks on the Letter A,” in O’Reilly and O’Donovan’s Irish-English Dictionary (q.v.)]

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Olmstead, Florence.

Mrs. Eli and Policy Ann. Chicago: Reilly & Britton Co., 1912. PQ4 (as “Olmsted”); GL ; TDB (as “Olmstead, Frederick L.”).

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O’Neill, Eugene [Gladstone]

(1888-1953).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. 20 February 1928 [SL 1 #10]: “I have carefully gone over, in my mind, the most powerful men – that is, in my opinion – in all of the world’s literature and here is my list: Jack London, Leonid Andreyev, Omar Khayyam, Eugene O’Neill, William Shakespeare.” [Ibid.]: I had a long mss. with the Argosy-Allstory and last night I dreamed that I got it back together with a long personal letter from the editor, written in pen and ink. Sure enough I did…. He says, as the setting was the Middle Ages, I had too much ‘Eugene O’Neill jungle stuff’ in the story.” Post Oaks and Sand Roughs, p. 129, quotes the letter from S.A. McWilliams of Argosy-All Story, 20 February 1928 (and reproduces the letter in facsimile, pp. 169-171): “And in one jump you change from the Middle Ages to Eugene O’Neill jungle stuff.”

The Hairy Ape. (1922).
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 6 March 1933: “Getting back to literature, if I included O’Neill in my aversions, it was unintentional. I got a big whang out of his ‘The Hairy Ape.'”

Ile. (1917).
REH to Harold Preece, ca. March 1929 [SL 1 #23]: “I also saw one of Eugene O’Neill’s dramas, ‘The Ile,’ put on by Howard Payne students. They won first place with it in Lubbock or some such damned place where they went to have a state-wide dramatic contest. The drama of course was powerful and the kids did better than I thought they could.”

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O’Reilly, Edward and O’Donovan, John

( -1829) and (1809-1861).

An Irish-English Dictionary; with copious quotations from the most esteemed ancient and modern writers, to elucidate the meaning of obscure words, and numerous comparisons of Irish words with those of similar orthography, sense, or sound in the Welsh and Hebrew languages. By Edward O’Reilly. A new edition, carefully revised and corrected, with a supplement, containing many thousand Irish words, with their interpretations in English, collected throughout Ireland, and among ancient unpublished manuscripts. By John O’Donovan, LL.D., M.R.I.A., the profoundly learned editor of the “Annals of the Four Masters,” and other great works on native Irish history and grammar. These collections contain many thousand Irish words, with their interpretations in English, collected by the learned author during the many years he devoted to this pursuit in unwearied researches among ancient unpublished manuscripts throughout Ireland. Dublin: J. Duffy & Co., 1864. (First published in 1817). 30674; PQ4; GL; TDB.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 9 August 1930 [SL 1 #39]: “O’Donovan and O’Reilly’s Irish-English Dictionary shows clearly the connection of many Gaelic words with Hebrew and Greek words.” [It is possible that Howard got his information regarding Edward Lhuyd (q.v.), Bishop John O’Brien of Cloyne (q.v.), and Roderic O’Flaherty (q.v.) from this book.]

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Oskison, John Milton

(1874-1947).

A Texas Titan; The Story of Sam Houston. New York: Doubleday, Doran & Co., 1929. 30815; PQ4; GL; TDB.

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Owen, Frank [Roswell Williams]

(1893-1968).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1930 [SL 1 #49]: “I think Wright’s ‘Oriental Stories’ bids fair to show more originality than the average magazine dealing with the East, though the initial issue, was, to me, slightly disappointing — not in the appearance of the magazine but in the contents. However, with such writers as Hoffman-Price, Owens and Kline, I look for better things.”

“Singapore Nights.” Oriental Stories, October/November 1930.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. January 1931: “Speaking of Oriental Stories, I’ll admit I was disappointed in Owens’ story in the first issue. He seemed to have written it hurriedly and without making much attempt at realistic portrayal.”

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Papini, Giovanni

(1881-1956).

Life of Christ. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1923. 30606; PQ4; GL; TDB.

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Parker, James W.

Narrative of the Perilous Adventures, Miraculous Escapes and Sufferings of Rev. James W. Parker … with an impartial geographical description of … Texas: written by himself. To which is appended a Narrative of the capture and subsequent sufferings of Mrs. Rachel Plummer during a captivity of twenty-one months among the Comanche Indians: with a sketch of their manners, customs, laws, &c. &: with a short description of the country over which she traveled whilst with the Indians. [Publication data unknown: ca. 1844; Mrs. Plummer’s narrative first published 1839]. Reprinted as The Rachel Plummer Narrative: A stirring narrative of adventure, hardship and privation in the early days of Texas, depicting struggles with the Indians and other adventures … [n.p. (Palestine, Texas): Rachel Lofton, Susie Hendrix and Jane Kennedy (descendants of James W. Parker), 1926]
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 31 May 1935: “I find the smug and self-righteous attitude of the [Woonsocket] ‘Patriot’s’ gentlemen [who had written, of Santa Ana: “How can we style him a tyrant, who opposed the efforts of rebels and used them with deserved severity!”] in striking contrast to men like James W. Parker, who lived in that period. It was less than a month after San Jacinto that James W. Parker wrote his red chapter into Texas history…. It is of Jim Parker I would speak, and I can not tell his story better than in his own words…. Let James W. Parker tell his own story.” Howard then quotes several paragraphs relating the escape from Fort Parker and the arduous trek to Fort Houston, an account given in The Rachel Plummer Narrative on pages 8-10. His quotations do not match exactly with the narrative included in this book: perhaps he had to hand another, slightly rewritten version of Parker’s narrative.

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Parrish, Randall

(1858-1923).

Bob Hampton of Placer. Chicago: A.C. McClurg, 1906. 30756; PQ4; GL; TDB.
[Western novel, with a strikingly Howardian hero.]

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Parrott, Thomas Marc and Augustus White Long.

(1866-1960)

English Poems from Chaucer to Kipling; Edited for Use in Schools. Boston: Ginn & Co., 1902. 30735; PQ2 (author as “Darratt and Long,” title as “English Poems”); GL (title same as PQ2, listed under heading “Data on the following is incomplete and/or questionable”); TDB.
[The version of the ballad, “The Battle of Otterbourne,” which Howard used for chapter headings in “Lord of Samarcand,” appears to be the one in this book.]

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Peake, Harold

(1867-1946).

The Bronze Age and the Celtic World. London: Benn Brothers, 1922.
REH to Harold Preece, 24 November 1930 [SL 1 #48]: “Nor have I read The Bronze Age and the Celtic World though the title interests me highly and I intend to read it as soon as I can obtain it.”

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Pendexter, Hugh

(1875-1940).

“The Devil’s Brew.” Adventure, July 15, August 1, 1931.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. 10 August 1931: “By the way, while you were in Florida, did you hear anything of ‘the Old People’? According to Hugh Pendexter, old chronicles of the country speak of ruins of roadways, fortresses and buildings, supposed to have been erected by some pre-Indian race. In his serial recently appearing in ‘Adventure’ — the first installment of which appeared in the same issue as ‘The Black Beast’ [by Henry S. Whitehead] — ‘Devil’s Brew’ he strikes some really convincing notes of lurking horror and sinister speculation with his mysterious sunken city, brooding beneath the sullen waters of a swamp-land lake, with its serpent-guardians and cryptic golden, headless and winged images, hinting uncanny origin and meaning. If you haven’t seen this tale, I’d be mighty glad to lend you the magazines containing it.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 4 October 1931: “I’m sending you the issues of Adventure containing Pendexter’s yarn. No hurry about returning them.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1931: “Glad you liked the Pendexter story. When I was reading it, I had an idea that he’d reveal the haunting horror to be a reptile of some sort, and wished that you were writing it, for I knew you’d make the climax fit the atmosphere in a much more shuddersome and imaginative fashion.”

“Lost Diggings.” Adventure, 30 November 1921 – 10 January 1922 (5 parts).
[See Appendix Two]

“Pay Gravel.” Adventure, 20 April – 20 May 1922 (4 parts).
[See Appendix Two]

“The Torch Bearers.” Adventure, 1 May – 15 June 1921 (4 parts).
[See Appendix Two]

“War Wampum.” Adventure, 10 June – 20 July 1922.
[See Appendix Two]

“White Dawn.” Adventure, 10 February – 10 March 1922 (4 parts).
[See Appendix Two]

“Wolf Law.” Adventure, 30 October 1921.
[See Appendix Two]

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Perry, Tyline

(1897- ).

[Tevis Clyde Smith to REH, ca. March 1931: “I also noticed that Tyline Perry had a book length detective in this number of Excitement. I do not know her personally, though she is a former Brownwood girl who has had one novel published, and has another one due off the press shortly. I understand that she has sold about ninety short stories in the last three or four years, too.”] REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. March 1931: “As for Tyline Perry, I’ve never read anything by her, but I guess she’s hot on the heels of Vina Delmar — not in style, for I know naught of her line, but in fame, fortune and fertility.” [Perry has only two novels listed in the National Union Catalog: The Owner Lies Dead (New York: Covici-Friede, 1930) and The Never Summer Mystery (New York: A.H. King, 1932).]

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Petaja, Emil

(1915- ).

“Antique.”
REH to Emil Petaja, 23 July 1935: “I’ll be looking forward to reading your short story: ‘Antique’, and hope to see your work soon in Weird Tales.”

“Echo From the Ebon Isles.”
One Who Walked Alone, p. 129, quotes a letter from REH: “So here are the poems I promised to copy for you several months ago — Petaja’s sonnet, and my own junk.” Petaja’s sonnet is given the title “Echo From the Ebon Isles,” and is a variant of his “The Warrior” (see below). Howard wrote to Petaja, 14 December 1934, thanking him for the sonnet; but the account in One Who Walked Alone suggests that this letter from REH is received shortly before Christmas, 1934, and states, “He showed me the sonnet a couple of months ago.”

“The Warrior.”
REH to Emil Petaja, 14 December 1934: “Thank you very much for the splendid sonnet. I feel deeply honored that a poem of such fine merit should be dedicated to me. You seem to grasp the motif of my stories, the compelling idea-force behind them which is the only excuse for their creation, more completely than any one I have yet encountered. This fine sonnet reveals your understanding of the abstractions I have tried to embody in these tales.”

“Witch’s Bercuese” [sic]. Marvel Tales, Summer 1935.
REH to Emil Petaja, 23 July 1935: “I read your recent poem: ‘Witch’s Bercuese’ in the recent Marvel Tales and liked it very much; the rhythm is smooth and musical and the somber motif is fascinating.” REH to Emil Petaja, 6 September 1935: “Yes, I did like ‘Witch’s Berceuse’ very much, and hope to see more of your poetry soon. I’ll be looking forward to those poems and short stories due to appear in Marvel Tales, and see no reason why you shouldn’t be able to market some of your work to Weird Tales. Many poems have appeared in that magazine which were inferior to your ‘Witch’s Berceuse.” [Monthly Terrors shows “Bercuese” in the index for the Summer 1935 issue. It also shows that as the last issue of the magazine.]

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Petrie, Sir W[illiam] M[atthew] Flinders

(1853-1942).

“Children of the Night”: “And Flinders Petrie has shown that the Lombards changed from a long-headed to a round-headed race in a few centuries.” In Petrie’s Migrations (The Huxley Lecture for 1906) (London: Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, n.d. [1906]; reprinted from the Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXXVI), p. 30, he wrote: “Now let us remember that these Lombards had left Scandinavia, which has the longest-headed population of Europe, and yet at present the Lombards have almost the broadest heads in Europe…. To my own sense of history it seems certain that twelve hundred years have sufficed to change entirely the cephalic index of a people so as to accord with their environment.” See also “The Book of History.”

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Petronius, Gaius

( -66).

The Satyricon of Petronius Arbiter. n.p.: Privately printed, 1928. Translation attributed to Oscar Wilde.
Howard gave an unnumbered copy (from an edition of 1200) of this book to Tevis Clyde Smith, inscribed: “‘Apeneck Sweeney spreads his knees / Letting his hands hang down to laugh. / The zebra stripes along his jaw / swell to macculate giraffe.’ / Yet in spite of this here between / these covers is proof that the world / was once even more mad than it is / now. / Bob” [“Apeneck Sweeney…macculate giraffe” is a quotation from T.S. Eliot, “Sweeney Among the Nightingales,” q.v.] REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. March 1930 [SL 1 #32]: “Glad you like The Satyricon. Petronious was an utter wretch but he wasn’t a hypocrite, anyway. I believe it is said that he was not a native Roman, but a Romanized Gaul. Well, if he was, he was so completely Romanized that all the Gaul had faded out of him.” REH to The Eyrie, March 1932: “[Clark Ashton] Smith’s sweep of imagination and fantasy is enthralling, but what captivates me most is the subtle, satiric humour that threads its delicate way through so much of his work — a sly humour that equals the more subtle touches of Rabelais and Petronius.”

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Pierrot.

“The Poets”: “Why, Pierrot might have been a musty sage, | Francois Villon a stoled and sour priest.” Originally a stock character in Italian drama and pantomime, a clown lover. “From the simple figure of the early pantomime, poets and artists have gradually evolved another, more romantic Pierrot, an artist-lover of soaring imagination who grimly hides his real passions behind a comic mask.” — The Reader’s Encyclopedia

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Pindar

(522/518-432/438 B.C.).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 13 July 1932: “Once I tried to write polished verse and prose with the classic touch, and my efforts were merely ridiculous, like Falstaff trying to don the mantle of Pindar.”

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Pinero, Sir Arthur Wing

(1855-1934).

The Iron Master.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. September 1933: “I quite agree with your estimate of the average newspaper, and do not differ radically with your opinion of radio programs. And yet it would be erroneous to say that all radio programs are entirely without cultural value… I have heard, among other things, such plays as,… ‘The Iron Master’… Of course I had rather see these things on the stage, but as my chances of doing that are so slim they are practically non-existant, I was grateful for the opportunity of hearing them over the air.

Trelawny of the Wells. (1898).
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. September 1933: “I quite agree with your estimate of the average newspaper, and do not differ radically with your opinion of radio programs. And yet it would be erroneous to say that all radio programs are entirely without cultural value… I have heard, among other things, such plays as… ‘Trelawny of the Wells’… Of course I had rather see these things on the stage, but as my chances of doing that are so slim they are practically non-existant, I was grateful for the opportunity of hearing them over the air.”

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Plato

(ca. 427-348 B.C.).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. 20 February 1928 [SL 1 #10]: [In discussing thinkers who “looked beyond the human” to the cosmic] “Plato did…”

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Plutarch

(ca. 45-125).

“The Department of Weapons: The Sword,” in “The Golden Caliph”: “Plutarch remarks that Artaxerzes orded [sic] his Persian armies to discard their heavy, cumbersome weapons and adopt the Roman short-sword.”

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Poe, Edgar Allan

(1809-1849).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 21 August 1926: “I’ve about decided that the only American poets worth much are Sidney Lanier, Poe and [George Sylvester] Viereck; they are equal to any England ever produced.” REH to Robert W. Gordon, 2 January 1927: “Americans have less poetry, real poetry, in their souls than any other nation. How many really classical poets have we produced? Lanier, Poe, Viereck — and who else.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. December 1928 [SL 1 #19]: “…De Quincey… was certainly the forerunner of the school to which Poe contributed and I at present honor with my presence — literarily speaking — I mean the school of fantasy and horror writing.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 9 August 1930 [SL 1 #39]: “I realize that it is the custom for enthusiastic readers to compare a favorite author with Poe, and their comparison is seldom based on any real estimate, or careful study. But after a close study of Poe’s technique, I am forced to give as my personal opinion, that his horror tales have been surpassed by Arthur Machen, and that neither of them ever reached the heights of cosmic horror or opened such new, strange paths of imagination as you have done…” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. October 1930 [SL 1 #47]: “I have read most of Poe’s work…” From “The Children of the Night” (Weird Tales, April/May 1931): “You’ll find there a number of delectable dishes – Machen, Poe, Blackwood, Maturin…” REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. December 1932: Poe is listed among those Howard refers to as “my favorite writers,” as well as among a number of poets Howard likes. REH to H.P. Lovecraft , 6 March 1933: “… Poe was a runner and a swimmer in his youth…” [Ibid.]: “As far as I am concerned, your stories and poems are superior to anything of the sort ever written by Dunsany, Machen, Poe, or any of the others.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. September 1933: “Anyway, Edgar Allan Poe didn’t suffer want and die in poverty on the frontier. If he’d been there, somebody would have shot a deer for him, somebody would have showed him how to build his cabin, and helped him do it…” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1934: “I was particularly interested in the sketch and description of the Poe cottage in Philadelphia, and was reminded of a discussion [E. Hoffmann] Price and I had concerning Poe. Price, if I remember rightly, considers Poe over-rated.”

“The City in the Sea.” (1831).
“Skull-Face”: lines 28-28 used as heading for Chapter 17

“Dream-Land.” (1844).
“The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune”: lines 7-8 used as heading. “Skull-Face”: lines 5-6 used as heading for Chapter 6. “Kings of the Night”: lines 5-8 used as heading for Chapter 2.

“The Fall of the House of Usher.” (1839).
From “The Children of the Night” (Weird Tales, April/May 1931): “But in such tales as Poe’s Fall of the House of Usher, Machen’s Black Seal, and Lovecraft’s Call of Cthulhu – the three master horror-tales, to my mind – the reader is borne into dark and outer realms of imagination.”

“Metzengerstein.” (1832).
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. January 1934, mentions having heard over the radio “the dramatization of one of Poe’s stories; I forget the name, but it was about a phantom horse that haunted a royal German family…”

“The Raven.” (1845).
“Skull-Face”: Line 26 used as heading for Chapter 11. “The Noseless Horror”: lines 13-14 quoted.

“Sonnet — To Science.” (1829).
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. 20 February 1928 [SL 1 #10]: “Therefore the poet, unexcelled in his line, simply makes a fool of himself when he seeks to cope with Science. Poe realized that — you’ve read his sonnet to science.”

“Tamerlane.” (1827).
“Lord of Samarcand”: lines 17-20 used as heading for Chapter 6; lines 30-31 used as heading for Chapter 7; lines 44-47 used as heading for Chapter 9.

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Poetry (general).

Post Oaks and Sand Roughs, p. 87: “Steve [Costigan = REH] had not the slightest idea of what a sonnet might be, had always preferred ballads and narrative poems, and had read only such of the moderns as he had come upon in magazines. ¶ …The iambic pentameter was too slow moving and measured for Costigan. He liked verse which beat with wild barbaric clangor, like the sound of tom-toms…. ¶ Steve discovered Wilde, Swinburne, and Viereck. New vistas opened to him. He thrilled and expanded as he read. He sought poetry and more poetry. Some was like the delicate tracery of ivory and silver moon mist, fragile as a dream, yet hard and scintillant as ice. Some went to his brain, some burned in his blood.” Howard contributed to several small poetry journals: American Poet (H. Stuart Morrison, Iselin, NJ), The Poets’ Scroll (E.A. Townsend, Howe, OK), JAPM: The Poetry Weekly (Benjamin F. Musser [q.v.], Atlantic City, NJ), Contemporary Verse (Musser).

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The Police Gazette.

The Right Hook, vol. 1, no. 3: Howard lists “The Police Gazette Editor’s Classification” of boxers. Tevis Clyde Smith, “Adventurer in Pulp”: recalls Howard “reading everything connected with boxing, from The Police Gazette to The Ring….”

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Powell, John Wesley.

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Preece, Lenore

(1912- 1998).

Sister of Howard’s good friend Harold Preece, and editor of The Junto during 1929-1930. She, along with Howard and Tevis Clyde Smith, was represented in the poetry anthology (Images Out of the Sky) Smith was trying to market to publishers in the fall of 1931 (see SL 2 #51, note 6; #56, note 67; and #59, note 92). REH to Harold Preece, ca. 4 January 1930: “I got the copy of the Longhorn though I was a long time in acknowledging receiving it to Lenore. I enjoyed her poems very much. They stood out from the muck and drivel which characterizes all college magazines.” [Probably the issue for December 1929, the first in which Preece’s poetry appeared in The Longhorn Magazine, a University of Texas literary magazine. Preece was a freshman. She had two poems in the December 1929 issue, “Winter” (which took a cash prize for best poem of the semester) and “Close of the Day.” (Both were to have been included in Images Out of the Sky.) She continued to contribute poetry and prose to the magazine.] REH to Harold Preece, ca. November 1930: “Speaking of poets, thanks very much for the poem you sent me – the one by Lenore. That is truly a splendid piece of work, as indeed, all of your sister’s work is. I have no hesitation in declaring that she will be some day – and that soon – recognized as one of the foremost poets of the world. She should make an attempt to bring out her work in book form. To my mind she is far superior to Edna St. Vincent Millay right now.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. 6 March 1933: “You know, the finest poets the Southwest has ever produced are absolutely unknown, and are not even listed in the Texas Almanac….They are my very good friend Tevis Clyde Smith Jr., of Brownwood, and the sister of another friend, Lenore Preece of Austin…. The other poet — or poetess — I mentioned, Lenore Preece, I have never seen, but we used to correspond, and to my mind she is superior to any other woman-poet America has yet produced. As I said before, I do not consider myself an art critic; but I do believe that most critics would admit that Lenore and Clyde are real poets.” [Ironically, both Preece and Smith were listed in Texas Writers of Today, by Florence Elberta Barns (Dallas: Tardy Publishing Co., 1935), Preece as a poet and Smith as a writer of history (for Frontier’s Generation), while Howard was not listed.]

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Price, Edgar Hoffmann

(1898-1988).

“The Girl From Samarcand.” Weird Tales, May 1929.
Farnsworth Wright to REH, 4 October 1932: “By all means, feel free to use the quotation from Price’s story, THE GIRL FROM SAMARCAND, in your story, BLACK COLOSSUS. We have no objection whatever.”

“A Jest and a Vengeance.” Weird Tales, September 1929.
REH to The Eyrie, November 1929: “I was especially taken with A Jest and a Vengeance, by E. Hoffmann Price. I’ve never been east of New Orleans, but as far as I’m concerned Price has captured the true spirit of the East in his tales, just as Kipling did. His stories breathe the Orient. In this latest tale I note, as in all his others, that patterned background of beauty for which he is noted. The action is perfectly attuned to the thought of the tale and that thought goes deep. More, through the weaving runs a minor note of diabolical humour, tantalizing and enthralling.”

Price, E. Hoffmann and Otis Adelbert Kline. “Thirsty Blades.” Weird Tales, February 1930. REH to The Eyrie, April 1930 (see under “Kline, Otis Adelbert and E. Hoffmann Price”).

Price, E. Hoffmann and H.P. Lovecraft. “Through the Gates of the Silver Key.” Weird Tales, July 1934.
(See under “Lovecraft, H.P. and E. Hoffmann Price.”)

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Quinn, Seabury Grandin

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Quinn, Seabury Grandin

(1889-1969).

Quinn’s character Jules de Grandin (a Weird Tales favorite) is mentioned in Howard’s “A Weird Ballad.” REH to The Eyrie (Weird Tales), February 1926: “Robert E. Howard, of Cross Plains, Texas, writes concerning Mr. Quinn’s stories of Jules de Grandin: ‘These are sheer masterpieces. The little Frenchman is one of those characters who live in fiction. I look forward with pleasurable anticipations to further meetings with him.’” REH to Wilfred B. Talman, ca. September 1931: “I notice you mention having met Quinn, the king-favorite of Weird Tales fans. I’d be interested in your impressions of him; for some unknown reason, I’ve always pictured him as a tall, powerfully built man with a leonine head and a full beard.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. September 1931 [SL 2 #56]: “He’s [Talman] met Quinn (alias Jules de Grandin) and says he’s a courteous gent of middle age, with a Southern accent. He says Quinn is independent and knows how to twist the editors. Says he recently turned down a big contract from Street & Smith, reported valued at $10,000. A gent can afford to be independent when he already has jack.” REH to Wilfred B. Talman, ca. September 1931 [SL 2 #57]: “I’m very interested in your account of Quinn. He must be a fascinating character.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 9 August 1932: “I don’t know [how] much slaughter and butchery the readers will endure. Their capacity for grisly details seems unlimited, when the cruelty is the torturing of some naked girl, such as Quinn’s stories abound in — no reflection intended on Quinn; he knows what they want and gives it to them.”

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R

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Rabelais, François

(1494?-1553).

Mentioned in “A Poet’s Skull” (as “Rabelay”). “Age Comes to Rabelais.” REH to The Eyrie, March 1932: “[Clark Ashton] Smith’s sweep of imagination and fantasy is enthralling, but what captivates me most is the subtle, satiric humour that threads its delicate way through so much of his work — a sly humour that equals the more subtle touches of Rabelais and Petronius.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. November 1932 [SL 2 #65]: “To me, for instance, Rabelais is neither wise nor witty, though perhaps I shouldn’t pass judgment on him, since his stuff nauseates me to such an extent I’ve never been able to read much of it.”

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Ragozin, Zénaïde A[lexeïevna]

(1835-1924).

The Story of Assyria; from the Rise of the Empire to the Fall of Nineveh; (Continued from “The Story of Chaldea”). New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1893. 30819; PQ4; GL; TDB.
On a list of books found among Howard’s papers, noted to cost $ .98 + .14 postage.

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Raine, William MacLeod

(1871-1954).

Famous Sheriffs and Western Outlaws. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Page & Co., 1929. 30744; PQ4; GL; TDB.

Contents: Dodge [City]; Texas As Was [The Marlows]; The Estancia Land Grants; A Forgotten Filibuster [Henry A. Crabbe]; Tom Horn; Helldorado [Tombstone]; Law West of the Pecos [The Lincoln County War]; The “Apache Kid”; The Story of Beecher’s Island [Indian fight]; “Bucky” O’Neill; When the Outlaw Rode in Oklahoma [Bill Tilghman]; The War for the Range [sheep vs. cattle]; Carrying Law Into the Mesquite [Capt. Burton Mossman and Arizona Rangers]; The Hunting of Harry Tracy; “Four Sixes to Beat-” [John Wesley Hardin].

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Ramacharaka, Yogi [pseudonym of William Walker Atkinson]

(1862-1932)]

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. March 1928 [SL 1 #11]: “I suppose I am engaged in what seems to be a childish task, that of seeking to compromise Haeckel’s principle with the theories of Spencer — no, not compromise — I detest that word, it suggests surrender and evasion — what I am seeking to do is to find a common viewpoint. I think that the teachings of Yogi Ramacharaka come nearer to doing this than any other…. Haeckel argues in one direction, Spencer in another; the Yogis argue in both directions and seem, in the Gnani Yoga at least, to cover both fields of speculation, physical and spiritual.” [Atkinson was a prolific author of “New Thought” books, both under his own name and as “Yogi Ramacharaka.” According to L. Sprague de Camp, Dark Valley Destiny, p. 86, Dr. Solomon Chambers, a close friend of REH’s father, owned a copy of “Ramacharaka’s” Fourteen Lessons in Yogi Philosophy and Oriental Occultism (Oak Park, IL: Yogi Publication Society, 1903), which Dr. Howard read avidly “and underlined many passages that impressed him.” REH’s remarks here, and his mention of “Gnani Yoga” (a term not mentioned in Fourteen Lessons…), suggest he was reading “Ramacharaka’s” Gnani Yoga (Oak Park, IL: Yogi Publication Society, 1906), the fourth volume in a series titled “Yogi Philosophy.”]

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Raymond, Dora Neill

(1889-1961).

Oliver’s Secretary; John Milton in an Era of Revolt. New York: Minton, Balch & Co., 1932. 30825; PQ4; GL; TDB.

Dr. Neill was a native of San Antonio who taught at Sweet Briar College in Virginia from 1925. During the second term of the summer session, 1934, she was a visiting professor at the University of Texas.

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Reed, John

(1887-1920).

Daughter of the Revolution and Other Stories. New York: Vanguard Press, 1927. 30727; PQ4; GL; TDB.

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Reeve, Arthur B[enjamin]

(1880-1936).

The Gold of the Gods; The Mystery of the Incas Solved by Craig Kennedy — Scientific Detective. New York: Hearst’s International Library Co., 1915. 30814 (as “Reeves, Author B.”); PQ4; GL; TDB.

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Rhodes, Eugene Manlove

(1869-1934).

Bransford of Rainbow Range. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, [1914]. 30626; PQ4; GL; TDB.
[Originally titled Bransford in Arcadia; or, The Little Eohippus. New York: H. Holt & Co., 1914.]

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Rhys, Ernest

(1859-1946).

Romance. New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1913. 30633; PQ4; GL; TDB.

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Richmond, Grace [Louise Smith]

(1866-1959).

The Twenty-Fourth of June; Midsummer’s Day. New York: Doubleday, Page & Co., 1914. 30807 (as “The Twenty-Fourth of July”); PQ4 (as “The Night of Fourth of July”); GL (same as accessions list); TDB.

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Riddell, John [pseudonym of Corey Ford]

1902-1969).

Meaning No Offense: Being some of the life, adventures and opinions of Trader Riddell, an old book reviewer, in the dark continent of contemporary literature; including an assortment of strange interviews and literary follies. New York: John Day, 1928. 30810 (as “Riddle, John, Meaning of No Offense”); PQ4 (same as accessions list); GL (same as accessions list); TDB (same as accessions list, save “Offence”).
“The Tom Thumb Moider Mystery” (parody, included in REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. April 1932: ” ‘Riddel!’ howled the corpse sitting up suddenly…. ‘Now I remember! I was sitting in the reading room of the club! I took up a book with the name of John Riddel! I read. I became more and more bored. Suddenly all went blank!’ ¶ ‘Aha!’ exclaimed Vilo triumphantly. ‘The corpse was never dead! He comes to life! Well, anybody is liable to go into catalepsy reading the tripe that louse Riddel hands out for literature!'” [See also Ford, Corey.]

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Rinehart, Mary Roberts

(1876-1958).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. December 1928 [SL 1 #19]: “The women writers — my God! Rinehart is the only one in the world whose work is worth a continental curse and only her humor. She, of course, has no real brains, but some real guts.”

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The Ring.

Tevis Clyde Smith, “Adventurer in Pulp”: recalls Howard “reading everything connected with boxing, from The Police Gazette to The Ring….” Howard had a letter published in this paper, April 1926, and a poem, “Kid Lavigne Is Dead,” June 1928.

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Ripley, Thomas

(1895- ).

They Died With Their Boots On. The story of John Wesley Hardin and his fellow desperados in Texas. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Doran & Co., 1935. 30749; PQ4; GL; TDB.
Stories of Texas gunmen, lawmen, outlaws, etc.: John Wesley Hardin, Bill Longley, Ben Thompson, Phil Coe, King Fisher, John Selman, Jack Harris, Jack Helms, Charlie Webb, Jim Bradley, Juan Bideno, Joe Foster, Billy Sutton, Mark Wilson, J.B. Morgan, Gabe Slaughter, and the Dixon brothers.

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Robertson, Lexie Dean.

(1893-1954).

Harold Preece to Lenore Preece, 16 January 1965 (in The Howard Collector, vol. 2, no. 5, whole no. 11, Spring 1969; reprinted in The Howard Collector, NY: Ace Books, 1979): “He did meet at least one professional writer if you could call her such — Lexie Dean Robertson, the versifier, who lived over at Rising Star in the same county. But I regarded Lexie as a nice, big fat gal with cultural interests rather than as a poet. Yet, who couldn’t help but like her?” [Rising Star is actually in Eastland, not Callahan, County. Robertson’s home is probably where Howard met Benjamin Musser (q.v.).]

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Robinson, Edwin Arlington

(1869-1935).

“John Evereldown.”

Tevis Clyde Smith, “So Far the Poet…”: [in talking about Howard’s recitation of Robinson’s “Richard Cory” (q.v.), made a marginal note: “Also Ballad of John Everelldown”. Tevis Clyde Smith, “Conversation on the Bridge”: Referring to the “pained cry” of a tomcat, Fear Dunn (REH) says “Well, we know what he’s after. I didn’t think anybody, or anything, but John Everelldown worried about that on a night like this.” The poem is from Robinson’s The Children of the Night (Boston: Richard G. Badger & Co., 1897).

“Richard Cory.”
Tevis Clyde Smith, “So Far the Poet…”: “Richard Cory | Bob was fond of giving a recitation of Richard Cory as proof of the fact that a man who is regarded by his community as having everything actually suffers the same woes and is subject to the same depression as the lesser members of the township (neighborhood).” The poem is from Robinson’s The Children of the Night (Boston: Richard G. Badger & Co., 1897).

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Robinson, William Josephus

(1867-1936).

Birth Control; or, The Limitation of Offspring by the Prevention of Conception. [Prob. New York: Eugenics Publishing Co., various editions]. 30794; PQ4; GL; TDB.
Originally titled Fewer and Better Babies (New York: Critic & Guide Co., 1915). The 46th edition is dated 1929. Regarding Howard’s interest in this subject, Truett Vinson inscribed the copy of H.C. Witwer’s The Leather Pushers which he gave to REH: “Also don’t | forget our opinions on | other subjects ranging | from prizefighting to | birth control!” [See Witwer.]

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Rogers, Cameron

(1900- ).

Cyrano. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Doran & Co., 1929. 30632; PQ4 (title as “Cyrans [?]”); GL; TDB.

Drake’s Quest. With fourteen illustrations by James Daugherty. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Doran & Co., 1928. 30771; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.

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Roget’s Thesaurus

Roget’s Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases. [No edition noted.] 30631 (as “Roget, Peter Mark, Theaurus [sic] of English Words and Phrases”); PQ4 (same as accessions list); GL (same as accessions list save “Thesaurus”); TDB.

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Rohmer, Sax [pseudonym of Arthur Henry Ward, later Arthur Sarsfield Ward]

(1883-1959).

Howard wrote at least four parodies of Rohmer’s Fu Manchu stories in his letters to Tevis Clyde Smith: “The Sappious Few Menchu,” 17 March 1925, features the title character and “Jailum Smith” and “Pester”; “The Fastidious Fooey Mancucu,” ca. October 1927, features the title character and “Salem Myth”; “The Case of the College Toilet,” ca. February 1929, features “You-can-koo,” “Whalem Stiff,” and “Hatrack”; and an untitled piece (“‘Hatrack!’ a voice came to me dimly…”) features “Kankookoo,” “Whalem Stiff,” and “Hatrack.” [“Hatrack,” a play on Rohmer’s “Petrie” character, may have been inspired by Herbert Asbury’s story of that title (q.v.).] The title of another parody, “The Post of the Sappy Slipper,” seems to derive from The Quest of the Sacred Slipper. REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: Rohmer is listed among those Howard refers to as “my favorite writers.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. January 1934: “Some notable men talk over the air; I’ve heard… the inventor of Fu Manchu among others.”

Bat Wing. London and New York: Cassell & Co., 1921. 30741; PQ4; GL; TDB.

Golden Scorpion. London: Methuen, 1919. 30697; PQ4; GL; TDB.

The Green Eyes of Bast. New York: McBride, 1920. 30707; PQ4; GL; TDB.

The Hand of Fu-Manchu; Being a New Phase in the Activities of Fu Manchu, the Devil Doctor. New York: Robert M. McBride & Co., 1917. 30738; PQ4; GL; TDB.

The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu; Being a somewhat detailed account of the amazing adventures of Nayland Smith in his trailing of the sinister Chinaman. New York: McBride, Nast & Co., 1913. 30731; PQ4; GL; TDB.

The Quest of the Sacred Slipper. New York: Doubleday, Page & Co., 1919.
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 6 April 1925: “I have never read the original of the following burlesque but will go on what you told me of it.” [“The Post of the Sappy Slipper”]

The Return of Dr. Fu-Manchu. New York: McBride, 1916. 30733; PQ4; GL; TDB.

Tales of Chinatown. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Page & Co., 1922. 30654; PQ4; GL; TDB.

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Rollins, Philip A[shton]

(1869-1950).

The Cowboy; His Characteristics, His Equipment, and His Part in the Development of the West. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1922. 30845 (title only as “The Cowboy”); PQ4 (same as accessions list); GL (same as accessions list); TDB.
A later edition published under the title, The Cowboy; an unconventional history of civilization on the old-time cattle range. Revised and enlarged edition. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1936.

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Rostand, Edmund

(1868-1918).

Cyrano de Bergerac. (1897).
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. September 1933: “I quite agree with your estimate of the average newspaper, and do not differ radically with your opinion of radio programs. And yet it would be erroneous to say that all radio programs are entirely without cultural value… I have heard, among other things, such plays as… ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’… Of course I had rather see these things on the stage, but as my chances of doing that are so slim they are practically non-existant, I was grateful for the opportunity of hearing them over the air.”

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Russell, Phillips

(1884-1974).

John Paul Jones; Man of Action. Fourth printing. New York: Blue Ribbon Books, 1930 [originally published 1927]. 30609; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.
Stamped on title page, ‘A.F. Von Blon | Rare Book Dealer | Waco, Texas.'”

Emerson, The Wisest American. New York: Brentano’s, 1929. 30824; PQ4; GL; TDB.

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Russian literature.

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 2 November 1932 [SL 2 #65]: “Russians seem men wandering in mazes, never getting anywhere.”

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Sabatini, Rafael

(1875-1950).

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The Saga of Burnt Nial.

REH to Harry Bates, 1 June 1931: [In submitting “Spears of Clontarf” for Clayton Publications’ Torchlights of History]: “In gathering material for this story I have drawn on such sources as… ‘The Saga of Burnt Nial’…” [It is likely that Howard’s true source for material from this saga was P.W. Joyce’s A Short History of Gaelic Ireland, in which chapters on “The Danish Wars” and, in particular, “The Battle of Clontarf,” make extensive use of “The Saga or Story of Burnt Nial, translated by Sir George Webbe Dasent.” This would be The Story of Burnt Njal; from the Icelandic of the Njal’s Saga. Translated by Sir George Webb Dasent (1817-1896), originally published 1861.]

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Sampson, Emma Speed

(1868-1947).

Billy and the Major. Chicago: The Reilly & Britton Co., 1918. 30803; PQ4; GL; TDB.

Miss Minerva’s Baby. Chicago: Reilly & Lee, 1920. 30659; PQ4; GL; TDB.

Miss Minerva Broadcasts Billy. Chicago: Reilly & Lee, 1925. 30732; PQ4; GL; TDB.

Miss Minerva on the Old Plantation. Chicago: Reilly & Lee, 1923. 30710; PQ4; GL; TDB.

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Sandburg, Carl

(1878-1967).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 16 July 1925 [SL 1 #3, portion omitted, follows “I’m writing this on the new typewriter.”] “In Carl S.’s style:” [poem “And Dempsey climbed into the ring and the crowd sneered”].

The American Songbag. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1927.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. November 1932 [SL 2 #65]: “I used to correspond with one R.W. Gordon who was collecting old songs for an anthology — though I never got the chance of examining the completed work. The best thing of its kind I ever saw was an anthology compiled by Carl Sandburg, in which I found numbers of old songs I knew by heart but had never seen in print.”

“To a Contemporary Bunkshooter.”
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 6 August 1925: “Say, it’s asking a lot, but I wish sometime when you have plenty of time you’d copy off that poem of Sandburg’s about ‘The Contemporary Bunk-slinger’ something or other and send it to me.” [He says he is having some arguments with a friend who expresses narrowly conservative religious ideas and he is “slinging all the radical stuff I could find his way.”] “But he’s a good fellow after all. Merely, like all Christians of that type the idea that there isn’t any hell for them to relegate their enemies to with smug satisfaction, is disagreeable. So I want to give him Sandburg’s idea. He has never read S. and I want to hear him say Carl is a damn fool. Which he will.” [Sandburg’s poem appears in his collection, Chicago Poems (New York: Henry Holt, 1916).]

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San Martin.

Only this title is given on the accessions list, number 30847. Not included in PQ, GL or TDB listings. I have located only two English-language books on José de San Martin published before 1936: The Emancipation of South America, being a condensed translation by William Pilling of the History of San Martin, by General Don Bartolomé Mitre (London: Chapman & Hall, 1893); and Don José de San Martin, 1778-1850, A Study of His Career, by Anna Schoellkopf (New York: Boni & Liveright, 1924). The story of this South American liberator seems likely to have appealed to Howard, given that among his commanders were the Irishmen Michael Brown and Bernardo O’Higgins, and a Scotsman, Lord Cochrane.

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Santayana, George

(1863-1952).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. May-June 1933 [SL 2 #67]: “My tastes and habits are simple; I am neither erudite nor sophisticated. I prefer jazz to classical music, musical burlesques to Greek tragedy, A. Conan Doyle to Balzac, Bob Service’s verse to Santayana’s writing, a prize fight to a lecture on art.” [H.P. Lovecraft to Kenneth Sterling, 14 December 1935 (H.P. Lovecraft Selected Letters V.817): “Two-Gun is interesting because he has refused to let his thoughts & feelings be standardized. He remains himself. He couldn’t — today — solve a quadratic equation, & probably thinks that Santayana is a brand of coffee…”]

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Sappho

(ca. 6th c. B.C.).

REH to Harold Preece, ca. December 1928 [SL 1 #20]: “Sappho: doubtless the greatest women poet who ever lived; certainly one of the greatest of all time. The direct incentive of the lyric age of Greece, the age that for pure beauty, surpasses all others. How shall a pen like mine sing of the beauties of Sappho, of the golden streams which flowed from her pen, of her voice which was fairer than the song of a dark star, of the fragrance of her hair and shimmering loveliness of her body? Has it been proved that she was a Lesbian in the generally accepted sense of the word? Who ever accused her but the early Christian — ignorant monks and monastery swine who were set on breaking all the old golden idols; and Daudet, a libertine, a grovelling ape who could see no good in anything; Mure, a drunkard and a blatant braggart, whose word I hold of less weight than a feather drifting before a south wind. May the saints preserve Comparetti, who was man enough to uphold pure womanhood, and scholar enough to prove what he said. No prude was Sappho, but a full-blooded woman, passionate and open-hearted, with a golden song and a soul large enough to enfold the whole world.” [He quotes a number of lines from Sappho.] “The translation is weak and pallid in comparison with the ‘winged words’ of the original Greek. But even so, we catch the haunting melody, the wistful yet powerful, almost overcoming, beauty of the songs of Sappho. God be with her — gone to the dust twenty-five hundred years ago — more than two thousand years ago.” [He quotes a verse from Swinburne’s “Anactoria.”] [I am of the opinion that Howard took most of this from the chapter on Sappho in Mitchell Carroll, Greek Women, Volume I of Woman; in all ages and in all countries (q.v. under series title). All the quotations REH uses are to be found in precisely the same form on pp. 123-125 of that book, the only exception being that Howard’s second quotation (“Lo, Love once more, the limb-dissolving king”) omits the second line (“The bitter-sweet, impracticable thing”). Even the quotation from Swinburne’s “Anactoria” is identical to that on p. 127 of the book. Daudet, Mure, and Comparetti are discussed on pp. 114-115, though the judgments Howard pronounces are his own.]

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Sassoon, Siegfried

(1886-1967).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, n.d. (prps. late 1928): “If what you write merits a lot of supercilious question marks after it, the the good Lord knows Shelley and Sassoon are sitting on paper thrones.” Mentioned in Howard’s untitled parody (” ‘Hatrack!’ a voice came to me dimly…”), included in REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. March 1929, as “Siegfried Jazzoon.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: Sassoon is listed among a number of poets Howard likes. [Howard’s copy of Robert W. Service’s The Pretender (q.v.) bore the inscription, on the front free endpaper: “My dear Sassoon: | See the cuckoo in | the tree | And when you | see him think of me | Rupert Brooke.” In my opinion, the handwriting is that of Clyde Smith.]

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Saturday Evening Post

See Armour, J. Ogden; Byrne, Donn; Corbett, James J.; Lorimer, George Horace.

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Saxon, Lyle

(1891-1946).

“To Lyle Saxon”

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Sayers, Dorothy

(1893-1957) (ed.).

The Omnibus of Crime. Garden City, New York: Garden City Publishing Co., 1929. 30637 (as “Sawyers”); PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings. [Contents: “The History of Bel” / “The History of Susanna” / “The Story of Hercules and Cacus” / “The Story of Rhampsinitus” / Mrs. Henry Wood, “The Ebony Box” / Hedley Barker, “The Ace of Trouble” / Edgar Allan Poe, “The Mystery of Marie Rogêt” / Conan Doyle, “The Adventure of the Priory School” / Ernst Brahmah, “The Ghost at Massingham Mansions” / F.A.M. Webster, “The Secret of the Singular Cipher” / Bechhofer Roberts, “The English Filter” / E.C. Bentley, “The Clever Cockatoo” / Eden Philpotts, “Prince Charlie’s Dirk” / Robert Barr, “The Absent-minded Coterie” / L.T. Meade and Robert Eustace, “The Face in the Dark” / Edgar Jepson and Robert Eustace, “Mr. Belton’s Immunity” / Anthony Wynne, “The Cyprian Bees” / F. Britten Austin, “Diamond Cut Diamond” / Raymund Allen, “A Happy Solution” / Percival Wilde, “The Adventure of the Fallen Angels” / Victor Whitechurch, “Sir Gilbert Murrell’s Picture” / G.K. Chesterton, “The Hammer of God” / H.C. Bailey, “The Long Barrow” / Sir Basil Thomson, “The Hanover Court Murder” / Aldous Huxley, “The Gioconda Smile” / Mrs. Belloc Lowndes, “Her Last Adventure” / E.W. Hornung, “The Wrong House” / Mrs. Oliphant, “The Open Door” / Charles Dickens, “Story of the Bagman’s Uncle” / Charles Collins and Charles Dickens, “The Trial for Murder” / M.R. James, “Martin’s Close” / Robert Hichens, “How Love Came to Professor Guildea” / Saki, “The Open Window” / Arthur Machen, “The Novel of the Black Seal” / Sax Rohmer, “Tchériapin” / W.W. Jacobs, “The Monkey’s Paw” / A.J. Alan, “The Hair” / E.F. Benson, “Mrs. Amworth” / Ambrose Bierce, “Moxon’s Master” / Jerome K. Jerome, “The Dancing Partner” / R.L. Stevenson, “Thrawn Janet” / Marjorie Bowen, “The Avenging of Ann Leete” / W.F. Harvey, “August Heat” / Morley Roberts, “The Anticipator” / Joseph Conrad, “The Brute” / May Sinclair, “Where their Fire is Not Quenched” / J.S. LeFanu, “Green Tea” / J.D. Beresford, “The Misanthrope” / John Metcalfe, “The Bad Lands” / A.M. Burrage, “Nobody’s House” / A.C. Quiller-Couch, “The Seventh Man” / N. Royde-Smith, “Proof” / Walter de la Mare, “Seaton’s Aunt” / Edward Lucas White, “Lukundoo” / Michael Arlen, “The Gentleman from America” / R. Ellis Roberts, “The Narrow Way” / Traditional Tales of the Lowlands, “Sawney Bean” / Bram Stoker, “The Squaw” / Violet Hunt, “The Corsican Sisters” / Barry Pain, “The End of a Show” / H.G. Wells, “The Cone” / Ethel Colburn Mayne, “The Separate Room”]

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Sayler, Harry Lincoln

(1863- ).

See “Whitney, Elliott.”

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Scandinavian literature.

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 2 November 1932 [SL 2 #65]: “I find the old Scandinavian sagas fascinating, but I can’t work up any interest in modern Scandinavian writers. They seem further removed from the pristine Viking type than the English writers.

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Schidloff, Berthold, M.D.

Sexual Life of South Sea Natives. In Venus Oceanica; The Sexual Life of South Sea Natives, by Prof. B. Schidloff; Erotic Rituals of Australian Aboriginals by Doctor H. Basedow; Ethnopornographia by Doctor W.E. Roth. Edited by R[onald] Burton. Privately Printed for Subscribers. New York: Oceanica Research Press, 1935.

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. January-February 1935: “For instance Professor B. Schidloff, the noted anthropologist, says in the introduction to one of his most profound books: ‘– No thinking person who forms his own opinion on the modern times doubts any longer that civilization is equivalent to moral degeneracy.’ If I’d said that I bet you’d have instantly accused me of enmity to progress and enlightenment. But are you going to say that Schidloff is ‘an enemy to humanity’?” [The quoted passage is from p. 37, Schidloff’s “Introduction” to his section of the book. This is a translation of his Das Sexualleben der Australier und Ozeanier (1908).]

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Schopenhauer, Arthur

(1788-1860).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. 20 February 1928 [SL 1 #10]: “Nietzsche never untwined the human from the cosmic nor did Schopenhauer.”

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Schorer, Mark

(1908-1977).

See “Derleth, August and Mark Schorer.”

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Schreiner, Olive

(1855-1920).

The Story of an African Farm. London: Chapman & Hall, 1883.
Harold Preece, “The Last Celt,” in The Last Celt, p. 95: “I remember that Bob had bought several books during the trip, and they were in sight…. I had heard of Miss [Nathalia] Crane, but not of Olive Schreiner, whose STORY OF AN AFRICAN FARM was also among Bob’s purchases.” [The trip mentioned was to Austin, Texas, ca. 22 August 1927, during which he and Preece first met.]

“Visions of the Hunter.”
Post Oaks and Sand Roughs, p. 36: “He [“Lars Jansen” = R. Fowler Gafford] had almost memorized by heart Schreiner’s Visions, and in repeating them to Steve [“Steve Costigan” = REH] instilled a mystic fire in the telling which caused Steve to thrill more than when he read them.” [Ibid., p. 49]: “He [Jansen] again narrated Olive Schreiner’s “Visions of the Hunter,” seeming to find in it a great deal of solace.” [A section appended to The Story of an African Farm, titled “Dreams,” contains a vignette entitled “The Hunter.”]

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Schurtz, Heinrich

(1863-1903).

“Spain and Its Conquerors,” in The Book of History (q.v.), volume 7, pp. 3508ff.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. September 1933: “I have it on the authority of Professor Heinrich Shurtz, that after the invasion of Spain by the mixed bands of Vandals, Alani and Suevi who overthrew the Roman bureaucracy, the coming of the Visigoths as allies of the Roman governors was not looked upon by the natives as the return of rescuers.” Schurtz wrote (p. 3510): “The German races already settled in Spain were driven into the wild North-west, and Roman governors were reinstated in the provinces…. And it is a strange and significant fact that when the hated barbarians were driven into the Galician mountains, numbers of the natives joined their ranks, preferring to share danger and freedom with the wild sons of the North rather than bow their necks again under the yoke of the Roman military bureaucracy.”

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Scott, Sir Walter

(1771-1832).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. November 1932 [SL 2 #65]: “Dumas has a virility lacking in other French writers – I attribute it to his negroid strain – but his historical fiction lacks, at least to me, the gripping vividness of Sir Walter Scott, for instance…” [Ibid.]: “I wouldn’t take anything, though, for my early readings of Scott, Dickens and other English writers.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: Scott is listed among those Howard refers to as “my favorite writers.” Tevis Clyde Smith, “Adventurer in Pulp”: Scott was “among his favorite writers….”

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Seabrook, William [Buehler]

(1887-1945).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, 13 May 1936: “You ought to read … some of Seabrook’s travel books if you want to get a realistic view of French colonial policy.” [Adventures in Arabia; Among the Bedouins, Druses, Whirling Dervishes & Yezidee Devil Worshippers (1927); The Magic Island (1929; concerns Haiti); Jungle Ways (1931; concerns French West Africa, Mali, Ivory Coast, Upper Volta); Air Adventure; From Paris to the Sahara Desert and Timbuctoo (1933); The White Monk of Timbuctoo (1934); all New York: Harcourt, Brace & Co.]

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Seeger, Alan

(1888-1916).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 6 August 1926: “Did you ever read anything by Alan Seeger? I’ve been thinking about getting some of his poetry.”

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Service, Robert W[illiam]

(1874-1958).

Post Oaks and Sand Roughs, p. 74: “Steve [Costigan = REH] tried rhymes. He wrote a great deal of jingling, jangling verse on the order of Robert W. Service, for whom he entertained a regard second only to Rudyard Kipling. Clive [Hilton = Tevis Clyde Smith] considered Service the greatest poet of all time, but Steve leaned toward Kipling, because, as he said, Service wrote a few rotten poems, but Kipling never did. The rhymes of Service made Steve freeze and burn inside, and he sought to imitate him.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: Service is listed among a number of poets Howard likes. REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. May-June 1933 [SL 2 #67]: “My tastes and habits are simple; I am neither erudite nor sophisticated. I prefer jazz to classical music, musical burlesques to Greek tragedy, A. Conan Doyle to Balzac, Bob Service’s verse to Santayana’s writing, a prize fight to a lecture on art.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. September 1933: “If I can enjoy (for instance) both Service and Baudelaire, I see no reason why I should feel inferior to the man who can only enjoy Baudelaire, any more than to the man who can only enjoy Service.”

Ballads of a Bohemian. New York: Barse and Hopkins, 1921. 30693; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.

The Pretender; a Story of the Latin Quarter. New York: A.L. Burt Co., [n.d.] (1914). 30783; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.
Note in PQ1: This book is inscribed on the front free endpaper. “My dear Sassoon: | See the cuckoo in | the tree | And when you | see him think of me | Rupert Brooke.” [I am of the opinion that the handwriting of the inscription is Tevis Clyde Smith’s.]

Rhymes of a Red-Cross Man. Illustrated by Charles L. Wrenn. New York: Barse and Hopkins, 1916. 30806; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.
The book has a two-color (red and black) title page and eight full-color plates.

Rhymes of a Rolling Stone. New York: Dodd, Mead and Co., 1923. 30739 (as “Rolling Stone Rhymes”); PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.

“A Rolling Stone.” (1912).
[Included in Rhymes of a Rolling Stone.] REH to Farnsworth Wright, ca. Summer 1931 [SL 2 #54] quotes lines 53-56 (“In belly-pinch I will pay the price, | But God! let me be free; | For once I know in the long ago | They made a slave of me.”).

The Spell of the Yukon and Other Verses. New York: Barse and Hopkins, 1907. 30762; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.

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Shakespeare, William

(1564-1616).

“The Dook of Stork” (parody, included in REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 7 July 1923), is subtitled “A Dramma by Willie Shakesbeer.” “The Thessalians” (The Yellow Jacket [Howard Payne College], 13 January 1927): “…we played Shakespeare, Marlow, Goethe and some of the moderns.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. 20 February 1928 [SL 1 #10]: “I have carefully gone over, in my mind, the most powerful men – that is, in my opinion – in all of the world’s literature and here is my list: Jack London, Leonid Andreyev, Omar Khayyam, Eugene O’Neill, William Shakespeare.” In the same letter, in an untitled scenario, the character “Mike” (apparently the REH viewpoint character) says, “What do people know of the men who struggle to amuse them or to educate them? What is Shakespeare but a name, a mass of words, a dusty volume?” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. March 1929: [Following Howard’s parodic playlet, “Bastards All”] “I have a feeling that I’ve unconsciously plagiarized a good deal on this drammer but what the hell. It’s very disconnected because my desires wavered between a wish to write straight jovial obscenity and a desire to simply parody Shakespeare and exaggerate and emphasize what I consider show the bastardness of the scut’s nature — the brutal inconsistencies of his characters. I admit that he portrayed human nature that way, but his damnable preachings show his swinishness to my mind. I admit Shakespeare nauseates me quickly. If I might wish for any real power in anything I might write, it would be to write a book proving he wrote all his dramas but making him out such a bastard that it would influence future literature. I can stand all but the ruling class moral tone he puts in from time to time. That isn’t an echo of Upty [Upton Sinclair]. I never even read what Upty said about him. He narrates the doings of a bastard, makes you see he is a bastard, then leaves you with the impression that after all, the bastard was morally in the right. Oh, hell, I can’t say what I’m trying to… I consider a swing with a mallet an unanswerable argument. At this time, instead of trying to make my friends understand what I can’t understand myself, I’d simply seek out a teacher of Shakespeare and slam him with a mallet, thereby exhibiting my contempt for the subject and my stand on the matter as a whole.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 13 July 1932: “Once I tried to write polished verse and prose with the classic touch, and my efforts were merely ridiculous, like Falstaff trying to don the mantle of Pindar.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. 22 September 1932 [SL 2 #64]: “I notice where a mug named Oliver Herford has decided Shakespeare was Lord Oxford. It must have been a momentus decision, affecting the destiny of the world for Olivero to get his map in the magazines. Personally, I never cared whether the Shakespearian plays were written by Shakespeare of Stratford-on-Avon, or Lord Oxford-on-Thames or Lord Bitchbelly of Hogwallow-on-the-Tripe. It’s a cinch somebody wrote ’em, because I’ve read ’em myself, unless I was suffering from an optical delusion, and if so, I enjoyed the delusion. Although there’s only one character of Shakespeare that I have any real attachment to, and that’s Sir John Falstaff. I have a sincere affection for that old bastard.” [H.P. Lovecraft to REH, 7 October 1932: “As for the authorship of the Shakespearian plays and poems — I can’t take very seriously the various attempts to attribute them to persons other than W.S. of Stratford and London. All the evidence given in such claims seems to me very thin and forced, while a great deal of evidence on the other side exists. Many seem to think that no one with Shakespeare’s limited education and commonplace background could have written the existing works — yet on the other hand I don’t believe that they could have been written by anyone without a limited education and commonplace background. The historical and other errors in the plays are numerous and often absurd — and cannot be explained away as common attributes of the Elizabethan age. Not one of the men — Bacon, Oxford, etc. — to whom people have tried to credit the plays could have made such mistakes. Ben Jonson’s ‘Sejanus’ and ‘Catiline’ shew the exactness of the scholarship prevailing among the really educated men of Shakespeare’s time. There is also in Shakespeare a sort of fawning affection for royalty and nobility which eloquently bespeaks the emulous plebian rather than the actual nobleman. To me, the plays and poems seem just about what would naturally be written by a man of prodigious natural genius in the position of William Shakespeare of Stratford. Some are obviously collaborated, but a certain thread of unity runs through them all. I don’t for a moment believe that anyone but W.S. is primarily responsible for them.”] REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. November 1932 [SL 2 #65]: “I don’t doubt that you’re right about Shakespeare. I never paid much attention to the anti-Shakespeare theory myself.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. September 1933: “I quite agree with your estimate of the average newspaper, and do not differ radically with your opinion of radio programs. And yet it would be erroneous to say that all radio programs are entirely without cultural value… I have heard, among other things, such plays as… a number of Shakespearean plays. Of course I had rather see these things on the stage, but as my chances of doing that are so slim they are practically non-existant, I was grateful for the opportunity of hearing them over the air.” Tevis Clyde Smith, “Adventurer in Pulp”: “…Shakespeare was his favorite playwright…” Tevis Clyde Smith, “Report on a Writing Man”: “‘Shakespeare,’ he would say, ‘had perspective. That is why he is so great, why he continues to live. It is something so few have. He probably had it more than any man.'”

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. (ca. 1601).
One Who Walked Alone, p. 204: [During a discussion of whether or not Francis Bacon wrote the Shakespearean plays (in which Howard seems to be suggesting he did)] “‘The thinking in those essays [Bacon’s] could very well have been in Shakespeare’s plays. Read Hamlet. In it, you get something that was bothering the Elizabethans. Bacon especially. They still held to the old belief in blood revenge. You kill my father, and I’ll kill your father…. Another idea was growing too, the idea of the responsibility of the State…. Can’t you just see those old Elizabethans sitting around talking, trying to decide whether revenge should be done by the next of kin or by the State? Bacon was especially interested in things like that. That’s why he wrote his essay on revenge…. You read that essay and then read Hamlet…. See if you don’t think that was one of Hamlet’s problems.”

King Henry the Fifth. (ca. 1599).
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. March 1932: [Howard was apparently extremely drunk] “You know, Cladye, I have been reading Shajepshere lately and thinjk Prince Henry which was Henry the ¢Fifghth was a dirty swine to turn off Good old Sir John Falstifaff, the on.y human chatacte Shakeperezes ever creaged. If I mete King Henry in hell I will swinge his hides.”

Macbeth. (ca. 1606).
Tevis Clyde Smith, “Report on a Writing Man”: “He was equally at home in discussing Macbeth and Jack Harkaway.” In One Who Walked Alone, Howard is quoted several times using the phrase “sere and yellow leaf,” generally to refer to his own feeling of being old. On page 301, Ellis relates her discovery that the line is from Macbeth. It is from Act V, scene 3, Macbeth’s fourth speech.

The Merchant of Venice. (ca. 1595).
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 6 March 1933: “I was much interested in what you said about the cat-phobia. A most peculiar phenomenon, and one that seems absolutely inexplicable to me… I reckon it’s a phobia of long standing. Seems like I remember Shakespeare making some sort of a crack about.” [The Merchant of Venice, Act IV, scene 1, Shylock’s first speech: “Some men there are love not a gaping pig; | Some, that are mad if they behold a cat; | and others, when the bag-pipe sings i’ th’ nose, | cannot contain their urine…”]

Titus Andronicus. (ca. 1594).
“Graveyard Rats”: “I’ve seen you poring over Aaron’s lines in ‘Titus Andronicus’: “‘Oft have I digg’d up dead men / from their graves, / And set them upright at their / dear friends’ doors!’” [These lines are from Act 5, Scene I.]

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Shaw, George Bernard

(1856-1950).

Mentioned in “King Hootus” (parody, included in REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. January 1928). Mentioned in “A Fable for Critics.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. October 1928 [SL 1 #15]: “No one judges George Bernard Shaw, Upton Sinclair, or Jack London by what they wrote in their early youth when they were struggling up the long ladder…” Mentioned in “Lives and Crimes of Notable Artists” (parody, included in REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. July 1930). REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: “I’ve never read any of G.B. Shaw’s muck, either; he’s probably a genius. He’s also a poser, an egomaniac, and a jackass. I see he’s coming to America at last. Very condescending on his part. If I had my way, he’d be met on the wharf by a committee of welcome in top-hats and ivory-headed canes who would tender him the keys of the city, and pull all his whiskers out, hair by hair.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, 6 March 1933: “…even the superior Mr. Shaw was once a clever boxer.” One Who Walked Alone, p. 119: “Then I very innocently said that I thought the play ‘Candida’ by George Bernard Shaw was great. He exploded. Apparently, Bob doesn’t think the man has a brain in his head.”

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Shelley, Percy Bysshe

(1792-1822).

“Ozymandias.”
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 6 August 1926: “Say, Weird Tales is publishing some fine poetry, reprints, you know. This last issue they published ‘Ozymandias’ by Shelley…”

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Sinclair, Upton [Beall]

(1878-1968).

Mentioned in “King Hootus” (parody, included in REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. January 1928) as “Upanddown Sinclarified.” Mentioned in “The Rump of Swift” (parody, included in REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. June 1928). Post Oaks and Sand Roughs, p. 36, named as a writer Lars [Jansen = Fowler Gafford] “had never heard of…” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. October 1928 [SL 1 #15]: “No one judges George Bernard Shaw, Upton Sinclair, or Jack London by what they wrote in their early youth when they were struggling up the long ladder…” Mentioned in untitled parody (“‘Hatrack!’ a voice came to me dimly…”) (included in REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. March 1929). REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. March 1929: (re: William Shakespeare’s “ruling class moral tone”) “That isn’t an echo of Upty. I never even read what Upty said about him.” Mentioned in “A Fable for Critics” (also his books: “The Goose Step,” “King Coal,” “The Money Changers”): “Tremble ye tyrants, flee with leaps and bounds! | For every book he writes weighs forty pounds! | Ye who but laugh at poets’ rhymes and rages | ‘Ware the statistics in these deadly pages!” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: “As for American writers, I think yourself and Jim Tully are the only ones whose work will endure; among the writers now living, I mean. Upton Sinclair may get by because of the pictures of economic and social life he draws.”

The Jungle. New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1906.
The Right Hook, vol. 1, no. 1: “Read Upton Sinclair’s ‘The Jungle’.”

Letters To Judd, An American Workingman. Pasadena, CA: Author, 1925.
Truett Vinson to REH, ca. fall 1925: “Upton has a new book now — ‘Letters to Judd’ is the title of it. I’ll send you a paper bound copy this week. Be sure to read it.” Howard’s copy of this paperbound book was found among his papers.

Mammonart; An Essay in Economic Interpretation. Pasadena: Published by the Author, 1925.
The Right Hook, vol. 1, no. 1: (Under heading “Bookmen and Books”) “Upton Sinclair has written a new book, ‘Mammonart’. It is just as good as his previous works, though in a different style. It is a complete anyalysis of the world of literature. Upton Sinclair is a great man. The only foremost writer of today who dares lay bare the smut and slime and sin that, hidden by a smooth mask of sham, thrives all over the world. So. The great American commonwealth approaches Upton circumspectly. Perhaps he is a new brand of oats! Then, ‘He is a SOCIALIST!’ someone brays. That is enough to send the great American commonwealth away a full gallop, flapping their ears in holy horror. We are not a Socialist, personally. We think Socialism has its faults; but we do seek to uphold common sense.”

Oil! ; A Novel. Long Beach, California: Published by the Author, 1927. 30760; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.
Note in PQ2: “There are many pencil underlinings in this book. On p. 346, is the penciled statement: ‘We Jews have learned not to go where we’re new.'”

The Profits of Religion; A Study of Supernaturalism as a Source of Income and a Shield to Privilege. Pasadena: Upton Sinclair, 1918; New York: Vanguard Press, 1918.

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. 20 February 1928 [SL 1 #10]: I’ve just been reading ‘The Profits of Religion’. Upton bids all ‘real thinkers’ shun the ‘morasses’ of cosmic thinking. He, in his omnipotence, relegates to the limbo of intellectual oblivion such men as Haeckel, Spencer and the Yogis. Not being quite ready to set Upton on the throne of the Almighty and kow-tow I beg to differ with him… I am disappointed; I thought Upton Sinclair a stronger man than that.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. March 1928 [SL 1 #11]: “The only reason for writing this letter is to retract some statements I made in my previous letter, relative to Upton Sinclair and his ‘Profits of Religion.’ I find on careful perusal that, far from being an idealist propoganda, that the book is undoubtedly the most powerful upholder and exponent of material science I have yet encountered… Glancing over the book for the first time, I came upon an isolated remark dealing with Haeckel and I believe failed to interpret it in its true light… Upton did not fling reflections upon Haeckel as a man nor upon his followers, but simply warned against his material monism… his warning was against all metaphysics in general.” [Ibid.]: “For all human ideas are finite and relative, while the All or One or Unknowable is infinite and absolute. Upton appears to agree perfectly and gives the Yogis great respect. In fact, Upton is more of an occultist than I thought — he leans more strongly toward the existence of the occult than I… Upton says, in effect, that a man is foolish to deny that which he cannot conceive simply because he cannot conceive it.”

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Siringo, Charles A

(1855-1928).

Riata and Spurs; the Story of a Lifetime Spent in the Saddle as Cowboy and Ranger. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1931. 30690; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. April 1932 [SL 2 #62]: “Where did you get the Siringo book, and how much did it cost? If not too much, I think I’ll get a copy. I’m interested in the bold buccaleeros of early days.” REH to August W. Derleth, ca. March 1933: “Yet such an absolutely authentic work as Charles Siringo’s autobiography contain repeated references to murders and homicides.” [Stamped on bottom of title page, ‘A.F. Von Blon | Rare Book Dealer | Waco, Texas.’] This would be the revised edition. The first edition of the book was published in 1927 by the same company. According to J. Frank Dobie, Guide to Life and Literature of the Southwest (Dallas: Southern Methodist University Press, 1952), “Because of a threatened lawsuit, half of it had to be cut and additional material provided for a ‘Revised Edition.'”

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Skeyhill, Tom [Thomas John]

(1896-1932).

Sergeant York; Last of the Long Hunters. Philadelphia: John C. Winston Co., 1930. 30652 (as “Sergeant York,” no subtitle given); PQ4; GL; TDB.
Skeyhill also edited Sergeant York; His own life story and war diary (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Doran & Co., 1928).

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Slavonic literature.

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 2 November 1932 [SL 2 #65]: “Some Slavonic tales are gripping by their sheer somberness, but taken as a whole their literature fails to arouse my enthusiasm. That phrase — taken as a whole — is misleading, seeming to indicate that I was deeply familiar with that literature. I’m not, of course. What I meant was that part of the literature which I have read.”

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Smith, Clark Ashton

(1893-1961).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. August 1930 [SL 1 #41]: “And I am highly honored to know that Mr. Long and Mr. Clark Ashton Smith have noticed my efforts. Both are writers and poets whose work I very much admire, having carefully preserved all of their poems (as well as all of your’s) that have appeared in Weird Tales since I first made my acquaintance with the magazine.” [Smith’s poems in Weird Tales prior to this date were: “The Red Moon,” July/August 1923; “The Garden of Evil,” July/August 1923; “Solution,” January 1924; “The Melancholy Pool,” March 1924; “A Fable,” July 1927; “Interrogation,” September 1927; “The Saturnienne,” December 1927; “Warning,” October 1928; “Sonnet,” April 1929; “Nyctalops,” October 1929; “The Nightmare Tarn,” November 1929; “Fantaisie d’Antan,” December 1929; “Ougabalys,” January 1930; “Shadows,” February 1930.] REH to Charles D. Hornig, 1 November 1933: “Thanks for the copy of The Fantasy Fan… I am glad to see that you announce a poem by Smith in the next issue. He is a poet second to none.” REH to Clark Ashton Smith, ca. January 1934 [SL 2 #72]: “I hope Wright will let you do a lot of illustrating for Weird Tales, for other stories as well as your own. I’ll certainly be glad to see your Zothique stories collected in book form.”

“The Charnel God.” Weird Tales, March 1934.
REH to Clark Ashton Smith, ca. March 1934 [SL 2 #73]: “I was glad to see your illustration of your really magnificent ‘Charnel God.’ That story is really a tremendously powerful thing, sinister figures moving mysteriously against a black background of subtle horror. I don’t know when I’ve read anything I admired more.” REH to Clark Aston Smith, ca. 21 May 1934 [SL 2 #74]: “Yes, I certainly did like the ‘The Charnel God’ and its fine illustration…”

“The Colossus of Ylourgne.” Weird Tales, June 1934.
REH to Clark Ashton Smith, ca. March 1934 [SL 2 #73]: “I look forward to… ‘The Colossus of Ylourgne.’.” REH to Clark Ashton Smith, ca. 21 May 1934 [SL 2 #74]: “I haven’t yet obtained the June Weird Tales, but I look forward to reading your ‘Colossus of Ylourgne.’ That advance notice sure caught my fancy.”

“The Dark Eidolon.” Weird Tales, January 1935.
REH to Clark Ashton Smith, ca. 15 March 1933: “I shall look forward with eager anticipation for ‘The Dark Eidolon’ and the other stories you mentioned to be published in Weird Tales.” REH to Clark Ashton Smith, 23 July 1935: “I very much enjoyed ‘The Dark Eidolon’…”

“The Death of Malygris.” Weird Tales, April 1934.
REH to Clark Ashton Smith, ca. March 1934 [SL 2 #73]: “I look forward to ‘Malygris,’ not only the story itself, but your illustration also…” REH to Clark Ashton Smith, ca. 21 May 1934 [SL 2 #74]: “…the Malygris story came up to expectations splendidly. In some ways I liked the illustration even better than that of ‘The Charnel God,’ though both were fine.”

“Demon of the Flower.” Astounding, December 1933.
REH to Clark Ashton Smith, ca. October 1933 [SL 2 #68]: “Glad you made the Astounding Story market.” REH to Clark Ashton Smith, ca. 14 December 1933 [SL 2 #70]: “I enjoyed your ‘Demon in the Flower’ very much and am sorry that Astounding is closed to stories of the weird nature.”

“Dominion.” Weird Tales, June 1935.
REH to Clark Ashton Smith, 23 July 1935: “I very much enjoyed… the splendid poem: ‘Dominion’. I am not exaggerating when I say that I do not consider that I ever read a finer poem than that. I’d give my trigger-finger for the ability to make words flame and burn as you do.”

The Double Shadow and Other Stories. Privately printed collection, 1933. [According to Donald Sidney Fryer, Emperor of Dreams: A Clark Ashton Smith Bibliography (West Kingston, RI: Donald M. Grant, 1978), this was a 30-page, 8-5/8″ by 11-1/2″ paperbound booklet, printed by The Auburn [CA] Journal Press, February through June 1933. Contents: “The Voyage of King Eurovan”; “The Maze of the Enchanter”; “The Double Shadow”; “The Night in Malneant”; “The Devotee of Evil”; “The Willow Landscape”] REH to Clark Ashton Smith, ca. 15 March 1933: “I hardly know how to thank you for the copy of The Double Shadow. I have read the stories with the most intense interest and appreciation, and hardly know which I like the best. All are magnificent, splendid examples of that poetic prose which is so characteristic of your work. I envy you your rich and vivid style…. Thanking you again for the magnificent Double Shadow…” REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. September 1933: “Yes, I got both Smith’s brochure [The Double Shadow] and his book of poems [Ebony and Crystal]. Both were splendid, as I told him.”

“A Dream of the Abyss.” The Fantasy Fan, November 1933.
REH to Clark Ashton Smith, ca. 14 December 1933 [SL 2 #70]: “I also enjoyed your poem in the Fantasy Fan and have urged the editor to publish more of your poetry.”

Ebony and Crystal. Auburn, California: Privately printed, 1922. 30624; PQ4; GL; TDB. Inscribed to REH from Clark Ashton Smith.

[PQ4 notes that this book was given to Glenn Lord by a former Howard Payne librarian.] REH to Clark Ashton Smith, ca. 15 March 1933: “I am enclosing a check for Ebony and Crystal and would feel most honored if you would write your autograph on the fly page.” REH to Clark Ashton Smith, ca. 22 July 1933: “I can hardly find words to express the pleasure — I might even say ecstasy — with which I have read, and re-read, your magnificent ‘Ebony and Crystal.’ Every line in it is a gem. I could dip into the pages and pick at random, anywhere in the book, images of clarity and depth unsurpassed. I haven’t the words to express what I feel, my vocabulary being disgustingly small. But so many of your images stir feeling of such unusual depth and intensity, and bring back half forgotten instincts and emotions with such crystal clearness. ¶ For instance, the stanza containing the line: ¶ ‘The pines are ebony’ ¶ A memory springs up with startling clearness of a starlit glade wherein I stood, years ago and hundreds of miles distant, a glade bordered with pine trees that rose like a solid wall of blackness. ‘Ebony.’ I have never encountered a darkness like that of a pine-forest at midnight. ¶ And again, ‘Winter Moonlight’ and the line: ¶ ‘Carven of steel or fretted stone’ ¶ It limns a picture of last winter when I was struck with the weird and somber imagery of a tall mesquite tree etched against a snowy land and the dimly gleaming steel of a cloudy winter sky. ¶ But I could go on indefinitely. I will not seek to express my appreciation of ‘The Hashish-Eater.’ I lack the words. I have read it many times already; I hope to read it many more times.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. September 1933: “Yes, I got both Smith’s brochure [The Double Shadow] and his book of poems [Ebony and Crystal]. Both were splendid, as I told him.”

“Ennui.” Weird Tales, May 1936.
REH to August W. Derleth, 9 May 1936: “I did like Smith’s poem…” [in May Weird Tales].

“The Flower Women.” Weird Tales, May 1935.

REH to Clark Ashton Smith, 23 July 1935: “I very much enjoyed… ‘The Flower Women’…”

“The Hashish-Eater.”
[See Ebony and Crystal].

“The Holiness of Azedarac.” Weird Tales, November 1933.
REH to Clark Ashton Smith, ca. 1 November 1933: “…haven’t gotten the November copy yet, but look forward to reading your ‘Holiness of Azedarac.’.”

“The Ice-Demon.” Weird Tales, April 1933.
REH to Clark Ashton Smith, ca. 15 March 1933: “Incidentally, your story in the current Weird Tales is splendid.” [This could be in reference to “The Isle of the Torturers,” March 1933, but seems more likely to be this story.]

“The Isle of the Torturers.” Weird Tales, March 1933.
REH to Clark Ashton Smith, ca. 15 March 1933: “Incidentally, your story in the current Weird Tales is splendid.” [This could be in reference to “The Isle of the Torturers,” but seems more likely to be “The Ice-Demon,” April 1933.]

“The Kingdom of the Worm.” The Fantasy Fan, October 1933.
REH to Clark Ashton Smith, ca. October 1933 [SL 2 #68]: “I enjoyed very much your ‘Kingdom of the Worm.’ It is an awesome and magnificent and somber word picture you have drawn of the haunted land of Antchar.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. November 1933 [SL 2 #69]: “I’ve read a copy of Fantasy Fan… I enjoyed Smith’s tale…”

“The Last Heiroglyph.” Weird Tales, April 1935.
REH to Clark Ashton Smith, 23 July 1935: “I very much enjoyed… ‘The Last Hieroglyph’…”

“The Monster of the Prophecy.” Weird Tales, January 1932.
REH to The Eyrie, March 1932: “…the stories [in the January issue] by Smith, Long, Hurst and Jacobi could scarcely be excelled… Smith’s sweep of imagination and fantasy is enthralling, but what captivates me most is the subtle, satiric humour that threads its delicate way through so much of his work — a sly humour that equals the more subtle touches of Rabelais and Petronius.”

“The Return of the Sorcerer.” Strange Tales, September 1931.
REH to Clark Ashton Smith, ca. October 1933 [SL 2 #68]: “I envy you your knack of making the fantastic seem real. I particularly remember your remarkable ‘Return of the Sorcerer’ in Strange Tales. That was no story for one with weak nerves. The horror you evoked was almost unbearable. I have read and written weird stuff for more years than I like to remember, and it takes a regular literary earthquake to touch my callous soul. But it is the honest truth that my hair stood up when I read that story. Poe never wrote anything that congealed my blood like that did. I wrote the editor to that effect.”

“Revenant.” The Fantasy Fan, March 1934.
REH to Clark Ashton Smith, ca July 1933: “First let me thank you very much indeed for the magnificent poem ‘Revenant’ which is as splendid as anything of its kind that I ever read, and which I have placed among my most treasured possessions. It is indeed an honor to receive an addressed and signed copy of such a poem. How I envy your superb gift of conjuring up images of wizardry and wonder, like clouds rising from the ocean.” REH to The Fantasy Fan, May 1934: “Smith’s poem in the March issue was splendid, as always. By all means, publish as many of his poems as possible; I would like to see more by Lumley and it would be a fine thing if you could get some of Lovecraft’s poetry.”

“The Seed From the Sepulchre.” Weird Tales, October 1933.
REH to Clark Ashton Smith, ca. October 1933 [SL 2 #68]: “I enjoyed your story in the October Weird Tales, as always…” REH to August W. Derleth, ca. October 1933: “I got a big kick out of Lovecraft’s story, as well as those of Smith, Long etc.”

“Ubbo-Sathla.” Weird Tales, July 1933.
REH to Clark Ashton Smith, ca. 22 July 1933: “That is a fine story you have in the current Weird Tales. I mean ‘Ubbo Sathla’; short as it is, it has a really epochal sweep that is almost dizzying in the vistas it opens of awful and incredible antiquity.” REH to August W. Derleth, ca. July 1933: “Smith’s yarn [in Weird Tales, July 1933] was first class, too.”

“The Weaver in the Vault.” Weird Tales, January 1934.
REH to Clark Ashton Smith, ca. January 1934 [SL 2 #72]: “I liked your story in the current Weird Tales very much indeed; it had that smooth beauty of narration and sense of remote antiquity that characterizes all your work; poetic prose in the finest sense. And the illustration was splendid.”

“Winter Moonlight.”
[See Ebony and Crystal.]

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Smith, Langdon

(1858-1908).

Evolution: A Fantasy. “When You Were a Tadpole and I Was a Fish.” Boston: John W. Luce & Co., 1909.

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 4 November 1923: “Did you ever read any of Langdon Smith’s poetry? Here’s some of it. [quotes stanza VII, ll. 5-8] Rather shuddersome, some of the poetry. Here’s some more. [quotes stanza IX, ll. 1-4] And some of the poetry is different. [quotes stanza XII, ll. 1-4] And: [quotes stanza V, ll. 1-8] How do you like Langdon Smith’s poetry? And who or what do you suppose the verses refer to?” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 6 August 1926: “I’ve ordered…a volume of Langdon Smith’s poems.” Howard’s humorous boxing poem, “When you were a set-up and I was a ham,” seems to be a parody of Smith’s poem. The poem is included in Little Blue Book 71, Poems of Evolution.

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Smith, Tevis Clyde

(1908-1984).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 24 May 1925: “Your poetry’s all right. Gets better all the time.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 9 October 1925: “Say, bo, you’re developing into a real poet. That poem of yours was sure great.” Post Oaks and Sand Roughs, pp. 86-89: “He [Clive Hilton = Tevis Clyde Smith] was becoming interested in poetry, and abjured Robert W. Service. Clive had always scribbled verse to some extent, and Steve, to follow the bidding of his peculiar code of courtesy, had always lavishly praised them. But he had wondered at the mistakes in scansion and meter which Clive had made…. [Steve Costigan = REH] rhymed by instinct, and while some of his verse was irregular in the number of feet, it would scan and, at least in meter, violated no great poetic principles. ¶ Clive seemed to lack this instinct, yet at times some chance phrase or knack of wording in his verse would cause Steve to start with a sudden thrill, as he seemed to sense dreaming deeps, unguessed even by the author. ¶ …. As for Clive, a change had come over him. He looked back on Service and shuddered. He wrote nothing but sonnets, working entire weeks on one, and pouring out sweat and blood on them…. ¶ Clive sent Steve most of his work, and it was borne upon him that the blond youth was a real poet. If he did not have the metric instinct as Steve had, he had what was greater — the real poetic fire. he had a knack of phrasing, a gift of imagery, a choice of wording, which Steve knew he could never hope to equal or even approach. ¶ …. There were lines which made him freeze and burn, which caused goose flesh to rise all over him, and made him want to weep and laugh with the beauty and glory of the thing. Some of Clive’s verse had this quality, and Steve was glad and proud to have been the first to recognize the powers latent in the youth…. he praised Clive and encouraged him, seeking new words to express the greatness of his friend’s poetry.” [Ibid., p. 135]: “He sensed in the blond youth’s [i.e., Clive Hilton/Tevis Clyde Smith’s] poetry, a depth and beauty surpassing any American verse ever written, strength and virility surpassing the poetry of Europe.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. January 1928 [SL 1 #8]: “I predicted to him [Harold Preece] as to about a thousand others, that you were the next foremost poet of America.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. January 1928 [SL 1 #9]: “I read your verse again and again. You are a poet and owe it to yourself to cultivate your talent.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. November 1928 [SL 1 #17]: “I’ll swear you’re the only galoot I ever heard of who allied the highest and most artistic instinct for the beautiful and fantastic, with the brutal materialism of a Middle Ages baron. You’re a mixture of Aristophanes and Diogenes, of Wilde and Dean Swift. The laughter of your works is like the brine of the Atlantic and beneath your most humorous sentences runs a deep vein of bitter satire that cuts like a keen-edged dagger. The nearest approach to you was Dean Swift and he was rather too heavy and cumbersome. Your satire is like the thrust of a rapier with a piledriver behind it. When you strike your stride, people will forget there ever was a Mencken. ¶ The description of battle and death was the most terrible thing I ever read and to my mind the most vital and poignant thing you’ve ever written. You used plain, clear concise language, made no attempt at far flown imagery, and succeeded in drawing a picture so vivid, so real and so naturally dramatic that it gripped like iron fingers and turned my guts a deep saffron. God, what an image. Ever line, every word throbbed and pulsed with life and reality, with all the lost hopes and vanished dreams, the heart hurts and the soul beats of humanity. That’s art — that is real art, which so many seek to attain and never accomplish. There was but one idealistic touch and that was my ending — I’ll never reach such heights when my time comes. I’ll likely go out like a yellow rat. Thanks, anyhow. The poem was great, of course. ¶ You’re a strange and powerful combination — your work is beautiful and yet rippingly powerful — delicate as golden lace, yet if need be, brutal as a blood-stained battle mace. You break down dark hidden doors with a rose for a battering ram and cleave skulls with a golden sword.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. November 1928: “There’s only one man today who is Voltaire reincarnated and you’re he.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, n.d. (prob. ca. late 1928): “Listen you goddamn so forth and so on, I notice a cynicism stealing into your remarks that I resent. You say you are sending me poetry and then put a lot of question marks after the word poetry. If I catch you defaming your art again that way I’ll steal on you unaware, kick your pants up around your neck, light on your face with both feet, crucify you and wind up by punching you in the nose. If what you write merits a lot of supercilious question marks after it, then the good Lord knows Shelley and Sassoon are sitting on paper thrones. Each man of character has only one excuse for existence — your poetry is yours. It don’t do for a man to take himself too seriously but it don’t do for him to belittle himself either. ¶ The poem you sent me was as fiery and virile as anything you’ve ever written — or anybody else, for that matter. Especially the second part went to my brain like the flaming liquor of insanity. No one besides Jack London has the power to move me just that way. Your free verse was great too, stirring me in another manner. You know it takes rhyme to set me wild, but the free verse had the proper touch of mysticism which free verse is supposed to have, but which so few can instill therein.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. March 1929: “I think that two of the poems are about as fine as you have ever written. As in all your poetry there is a certain undefinable something, a haunting melody and imagery, hinting at dreaming deeps, unguessed, even by yourself, I believe. Your poetry intrigues me as no other writer’s has ever done. Throughout the weave of your verse, a chance word, a rhyme scheme, a trick of phrasing, betrays the true artistic genius. I have said very often before and now repeat that you have it in you to become the greatest poet that America has ever produced. I do not say this because of any friendship which may exist between use, but simply because it is my sincere belief.” REH to TCS, ca. June 1929 [SL 1 #25]: “I’ve re-read your poem again and again. I think it’s a master-piece. All the poems contained in that letter I like. But hell, you never wrote a line of verse that I didn’t like. Your poetry glows and burns with passionate life, no matter what the subject — fierce revolt — savage beauty — and beauty cold and heartless as a frozen queen — and wild and terrible as the death of a heathen king. Golden tom-toms — they throb forever in your lines, and they will throb down all the ages, to freeze and burn the hearts of men as long as the wild geese wing southward or the gulls cry over the magic ocean.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. September 1930 [SL 1 #44]: “…I’m going to write a history of early Texan days some time… You won’t have any objection to me using your articles as instances of Texas romance, will you? Of course, I’ll give you full credit and cite your news stories as references.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. March 1931: “I read your article on the moody settlers of early Texas. It was very well written indeed, and as far as I know, unique. If anyone else ever dwelt specially on that subject, I never heard of it.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. October 1931: “Your poem was magnificent. It’s the first bit of verse which has made goose-flesh on me in the Devil knows how long. I’m going to quote some of it to Lovecraft in my next letter. I can’t praise it enough; it has the ring and the swing, the throb and the pulse and the thunder.” [There is no quotation from a Smith poem in Howard’s letter to Lovecraft, ca. 4 October 1931.] REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. March 1932: “But if a discerning critic like Lovecraft likes my stuff, then the world will certainly be enriched by our book, because both your poems and Lenore [Preece]’s are superior to mine. (I say this not in mock humility but because it’s true.)” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 6 March 1933: “You know, the finest poets the Southwest has ever produced are absolutely unknown, and are not even listed in the Texas Almanac…. They are my very good friend Tevis Clyde Smith Jr., of Brownwood, and the sister of another friend, Lenore Preece of Austin. Clyde is the lad who collaborated with me on that yarn ‘Red Blades of Black Cathay’ which appeared in the old Oriental Stories, and which Whitehead was kind enough to praise…. He’s a college graduate; had a fling at the writing game, during which time he wrote some of the finest poetry I ever read. None of it was ever published, but if I ever have the opportunity I intend to bring it all out in book form…. But even if he doesn’t [return to literary work], he’s accomplished more in the way of real poetry, than many a widely-known scibbler ever does.”

“Aellening the Wolf.”
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. March 1928 [SL 1 #12]: “Glad you’re writing these days. Good stuff, ‘Ellening the Wolf’ was great, especially.”

Frontier’s Generation; the Pioneer History of Brown County with Sidelights on the Surrounding Territory. Brownwood, Texas: Published by the author, 1931.
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. 4 March 1931: “Congratulations on your history book. I’m sure glad you’ve decided to put it out and believe you’ll make some money on it. Let me have the honor of buying the first copy, autographed. Who’s going to do the printing?” [The book was printed by Greenwood Press, Brownwood.] REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. March 1931: “Too bad about your typewriter breaking down when you were winding up the history, but the old machine has lasted mighty well. When do you expect to get the history out?” [Tevis Clyde Smith to REH, ca. 14 March 1931: “It will be at least a month or six weeks, I suppose, before the job is completed — the history, I mean. It isn’t a gigantic task, but the printer has so much else to do that it will keep him humping to get it out. I am sending you a proof of the first page of the manuscript.”] REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. 14 March 1931: “Your history looks great and from what I read, has a remarkably vivid and entertainingly ironic style. By the way, do you want me to return the proof-sheet?” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. 20 May 1931: “Wish you’d get me a Frontier Times and keep it till I see you; I want to see my reprint, also the review they gave your book.” [Frontier Times, June 1931, reprinted Howard’s “The Ghost of Camp Colorado” (The Texaco Star, April 1931), and contains the notice, under “Books Received”: “We are in receipt of a valuable booklet of 63 pages recently written and published by Tevis Clyde Smith of Brownwood, under the title of ‘Frontier’s Generation, the Pioneer History of Brown County, with Sidelights on the Surrounding Territory.’ The book contains much interesting and worth-while history of early days, and sells for fifty cents per copy.”] REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. May 1931: “Thanks very much for the Frontier Times. Bozo gave you a pretty nice write-up about your bookel, but he should have devoted more space to it.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. September 1931 [SL 2 #56]: “I’m glad to hear the G.M.C. are going to review your book, and I appreciate your attitude in not sending them the book and scathing them with rebukal, knowing how distasteful vulgar publicity is to youse.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. May 1932 [SL 2 #61]: “Glad you got a write-up in the Southwestern. I’d like to have a copy, if you’ve a spare one; if not, I’d like for you to quote the write-up in a letter.” [J. Evetts Haley reviewed Frontier’s Generation in The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, April 1932.] REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. April 1932 [SL 2 #62]: “Haley gave you a nice write-up, but no more than you deserved. I hope his boost will cause you to sell some more of your books.” REH to August W. Derleth, ca. February 1933: “I’m sending you, under separate cover, an interesting item, ‘Frontier’s Generation’, by my friend, Tevis Clyde Smith Jr. It’s a history of Brown County, and to a certain extent, the surrounding counties… Clyde was well qualified for the job of writing the history, having been born and raised in Brownwood, and absorbed the atmosphere, as it were. The stuff contained in the book is as authentic as a chronicle can be. I make that remark, mainly, lest some of the details of that early life seem too melodramatic and gory…. ¶ …For obvious reasons many lurid incidents, not actually vital to the chronicle of the county’s history, but nevertheless full of drama and interest, were omitted. In this country, frontier days were yesterday. The country is full of men who are sons of those who enacted such dramas — some of the men themselves still live. ¶ For the same reason several myths and legends, popular thereabouts, were omitted — particularly that concerning Henry Ford, whose writings furnished much of the material for the book, and whose picture you will see opposite page 43…. ¶ …Naturally the size of the book limits its details, but it is as good a mirror of life in early Texas, and especially in Brown County, as can be found anywhere.” REH to August W. Derleth, ca. March 1933: “I should have told you that I meant you to keep the copy of ‘Frontier’s Generation’. I have several other copies. If you like it, you are more than welcome to it.” [August W. Derleth to REH, 13 March 1933: “Many thanks for FRONTIER’S GENERATION, which I did enjoy very much indeed. I realize that the gore is an essential of the frontier, and must appear in its chronicling, and certainly did not feel anything wrong with its being spattered about the book.”]

“Hope.”
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, n.d.: “Again glancing over your last letter, (as clever a piece of work as I ever hope to see) I re-read your poem, ‘Hope.’ I’m memorizing it and intend to deliver it on every occasion possible. I think it’s one of the best things you ever wrote, which means one of the best things anybody ever wrote.”

“Pristine.”
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 6 August 1926: “That ‘Pristine’ poem of yours was great; wonderful; the sonnets too. ‘Pristine’ put into words what I’ve often thought. You have the knack, (which I haven’t) of putting your exact thoughts into print.”

“Retraction.”
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. late summer 1932: “I don’t know when I’ve enjoyed a pome like I enjoyed yours. I got an especial whang out of the line, ¶ ‘I gave a laugh and I gave him the knife’ ¶ It has the simple, unaffected ferocity I dote on. We should be the start of a new school of realism. You have — and I think I have to some extent — the ability to be savage without obvious effort. It seems to come natural. When the average egg tries to be brutal, the effort is apparent and falls short.”

Unidentified poem.
“People of the Black Coast”: “Did you ever read Tevis Clyde Smith’s poem-‘The long black coasts of death’-something?”

Unnamed “duelling” story. Dallas News.
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. September 1930 [SL 1 #44]: “I hope you’ll sell the duelling story. Thanks for the addition to my already long list of notable relatives. Admittedly, Uncle Terence was something of a family scape-goat, but he redeemed himself at Shiloh; even my great-aunts admitted there must have been some good in the lousy sonofabitch. But he shouldn’t have taken part in the battle at all; he was too drunk to duck.” REH to TCS, ca. 5 December 1930: “I read the duel article in the Dallas News and am thinking of sending it to Lovecraft, to show him what a hell-ripper Uncle Terence was.”

Unnamed story.
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, n.d. (ca. 1930?): “Well, Fear Finn, I read your story and enjoyed it even more than I did when I read it in manuscript form; I want you to autgraph it for me the first chance we get. It has power and drive about it that makes it stand out clear cut and distinct from the goo and slop dripped on the public from the sex-saturated pens of most writers. It touches pungently on the basic uselessness of life, and the drag of satiety, of empty needs which cannot be satisfied no matter how much they may be glutted — all this it expounds and creates without the use of the superlatives and canting mouthings employed so much by the half-baked school of tin-can sophisticates.”

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Smith, Thomas Robert

(1880-1942) (ed.).

Poetica Erotica; A Collection of Rare and Curious Amatory Verse. New York: Boni & Liveright, 1921, 1927. 30600; PQ4; GL; TDB.

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Sophocles

(496-406 B.C.).

Antigone.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. September 1933: “I quite agree with your estimate of the average newspaper, and do not differ radically with your opinion of radio programs. And yet it would be erroneous to say that all radio programs are entirely without cultural value. I have heard, among other things, such plays as… ‘Antigone’… Of course I had rather see these things on the stage, but as my chances of doing that are so slim they are practically non-existant, I was grateful for the opportunity of hearing them over the air.”

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Spencer, Herbert

(1820-1903).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. 20 February 1928 [SL 1 #10]: “He [Upton Sinclair, The Profits of Religion], in his omnipotence, relegates to the limbo of intellectual oblivion such men as Haeckel, Spencer and the Yogis… [Discussing men who “look beyond the human” to the cosmic] “Haeckel did and Spencer and Huxley and Darwin…. Perfection? Spencer plainly shows that perfection is impossible.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. March 1928 [SL 1 #11]: “I suppose I am engaged in what seems to be a childish task, that of seeking to compromise Haeckel’s principle with the theories of Spencer — no, not compromise — I detest that word, it suggests surrender and evasion — what I am seeking to do is to find a common viewpoint. I think that the teachings of Yogi Ramacharaka come nearer to doing this than any other. Haeckel argues in one direction, Spencer in another; the Yogis argue in both directions and seem, in the Gnani Yoga at least, to cover both fields of speculation, physical and spiritual. Haeckel’s theory is simply of matter, Spencer’s of relative appearance; the Yogis take up both questions, agree with Haeckel that matter or the appearance of matter is solidity insofar as human life is concerned, and agree with Spencer that there is an Unknowable, an underlying principle beneath all outward appearances. They agree with Spencer that the All is Unknowable, because It so far transcends human experience that the human finds no thought by which to formulate the idea. For all human ideas are finite and relative, while the All or One or Unknowable is infinite and absolute.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. March 1928: “The war at present between physical and metaphysical seems to point toward victory for the theologians but truth must triumph and Haeckel, Spencer, spinoza and such men are surely more right than J. Frank Norris and Billy Sunday.” REH to The Eyrie, May 1928: [Re: Lovecraft’s “The Call of Cthulhu”] “Herbert Spencer may have been right when he said that it was beyond the human mind to grasp the Unknowable, but Mr. Lovecraft is in a fair way of disproving that theory, I think.” “Spectres in the Dark”: “…he was explaining Spencer’s principles, the deeper phases of them.”

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Spenser, Edmund

(1552?-1599).

A View of the Present State of Ireland. (written ca. 1595, published 1633).
REH to Harry Bates, 1 June 1931: [In submitting “Spears of Clontarf” for Clayton Publications’ proposed Torchlights of History magazine] “In gathering material for this story I have drawn on such sources as… Spenser’s ‘View of the State of Ireland’…” It is likely that Howard’s true source for this was P.W. Joyce’s A Short History of Gaelic Ireland [q.v.], which quotes from Spenser’s book (regarding, for example, Irish soldiers, p. 116) and which uses the same unusual variant of the title cited by Howard.

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Spinoza, Baruch

(1632-1677).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. March 1928: “The war at present between physical and metaphysical seems to point toward victory for the theologians but truth must triumph and Haeckel, Spencer, spinoza and such men are surely more right than J. Frank Norris and Billy Sunday.” [Norris was pastor of one of the largest churches in Texas; Billy Sunday was a nationally known evangelist.]

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Stanley, Sir Henry Morton

(1841-1904).

See “Northrop, Henry Davenport, Wonders of the Tropics.”

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Steele, Joel Dorman and Esther Baker Steele

(1836-1886) and (1835-1911).

A Brief History of the United States. New York: American Book Co., 1885. 30728; PQ4; GL; TDB.
Earlier editions under this title were by Joel Dorman Steele as sole author.

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Stevenson, Robert Louis

(1850-1894).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 7 July 1923, in a listing of parodic book titles is “‘Dr. Jerkall and Mr. Hideall,’ by R.L. Stevenson” [Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, 1886].

Treasure Island. 1883.
REH’s verse, “Flint’s Passing,” appears to be a homage, with “Flint” and “Silver” mentioned by name.

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Stewart, Frank M[ann] and Joseph L. Clark.

The Constitution and Government of Texas. Boston: D.C. Heath, 1930. TDB (as “Barlow, Robert H. and Clark Stewart”).

TDB notes that, according to Glenn Lord, REH quoted from the Texas constitution in a letter to H.P. Lovecraft. Actually, in a letter 31 May 1935, REH quotes from the Texas Declaration of Independence, for which this book may not have been the source, and thus this book may not belong in this listing. Also, this title immediately precedes, on the accessions list, the listing of multi-volume sets with which I believe the cataloging of the REH collection begins.

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Stewart, Solon K.

(1883- ).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. March 1931: “He [Harold Preece] also wanted to take me around and introduce me to Solon Stewart, the solitary writer, but I didn’t have the energy.”

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Stoker, Bram

(1847-1912).

Dracula. (1896). 30763 (title as “International Adventure Library”); PQ4 (same as accessions listing); GL (author’s name as “Stokes,” title same as accessions listing].
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 5 October 1923: “I’ve had two cousins visiting me, whom I hadn’t seen for fifteen years. They’d read the International Adventure Library and from what they said, ‘Dracula’ is a humdinger. I’m going to order the set right away.” [See “International Adventure Library”].

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The Story of the Inquisition

The Story of the Inquisition: What It Was and What It Did; To which is appended an Account of Persecutions by Protestants, Persecutions of Witches, and the War between Religion and Science. New York: Freethought Press, 1928. 30607; PQ4; GL; TDB.

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Stratton-Porter, Gene

(1863-1924).

Freckles. Decorations by E. Stetson Crawford. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, Publishers, 1904. Still in HPU holdings.

This title did not appear in previous listings of Howard’s library, nor on the accessions list, but has the bookplate. It is inscribed on the front free endpaper: “Robert Howard | from | Grandmother | Dec 1913 | Please return”

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Stribling, T[homas] S[igismund]

(1881-1965).

Fombombo. New York: The Century Co., 1923.

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 5 October 1928: “T.S. Stribling is pretty good. ‘Fombombo’ was a fine satire.” [Fombombo was serialized in Adventure in four parts: 20 August, 30 August, 10 September and 20 September, 1923.]

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Sturlason, Snorri

(1178-1241).

The Heimskringla; or The Sagas of the Norse Kings from the Icelandic of Snorre Sturlason by Samuel Laing. New York: Scribner & Welford, 1889, 4 vol. (Originally published 1844).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 25 July 1935: “By the way, I recently got hold of a book that ought to be read by all writers who strive after realism, and by every man with a drop of Nordic blood in his veins — the ‘Heimskringla’ of Snorre Sturlason. Reading his sagas of the Norse people, I felt more strongly than ever my instinctive kinship with them, and the kinship between them and frontier people of American. In many ways the Norsemen figuring in this history more resemble the American pioneers of the West more than any other European people I have ever read about. The main difference, as far as I could see, was that the Norsemen were more prone to break their pledged word than were the frontiersmen.” [Perhaps a likely version for REH to have “got hold of” would be Heimskringla — The Olaf Sagas. NY: E.P. Dutton, 1930 (Everyman’s Library)].

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Sweet, Alfred Henry

(1890-1950).

History of England. Boston: D.C. Heath & Co., 1931. PQ4 (author as “Swest [?]”)

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Swift, Jonathan

(1667-1745).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. June 1928: includes a parodic sketch, “The Rump of Swift,” in which Swift is a main character. REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. November 1928: “You’re a mixture of Aristophanes and Diogenes, of Wilde and Dean Swift. The laughter of your works is like the brine of the Atlantic and beneath your most humorous sentences runs a deep vein of bitter satire that cuts like a keen-edged dagger. The nearest approach to you was Dean Swift and he was rather too heavy and cumbersome.” [Swift was Dean of St.Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin from 1713.]

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Swinburne, Algernon Charles

(1837-1901).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 23 June 1926: “Swinburne was a moral pervert and Oscar Wilde’s life was a long struggle against his bi-sexuality. For Wilde was a moralist, secretly. Whereas Swinburne was unashamed in his perversion. ¶ According to George Sylvester Viereck: ‘Love in its spiritual aspect he (Swinburne) knows not. His amorous fancy feeds upon the esoteric, things “monstrous and fruitless.” The ordinary relation between sexes engages him only when it is sadistic.’ And again, quoting Viereck: ‘Modern science has divested perversion of its evil glamor. Freud has taught us that perversity is an essential phase in the evolution of childhood…. occuring at all times in a fairly constant percentage of human beings. Swinburne adds a new complexity. He does not turn toward his own sex. His passion goes out to woman, but he loves woman, not with the passion of a man for a maid, but with the hectic craving of Lesbian woman for her own sex.'” [The quoted matter from George Sylvester Viereck is from his introduction to Swinburne’s Poems and Ballads (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius Co., 1925; Little Blue Book No. 791).] REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 21 August 1926: “And speaking of poetry, I fail to understand how I have gone through life in abysmal ignorance of the fact of Swinburne’s greatness. He’s a wonder… Only think; Swinburne held the title along about 1860 and here I am only lately discovering that he was a wonder of the age; of any age…. Swinburne was a pervert; ‘The Isles of Lesbos’ were his favorite theme.'” “The Fastidious Fooey Mancucu” (parody, included in REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. October 1927): “…that classic which won Swinburne his first fame: ‘If life was a thing that money would buy | ‘The Jews would live and the Irish would die.'” Post Oaks and Sand Roughs, p. 87: “Steve [Costigan = REH] discovered Wilde, Swinburne, and Viereck.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: Swinburne is listed among a number of poets Howard likes.

“Anactoria.”
REH to Harold Preece, ca. December 1928 [SL 1 #20]: “Let us sigh with Swinburne:” [Quotes lines 276-280; the quotation is repeated at the end of the letter. The quotation is found also in Greek Women, vol. I of Woman; in all ages and in all countries; see the discussion of “Sappho.”]

“Felise.”
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 21 August 1926: “If you’ve read ‘Felise’ and ‘Hertha’ read it again, and if you haven’t, hasten and read it, having first handed yourself a kick in the pants for not having read it before.”

“A Forsaken Garden.”
“Skull-Face”: lines 77-80 used as heading for Chapter 20.

“The Garden of Proserpine.”
“Skull-Face”: lines 37-40 used as heading for Chapter 21.

“Hertha.”
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 21 August 1926: “If you’ve read ‘Felise’ and ‘Hertha’ read it again, and if you haven’t, hasten and read it, having first handed yourself a kick in the pants for not having read it before.”

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Symonds, John Addington

(1840-1893) (tr.).

The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini.
[See “Cellini.”]

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[Main Menu]

T

[Main Menu]

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Talman, Wilfred Blanch

(1904-1986).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. September 1930 [SL 1 #43]: “I cannot at present recall Mr. Talman, though I have undoubtedly read stories by that author.” [Thanks H.P. Lovecraft for giving him Talman’s address.] REH to Wilfred B. Talman, ca. September 1931: “I’m looking forward to reading your story in Weird Tales [perhaps “Doom Around the Corner,” November 1931], also the full-page poem you mentioned [possibly “Death,” Weird Tales, March 1932]. Hope you’ve placed several tales since writing me. I like your work.” REH to Wilfred B. Talman, ca. September 1931 [SL 2 #57]: “I also appreciate your giving me the sketch regarding yourself… I admire both your literary education and your success in the newspaper world, the more remarkable — it seems to me — because of your youth.”

“Death.” Weird Tales, March 1932.
REH to Wilfred B. Talman, ca. March 1932: “I was much taken with your recent poem in Weird Tales. It’s difficult to capture a completed thought in so short a verse, but you seem to have succeeded admirably. I hope to see more of your work soon.”

“Doom Around the Corner.” Weird Tales, November 1931.
REH to Talman, ca. September 1931 [SL 2 #57]: “I’m looking forward to reading your ‘Doom Around the Corner.'” REH to Wilfred Blanch Talman, ca. October 1931: “I believe, though, of all your stories, I like ‘Doom Around the Corner’ though this statement is in no way meant to depreciate the rest of your tales. This story is the sort that especially appeals to me — subject matter, style and development. It possesses unusual realism and convincingness, and is free from the artificial sort of conversation so often dragged into tales in order to conform to certain vague literary conventions. I’ve noticed this freedom and ease in your other stories. All in all, ‘Doom Around the Corner’ is one of the most perfect short stories I’ve read in a long time.”

“Haunted Island.” Weird Tales, January 1928.
REH to Wilfred B. Talman, ca. September 1931 [SL 2 #57]: “You ask me for my candid opinion as to your prospects as a writer. Candidly, I feel certain that anyone who can write as fine a poem as ‘The Haunted Isle’ has splendid chances of reaching the top of the game.”

“The Heads at Gywry.”
[H.P. Lovecraft to REH, ca. October 1931: “Here’s a new tale which Talman asked me to send you, for subsequent return to him. Very good for a short item, I think.”] REH to Talman, ca. October 1931: “I’m returning herewith your stories, ‘The Heads at Gywry’ and ‘Midnight Coach,’ which Mr. Lovecraft forwarded to me. I liked them both immensely. The first mentioned tale shows a remarkable sweep and depth of imagination, and fine macabre development, like the slow sinister beat of nameless drums in the distance. In that tale you have captured vividly a sense of soul-shaking evil, and in the flight of the villagers, you have worked out a sense of suspense and impending doom that is fiendishly realistic and gripping. Altogether a remarkable story.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. 4 October 1931: “P.S. I have recieved and read Talman’s manuscript and think it splendidly done; I suppose it will appear in Weird Tales.”

“The Midnight Couch”

[H.P. Lovecraft to REH, ca. October 1931: “Here’s a new tale which Talman asked me to send you, for subsequent return to him. Very good for a short item, I think.”] REH to Talman, ca. October 1931: “I’m returning herewith your stories, ‘The Heads at Gywry’ and ‘Midnight Coach,’ which Mr. Lovecraft forwarded to me. I liked them both immensely…. In the other [“Midnight Coach”] I was much interested in your use of the old Irish legend of the COISTE-CODNAR and the DULLAHANS.”

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Tarkington, [Newton] Booth

(1869-1946).

Gentle Julia. New York: Doubleday, Page & Co., 1922. 30789; PQ4; GL; TDB.

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Taylor, Bayard

(1825-1878).

Views A-Foot; or, Europe Seen with Knapsack and Staff. (1846).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 9 August 1932: “This writing of historical stories is hell in a way, though intensely interesting. Its so easy to make mistakes. For instance I noted in his book of travels, Bayard Taylor, when speaking of his explorations in Vienna, mentioned Count Stahremberg as commanding Vienna in 1529, when, he said, Sobiesky rescued the city from the siege of the Turks under the Grand Vizier Muhammad. Stahremberg hadnt been born in 1529. Count Salm commanded then, and beat off, not Muhammad, who, with Sobiesky was still in the womb of the unborn, but Suleyman the Magnificent. It was in 1683 that the others played their part. And the Vizier was not Muhammad but Kara Mustafa.” [From Chapter XXII, “Vienna,” in Views A-Foot: “Here [in a wing of the Imperial Armoury] we saw…the armor of Count Stahremberg, who commanded Vienna during the Turkish siege in 1529, and the holy banner of Mahomet, taken at that time from the Grand Vizier, together with the steel harness of John Sobieski of Poland, who rescued Vienna from the Turkish troops under Kara Mustapha….”]

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Teasdale, Sara

(1884-1933).

REH to Harold Preece, ca. December 1928 [SL 1 #20], lists Teasdale among a number of notable women. Mentioned also in “A Fable for Critics.”

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Tennyson, Alfred [1st Baron Tennyson, commonly called Alfred, Lord Tennyson]

(1809-1892).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. December 1932: Tennyson is listed among a number of poets Howard likes.

“The Charge of the Light Brigade.” (ca. 1854).

One Who Walked Alone, p. 222: “‘I’m sorry,’ he said contritely when he could get his breath, ‘but I could just see you getting up and walking down that road, knowing you’d get beat up, but marching straight on. Reminded me of Tennyson’s poem, “The Charge of the Light Brigade.” No strategy. No planning. No finesse. Only one idea — go straight on.'”

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Texas Declaration of Independence.

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 31 May 1935, quotes at length from this document. The source from which he quoted is not known.

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Thackeray, William Makepeace

(1811-1863).

Vanity Fair, A Novel Without a Hero. (1848).
One Who Walked Alone, p. 293: “‘I can’t say much for Thackeray’s Vanity Fair,’ he said shortly. ‘It’s not worth a damn.'”

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Thevenin, Rene

(1877-1967).

[H.P. Lovecraft to REH, postcard, 9 January 1932: “Thanks tremendously for the varied material… Those Thevenin articles are fascinating — although they represent a sort of wild speculation with not much behind it. The representation of Saturn is clearly a decorative coincidence, for the rings as shown is unlike Saturn’s rings. All told, it isn’t likely that any civilization existed before 12,000 or 15,000 B.C., or elsewhere than in or near Asia. From that the other spread or descended. Just how early accurate astronomical knowledge arose is debatable — but there is no good evidence of a falling-off from some primal state of vast erudition. But still — the fictionist can weave his own fables!”] [H.P. Lovecraft to REH, postcard, 28 January 1932: “Thanks for the final Thevenin article. Of course, real anthropology — & geology too — shows all this speculation to be flimsily chimerical, but it’s interesting for all that. It is just possible that a continent did exist in the Indian Ocean at a relatively late date, but comparison of fossil remains on all the shores of the Atlantic & on islands like the Canaries, West Indies, etc., proves that although these regions were indeed once connected, that connexion was during an early geologic period when man could not possibly have existed. There are no recent forms of fauna & flora in consequence — only tertiary & pre-tertiary fossils.”] REH to Clark Ashton Smith, ca. 21 May 1934 [SL 2 #74]: “I seem to have a recollection of reading something by Thevenin concerning Lemuria, though I can not recall just what it was, as I did not read it very carefully at the time. I am always a bit skeptical of these Sunday supplement articles, as it seems they frequently sacrifice accuracy for sensationalism; so I did not give Thevenin’s article the attention it probably deserved. At any rate, the subject is a fascinating one for speculation.”

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Thomas, Lowell

(1892-1981).

Beyond Khyber Pass; into Forbidden Afghanistan. Revised Edition. Illustrated with many original photographs taken by Harry A. Chase, F.R.G.S., and the author. New York: Grosset and Dunlap [Century Vagabond Books], 1925. 30630 (as “Thomas Lowell”); PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.

With Lawrence in Arabia. Garden City, New York: Garden City Publishing Co. [Star Books], 1924. 30636 (as “Lowell, Thomas”); PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.

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Thompson, Ben

(1842-1884).

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. April 1932 [SL 2 #62]: “Benjamin wrote his autobiography, but I’ve never seen a copy of it. From what White intimates, it handles the truth with an easy abandon reminiscent of Joan Lowell.” [Owen P. White (q.v.), in Lead and Likker, makes liberal use of “Ben’s own words,” leading Howard to believe that Thompson had written his autobiography. These quotations were actually from Life and Adventures of Ben Thompson, by Major W.M. (“Major Buck”) Walton (Austin, Texas: Edwards & Church, 1884). This book was written while Thompson was still alive, and extensive sections are in his own words, according to Walton, who was a close friend of Thompson’s. See also “Lowell.”]

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Thomson, Christine Campbell

(1897- ) (ed.). The “Not at Night” series.
REH to Clark Ashton Smith, ca. March 1934 [SL 2 #73]: “P.S. Where do you get your Not at Night anthologies? I’ve been trying to locate a firm that handled them, but without success.” REH to Clark Ashton Smith, ca. 21 May 1934 [SL 2 #74]: “Thanks very much for the tip on the Argus house. I ordered the Not at Night books I wanted, but they were out of them, and had to send to England for them. I haven’t yet received them.”

Grim Death [The “Not At Night” series]. London: Selwyn & Blount, 1932.
[H.P. Lovecraft to REH, 7 November 1932: “(N.B. I suppose you know that your ‘Black Stone’ is in the new ‘Not at Night’ anthology.)”] REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: “No, I didn’t know my ‘Black Stone’ had landed in the ‘Not At Night’ anthology. I’m so far off the beaten track of literature, that I get only vague hints of what goes on in the world of pen and ink.” [H.P. Lovecraft to REH, 21 January 1933: “So you didn’t know ‘The Black Stone’ had landed in the ‘Not at Night’ anthology? That’s odd, for you ought to have received a small cheque from Charles Lovell (W.T.’s London agent) for the reprint rights. Better ask Wright about it. The address of the ‘Not at Night’ firm is as follows: Selwyn & Blount, Paternoster House, Paternoster Row, London, E.C.Y. [?], Eng.”] REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. September 1933: “I’ve been laying off to get the book that published my ‘Black Stone’ but haven’t ever got around to it.”

Keep on the Light [The “Not At Night” series]. London: Selwyn & Blount, 1933.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. September 1933: “I understand that ‘Worms of the Earth’ is to appear in the ‘Not at Night’ series.”

Terror By Night [The “Not at Night” series]. London: Selwyn & Blount, 1935.
REH to August W. Derleth, ca. October 1934: “I haven’t yet gotten a copy of the ‘Terror by Night’, but intend to do so shortly.” [Contains “Rogues in the House.”]

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Todd, James [Henthorn]

(1805-1869) (ed.).

Cogadh Gaedhel re Gaillabh. The War of the Gaedhil and the Gaill; or the Invasion of Ireland by the Danes and Other Norsemen. The original Irish text, edited with translation and introduction by James H. Todd. London: Longmans, Green, Reader & Dyer, 1867).

REH to Harry Bates, 1 June 1931: [In submitting “Spears of Clontarf” for Clayton Publications’ Torchlights of History]: “In gathering material for this story I have drawn on such sources as… ‘The Wars of the Gaels with the Galls…” It is likely that Howard’s true source for this was P.W. Joyce’s A Short History of Gaelic Ireland [q.v.], in which the chapters on “Brian Boru” and “The Battle of Clontarf” make use of quoted material from this book, cited as “The Wars of the Gaels with the Galls.” This is a very unusual rendering of the title.

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Tolstoy, Leo

(1828-1910).

In untitled scenario (included in REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. week of 20 February 1928): “What is London, what is Gorky, what is Tolstoy to the average man – even the man who reads them? The great writers die and fade into the dust of their works. Their books become their bones and their volumes range the shelves of fools, like withered mummies.”

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The Travels of Sir John Mandeville

(ca. 1371)

Hawk of Basti: (Jeremy Hawk) “It sounds like a tale of Sir John Mandeville.” This was a book of travels, probably compiled originally in French from early 14th century travel books, ascribed to Sir John Mandeville. Some of the accounts were probably authentic, others are frankly fabulous.

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Trinkler, Emil

(1896-1931).

Through the Heart of Afghanistan. Edited and translated by B.K. Featherstone. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1928. 30718; PQ4; GL; TDB.

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Tully, Jim

(1891-1947).

Mentioned in “Song of a Fugitive Bard.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: Tully is listed among those Howard refers to as “my favorite writers.” [Ibid.]: “As for American writers, I think yourself and Jim Tully are the only ones whose work will endure; among the writers now living, I mean.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 6 March 1933: “…Frank Harris was once a boxer, and so was Jim Tully…”

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Tuttle, W[ilbur] C.

(1883-1969).

“‘Hashknife’-Philanthropist.” Adventure, 15 July 1920.
[See Appendix Two]

“Law Rustlers.” Adventure, 1 September 1921.
[See Appendix Two]

“Local Color in Loco Land.” Adventure, 1 August 1921.
[See Appendix Two]

“Powder Law.” Adventure, 20 January 1922.
[See Appendix Two]

“Sun Dog Trails.” Adventu7e, 1 July 1921.
[See Appendix Two]

“Tangled Trails.” Adventure, 20 May 1922.
[See Appendix Two]

“Too Much Progress for Piperock.” Adventure, 30 April 1922.
[See Appendix Two]

“Weaved by Warner.” Adventure, 20 October 1921.
[See Appendix Two]

“Wisdom of the Ouija.” Adventure, 15 September 1920.
[See Appendix Two]

“Wise Men and a Mule.” Adventure, 20 February 1922.
[See Appendix Two]

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Twain, Mark [Samuel Langhorne Clemens]

(1835-1910).

Mentioned in “King Hootus” (parody, included in REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. January 1928). REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. May 1932 [SL 2 #61]: “The river lost its mysterious glory to Mark Twain after he became a pilot, and grew familiar with the sandbars, snags and riffles.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: Twain is listed among those Howard refers to as “my favorite writers.”

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Charles L. Webster, 1884. 30679; PQ4; GL; TDB.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Hartford: American Publishing Co., 1876. 30619; PQ4; GL; TDB.

Tom Sawyer Abroad. New York: Charles L. Webster, 1894. 30653; PQ4; GL; TDB.

Tom Sawyer, Detective. [First book publication in Tom Sawyer Abroad, Tom Sawyer, Detective, and Other Stories, Etc., Etc. New York: Harper & Bros., 1896]. 30766 (as “Mark, Twain”); PQ4; GL; TDB.

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U

Untermeyer, Louis

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Untermeyer, Louis

(1885-1977).

Mentioned in “A Fable for Critics.”

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V

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Van Dine, S.S.

[pseudonym of Willard Huntington Wright (1888-1939)].

The Bishop Murder Case; A Philo Vance Story. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1929. 30796; PQ4; GL; TDB.
Howard wrote three parodies of Van Dine’s Philo Vance mysteries (all in letters to Tevis Clyde Smith): “The Werewolf Murder Case” (prob. 1930, features “Vile-oh Pants”), “The Toy Rattle Murder Case” (ca. April 1932, “by (Jack) A.S.S. Von Swine”), and “The Tom Thumb Moider Mystery” (ca. April 1932).

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Van Doren, Mark

(1894-1972).

“The Toy Rattle Murder Case” (parody, included in REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. April 1932): “I’ve got to take a rest. I think I’ll read Van Vechen, or attend a lecture by Van Doren – something where I can let my mind rest.”

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Van Loon, Hendrik Willem

(1882-1944)

REH to Wilfred B. Talman, ca. March 1932: “I was also interested in your remarks on the Dutch settlements, and colonial history. I intend to look up that book of Van Loon’s you mentioned. I gather from his name that he himself is a descendant of the Netherlanders.” [Van Loon was born in the Netherlands. The book mentioned may have been his The Story of America (New York: Garden City Publishing Co., 1927).]

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Vansittart, Sir Robert Gilbert

(1881-1957)

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: Vansittart is listed among a number of poets Howard likes.

The Singing Caravan; A Sufi Tale. New York: George H. Doran, 1919. 30726; PQ2 [as “Bansittart”]; GL; TDB.
“Hawks of Outremer”: story heading is from “VII: The Heart of the Slave,” ll. 47-54.

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Van Vechen, Carl

(1880-1964)

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Verlaine, Paul

(1844-1896).

“Man Am I”: “For I’ve known labor with no reward and toiling with never a gain, | And the flames that tormented Oscar Wilde and tortured Paul Verlaine.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 2 November 1932 [SL 2 #65]: “I like Villon’s poems, and Verlaine’s and Baudelaire’s, but don’t think any of them can equal the greatest English poets.”

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Victor, Ralph

The Boy Scouts. 30754; PQ4; GL; TDB.

[There were several titles in this series, including The Boy Scouts’ Motor Cycles, The Boy Scouts’ Canoe Trip, The Boy Scouts’ Patrol, and The Boy Scouts in the Canadian Rockies (all New York: A.L. Chatterton Co., 1911), and The Boy Scouts’ Air Craft and The Boy Scouts on the Yukon (same publisher, 1912). It is not known which title was in Howard’s library. See also “Maitland.”]

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Viereck, George Sylvester

(1884-1962)

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 23 June 1926: [Quotes Viereck’s introduction to Algernon Charles Swinburne, Poems and Ballads (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius Co., 1925; Little Blue Book No. 791); see under “Swinburne.”] “In apropos, Viereck shows a remarkable knowledge about things perversial.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 21 August 1926: “I’ve about decided that the only American poets worth much are Sidney Lanier, Poe and Viereck; they are equal to any England ever produced.” REH to Robert W. Gordon, 2 January 1927: “Don’t you think that as a people, Americans have less poetry, real poetry, in their souls than any other nation? How many really classical poets have we produced? Lanier, Poe, Viereck — and who else.” Mentioned in “The Fastidious Fooey Mancucu” (parody, included in REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. Octobeer 1927) as “G.V. Viereck.” Mentioned in “A Fable for Critics.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. 20 February 1928 [SL 1 #10]: “Therefore the poet, unexcelled in his line, simply makes a fool of himself when he seeks to cope with Science. Poe realized that — you’ve read his sonnet to science. Viereck more nearly approaches a compromise than any poet I know about.” Post Oaks and Sand Roughs, p. 87: “Steve [Costigan = REH] discovered Wilde, Swinburne, and Viereck.” [Ibid., p. 89] [Steve Costigan] “investigated the sonnet, studying, not… in school under the tutelage of a teacher, but puzzling out the rhyme and reason from the writings of the poets themselves, with no other guide than his own instinct. He gained most of his knowledge from Viereck and, after carefully studying the forms of his sonnets, laboriously hammered out one of his own.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. March 1929: “I detest as men, John L. Sullivan, Oscar Wilde and George Sylvester Viereck but I enjoy their creations whether a sonnet of ice and steel or the echo of a right hook floating down the years.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. December 1932: Viereck is listed among a number of poets Howard likes.

“Capri.”
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 21 August 1926: “I don’t know whether Viereck is a pervert or not, but listen:” [Quotes “Capri,” lines 17-20 and 53-56. This poem is included in The Haunted House and Other Poems.]

The Haunted House and Other Poems. Girard, Kansas: Haldeman Julius Co., 1924; Little Blue Book No. 578.
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 21 August 1926: “If you’ve got a flock of E.H.J.’s books…” Howard quotes from “The Rebel” and “Capri,” and mentions “A Little Maid of Sappho.” REH to Harold Preece, ca. December 1928 [SL 1 #20] quotes, apparently from memory, the first four lines of “Nineveh.” All of these are to be found in this collection.

“A Little Maid of Sappho.”
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 21 August 1926: “If you’ve got a flock of E.H.J.’s [Emmanuel Haldeman-Julius, q.v.] books, you’ve doubtless read ‘A Maid of Sappho.’ Talk about perversion. Lesbianism runs rampant. But hell, most poets of that type were and are perverts. It makes no difference. We’re all swine and fools…” [This poem is included in The Haunted House and Other Poems.]

“Nineveh.”
REH to Harold Preece, ca. December 1928 [SL 1 #20]: At end of letter, quotes “Nineveh,” lines 1-4. Mistakes indicate he was quoting from memory [where Howard differs from Viereck, the correct word is in brackets]: “O Nineveh, thy throne [realm] is set | Upon a realm [base] of stone [rock] and steel, [no comma] | From where the under [-] rivers fret, [no comma] | High [Right] up to where the planets reel.” [This poem is included in The Haunted House and Other Poems.]

“Queen Lilith.”
First line of this poem used as heading for Chapter 3 of “The Moon of Skulls.” [This poem is included in The Haunted House and Other Stories.]

“The Rebel.”
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 21 August 1926: “Have you read Viereck’s ‘The Rebel’? Friend of my youth, it’s a hell-whooper and no mistake. He rants against marrying, but sees no other way to accomplish his desire.” [Quotes lines 1-4, 21-24, 41-44, 45-48, and 49-52. This poem is included in The Haunted House and Other Poems.]

“Slaves.”
Robert H. Barlow found a typewritten copy of this poem among poetry mss. sent to him by Howard’s father after REH’s death. “Slaves” appears in only one collection of Viereck’s poetry: The Three Sphinxes and Other Poems (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman Julius Co., 1924; Little Blue Book No. 579). This book was published simultaneously with The Haunted House and Other Poems (q.v.), or shortly after (the Library of Congress copies are stamped “JUL -3 ’24” (Haunted House) and “JUL 29, ’24” (Three Sphinxes). Presumably Howard did not own that book, but transcribed the poem from a copy owned, perhaps, by Tevis Clyde Smith.

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Villiers, Alan John

(1903-1977)

Vanished Fleets; Ships and Men of Old Van Diemen’s Land. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1931. 30651 (as “Villiers, J.A.”); PQ4; GL; TDB.

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Villiot, Jean de

[pseudonym of Hughes Rebell (born Georges Grassal) (1867-1905).

Black Lust. New York: Panurge Press, 1931. (“Only 2000 copies of this translation of Black Lust by Lawrence Ecker have been printed and press-numbered for private collectors of erotica.”) 30616; PQ4; GL; TDB.

[Note in TDB: “Probably erotica; title located by de Camp.”] This is an erotic novel, set during the reign of the Mahdi in Khartoum. An Englishwoman is captured and given as a slave to one of the Mahdi’s commanders, a black man. The novel concerns their erotic obsession with one another, scenes of rape, flagellation, etc. From Ecker’s introduction: “Our author is not merely the fascinating and colorful novelist of this story. He is even more the historian, basing his scenes upon military records and his descriptions upon the accounts of eye-witnesses. Far from inventing anything save the adventures of Grace and her friends, he has been compelled only too often to mitigate the most scabrous details of butchery and debauchery. Thanks to Black Lust, it is now possible to realize adequately the savage slaughter which saturated the Valley of the Nile some forty or fifty years ago.” I rather doubt anyone bought it for the history lesson.

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Villon, François

(1431-after 1462)

“The Poets”: “Why, Pierrot might have been a musty sage, | Francois Villon a stoled and sour priest.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. November 1932 [SL 2 #65]: “I like Villon’s poems, and Verlaine’s and Baudelaire’s, but don’t think any of them can equal the greatest English poets.” [Howard wrote a poem about Villon, “To An Earthbound Soul,” published in The Grim Land and Others (Lamoni, Iowa: Stygian Isle Press [Jonathan Bacon], 1976). In the introduction to that collection, Tevis Clyde Smith wrote: “Though by no means the best poem in the book, ‘To An Earthbound Soul’ brings back so many memories of Bob, and is about François Villon, like Bob so fascinating a character that I cannot help comment on it. We talked often of this father of modern French literature. I became acquainted with him while a student in Coggin Ward School when I ran on to a copy of Robert Louis Stevenson’s masterpiece on Villon, “A Lodging For the Night.” Stevenson also wrote “François Villon, Student, Poet, and Housebreaker.” John Payne, in a 79 page introduction to my copy of The Modern Library edition of Villon’s Poems, most of which he translated, also gives some excellent treatment to the character and times of this forerunner of François Rabelais. ¶ Somewhere — I have always thought it was probably in a copy of Adventure issued during the mid-twenties — is a poem about Villon. I have never read the poem — of that I am certain — or it would have impressed itself on my memory, but Bob had read it, and by some odd circumstance, had forgotten the name of the author and where it was published. He did remember one paragraph, which he loved to quote: ‘Let it rest with the ages’ mysteries, | And but recall the day | I was wont to go where the cannikins clinked, | Not caring who should pay.'” Howard used this stanza in at least one letter to Smith, ca. November 1931. My research has yet failed to unearth this poem (it is not in any issue of either Adventure or Argosy from the 1920s), but in Stevenson’s essay “François Villon, Student, Poet, and Housebreaker” (in Familiar Studies of Men and Books [1882] and published separately as Little Blue Book #293) is found this line: “He was one who would go where the cannikin clinked, not caring who should pay; and from supping in the wolves’ den, there is but a step to hunting with the pack.”]

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Voltaire

[pseudonym of François Marie Arouet] (1694-1778).

In “The Fastidious Fooey Mancucu” (parody, included in REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. October 1927), Gene Tunney is “engrossed in a volume of Voltaire.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. November 1928: “I don’t care to be punched in the nose so I’ll merely say that I’m glad you liked the junk I wrote, and I wish I could get hold of some of the stuff you must have been drinking when you compared me to Voltaire. There’s only one man today who is Voltaire reincarnated and you’re he.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, n.d. (perhaps late 1928): “I’ll swear, if I’d laughed much more at your slams I’d have died and that’s no lie. There are some things so cursed clever and humorous that they hurt, and this was one. Oh, Hell! Voltaire at his best never did any better, and I’m not handing you a line when I say that. I really think that. You handle a pen that is bitter and sharp.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. December 1932: “No doubt the French excel us in many phases of literature. The point is that personally I can’t endure much of the stuff. After wading through a few chapters, my teeth get on edge and I am aware of an almost overpowering desire to spring from my chair and kick somebody violently in the pants. That is all but Voltaire. I get a big kick out of that lousy old bastard.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. 6 March 1933: “I read what gives me enjoyment, and I avoid what bores me. Its place in the world of literature, as decided by the critics, interests me not at all. If I like it, then as far as I’m concerned it’s good, whether the author is Zane Grey or Voltaire…”

Candide, ou L’Optimisme. (1759). 30671; PQ4; GL; TDB.

Zadig and Other Romances. Translated by H.I. Woolf and Wilfred S. Jackson, with an Introduction and Notes by H.I. Woolf. Illustrated by Henry Keen. New York: Privately Printed for Rarity Press, 1931. 30670; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.

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W

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Wall, Otto Augustus

(1846-1922)

Sex and Sex Worship (Phallic Worship); A Scientific Treatise on Sex, Its Nature and Function, and Its Influence on Art, Science, Architecture, and Religion; With Special Reference to Sex Worship and Symbolism; With Three Hundred Seventy-Two Illustrations. St. Louis, Missouri: C.V. Mosby, 1919. 30627; PQ4; GL; TDB.

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Wallace, Lew[is]

(1827-1905).

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. February 1931: “President Hayes took the governorship away from Axtell and gave it to Wallace – who, by the way, while writing ‘Ben Hur’ had to keep his shutters close drawn lest a bullet from the Kid’s six-shooter put a sudden termination to both book and author.”

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Walpole, Horace

[4th Earl of Orford] (1717-1797). The Castle of Otranto. (1764).
From “The Children of the Night”: “But look there…sandwiched between that nightmare of Huysmans’, and Walpole’s Castle of Otranto – Von Junzt’s Nameless Cults.”

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Wandrei, Donald

(1908-1987).
REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. September 1930 [SL 1 #43], thanks H.P. Lovecraft for giving him Wandrei’s address, “I am usually so busy I don’t know when I’ll have the time to write…” REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. December 1931: “Your remarks regarding the sizes of Talman, Wandrei, etc., remind me of a question I’ve been intending to ask for some time, regarding Wandrei, whose poems I have often read with great appreciation in Weird Tales. Of what nationality is he, and does he devote all his time to literature, or if not what sort of business is he in? I realize that none of these matters is any of my business, but his verses have created an interest in him, and they seem to indicate a close study of literary forms and styles.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. January 1932: “Thanks very much for the opportunity of seeing Wandrei’s picture — which I’m returning. He seems to be enviably tall, and certainly has a fine head. I have often admired the depth of his imagination, both in his prose and his verse. I had no idea he was as young as he is.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. 2 March 1932: “I certainly hope Wandrei places his novel, which, judging from such of his work as I have had the pleasure of reading, I am sure is splendid.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. 24 May 1932: “Your mention of Wandrei, in connection with Minnesota dust-storms, reminds me to ask about the book-length weird story he was writing. Has he finished it yet, and if so, has he found a buyer? I hope he has, or will be able to market it. His work shows a deep imagination, and a delicate touch in plot-development.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. 2 November 1932 [SL 2 #65]: “Thanks for Wandrei’s address. I’m so swamped with work that I hesitate to begin any new correspondence, but I do intend to write him some day, as he is an author whose work I sincerely admire.” REH to August W. Derleth, ca. December 1932 [SL 2 #71]: “Frankly, it seems to me that the average pseudo-scientific tale (always excepting the really fine work of such men as Wandrei, Williamson, Keller and a few others) is pretty poor stuff…”

“The Little Gods Wait.” Weird Tales, July 1932.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. 13 July 1932: “I was much taken with Wandrei’s recent poem, ‘The Little Gods Wait’. It had a distinctly Celtic flavor; so much so that I would not have believed that anyone besides an Irishman could have written it. I have always highly admired Wandrei’s work, and I believe I like that poem better than anything else of his I ever read.”

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Wandrei, Howard

(1909-1956)

“Over Time’s Threshold.” Weird Tales, September 1932.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. 9 August 1932: “I also like the story by Howard Wandrei — Donald’s brother, perhaps? If so, please extend to him my congratulations and welcome to the fraternity of fantastic fictionists.”

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Ward, Christopher

(1868-1943)

The Saga of Cap’n John Smith; Being an account of His Service in the Warre in Hungaria with the Turks; his Single Combats with three Turkish Champions, wherein he was victorious, and how he was taken Prisoner by the Turks and Sold for a Slave and of his Escape therefrom; Also his Expedition into Virginia and his Adventures there among the Salvages; being in Peril of his Life, but saved by an Indian Princess; Furthermore his Observations in New England. New York: Harper & Bros., 1928. 30682; PQ4; GL; TDB.
[A book-length parody in verse.]

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Ward, Lynd Kendall

(1905-1985)

God’s Man; A Novel in Woodcuts. New York: J. Cape & H. Smith, 1929. 30608; PQ4; GL; TDB.

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Watson, Mrs. James

The Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, and Its Builders. Mission, Texas: Issued by The Lower Rio Grande Valley and Its Builders, Inc., 1931. 30663; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.

Note in PQ1: “This book is inscribed on the front free endpaper, ‘Mrs. James Watson | Mission | Texas.’ Pages [348-352] are blank pages with the heading ‘Autographs.’ Page [348] bears three signatures: ‘Richard Davis, | Robert J. Moore, | David M. King – Rio Hondo.’

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Webb, Walter Prescott

(1888-1963)

The Great Plains. Boston: Ginn & Co., 1931. 30721; PQ4; GL; TDB.

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, 13 May 1936: “Let us see what Professor Walter Prescott Webb says, in his great book, ‘The Great Plains’ about the idea that the West is only an undeveloped extension of Eastern America.” [He quotes passages from Webb for about two pages. The citations, with page numbers in the 1931 edition, are as follows: “The historical truth…,” p. 8; “The great plains offered…,” p. 8; “As one contrasts…,” p. 8; “An effort to understand…,” p. 10; “To whom did the West…,” p. 495 (some omissions not noted by ellipses); “If we could dispel…,” p. 244; “The salient truth…,” p. 507. He also quotes John Wesley Powell (q.v.), Clark Wissler (q.v.), and Francisco Coronado (q.v.) as quoted by Webb.

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Weird Tales

Howard’s first known mention of Weird Tales was in REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 7 July 1923: “I sent a story to the Weird Tales, ‘The Phantom of Old Egypt,’ which I suppose they will turn down.” He contributed 49 stories and 20 poems to this magazine prior to his death. In all likelihood, he read most issues from 1924 following. He had letters published in the issues for June 1927, May 1928, November 1929, April 1930, January 1931, and March 1932, and June 1936.

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Wells, Herbert George

(1866-1946)

The Outline of History; Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind. New York: The Macmillan Co., 1920. 4 vols. 30644 (Vol 1) – 30647 (Vol 4) (author as “Wells, H.C.”); PQ4; GL; TDB.

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Westcott, Edward Noyes

(1846-1898)

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 7 July 1923, in a listing of parodic book titles is “‘David’s Harem,’ by Edward Noyes Westcott” [David Harum, 1898]

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Wharton, Clarence Ray

(1873-1941)

Satanta; the Story of the Great Chief of the Kiowas and His People. Dallas: Banks Upshaw & Co., 1935. 30649; PQ4; GL; TDB.

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White, Owen P[ayne]

(1879-1946)

Lead and Likker. New York: Minton, Balch and Co., 1932. 30689; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.

[Contents: “Five El Paso Worthies” (the deaths of John Wesley Hardin, John Selman, George Scarbrough, Pat Garrett, and Mannen Clements); “Salt of the Earth”; “Jack Hays”; “Buckets of Blood” (William Clarke Quantrill); “Reminiscences of Texas Divines”; “Henry Plummer”; “Big Foot Wallace”; “John Glanton”; “Ferd Patterson”; “Belle Starr”; “Hendry Brown”; “Chris Evans”; “Ben Thompson”; “The Art of Drink on the Border.”] REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. May 1932 [SL 2 #61]: “While I was in Fort Worth I got a book, ‘Lead and Licker’ by O.P. White. Good stuff; told with a zip, and apparently authentic — in spots, though his information about Big Foot Wallace doesn’t always jibe with Big Foot’s autobiography. But he evidently knows his stuff about Ben Thompson, John Wesley Hardin, John Selman, Quantrell, John Glanton, Ferd Patterson, and the rest.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. April 1932 [SL 2 #62]: “Benjamin [Thompson] wrote his autobiography, but I’ve never seen a copy of it. From what White intimates, it handles the truth with an easy abandon reminiscent of Joan Lowell.” [See “Thompson.”]

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White, Stewart Edward

(1872-1946)

The Blazed Trail. New York: McClure, Phillips & Co., 1902. 30623; PQ4; GL; TDB.

Daniel Boone, Wilderness Scout. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Page & Co., 1922. 30597; PQ4; GL; TDB.

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Whitehead, Henry S[t. Clair]

(1882-1932)

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. June 1931 [SL 2 #53]: “I’ll most assuredly watch for Whitehead’s new story; and I appreciate his salutation on the card. I hope that his ill-health has not seriously impaired that remarkable muscular development of his which inspired so much admiration among the people of the West Indies; did he show you his feat of tearing a pack of cards into halves and quarters with his bare hands?” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. May 1932 [SL 2 #61]: “Whitehead is a good scout, and once, I understand, just about ran things on an island in the West Indies. He’s some sort of a cleric — Price seems rather uncertain as to whether he’s an Episcopal bishop or a Catholic priest. I’m inclined to the latter view.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 24 May 1932: “P.S. I just recieved the Whitehead letter. Thanks very much for forwarding it to me. I dont know how I managed to be so careless as to neglect to give Mr. Whitehead my address. I’d already decided not to make any contract with the agent in question, and had written him to that effect. Mr. Whitehead’s letter certainly clinches the matter.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. May 1932: “An agency wrote me wanting to handle my stuff for a year or so. They bragged on what they’d done for Whitehead; I wrote Whitehead and he replied cryptically that he considered himself heap damn’ fortunate to have gotten out of their talons as soon as he did.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 6 March 1933: “In an attempt to further make my position understood, let me quote from a letter written to Mr. Hoffmann, editor of Adventure, by your friend Whitehead (1923). He said in part:” [Quotes a bit more than half a page; this includes an account of Whitehead’s trick of tearing a pack of cards in half, and then quartering it (see above). The quotation is excerpted from Whitehead’s letter, published in “The Camp Fire” (Adventure’s letters column), 10 November 1923, pp. 177-179.] “If Mr. Whitehead had not felt a certain pride in his muscles, it’s not likely he’d have included the above remarks in a letter intended for publication in a magazine. It is not to be supposed that he was unduly conceited about his strength, or that he ‘glorified the physical above the mental’, or that his whole life was wrapped up in tearing cards.”

“The Black Beast.” Adventure, 15 July 1931.
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. 10 August 1931: “I read Whitehead’s ‘Black Beast’ and wrote him my appreciation of the tale.’

“The Great Circle.” Strange Tales of Mystery and Terror, June 1932.
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. May 1932 [SL 2 #61]: “His current yarn in Strange Tales has a surprizing amount of sword-heaving. I wonder if he’s showing the effects of my blood-letting.”

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Whitney, Elliott

[house name].

The King Bear of Kodiak Island. Chicago: Reilly & Britton Co., 1912. 30734; PQ4; GL; TDB.

“Elliott Whitney” was a house name used for “The Boys’ Big Game Series.” The King Bear of Kodiak Island was written by Harry Lincoln Sayler (1863- ), who wrote at least three other titles in the series.

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Wickwar, J[ohn] W[illiam]

(1874- )

Witchcraft and The Black Art; A book dealing with the psychology and folklore of the witches. London: Herbert Jenkins Ltd., 1925. 30655 (author as “Wicker, J.W.”); PQ4 (same as accessions list); GL (same as accessions list); TDB (title as “The Black Art”).

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Wilde, Oscar

[Fingal Flaherty Wills] (1854-1900)

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 23 June 1926: “…Oscar Wilde’s life was a long struggle against his bi-sexuality. For Wilde was a moralist, secretly.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 21 August 1926: “Wilde wasn’t a pervert, though he was highly bi-sexual.” Mentioned in “The Rump of Swift” (parody, included in REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. June 1928). Post Oaks and Sand Roughs, p. 87: “Steve [Costigan = REH] discovered Wilde, Swinburne, and Viereck.” [Ibid., p. 89]: “He [Costigan] also studied Wilde for the villanelle, and produced one, also.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. November 1928 [SL 1 #17]: “You’re a mixture of Aristophanes and Diogenes, of Wilde and Dean Swift.” REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. March 1929: “I detest as men, John L. Sullivan, Oscar Wilde and George Sylvester Viereck but I enjoy their creations whether a sonnet of ice and steel or the echo of a right hook floating down the years.” “Man Am I”: “For I’ve known labor with no reward and toiling with never a gain, | And the flames that tormented Oscar Wilde and tortured Paul Verlaine.” REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. December 1932: Wilde is listed among a number of poets Howard likes.

“The Harlot’s House.”
Robert H. Barlow found a typewritten copy of this poem among poetry mss. sent to him by Howard’s father after REH’s death.

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Wilder, Thornton Niven

(1897-1975)

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. March 1929: “I saw Lily Damita for the first time yesterday in a show at Cisco — Thornton Wilder’s muck put in movies.” [Lili Damita was featured in The Bridge of San Luis Rey, MGM, 1929.]

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Wiley, Hugh

(1884-1969)

Lady Luck. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1921. 30778; PQ4; GL; TDB.

The Wildcat. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1920. 30702; PQ4; GL; TDB.

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Williams, Henry Smith

(1863-1943)

The Historians’ History of the World (ed.); A Comprehensive Narrative of the Rise and Development of Nations from the Earliest Times as recorded by over Two Thousand of the Great Writers of All Ages. Edited with the Assistance of a Distinguished Board of Advisers and Contributors by Henry Smith Williams, LL.D. In Twenty-Seven Volumes. Volume XXI-Scotland and Ireland; England Since 1792. London & New York: Encyclopædia Britannica, 1904 [5th ed., 1926].

REH to H.P. Lovecraft , ca. 1 July 1930 [SL 1 #39 (mistakenly dated “9 August 1930”)]: “…I quote from The History of Ireland, edited by Henry Smith Williams: ‘Early writers pointed out…” The quotation is from “The History of Ireland,” Chapter 1, p. 336. The quotation from Bede, beginning “At first this island…” is from “The History of Scotland,” Chapter 1, p. 7. Howard then writes: “I think such Latin authors as mention the above matters agree with this account [i.e., Bede’s], in that the Britons precede the Picts and the Picts, the Scots or Gaels. The legends of the various races coincide with it, as do, I think, the narratives of the British historians, Gildas and Nennius. I have not read The Irish Annals nor The Pictish Chronicle but if I am not much mistaken both agree in placing the arrival of the Gaels much later than that of the Picts and Britons.” Compare the following, from “The History of Scotland,” p. 7 (following the above-mentioned quotation from Bede): “This statement in its main points (apart from the country from which the Picts are said to have come) is confirmed by Latin authors, in whose meagre notices the Picts appear before the Scots are mentioned, and both occur later than the Britons; by the legends of the three Celtic races; by the narratives of Gildas and Nennius, the only British Celtic historians, the Irish Annals, and the Pictish Chronicle.” “Henry Smith Williams’ History of Ireland: ‘The last of the prehistoric races…'” is from “History of Ireland,” Chapter 1, p. 332, considerably cut up. “I quote again from Williams’ History of Ireland: ‘This struggle….'” is from “The History of Ireland,” p. 333.

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Williamson, Jack

[John Stewart Williamson] (1908- )

REH to August W. Derleth, ca. December 1932 [SL 2 #71]: “Frankly, it seems to me that the average pseudo-scientific tale (always excepting the really fine work of such men as Wandrei, Williamson, Keller and a few others) is pretty poor stuff…”

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Wissler, Clark

(1870-1947)

Man and Culture. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1923. Crowell’s Social Science Series.

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, 13 May 1936: “Wissler, in ‘Man and Culture’ says: ‘It appears that topography, fauna and flora form an environment-complex, and as such go far to determine the areas of cultural diffusion and though we once said that culture mocks at the boundaries set up by politics, we may now add that it approaches geographical boundaries with its hat in its hand.'” The quotation is from p. 136 of the book (it seems likely, however, that Howard took the quotation from Walter Prescott Webb (q.v.), The Great Plains, p. 3, as his version follows that quotation in not noting with ellipses some insignificant omissions from the passage cited.) [See also “Boas, Franz.”]

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Witwer, H[arry] C[harles]

(1890-1929)

Fighting Back; a Sequel to “The Leather Pushers”. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1924. 30716; PQ4; GL; TDB.

The Leather Pushers. Illustrated with scenes from the photoplay The Universal – Jewel – Collier’s Series of Romances of the Ring. New York: Grosset and Dunlap, 1921. 30729 (as “Witwar, H.C.”); PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.

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Wolff, Adolf

(1887-1944)

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. March 1928, quotes from Wolff’s “Scenario,” “Songs, Sighs and Coises,” one other unidentified (or untitled) verse, all taken from The Truth About Greenwich Village by Clement Wood (q.v.), pp. 15-16.

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Woman; in all ages and in all countries.

Philadelphia: George Barrie & Sons, 1907. Limited to One Thousand Numbered Copies. Illustrated. 30579-30588; PQ4; GL; TDB.

Vol. I, Greek Women, Mitchell Carroll, Ph.D.; Volume II, Roman Women, Rev. Alfred Brittain; Vol. III, Women of Early Christianity, Rev. Alfred Brittain and Mitchell Carroll, Ph.D.; Vol. IV, Oriental Women, Edward B. Pollard, Ph.D.; Vol. V, Women of Mediæval France, Pierce Butler, Ph.D.; Vol. VI, Women of the Romance Countries, John R. Effinger, Ph.D.; Vol. VII, Women of Modern France, Hugo P. Thieme, Ph.D.; Vol. VIII, Women of the Teutonic Nations, Hermann Schoenfeld, Ph.D, LL.D.; Vol. IX, Women of England, Bartlett Burleigh James, Ph.D.; Vol. X, Women of America, John Rouse Larus. [I have seen one volume (Vol. X) of a less-expensive edition published by The Rittenhouse Press, Philadelphia (n.d.). This is a series of scholarly works on the history of women.]

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Wood, Clement

(1888-1950)

The Truth About Greenwich Village. Girard, KS: Haldeman-Julius Co., [1926]. Little Blue Book 1106.

REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. March 1928: “I’ve been reading a little about life in Greenwich, (Clement Wood) heres some vers libre extant there:” [quotes verse from Adolf Wolff (q.v.), Robert Carlton Brown (q.v.), Maxwell Bodenheim (q.v.), and quotes other passages in which are named [Rev. Charles W.] Wood, Floyd Dell (q.v.), Alan Seeger (q.v.), James Oppenheim, Emanuel Haldeman-Julius (q.v.), and Theodore Dreiser (q.v.). The quoted matter is all from pages 14-21.

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Wood, Henry

(1834-1909)

Ideal Suggestion Through Mental Photography; A Restorative System for Home and Private Use; Preceded by a Study of the Laws of Mental Healing. Boston: Lee and Shepard Publishers, 1893. 30722; PQ4; GL; TDB (all have “Ideal Suggestion for Mental Photography”).

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Woolcott, Alexander Humphreys

(1887-1943)

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. January 1934: “Alexander Woolcott is a regular feature [over the radio], and I like to listen to him occasionally, though I can hardly endure his effeminate voice.”

[Main Menu]

BACK TO REH BOOKSHELF HOMEPAGE

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X, Y, Z

X, Dr. Jacobus | Yeats, William Butler | Young, Gordon | Zimmer, Heinrich

[Main Menu]

X, Dr. Jacobus

[pseudonym].

Untrodden Fields of Anthropology. Observations on the Esoteric Manners and Customs of Semi-Civilized Peoples; being a Record of Thirty Years’ Experience in Asia, Africa, America and Oceania. By a French Army-Surgeon. 2 vols. 30664; PQ4 (no author noted); GL; TDB (author as “Carrington, Charles (ed.)”).
[Deals with sexual customs and practices of primitives in French colonial territories. Originally published Paris: Libraire de Médicine, folklore et anthropologie, 1898. Published in a single volume edition by the American Anthropological Society, New York, n.d., with the author’s name printed on the spine as “Dr. Jacobus X”. The introduction to the book is signed by Charles Carrington, who was a publisher of books on erotic or sexual themes, usually with anthropological or historical subjects.]

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Yeats, William Butler

(1865-1939)

Irish Fairy and Folk Tales (ed.). New York: The Modern Library, [n.d.] (1918). 30772; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.
Note in PQ1: “Stamped on bottom of title page, ‘A.F. Von Blon | Rare Book Dealer | Waco, Texas.'”

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Young, Gordon [Ray]

(1886-1948).

“Crooked Shadows.” Adventure, 20 June 1922.
[See Appendix Two]

“Dead or Alive!” Adventure, 30 December 1921.
[See Appendix Two]

“Sorcery and Everhard.” Adventure, 15 June – 1 August 1921 (4 parts).
[See Appendix Two]

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Zimmer, Heinrich

(1851-1910)

Keltische Studien. (1881-1884). 2 vols.

REH to H.P. Lovecraft, 9 August 1930 [SL 1 #39]: “Zimmer in his ‘Kelt-Studien’ says: ‘We believe that Meve, Conor Mac Nessa, Cuchulainn and Finn Mac Cumhail are just as much historical personages as Dietrich of Berne or Etzel.'” This quotation is from The Catholic Encyclopedia (q.v.), volume 8, p. 119.

[Main Menu]

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Appendix One

Unidentified

“…a book about the Pioneer and Cross Plains oilfields…”
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 4 August 1923: “I see where a guy has written a book about the Pioneer and Cross Plains oilfields, exposing the graft.”

“…the text dealing with a certain Congo queen…”
REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, n.d. (ca. 1929-1930): “I quote word for word from the text dealing with a certain Congo queen – the most sadistic wench of which I ever heard: “Angered at her sister she stripped the girl before the women of the court and pierced the lips of the girl’s mon veneris and placed therein a small lock of native manufacture, which procedure effectually put a stop to copulation, as the queen kept the key and only gave it to her sister when she was married to a neighboring chief. On one occasion, one of the women of the court having given her some impertinence, she ran her hand under her skirt between her legs, and thrust her thumb up the offender’s vaginal opening with such brutal force that the wretched woman was lifted off her feet and held in mid-air, while she clung to her torturer’s arm and screamed with pain. ¶ “Capturing the daughter of King Namba, her most powerful enemy, she plucked out most of her pubic hair with her own hands, and then had her raped. Her privates being almost unbearably sore from the hair-plucking, the pain she felt at intercourse can be imagined. The queen sat by watching, and laughed heartily at her evident discomfort ¶ “But this she-demon, while inflicting pain on others was her favorite pastime, was not immune from the natural masochistic leanings of other women. She indulged in incredible bacchanales, in which men and women turned to ravening beasts under the influence of native ale, dancing and sex-freedom. At the heights of these revels, torturing others failed to give her the sensations she wished and she turned upon her own body. She frequently stripped herself and had her slaves lash her until she fell prone and panting on the earth. While these whippings were going on, she screamed and writhed and cavorted as if in intolerable agony, yet if the lashers faltered before her extreme height of fury was reached, she hurled terrible anathemas and threats at them. During one of these nightmares of licentiousness, a drink crazed giant pinned her down to the earth and ran a skewer through the fleshy part of her buttocks. At this painful piece of sportiveness, she went into absolute frenzies of ecstasies which far outdid all her previous transports. She danced with the skewer still in her buttocks, until she fell exhausted, when she allowed it to be withdrawn, and showered all sorts of kisses and caresses on the man who was responsible for her new thrill. However, next day she was too sore to sit on her teak-wood throne and in a moment of irritation she hung her lover of the night up by his wrists, and removed his testicles with a skill born of long usage.” ¶ And on and on, ad infinitum. If you don’t believe this stuff, I can show you the books – that’s all. Maybe the writers lied, but I doubt it. I don’t believe there’s any depravity a human being can’t or won’t descend to.”

“British history.”
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. January 1932: “Then when I was about twelve I spent a short time in New Orleans and found in a Canal Street library, a book detailing the pageant of British history, from prehistoric times up to — I believe — the Norman conquest. It was written for school-boys and told in an interesting and romantic style, probably with many historical inaccuracies. But there I first learned of the small dark people which first settled Britain, and they were referred to as Picts…. The writer painted the aborigines in no more admirable light than had other historians whose works I had read. His Picts were made to be sly, furtive, unwarlike, and altogether inferior to the races which followed — which was doubtless true.”

[One strong possibility is G.F. Scott Elliott, The Romance of Early British Life, From the earliest times to the coming of the Danes (London: Seeley & Co., 1909)]

“Scottish histories.”
REH to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. January 1932: “I read of them [the Picts] first in Scottish histories — merely bare mentionings, usually in disapproval. Understand, my historical readings in my childhood were scattered and sketchy, owing to the fact that I lived in the country where such books were scarce. I was an enthusiast of Scottish history, such as I could obtain… In the brief and condensed histories I read, the Picts were given only bare mention, as when they clashed with, and were defeated by, the Scotch. Or in English history, as the cause of the Britons inviting in the Saxon. The fullest description of this race that I read at that time, was a brief remark by an English historian that the Picts were brutish savages, living in mud huts. The only hint I obtained about them from a legendary point of view, was in a description of Rob Roy, which, mentioning the abnormal length of his arms, compared him in this respect to the Picts, commenting briefly upon their stocky and ape-like appearance.”

“Dago Jen.”
C.L. Moore to REH, 29 January 1935: “The excerpt from the unknown poet of the pulps — about Dago Jen with her crucifix — was really good. I’d like to have read more of that.”

“…the early exploits of the Rangers”
One Who Walked Alone, p. 144: “He also hunts through stores for books. He found one the other day in Brownwood that has him in ecstasy. It was written by a captain of the Texas Rangers, and is about the early exploits of the Rangers.” [After the Christmas holiday in 1934.]

[Main Menu]

Appendix Two

Miscellanea

1. A listing, headed “Library,” found among Howard’s papers.

Library

I Fiction
.a. Oriental fiction
1 Kipling
(1) “The Jungle Book” India.
(2) “The Phantom Rickshaw and Other Stories.” India and Afghanistan.
2 Talbot Mundy
(1) “King of the Khyber Rifles” Afghanistan
(2) “Hira Singh” Asia.
(3) “Hira Singh” Asia.
(4) “The Ivory Trail” Africa.
(5) “Winds of the World” India.
(6) “The Eye of Zeitoon” Armenia.
(7) “Guns of the Gods” India.
(8) “Rung Ho!” India.
3 George Allan England
(1) “The Flying Legion” Arabia.
4 Edith M. Hull
(1) “The Sheik” Algeria

[It seems certain that this listing was typed out by Howard himself, sometime after July 1925]

2. A list of books and prices found among Howard’s papers

“A History of the Rod” by Cooper; illustrated; published in London $7.50.
“The Merry Order of St. Bridget” by Margaret Anson; illustrated,
privately printed 5.00
“Curiosa of Flagellants & History of Flagellation”; bound in
one volume; illustrated; privately printed. 3.00
“Painful Pleasures” translated by W.J. Meusal; illustrated;
privately printed. 5.00
“Nell in Bridewell” by W. Reinhard; (translation) illustrated;
published in Paris by the Society of British Bibliophiles. 5.00
“The Misfortunes of Colette”; illustrated; privately printed. 3.00
“The Strap Returns”; illustrated; The Gargoyle Press. 2.00
“Tracts of Flagellation” by George Colman; paper bound; published
in England. Henry Thomas Buckle 6.00
“The Rodiad” by George Colman; paper bound; published in England. 1.50
“Tender Bottoms” by Guenoles; illustrated; published by
American Ethnological Press, Inc. 3.00
“Sadism and Masochism” by Eulenburg; illustrated; published
by The New Era Press. 3.45
“Presented in Leather” by Claire Willows; illustrated; privately
printed. 5.00
“Padlocks and Girdles of Chastity”; privately printed; illustrated. 1.50
$50.95

[Note: A History of the Rod and Curiosa of Flagellants & History of Flagellation were among the books given to Howard Payne College by Dr. Howard in 1936. Howard wrote to H.P. Lovecraft, 5 December 1935, “…I…have in my possession a very good work on sadism and masochism by a noted German scholar”: this may well have been Sadism and Masochism. It is possible that these are the only books on the above list which Howard actually ordered: all three are included in the main listing. The other works are:

Anson, Margaret. The Merry Order of St. Bridget. Personal recollections of the use of the rod. York: Printed for the author’s friends, 1857. [Reprinted 1891 in a 250 copy edition.]
Painful Pleasures. According to one listing, this was published by Gargoyle Press in 1931, with black & white illustrations by Francis Heuber and cover illustration by Gerda Wegener. An anthology on discipline and corporal punishment.

Reinhard, W. Nell in Bridewell. (Lenchen in zuchthaus) Description of the system of corporal punishment (flagellation) in the female prisons of south Germany up to the year 1848; a contribution to the history of manners. From the German of W. Reinhard, Englished by W.C. Costello…and A.R. Allison…Paris: Society of British Bibliophiles, 1900. 500 copies of this first English edition.

The Misfortunes of Colette. No information located.

The Strap Returns; new notes on flagellation; illustrated by Vladimir Alexandre Karenin. New York: Privately printed by the Gargoyle Press [1933]. “Letters, excerpts, and articles…selected by the editor from a huge quantity of clippings, translations, and the like” — p. 23. Samuel Julian Wegman, ed.; Sidney Frank (1904- ), transl.

Buckle, Henry Thomas. Tracts of Flagellation. N.p.: privately printed, n.d. According to one source, published in a limited edition of 500 copies, containing: 1. Sublime of Flagellation; 2. A Treatise of the Use of Flogging in Venereal Affairs; 3. Madame Birchini’s Dance; 4. Fashionable Lectures; 5. Lady Bumtickler’s Revels; 6. Exhibition of Female Flagellants in the Modest and Incontinent World; 7. Part the Second of the Exhibition of Female Flagellants.

Colman, George [pseudonym]. The Rodiad. London: Cadell & Murray, 1810 [London: J.C. Hotten, 1871] (Library illustrative of social progress). In verse. Imprint fictitious; 250 copies published by John Camden Hotten in 1871… erroneously ascribed to George Colman the younger (1762-1836).

Guénolé, Pierre. Tender Bottoms; a psychosexual study in morals, based on personal experiences and documentary evidence, by Doctor Pierre Guénoles. New York: Privately printed for subscribers, 1934. Translation of L’étrange passion; la flagellation dans les mœure d’aujourd’hui.

Willows, Claire. Presented in Leather. A cheerful end to a tearful diary. With ten illustrations in half-tone. New York: Issued privately for subscribers only [19–?]

Bonneau, Alcide (1836-1904). Padlocks and Girdles of Chastity. Translation of Les cadenas et ceintures de chasteté. Three editions listed in National Union Catalog: 1) No imprint [1925?], 115 pp.; 2) New York: Privately printed, 1928, 645 numbered copies, 78 pp., illustrated; 3) New York: The Golden Hind Press, Inc., 1932, 115 pages incl. plates. The latter two include “Speech of Monsieur Freydier on behalf of Madmoiselle Marie Lajon versus Sieur Pierre Berlhe, prisoner of the court.” ]

3. A list of books and prices found among Howard’s papers

“Sailing Ships at a Glance” $ .89 postage $ .14
“Fantastic Fables” .49 ” .14
“Assyria” .98 ” .14
“The Human Drift” .49 ” .14
$ 2.85 .56

Books $2.85
postage .56
$ 3.41
3.22
.19
.14
. 5
.19
4. A list of books, and stories from Adventure magazine, found among Howard’s papers.

This single sheet appears to have been used as a sort of typing practice: across the top of the page are the repeated sequences “asdfg” and “;lkjh”, which are the “home” keys, and across the bottom a succession of numbers, “1” to “43”. Following are the authors and stories listed, in order, with notes in brackets:

The Young Acrobat, by Horatio Aljer Jr. [Alger; not listed among the Alger books donated to Howard Payne.]

The Prehistoric World or Vanished Races, by E.A. Allen in collaboration with: C.C. Abott M.D., Prof. F.W. Putnam C.A.E., A.F. Bandelier, E.A.I.A., Prof. C. Rau, C.A.S.I., A. Winchell, LL.D. Prof. G.P., Cyrus Thomas, Ph.D. G.F. Wright Prof. T.G.S. [Title page of The Prehistoric World: or, Vanished Races, by E.A. Allen (Cincinnati: Central Publishing House, 1885), states “Each of the following well-known scholars reviewed one or more Chapters, and made valuable suggestions: | C.C. Abbott, M.D.(…) | Prof. F.W. Putnam, Curator of Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University | A.F. Bandelier, Explorer for Archaeological Institute of America (…) | Prof. Charles Rau, Curator of Archaeological Department of Smithsonian Institution | Alexander Winchell, LL.D., Professor of Geology and Paleontology, University of Michigan | Cyrus Thomas, Ph.D., of the Bureau of Ethnology | G.F. Wright, Of the United States Geological Survey, Professor in Theological Seminary, Oberlin, Ohio.” This book was in Howard’s library.]

Hugh Pendexter, Arthur O. Friel, W.C. Tuttle, Gordon Young, Talbot Mundy, Captain Dingle, Charles Beadle [These are the authors of the works which are next listed, all from Adventure.]

The Torch Bearers [Hugh Pendexter, 4 parts, May 1-June 15, 1921], War Wampum [Pendexter, 5 parts, June 10-July 20, 1922], The Barraguda [“The Barrigudo,” Arthur O. Friel, June 1, 1921], Tupahn, the Thunderstorm [“Tupahn — the Thunderstorm,” Friel, May 10, 1922], Wisdom of the Ouija [W.C. Tuttle, Sept. 15, 1920], Tangled Trails [Tuttle, May 20, 1922], Sorcery and Everhard [Gordon Young, 4 parts, June 15-Aug. 1, 1921], Crooked Shadows [Young, June 20, 1922], The Adventure at EL Kerak [“The Adventure of El-Kerak,” Talbot Mundy, Nov. 10, 1921], The Lost Trooper [Mundy, May 30, 1922], ? A Shot at a Venture [“A Shot at a Venture,” Capt. Dingle, 3 parts, May 20-June 10, 1922], The Alabaster Bowl [“The Bowl of Alabaster,” Charles Beadle, Sept. 15, 1920], Gift of Diamonds [“Gifts of Diamonds,” Beadle, June 20, 1922].

Lost Diggings (Complete) [Pendexter, 5 parts, Nov. 30, 1921-Jan. 10, 1922], The Tailed Men [Friel, Feb. 14, 1921], Hashknife, Philanthropist [“‘Hashknife’ — Philanthropist,” Tuttle, July 15, 1920], Sorcery and Everhard (com) [Young, 4 parts, June 15-Aug. 1, 1921], The Shriek of Dum [Mundy, Sept. 1, 1919]

Torch Bearers [Pendexter, 4 parts, May 1-June 15, 1921], Wolf Law [Pendexter, Oct. 30, 1921], White Dawn [Pendexter, 4 parts, Feb. 10-Mar. 10, 1922], Pay Gravel [Pendexter, 4 parts, Apr. 20-May 20, 1922].
The Barraguda [“The Barrigudo,” Friel, June 1, 1921], The Pathless Trail [Friel, 4 parts, Oct. 10-Nov. 10, 1921], The Jararaca [Friel, Dec. 30, 1921], Black Hawk [Friel, Mar. 10, 1922], Tupahn [“Tupahn — the Thunderstorm,” Friel, May 10, 1922].
Wisdom of the Ouija [Tuttle, Sept. 15, 1920], Law Rustlers [Tuttle, Sept. 1, 1921], Local Color in Loco Land [Tuttle, August 1, 1921], Weaved by Warner [Tuttle, Oct. 20, 1921], Sun Dog Trails [Tuttle, July 1, 1921], Wise Men and a Mule [Tuttle, Feb. 20, 1922], Progress for Piperock [“Too Much Progress for Piperock,” Tuttle, Apr. 30, 1922], Powder Law [Tuttle, Jan. 20, 1922], Tangled Trails [Tuttle, May 20, 1922].
Sorcery and Everhard [Young, 4 parts, June 15-Aug. 1, 1921], Dead or Alive [“Dead or Alive!,” Young, Dec. 30, 1921], Crooked Shadows [Young, June 20, 1922].
Adventure at El Kerak [Mundy, Nov. 10, 1921], Seventeen Thieves of El Kalill [“The Seventeen Thieves of El-Kalil,” Mundy, Feb. 20, 1922], The Lion of Petra [Mundy, Mar. 20, 1922], The Woman Ayisha [Mundy, April 20, 1922], The Lost Trooper [Mundy, May 30, 1922].
Smuggled Guns [ ? ], The Burial of Billy [Dingle, Mar. 20, 1922], Tides of Hate [Dingle, Jan. 20, 1922], Red Saunders Protege [Dingle, July 1, 1921], A Shot at a Venture [Dingle, 3 parts, May 20-June 10, 1922].
The Alabaster Bowl [“The Bowl of Alabaster,” Beadle, Sept. 15, 1920], Buried Gods [Beadle, Sept. 1, 1921], Land of Ophir [Beadle, 3 parts, Mar. 10-Mar. 30, 1922], Gift of Diamonds [“Gifts of Diamonds,” Beadle, June 20, 1922].

J. Allan Dunn [name typed, centered, at bottom of page just before row of numbers].

There appears to be a pattern to the list: first are given the names of the 7 authors; following this is a listing of two works by each, in the order the authors were listed (the exception is Dingle, for whom only one story is listed — the ? may indicate a forgotten title); the following section lists a different story for each author, except that “Sorcery and Everhard” is again listed for Young, and Dingle and Beadle are omitted; then follows the final section, listing the stories again in the order the authors were originally listed, including some stories already listed and some new. In this last section, the order seems mostly chronological (in order of appearance in Adventure) for each author, though there are deviations within the listings for Tuttle and Dingle.

Following are the issues of Adventure in which the listed stories appeared. I have included information on stories by authors on the list which appeared in an issue containing a listed story, but were themselves not mentioned, and on stories by some authors not included on this list but either known to have been read by Howard or speculated by some to have been read by him.

1 September 1919: Mundy, “The Shriek of Dum” | Not mentioned: Young, “Savages,” Part 4.
15 July 1920: Tuttle, “‘Hashknife’ — Philanthropist” | Not mentioned: Friel, “The Ant-Eater” | Also: Lamb, “Law of Fire”
15 September 1920: Beadle, “The Bowl of Alabaster”; Tuttle, “The Wisdom of the Ouija” | Not mentioned: Pendexter, “Kings of the Missouri,” Part 4 | Also: Lamb, “The Masterpiece of Death”
14 February 1921: Friel, “The Tailed Men” | Not mentioned: Tuttle, “When Love’s Labor’s Lost”; Young, “Bluffed” | Also: Bedford-Jones, “Other Men’s Shoes” (w/ W.C. Robertson)
1 May 1921: Pendexter, “The Torch-Bearers,” Part 1 | Not mentioned: Friel, “The Trumpeter”; Mundy, “Guns of the Gods,” Part 5; Tuttle, “The Devil’s Dooryard”
15 May 1921: Pendexter, “The Torch-Bearers,” Part 2 | Not mentioned: Tuttle, “Tippecanoe and Cougars Two”; Young, “Sir Galahad and the Badger” | Also: Lamb, “The Village of the Ghost”
1 June 1921: Friel, “The Barrigudo”; Pendexter, “The Torch-Bearers,” Part 3 | Also: Dunn, “The Moon Master”; Sabatini, “The Rebels Convict”
15 June 1921: Pendexter, “The Torch-Bearers,” Part 4; Young, “Sorcery and Everhard,” Part 1 | Not mentioned: Tuttle, “Creepin’ Tintypes” | Also: Sabatini, “Don Diego Valdez”
1 July 1921: Dingle, “Red Saunders’ Protege”; Tuttle, “Sun Dog Trails”; Young, “Sorcery and Everhard,” Part 2 | Also: Lamb, “The Grand Cham”; Sabatini, “The Prize”
15 July 1921: Young, “Sorcery and Everhard,” Part 3 | Not mentioned: Friel, “The Bouto” | Also: Sabatini, “Maracaybo”
1 August 1921: Tuttle, “Local Color in Loco Land”; Young, “Sorcery and Everhard,” Part 4 | Also: Bedford-Jones, “Three Men Seeking” (w/ W.C. Robertson); Sabatini, “Blood Money”; Smith (Howden), “The Doom Trail,” Part 1
1 September 1921: Tuttle, “Law Rustlers” | Not mentioned: Beadle, “Buried Gods”; Dingle, “Mickey’s Marquis” | Also: Sabatini, “Santa Maria”; Smith (Howden), “The Doom Trail,” Part 3
10 October 1921: Friel, “The Pathless Trail,” Part 1 | Also: Sabatini, “The Hostage”; Smith (Howden), “The Doom Trail,” Part 5
20 October 1921: Friel, “The Pathless Trail,” Part 2; Tuttle, “Weaved by Warner” | Also: Knibbs, “The Ranger” (poem); Sabatini, “Captain Blood’s Dilemma”
30 October 1921: Friel, “The Pathless Trail,” Part 3; Pendexter, “Wolf Law”
10 November 1921: Friel, “The Pathless Trail,” Part 4; Mundy, “The Adventure of El-Kerak” | Also: Dunn, “The Exterminator”
30 November 1921: Pendexter, “Lost Diggings,” Part 1 | Not mentioned: Tuttle, “The Sheriff of Sun-Dog” | Also: Dunn, “The Gold Ship”
10 December 1921: Pendexter, “Lost Diggings,” Part 2 | Not mentioned: Mundy, “Under the Dome of the Rock”
20 December 1921: Pendexter, “Lost Diggings,” Part 3 | Also: Dunn, “Barehanded Castaways”
30 December 1921: Friel, “The Jararaca”; Pendexter, “Lost Diggings,” Part 4; Young, “Dead or Alive!”
10 January 1922: Pendexter, “Lost Diggings,” Part 5 | Not mentioned: Mundy, “The ‘Iblis’ at Ludd”; Young, “Men of the Night,” Part 1
20 January 1922: Dingle, “Tides of Hate”; Tuttle, “Powder Law” | Not mentioned: Young, “Men of the Night,” Part 2
10 February 1922: Pendexter, “The White Dawn,” Part 1 | Not mentioned: Young, “Men of the Night,” Part 4 | Also: Dunn, “Forced Luck”
20 February 1922: Mundy, “The Seventeen Thieves of El-Kalil”; Pendexter, “The White Dawn,” Part 2; Tuttle, “Wise Men and a Mule” | Also: Lamb, “The Gate in the Sky”
28 February 1922: Pendexter, “The White Dawn,” Part 3
10 March 1922: Beadle, “The Land of Ophir,” Part 1; Friel, “Black Hawk”; Pendexter, “The White Dawn,” Part 4
20 March 1922: Beadle, “The Land of Ophir,” Part 2; Dingle, “The Burial of Billy”; Mundy, “The Lion of Petra”
30 March 1922: Beadle, “The Land of Ophir,” Part 3 | Not mentioned: Tuttle, “The Spark of Skeeter Bill” | Also: Smith (Howden), “A Son of Strife,” Part 1
20 April 1922: Mundy, “The Woman Ayisha”; Pendexter, “Pay Gravel,” Part 1 | Not mentioned: Young, “Shipwreck” | Also: Smith (Howden), “A Son of Strife,” Part 3
30 April 1922: Pendexter, “Pay Gravel,” Part 2; Tuttle, “Too Much Progress for Piperock” | Also: Dunn, “Plunder”; Lamb, “The Wolf-Chaser”
10 May 1922: Friel, “Tupahn — the Thunderstorm”; Pendexter, “Pay Gravel,” Part 3
20 May 1922: Dingle, “A Shot at a Venture,” Part 1; Pendexter, “Pay Gravel,” Part 4; Tuttle, “Tangled Trails”
30 May 1922: Dingle, “A Shot at a Venture,” Part 2; Mundy, “The Lost Trooper”
10 June 1922: Dingle, “A Shot at a Venture,” Part 3; Pendexter, “War Wampum,” Part 1 | Also: Dunn, “Flotsam”; Lamb, “The Net”
20 June 1922: Beadle, “Gifts of Diamonds”; Pendexter, “War Wampum,” Part 2; Young, “Crooked Shadows” | Also: Knibbs, “A Hundred and Sixty — Fenced” (poem)
30 June 1922: Pendexter, “War Wampum,” Part 3 | Also: Knibbs, “Sandy Rue” (poem)
10 July 1922: Pendexter, “War Wampum,” Part 4 | Not mentioned: Mundy, “The King in Check”; Tuttle, “Ajax, For Example”
20 July 1922: Pendexter, “War Wampum,” Part 5 | Not mentioned: Friel, “Tiger River,” Part 1

[Main Menu]

Appendix Three

Books donated to the Robert E. Howard Memorial Collection after Howard’s death

Fitzgerald, Edward (1809-1883) (translator). The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. Cameo Classics. First and fifth versions with illustrations by Edmund J. Sullivan. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, n.d. 30827 (as “Khayyam – The Rubyiat”); PQ4; GL (author as “Khayyam, Omar”); TDB (listed among books which “were donated to the Robert E. Howard Memorial Collection and never formed part of Howard’s own library.”).
This copy of this book was given to the Memorial Collection by Dr. Howard in Robert’s memory, and is inscribed ‘Cross Plains | Texas | July 20 This Book | is dedicated to the | Robert Howard | Memorial Colection [sic] | in Sacred Memory | to My Beloved Son | Doctor Isaac M. Howard.’ Note in PQ 4: “The Robert E. Howard bookplate in this book has had another bookplate of the Howard Payne library posted over it…. The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam has no other marking in it, and was probably not owned by R.E.H. In all likelihood Dr. Howard bought the book as an addition to the collection which he hoped would memorialize his son.” However, ample evidence exists that Howard owned at least one copy of this work, so it is included in the main listing.

Garnett, Richard (1835-1906). The Twilight of the Gods and Other Tales, with an introduction by T.E. Lawrence. New York: Alfred A. Knopf [The Blue Jade Library], 1926. 30867; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.
[Note in PQ1: “The above book has the following inscription on the half-title. ‘Inscribed in memory of | Robert E. Howard — | by a fellow writer who for years read and admired his stories — | Edmond Hamilton.'”]

Lovecraft, H.P. The Shunned House. Athol, Massachussets: The Recluse Press (W. Paul Cook), 1928. 30866; PQ3; GL; TDB.
[Note in TDB: donated by Howard’s correspondent Robert Barlow.]

Paul, Louis (1901- ). The Pumpkin Coach. New York: The Literary Guild, 1935. 30865; PQ1; GL; TDB. Still in HPU holdings.
[Note in PQ1: “This book is inscribed on p. [-]. ‘This little book is dedicated | in kind memory of our | deceased friend Robert E. | Howard. | Mr. & Mrs. J.T. McCarson | Brownwood, Texas.’]

Sabatini, Rafael. Torquemada and the Spanish Inquisition. A History. Revised Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Co./The Riverside Press, Cambridge [The Riverside Library], 1930.
Not included in previous lists, nor on accessions list. Inscribed on front pastedown endpaper: “To the Robert E. Howard | Memorial Collection | from | Wanda and E. Hoffmann Price.”

Wright, Farnsworth (1888-1940) (ed.). The Moon Terror. Indianapolis?: Popular Fiction Publishing Co., 1927. 30868 (author as “Birch”); PQ4; GL; TDB.
[Note in TDB: “stories by A.G. Birch, Anthony Rud, Vincent Starrett, and Farnsworth Wright, which Wright contributed after Howard’s father opened the collection at Howard Payne. This was a premium given to new subscribers to Weird Tales.”]

[Main Menu]

Appendix Four

Books Noted on Howard Payne Accessions List But Probably Not Part of Howard’s Library

As discussed in the Introduction, it appears that the cataloging of the Robert E. Howard Memorial Collection at Howard Payne College in the summer of 1936 was occasionally interrupted to note other library acquisitions. In particular, it seems unlikely that Howard would have owned books on pedagogical methods. While it is possible that an author would possess, as references, works on nature, Howard’s lack of expressed interest in the subject apparently led Glenn Lord and Steve Eng to omit these works from their listings, and leads me to include them here. And works of a specifically religious nature are included here: Howard Payne is a Baptist school. It should be noted that all of these titles were included in the listing in Paperback Quarterly, the first listing from the Howard Payne accessions list. Glenn Lord, in his listing, omitted some of these, and Steve Eng, in “Robert E. Howard’s Library,” omitted others. I have removed a few books on religious subjects to this category, which were retained in Lord’s and Eng’s listings.

Arlitt, Ada Hart (1890- ). Adolescent Psychology. New York: American Book Co., 1933. 30879; PQ2

Branom, Mendel E[verett] (1889-1963) and Frederick Kenneth Branom (1891- ). The Teaching of Geography, Emphasizing the project, or active, method. Boston: Ginn & Co., 1921. 30878; PQ2

Chapman, Frank M[ichler] (1864-1945). What Bird Is That? A Pocket Museum of the Land Birds of the Eastern U.S. Arranged According to Season. New York: D. Appleton, 1920. 30871; PQ2

Comstock, Anna Botsford (1854-1930). Handbook of Nature Study for teachers and parents, based on the Cornell nature-study leaflets, with much additional material, and many new illustrations. Ithaca, NY: Comstock Publishing Co., 1911. 30875; PQ2

Draper, Edgar Marian (1894- ). Principles and Techniques of Curriculum Making. New York: Appleton-Century Co., 1936. 30872 (c. 1) – 30873 (c. 2); PQ2

Gillespie, James Edward (1887-1961). A History of Europe, 1500-1815. The development of European civilization from Columbus to Metternich. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1928. 30851 (c. 1) – 30852 (c. 2); PQ3; GL; TDB.
This book is noted on the three listings of Howard’s library, but the accessions list shows that two copies were acquired by the library at the same time, along with other general works of European history (see Hayes, Riker, and Schevill).

Hawksworth, Hallam [pseudonym of Francis B[lake] Atkinson (1863-1930)]. A Year in the Wonderland of Trees. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1926. 30885; PQ3.

Hayes, Carlton J[oseph] H[untly] (1882-1964). A Political and Cultural History of Modern Europe. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1932, 1936. 2 volumes [Volume 1: Three Centuries of Predominantly Agricultural Society, 1500-1830; Volume 2: A Century of Predominantly Industrial Society, Since 1830]. 30829 (Vol. I, c. 1) – 30838 (Vol. II, c. 5); PQ3; GL; TDB.
This book is noted on the three listings of Howard’s library, but the accessions list shows that five copies were acquired by the library at the same time, along with other general works of European history (see Gillespie, Riker, and Schevill).

Jennison, George. Natural History: Animals. An Illustrated Who’s Who of the Animal World. London: A. & C. Black, Ltd., 1927. 30886; PQ3 (author as “Jennson”).

Leonard, Reverend Delavan (1834-1917). A Hundred Years of Missions; or, The Story of Progress Since Carey’s Beginning. New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1895. 30853 (c. 1) – 30864 (c. 12); PQ3; GL (as “Gernard (?)”).
Twelve copies are noted on the accessions list.

Lincoln.
[See “Tippett, James S., et al.”]

Little Nature Library. 30890 – 30895; PQ3
PQ3 gives following titles: Garden Flowers; Trees; Wild Flowers; Birds Worth Knowing; Animals Worth Knowing; Butterflies. These are: Garden Flowers Worth Knowing, by R.M. McCurdy, Trees Worth Knowing, by Julia Ellen Rogers; Wild Flowers Worth Knowing, by Neltje Blanchan; Birds Worth Knowing, by Neltje Blanchan; Animals Worth Knowing, by Ernest Seton Thompson; and Butterflies Worth Knowing, by Clarence M. Weed. New York: Doubleday, Page & Co., 1917.

Newcomb, Simon (1835-1909). Astronomy for Everybody: A Popular Exposition of the Wonders of the Heavens. New York: McClure, Phillips & Co., 1902. 30884; PQ3.

Pack, Arthur Newton (1893- ) and E[phraim] Laurence Palmer (1888-1970). The Nature Almanac; A Hand Book of Nature Education. Washington, D.C.: American Nature Association, 1927. 30874 (no author given, title as “Nature Almanac”); PQ3 (same as accessions listing)

Price, Ira Maurice (1856-1939). The Monuments and the Old Testament; Evidence from Ancient Records. Chicago: Christian Culture Press, 1899. 30887; PQ4
A later edition appeared under the title The Monuments and the Old Testament; Light from the Near East on the Scriptures. New rewritten edition. Philadelphia: The Judson Press, 1925.

Rayzor, James Newton (1858- ). History of the Denton County Baptist Association; and the sixty churches organized within its jurisdiction. Denton, TX: Printed by William H. McNitzky, 1936. 30897 (c. 1) – 30898 (c. 2); PQ4 (author as “Ruzor [?],” title as “History of Denton Co. Bapt.”)
Two copies are noted on the accessions list.

Riker, Thad Weed (1880-1952). A Short History of Modern Europe. New York: Macmillan, 1935. 30839 (c. 1) – 30843 (c. 5); PQ4 (author as “Riker, Than W.”); TDB (author as “Ricker, Thad Weed”).
This book is noted on the three listings of Howard’s library, but the accessions list shows that five copies were acquired by the library at the same time, along with other general works of European history (see Gillespie, Hayes, and Schevill).

Sampey, John R[ichard] (1863-1946). Heart of the Old Testament; A manual for Christian students. Nashville: Sunday School Board, Southern Baptist Convention, 1909. 30876; PQ4

Schevill, Ferdinand (1868-1954). A History of Europe; from the Reformation to the Present Day. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1925. 30848 (c. 1) – 30850 (c. 3); PQ4; GL; TDB.
This book is noted on the three listings of Howard’s library, but the accessions list shows that three copies were acquired by the library at the same time, along with other general works of European history (see Gillespie, Hayes, and Riker).

Smith, Edward E[rlich] (1886- ). Teaching Geography by Problems. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Page & Co., 1921. 30883; PQ4

Thomson, Mayme O. A Year With the Trees. Buffalo: Bacon, 1928. 30880; PQ4

Tippett, James S. et al. Curriculum Making in an Elementary School, by the staff of the Lincoln School of Teachers College, Columbia University. Boston: Ginn & Co., 1927. 30877 (as “Lincoln – Cur. Making in Ele. School”), 30888 (c. 1) – 30889 (c. 2) (as “Lincoln – Curr. Making in an Ele. School”); PQ3 (as “Lincoln, Cur. Making in Element. School (2 copies)”)
Three copies are noted on the accessions list.

Whipple, Guy Montrose (1876-1941) (ed.). National Society for the Study of Education. Committee on the Activity Movement. The Activity Movement, prepared by the Society’s Committee on the Activity Movement. 30881; PQ4

Yoakam, Gerald Alan (1887- ) and Robert Gilkey Simpson (1890- ). An Introduction to Teaching and Learning. New York: Macmillan, 1934. 30882; PQ4

[Main Menu]

Appendix Five

The Howard Payne College Accessions List

This list was kept in a ledger book which had apparently been previously used for accounting purposes. The list used available space on each page. Page numbers are stamped on the top outside corner of the page. Accession numbers are stamped next to titles, in the right-hand column of each page. Pages 21 and 22, while containing a few titles that might conceivably have been of interest to Howard (some Dickens titles, “Joan of Arc,” some Emerson, Rex Beach’s The Ne’er-Do-Well), do not seem to me to begin the listing, as these titles are sprinkled among many others clearly academic or religious. Entries in a different hand appear at the top of page 23, which include Sinclair Lewis’s Main Street and Stewart and Clark’s Constitution and Government of Texas. Following these two titles, however, a different hand takes over the listing, with The Book of History. It is my opinion that this begins the listing of the Robert E. Howard Memorial Collection proper. The Book of History is still in HPU’s holdings, contains the Robert E. Howard Memorial Collection bookplate, and it would make sense to begin the cataloguing of the collection with multi-volume sets.

I am attempting here to reproduce the listing exactly as entered in the ledger, though I am handicapped by working from photocopies of handwritten material.

[page 23]

The Book of History vol. 1 (30557)
” ” ” ” ” 2 (30558)
” ” ” ” ” 3 (30559)
” ” ” ” ” 4 (30560)
” ” ” ” ” 5 (30561)
” ” ” ” ” 6 (30562)
” ” ” ” ” 7 (30563)
” ” ” ” ” 8 (30564)
” ” ” ” ” 9 (30565)
” ” ” ” ” 10 (30566)
” ” ” ” ” 11 (30567)
” ” ” ” ” 12 (30568)
Compton’s Pictured Encyclopedia v. 1 (30569)
” ” ” v. 2 (30570)
” ” ” v. 3 (30571)
” ” ” 4 (30572)
” ” ” 5 (30573)
” ” ” 6 (30574)
” ” ” 7 (30575)
” ” ” 8 (30576)
” ” ” 9 (30577)
” ” ” 10 (30578)
Women In All Ages & Countries, Mod. France (30579)
” ” ” ” ” ” America (30580)
” ” ” ” ” ” Med. France (30581)
” ” ” ” ” ” Tuetonic Nat (30582)
” ” ” ” ” ” Romance Countries (30583)

[page 24]

Women In All Ages & Countries – Eng. (30584)
” ” ” ” ” ” Oriental (30585)
” ” ” ” ” ” Roman (30586)
” ” ” ” ” ” Greek (30587)
” ” ” ” ” ” Early Christianity (30588)
Inman, Wulnoth The Wanderer (30589)
Kipling, One Volume (30590)
Flagellant, Curiosa of Flagellants (30591)
Dixon, Life of Billy Dixon (30592)
Alger, Horatio, Only an Irish Boy (30593)
Chambers, The Drums of Aulone (30594)
Hemyng, Bracebridge, Jack Harkaway in Cuba (30595)
Rudyard Kiplings Verse Inclusive Edition (30596)
White, Daniel Boone (30597)
Doyle, The Sign of the Four (30598)
Dulles, The Old China Trade (30599)
Smith, Poetica Erotica (30600)
Alger, Horatio, A Young Miner (30601)
” ” Tom the Bootblack (30602)
Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby (30603)
Henty, Bravest of The Brave (30604)
Olmstead, Mrs. Eli & Policy Ann (30605)
Papini, Giovanni, Life of Christ (30606)
The Story of the Inquisition (30607)
Ward, Gods Man (30608)
Russell, John Paul Jones (30609)
Cooper, A History of the Rod (30610)
Lamarre, The Passion of the Beast (30611)
Doyle, The Lost World (30612)
Doyle, The Firm of Girdlestone (30613)
Ferber, Cimarron (30614)
Hobbs, Sailing Ships at a Glance (30615)

[page 25]

Villiot, Black Lust (30616)
Lyttle, Bedford Forest (30617)
[same hand, but appears to have started up again here, script is somewhat larger, many titles written on two lines]
Lane-Poole, Turkey (30618)
Twain, Mark – The Adventure | of Tom Sawyer (30619)
Gregg, Josiah – Commerce of | the Prairies (30620)
Lamb, Harold – Tamerlane (30621)
Lowell, Joan – The Cradle of the | Deep (30622)
White, Setwart Edward – The | Blazed Trail (30623)
Smith, Clark Ashton – Ebony | and Crystal (30624)
Crane, Nathalia, Lava Lane (30625)
Rhodes, Eugene Manlove – | Bransford of Rainbow Range (30626)
Wall, O.A. – Sex and Sex Worship (30627)
Farnol, Jeffery – Guyfford | of Weare (30628)
France, Hector – Musk, Hash- | nish and Blood (30629)
Thomas Lowell – Beyond | Khyber Pass (30630)
Roget, Peter Mark – Theaurus | of English Words and Phrases (30631)
Rogers, Cameron – Cyrano (30632)
Rhys, Ernest – Romance (30633)
Johnson, Burges – Bashful | Ballads (30634)
House, Boyce – Were You | In Ranger? (30635)
Lowell, Thomas – With | Lawrence In Arabia (30636)

[page 26]

Sawyers, Dorothy L. The | Omnibus of Crime (30637)
Flagellant – Experiences | of Flagellation (30638)
Mundy, Talbot – The Eye | of Zeitoon (30639)
Mundy, Talbot – The Winds | of The World (30640)
Mundy, Talbot – The Ivory | Trail (30641)
Mundy, Talbot – Hira | Singh (30642)
Mundy, Talbot – King – of | The Khyber Rifles (30643)
Wells, H.C. The Outline of Hist Vol 1 (30644)
” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” 2 (30645)
” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” 3 (30646)
” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” 4 (30647)
Farnol, Jeffery – The Broad Highway (30648)
Wharton, Clarance – Satanta (30649)
Farnol, Jeffery – Sir John | Dering (30650)
Villiers, J.A. – Vanished Fleets (30651)
Skeyhill, Tom – Sergeant | York (30652)
Twain, Mark – Tom Sawyer | Abroad (30653)
Rohmer, Sax – Tales of | Chinatown (30654)

[page 27]

Wicker – J.W. – Witchcraft | and the Black Art (30655)
Aiken, Conrad – American | Poetry 1671-1928 (30656)
Hay, Thomas Robson – Hood’s | Tennessee Campaign (30657)
Herbert Sidney – The Fall of | Fedualism in France (30658)
Sampson, Emma Speed – Miss | Minerva’s Baby (30659)
London, Jack – The Valley of | The Moon (30660)
Sherlock Holmes Edition –
Conan Doyle’s Best Books Vol IV (30661) [this may be hastily written III]
” ” ” ” Vol II (30662)
The Lower Rio Grande Valley | of Texas and Its Builders (30663)
Untrodded Fields of | Anthropology (30664)
Sabatini, Rafael – The Snare (30665)
Alger Jr. Horato – The Tin Box (30666)
Noyes, Alfred – Dick Tur- | pin’s Ride (30667)
Adam, G. Mercer – The Life | of David Crockett (30668)
Lucian – The Mimes of The | Courtesans (30669)
Zadig and other Romances | by Voltaire (30670)
Voltaire – Candide (30671)
Allen, E.A. The Prehistoric | World (30672)
Stanley, Henry M. Wond- | ers of The World (30673)

[page 28]

O’reilley, Edward – An | Irish English Dictionary (30674)
Dobie, J. Frank – Cornado | Children (30675)
Johnston, Alexander – Ten and | Out (30676)
Gold, Grace – How To Be Happy (30677)
[new hand begins here]
Burns, Walter N. – Tombstone (30678)
Twain, Mark – Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (30679)
Castro, Adolphe – Portrait of Ambrose Beirce (30680)
Hanshew, M. & T. – Riddle of Mysterious Light (30681)
Ward, Christopher – Saga of Cap’n John Smith (30682)
McGuffey – Electric Speaker (30683)
Gilbert, W.S. – Best Known Works of Gilbert (30684)
Hanshew, M. & T. – Riddle of Frozen Flame (30685)
Mundy, Talbot – Hira Singh (30686)
Lamb, Harold – The Crusades (30687)
Joyce, P.W. – Short History of Gaelic Ireland (30688)
White, Owen P. – Lead and Likker (30689)
Siringo, Charles A. – Riata and Spurs (30690)
Poole, Stanley Lane – Saladin (30691)
Kipling, Rudyard – Phantom Rickshaw (30692)
Service, Robert – Ballads of a Bohemian (30693)
Haggard, Rider H. – People of the Mist (30694)
Digby, Bassett – Tigers Gold & Witch Doctors (30695)
Fleisher, Nat – Jack Dempsey (30696)
Rohmer, Sax – Golden Scorpion (30697)

[page 29]

London, Jack – The Star Rover (30698)
England, George – Flying Legion (30699)
Chambers, Robert – Slayer of Souls (30700)
Cabell, James – Cream of the Jest (30701)
Wiley, Hugh – The Wild Cat (30702)
Chesterton, Gilbert – Ballad of White Horse (30703)
Doyle, Conan, A – Return of Sherlock Holmes (30704)
Curwood, James O. – Valley of Silent Men (30705)
Burroughs, Edgar R. – Princess of Mars (30706)
Rohmer, Sax – Green Eyes of Bast (30707)
Doyle, A. Conan – Poison Belt (30708)
James, Marquis – They Had Their Hour (30709)
Sampson, Emma – Miss Minerva on Old Plantation (30710)
Haggard, Rider – Allan Quatermain (30711)
Cooper, James F. – A Tale (30712)
Burroughs, Edgar R. – Thuvia, Maid of Mars (30713)
Abdullah and Pakinham – Dreamers of Empire (30714)
Gregory, Jackson – Six Feet Four (30715)
Witwer, H.C. – Fighting Back (30716)
Milton, John – Works of Milton (30717)
Trinkler, Emil – Through the Heart of Afghanistan (30718)
Grey, Zane – The Border Legion (30719)
Erskine, John – Galahad (30720)
Webb, Walter – The Great Plains (30721)
Wood, Henry – Ideal Suggestion for Mental Photography (30722)
Northrop, Henry – Marvels of Natural History (30723)
Kubin, Alfred – Damonen und Nachtgesichte (30724)
March, Joseph – The Set-Up (30725)
Vansittart, Robert – Singing Caravan (30726)
Reed, John – Daughter of Revolution (30727)
Steele and Steele – History of United States (30728)
Witwar, H.C. – Leather Pushers (30729)
Chidsey, Donald – Sir Humphry Gilbert (30730)

[page 30]

Rohmer, Sax – Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu (30731)
Sampson, Emma – Miss Minerva Broadcasts Billy (30732)
Rohmer, Sax – Return of Fu Manchu (30733)
Whitney, Elliot – King Bear of Kodiak Island (30734)
Parrott & Long – English Poems (30735)
Harvard Classics – Poems & Songs of R. Burns (30736)
Burroughs, Edgar – Warlord of Mars (30737)
Rohmer, Sax – Hand of Fu Manchu (30738)
Service, Robert – Rolling Stone Rhymes (30739)
Harper & Newbern – Odd Texas (30740)
Rohmer, Sax – Bat Wing (30741)
Knibbs, Henry – Songs of the Trail (30742)
Maitland, Robert – Boy Scouts To The Rescue (30743)
Raine, William – Famous Sheriffs & Outlaws (30744)
Hamlin, C.H. – War Myth In U.S. History (30745)
Benét, Stephen V. – John Brown’s Body (30746)
[appears to be the same hand, but may have started again here]
Little, W Gordon; Buffalo Bill (30747)
Alger, Horatio Jr., The Cash Boy (30748)
Ripley, Thomas; They Died With Their Boots On (30749)
Alger, Horatio, Jr. Joes Luck (30750)
Grey, Zane, To The Last Man (30751)
Farnol, Jeffery, Black Bartlemys Treasure (30752)
Coll, Clement J. Guns of the Gods (30753)
Victor, Ralph, Boy Scouts (30754)
Maitland, The Boy Scouts in Camp (30755)
Parish, Randall, Bob Hampton of Placer (30756)
Mitchell, Cortes, Montezuma & Mexico (30757)
Hemingway, Winner Take Nothing (30758)
London, Jack The Strength of the Strong (30759)
Sinclair, Upton, Oil (30760)
Mundy, Talbot; Rung Ho (30761)
Service, The Spell of the Yukon & Other Verses (30762)
Stoker, International Adventure Library (30763)

[page 31]

Farnol, Jeffery – Martin Conisbys Vengance (30764)
[Sampson, Miss Minerva Broadcasts Billy, struck through]
Aison, Greta, Modern American Poetry (30765)
Mark, Twain, Tom Sawyer Detective (30766)
Lawrence, Revolt in The Desert (30767)
Downey, The Grand Turke (30768)
Corbett, James – Roar of the Crowd (30769)
Burns, Walter – Saga of Billy The Kid (30770)
Rogers, Cameron – Drake’s Quest (30771)
Yeats, W.B. – Irish Fairy & Folk Tales (30772)
Burroughs, Edgar – Gods of Mars (30773)
Flannagan, Roy – The Whipping (30774)
Duval, John – Adventures of Big-Foot Wallace (30775)
Connor, Ralph – Corporal Cameron (30776)
Canot, Theodore – Adventures of an African Slaver (30777)
Wiley, Hugh – Lady Luck (30778)
Ansley, Henry – I Like The Depression (30779)
Burroughs, Edgar – Tarzan the Terrible (30780)
Doyle, A Conan – Hound of the Baskervilles (30781)
Kipling, Rudyard – The Jungle Book (30782)
Service, Robert – The Pretender (30783)
Ingraham, J.H. – Throne of David (30784)
Burroughs, Edgar – Tarzan and Jewels of Opar (30785)
Burroughs, Edgar – Son of Tarzan (30786)
Chambers, Robert – America or The Sacrifice (30787)
Bunyan, John – The Holy War (30788)
Tarkington, Booth – Gentle Julia (30789)
Symonds, Addington – Benvenuto Cellini (30790)
Holmes, Fred – Indian Frontier Fighters (30791)
Burroughs, Edgar – Tarzan of the Apes (30792)
Doyle, A Conan – His Last Bow (30793)
Robinson, William – Birth Control (30794)
Burroughs, Edgar – Return of Tarzan (30795)
Van Dine, SS – Bishop Murder Case (30796)

[page 32]

Haggard, Rider – Ancient Allan (30797)
Burroughs, Edgar – At the Earth’s Core (30798)
London, Jack – Faith of Men (30799)
Bower, B.M. – Chip, of the Flying U (30800)
Gross, Milt – Dunt Esk!! (30801)
[new hand begins here; seems to be same as pp. 25-28]
Burroughs, Edgar Rice – The | Beasts of Tarzan (30802)
Sampson – Emma Speed – | Billy and the Major (30803)
Kipling, Rudyard – Land | and Sea Tales (30804)
Noyes, Alfred – Tales of The | Mermaid Tavern (30805)
Service, Robert W. Rhymes | of a Red Cross Man (30806)
Richmond, Grace S. The | Twenty Fourth of July (30807)
Chambers, Robert W. – The | Little Red Foot (30808)
Nicolson, J.U. – The King of | Black Isles (30809)
Riddle, John – Meaning of | No Offense (30810)
London, Jack – The Iron Heel (30811)
Burroughs, Edgar Rice –

[page 33]

The Musker (30312)
Chambers, Robert W. – The Maid- | at – Arms (30813)
Reeves, Author B. – The Gold | of the Gods (30814)
Oskison, John M. A Texas Titan (30815)
Alger Jr., Horatio – Mark Masons | Triumph (30816)
London, Jack – The Human Drift (30817)
Cobb, Irvin S. – Back Home (30818)
Ragozin, Zenaide A – Assyria (30819)
Foxcroft, Frank – War Verse (30820)
Doyle, Authur Conan – The | Maracot Deep (30821)
Guerber, H.A. – Myths of | Greece and Rome (30822)
Aesop’s Fables (30823)
[begin new hand; appears to be the same as that at top of page 23]
Russell – Emerson, The Wisest American (30824)
Raymond – Oliver’s Secretary (30825)
Lippman – Preface to Morals (30826)
Khayyam – The Rubyiat (30827)
Lovecraft – Cats of Ulthar (30828)
Hayes – Pol. & Cultural Hist. of Mod. Europe v. 1 c. 1 (30829)
” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” c. 2 (30830)
” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” c. 3 (30831)
” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” c. 4 (30832)
” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” c. 5 (30833)
Hayes – Pol. & Cultural Hist. of Mod. Europe Vol 2 c 1 (30834)
” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” c 2 (30835)
” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” c 3 (30836)
” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” c 4 (30837)
” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” c 5 (30838)
Riker – Short Histry of Modern Europe c. 1 (30839)
c. 2 (30840)

[page 34]

Riker – Short History of Modern Europe c. 3 (30841)
” ” ” ” ” ” c. 4 (30842)
” ” ” ” ” ” c. 5 (30843)
Cunningham – Triggernometry (30844)
Rollins – The Cowboy (30845)
Ewen – Hist. of Surnames of Brit. Isles (30846)
San Martin (30847)
Schevill – History of Europe c. 1 (30848)
” ” ” ” c. 2 (30849)
” ” ” ” c. 3 (30850)
Gillespie – History of Europe c. 1 (30851)
” ” ” ” c. 2 (30852)
Leonard – Hundred Years of Missions c. 1 (30853)
” ” ” ” ” c. 2 (30854)
” ” ” ” ” c. 3 (30855)
” ” ” ” ” c. 4 (30856)
” ” ” ” ” c. 5 (30857)
” ” ” ” ” c. 6 (30858)
” ” ” ” ” c. 7 (30859)
” ” ” ” ” c. 8 (30860)
” ” ” ” ” c. 9 (30861)
” ” ” ” ” c. 10 (30862)
” ” ” ” ” c. 11 (30863)
” ” ” ” ” c. 12 (30864)
Paul – The Pumpkin Coach (30865)
Lovecraft – The Shunned House (30866)
Garnett – Twilight of the Gods (30867)
Birch – The Moon Terror (30868)
Grenard – Baber (30869)
Fort – Lo (30870)
Chapman – What Bird is That (30871)
Draper – Curriculum Making c. 1 (30872)
” ” ” c. 2 (30873)
Nature Almanac (30874)
Comstock – Handbook of Nature Study (30875)
[new hand; appears to be same as pp. 28-32]
Sampey – Heart of the Old Testament (30876)
Lincoln – Cur. Making in Ele. School (30877)
Branom – Teaching of Geog (30878)
Arlitt – Adolescence Psy. (30879)
Thomson – Year with the Trees (30880)
Whipple – Activity Movement (30881)
Yoakum & Simpson – Intro. to Teaching & Learning (30882)
Smith – Teaching Geog. by Problems (30883)
Newcomb – Astronomy for Everybody (30884)
Hawksworth – A Yr. in Wonderland of Trees (30885)
Jennison – Nat’l History Animals (30886)
Price – Monuments & the Old Testament (30887)
Lincoln – Curr. Making in an Ele. School (30888)
” ” ” ” ” ” ” (30889)
Little Nature Library – Garden Flowers (30890)
” ” ” – Trees (30891)
” ” ” – Wild Flowers (30892)
” ” ” – Birds Worth Knowing (30893)
” ” ” – Animals ” ” (30894)
” ” ” – Butterflies (30895)
Holmes – Autocrat of the Breakfast Table (30896)
Rayzor – Hist. of Denton Co. Baptist (30897)
” ” ” ” ” ” (30898)
Beach – Son of Gods (30899)
Holmes – Autocrat of Breakfast Tables (30900)
Larson – Hist. of Eng. (30901)
Sweet – ” ” ” (30902)

[Main Menu]

Appendix Six

The International Adventure Library

The following titles were included in the International Adventure Library. I do not claim this to be a complete catalog. This information was obtained through OCLC FirstSearch. Most of these were identified as “Three Owls Edition.”

Stoker, Bram (1847-1912). Dracula, A Mystery Story. New York: W.R. Caldwell, 1897.
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan (1859-1930). The Hound of the Baskervilles, Another Adventure of Sherlock Holmes. New York: W.R. Caldwell, 1902.
Stoker, Bram. The Jewel of Seven Stars. New York: W.R. Caldwell, 1904.
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan. The Return of Sherlock Holmes. New York: W.R. Caldwell, 1905.
Jepson, Edgar (1863-1938). Arsene Lupin, An Adventure Story. New York: W.R. Caldwell, 1909.
Leblanc, Maurice (1864-1941). The Confessions of Arsene Lupin, An Adventure Story. New York: W.R. Caldwell, 1913.
Dwyer, James Francis (1874- ). The Spotted Panther. New York: W.R. Caldwell, 1915.
Hanshew, Thomas W. (1857-1914). The Riddle of the Night. New York: W.R. Caldwell, 1915.
Teramond, Guy de (1869- ). The Mystery of Lucien Delorme. New York: W.R. Caldwell, 1915.
Thorndike, Russell (1885- ). Doctor Syn, A Smuggler Tale of the Romney Marsh. New York: W.R. Caldwell, 1915.
Camp, Wadsworth (1879-1936). The House of Fear. New York: W.R. Caldwell, 1916.
Leblanc, Maurice. The Woman of Mystery. New York: W.R. Caldwell, 1916.
Leblanc, Maurice. The Golden Triangle. New York: W.R. Caldwell, 1917.
Hanshew, Thomas W. Cleek, The Master Detective. New York: W.R. Caldwell, 1918.
Camp, Wadsworth. The Abandoned Room. New York: W.R. Caldwell, 1919.
Leblanc, Maurice. The Secret of Sarek. New York: W.R. Caldwell, 1920.
Levison, Eric. Hidden Eyes. New York: W.R. Caldwell, 1920
Rowland, Henry Cottrell (1874-1933). Duds. New York: W.R. Caldwell, 1920.
Rowland, Henry Cottrell. The Peddler. New York: W.R. Caldwell, 1920.
Bailey, Henry Christopher (1878-1961). Call Mr. Fortune. n.p.: McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie, 1921.
Leblanc, Maurice. The Three Eyes. New York: W.R. Caldwell, 1921.
Le Queux, William (1864-1927). Mademoiselle of Monte Carlo. New York: W.R. Caldwell, 1921.
Levison, Eric. The Eye Witness. New York: W.R. Caldwell, 1921.
Rowland, Henry Cottrell. Mile High. New York: W.R. Caldwell, 1921.
Leblanc, Maurice. The 8 Strokes of the Clock. New York: W.R. Caldwell, 1922.
Melville, Herman (1819-1891). Omoo, a Narrative of Adventures in the South Seas. New York: W.R. Caldwell, 1922.
Thayer, Lee (1874- ). Q.E.D., A Mystery Story. New York: W.R. Caldwell, 1922.
Leblanc, Maurice. The Secret Tomb, A Mystery Story. New York: W.R. Caldwell, 1923.
Leroux, Gaston (1868-1927). The Missing Men, The Return of Cheri-Bibi. New York: W.R. Caldwell, 1923.
Leroux, Gaston. Wolves of the Sea. New York: W.R. Caldwell, 1923.
Williams, Valentine (1883-1946). The Orange Divan. n.p.: McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie, 1923.
Curtiss, Philip Everett (1885-1964). The Gay Conspirators. New York: W.R. Caldwell, 1924.
Wallace, Edgar (1875-1932). The Hairy Arm. n.p.: McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie, 1925.
Bailey, Henry Christopher. Mr. Fortune’s Trials. n.p.: McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie, 1926.
Dilnot, George (1883-1951). The Crooks’ Game. n.p.: McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie, 1927.
Williams, Valentine. The Eye in Attendance. n.p.: McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie, 1927.
Barry, Charles (1877- ). The Corpse on the Bridge. n.p.: McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie, 1928.
Wallace, Edgar. The Feathered Serpent. n.p.: McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie, 1928.
Dilnot, George. The Black Ace. n.p.: McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie, 1929.