Purchase and Gift, 2006 (Reg. no. 16479, Gift no. 12504)
Hope Donovan Rider, 2007
Open for research
This collection contains materials about Henry Miller compiled by Miller's first wife Beatrice and their daughter Barbara. It is divided into four series: I. Henry Miller Materials; II. Correspondence, 1915-1991; III. Beatrice Wickens Miller Sandford and Barbara Miller Sandford Materials; IV. Photographs, 1870s-1950s.
Original Miller material in Series I. includes visual plans for Black Spring and a mixed typescript and carbon copy of Miller's "Dream Book," written in Paris in the 1930s. The bulk of the series is made up of published versions of Miller's works, annotated by Beatrice. There are also royalty statements and/or sales records for foreign editions of Miller's works for the years 1979-1983.
The correspondence in Series II. is primarily comprised of correspondence between Miller and Beatrice before, during, and after their marriage, and between Miller and Barbara from the 1950s until Miller's death in 1980. The Miller-Beatrice letters are mainly carbons, since Beatrice destroyed the originals around the time of their divorce in 1924. There is one folder of letters to Barbara from Miller's third wife Eve, and his other two children, Valentine and Tony, as well as one post card from Henry's sister Loretta.
Series III. holds materials relating to Beatrice and Barbara. Beatrice's writings in Subseries A. include several folders of her anecdotes and memories of her marriage to Miller, as well as a folder of her early childhood memories of life in Utica, NY. There are also several folders relating to her career as a pianist and music teacher. Barbara's materials in Subseries B. include the Family Circle magazine that helped her locate Miller in the 1950s, several folders of short stories and poetry by Barbara, and her notes about events and meetings in the months before and after Miller's death in 1980.
The photographs in Series IV. are arranged in rough chronological order, beginning with childhood pictures of Beatrice's second husband William Sandford, and of Beatrice's Sherer and Wickens relatives. Included in these folders are several well-preserved tin types. One of Beatrice's Sherer uncles was a contemporary of George Eastman and operated a successful photographic studio in Utica. Beatrice was a frequent visitor to the studio, and as a result, there are many photographs of Beatrice as a child and young woman. Barbara is also well represented by photographs with three folders of childhood photos, and a few of her while she was working at a Los Angeles newspaper in the 1940s. There are three folders with photographs of Henry Miller, including one with photos taken during Miller's marriage to Beatrice, one folder of later Miller photographs compiled by Barbara, and one folder with photographs taken during Barbara's first adult visit with Miller in 1958.