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Finding Aid to the Eric Hoffer Papers 1946-2009 BASC 6
Finding aid prepared by Susanne Mari Sakai Book Arts & Special Collections September 2019 100 Larkin Street San Francisco 94102 [email protected] URL: http://sfpl.org/index.php?pg=0200000201
Finding Aid to the Eric Hoffer BASC 6 1 Papers 1946-2009 BASC 6 Title: Eric Hoffer Papers Date (inclusive): 1946-2005 Identifier/Call Number: BASC 6 Creator: Hoffer, Eric Physical Description: 4 pamphlet boxes, 1 carton, 1 flat box, 1 oversize folder(3.5 cubic feet) Contributing Institution: Book Arts & Special Collections 100 Larkin Street San Francisco, CA 94102 (415) 557-4567 [email protected] Abstract: The collection contains the notebooks, clippings, AV recordings, and photographs of Eric Hoffer, who wrote a best-seller while working on the docks of San Francisco and became known as America's "longshoreman philosopher." Physical Location: Collection is stored onsite. Language of Materials: Collection materials are in English. Conditions Governing Access Collection is open for research and is available for use during Book Arts & Special Collections hours. Conditions Governing Use Original notebooks may be photographed but not photocopied. Publication Rights Copyright has not been assigned to the San Francisco Public Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from materials must be submitted in writing to Book Arts & Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the San Francisco Public Library as the owner of the physical items. Preferred Citation [Identification of item/Title of folder], Eric Hoffer Papers (BASC 6), Book Arts & Special Collections, San Francisco Public Library. Provenance The 23 original notebooks were donated by Eric Hoffer to the San Francisco Public Library in August 1964, prior to the opening of the Rare Books & Special Collections Department on October 1, 1964. Other recordings and publications have been added to the collection as they were produced. Related Materials Researchers are encouraged to see also the Eric Hoffer papers at the Hoover Institution Archives and the George Knight photograph collection at the Bancroft Library. Biographical Note Eric Hoffer was born either in 1898 or 1902 in the Bronx, New York City. What is known of his early life is based on his own recollections. Hoffer's parents came to the U.S. from Alsace-Lorraine and Hoffer himself spoke with a German accent throughout his life. He learned to read English and German by the time he was five. Hoffer became blind shortly after his mother's death when he was 7, but regained his sight at age 15, leading him to become a voracious reader lest he lose his eyesight again. He never received any formal education. After his father died in 1920, he left for Los Angeles. For the next two decades, he worked a series of odd jobs on LA's Skid Row, then as a migratory farm worker and gold miner, travelling up and down the state of California. He accumulated library cards from various towns along the way and carried books with him wherever he went. Drawing from his readings, experiences, and observations, he began to write in the late 1930's. In 1943, he gained steady employment as a longshoreman on the San Francisco waterfront. The job, which allowed him more time and income, enabled him to focus heavily on his writing. After many trips to the San Francisco Public Library, Hoffer completed his first book The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, which was published in 1951. The book sold 500,000 copies and brought Hoffer celebrity. After the success of his first book he published a book of aphorisms, The Passionate State of Mind in 1955, and then another study of the psychology of mass society, The Ordeal of Change, in 1963. He went on to write seven more books as well as a syndicated column in the San Francisco Examiner. He was interviewed on national television and for a variety of publications on numerous occasions. In February 1983, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Ronald Reagan for his life work. He passed away shortly after in May in San Francisco. Scope and Content
Finding Aid to the Eric Hoffer BASC 6 2 Papers 1946-2009 BASC 6 The collection contains 23 of Eric Hoffer's original notebooks and daybooks, one of which is a complete manuscript for The Passionate State of Mind. During the waterfront strike of 1946 and 1948, Hoffer found the time to begin a series of notebooks and daybooks in which he organized what he had read and his own insights into modern society. What he wrote in these accounts were to be the basis for his books The True Believer, The Passionate State of Mind, and The Ordeal of Change. The collection also includes newspaper clippings, student writings, AV materials, and photo reproductions. Arrangement The collection is organized into four series: Series 1. Notebooks, daybooks, and manuscripts; Series 2. Publications by and about Eric Hoffer; Series 3. Photographs; and Series 4. Audiovisual recordings. Subjects and Indexing Terms Hoffer, Eric -- Quotations Aphorisms and apothegms Intellectuals -- United States United States -- Social conditions -- 1945- Social psychology Philosophy Stevedores -- California -- San Francisco
Series 1 Notebooks, daybooks, and manuscripts Physical Description: 29 folders Scope and Content This series contains 23 of Hoffer's original notebooks and daybooks, including a binder notebook containing the complete manuscript for The Passionate State of Mind, as well as their transcripts.
box 1, folder 1 Daybook (Spiral brand brown cover), 1946 February-May General Note Contains notes on the nature of mass movements
box 1, folder 2 Notebook (hardbound), 1946 August 3-1947 January 1 General Note Second part contains thoughts which became part of The True Believer
box 1, folder 3 Transcript (113 leaves) box 1, folder 4 Notebook (blue cover), [probably 1946] October-December General Note Written "Book" on top of first page. Contains notes on mass movements and articles Hoffer has read
box 1, folder 5 Notebook (Gyral brand brown cover), 1947 January-February General Note Contains notes on mass movements and quotations from books Hoffer has read. Photocopy (38 leaves) included
box 1, folder 6 Notebook labeled "Planning", 1947 January-May General Note Contains notes for The True Believer. Photocopy (23 leaves) included
box 1, folder 7 Daybook labeled "Daybook beginning May 1947 End," 1947 May-August General Note Contains notes on mass movements
Finding Aid to the Eric Hoffer BASC 6 3 Papers 1946-2009 BASC 6 Series 1Notebooks, daybooks, and manuscripts
box 1, folder 8 Daybook QVII, 1947 August-1948 January General Note Contains notes on mass movements and quotations from books Hoffer has read. Inscribed "Lili: This is the last daybook of the lot…June 25, 1959" inside cover
box 1, folder 9 Transcript of Daybook QVII, first half box 1, folder 10 Transcript of Daybook -QVII, second half box 2, folder 1 1 Photocopy of transcript of Daybook QVII, first half box 2, folder 2 Photocopy of transcript of Daybook QVII, second half box 2, folder 3 Daybook QVIII, 1948 January 18- General Note Contains notes for The True Believer and The Passionate State of Mind
box 2, folder 4 Daybook QIX, 1948 October-November General Note Labeled as "QIXI" but should be QIX. Contains notes for The True Believer
box 2, folder 5 Daybook QX, 1948 October-1949 February General Note Contains notes for The True Believer
box 2, folder 6 Daybook QXI, 1949 March General Note Contains notes for The True Believer. Includes a drafted letter to Margaret Anderson, who encouraged his writing, stating the he just finished the book and that the title is Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements.
box 2, folder 7 Daybook QXII, 1949 April General Note Contains notes for The True Believer
box 2, folder 8 Daybook QXIII, 1949 June General Note Contains notes for The True Believer.
box 2, folder 9 Daybook QXIV, undated General Note Contains notes for The True Believer and drafted letters to Margaret Anderson. Transcript (42 leaves) included
box 2, folder 10 Notebook (Li-Rite brand brown cover), [probably 1948] General Note Contains notes on mass movements and quotations from books Hoffer has read. Photocopy (48 leaves) included
box 2, folder 11 Notebook (Spiral brand brown cover), 1949 Oct General Note Contains notes on mass movements, quotations from books Hoffer has read, and a partially drafted letter to "Henry" expressing his delight over enforced idleness due to a dock strike. Transcript (34 leaves) and photocopy (27 leaves) included
box 2, folder 12 Notebook (Spiral brand brown cover), undated General Note Contains notes for The True Believer
Finding Aid to the Eric Hoffer BASC 6 4 Papers 1946-2009 BASC 6 Series 1Notebooks, daybooks, and manuscripts
box 2, folder 13 Notebook, (Gyral brand brown cover), undated General Note Contains notes for The True Believer
box 2, folder 14 Notebook (Gyral brand brown cover), undated General Note Contains outlined table of contents and notes for The True Believer. Partial transcript (3 leaves) included
box 3, folder 1 Notebook labeled "Book 1st draft beginning with Persuasion," undated General Note Contains notes for The True Believer Transcript (33 leaves) included
box 3, folder 2 2 notebooks labeled "Aphorisms" 1 & 2, undated General Note Part of the manuscript for The Passionate State of Mind Photocopy of second notebook (30 leaves) included
box 3, folder 3 Binder notebook, manuscript of The Passionate State of Mind, undated box 3, folder 4 Photocopy (128 leaves) box 3, folder 5 Transcript (33 leaves) Series 2 Publications by and about Eric Hoffer Physical Description: 5 folders Scope and Content This series contains clippings of Eric Hoffer's Opinion column as well as Sunday Thoughts and Eric Hoffer Speaks sections in the San Francisco Examiner. It also contains various publications about Hoffer's life and work.
box 3, folder 6 Eric Hoffer's Opinion column clippings, 1968-1970 box 3, folder 7 Sunday Thoughts and Eric Hoffer Speaks clippings, 1968 box 3, folder 8 Biographical information and clippings, 1951-1983 box 3, folder 9 "Would You Believe…?" by Paul Breines, "Eric Hoffer and Cold War Ideology" by Peter Wiley, 1967 General Note Literary critiques on Eric Hoffer by University of Washington graduate students
box 3, folder 10 "The Working Mind: The Philosophy of Eric Hoffer" by Daniel David Slate, 2009 May General Note Stanford University Department of Philosophy Honors Thesis
Series 3 Photographs Physical Description: 1 folder, 1 oversize folder Scope and Content This series contains black and white photographs of Eric Hoffer taken by George Knight printed or mounted on boards
box 3, folder 11 Photographs, 1964 General Note 4 photographs of Hoffer working on the docks, 1 photograph of Hoffer reading on the docks
Finding Aid to the Eric Hoffer BASC 6 5 Papers 1946-2009 BASC 6 Series 3Photographs
oversize-folder 1 Photographs, 1964 General Note 3 photos of Hoffer working on the docks, 1 photograph of Hoffer working in the old Main Library Reading Room, 4 photographs of Hoffer writing
Series 4 Audiovisual recordings Physical Description: 31 videotapes, 8 audiotapes Scope and Content This series contains audio and video recordings of and about Hoffer
box 4 3/4" U-matic videotapes, 1963, 1968 Physical Description: 14 videotapes General Note Conversations with Eric Hoffer, interview with James Day of KQED San Francisco (12 parts), 1963; Eric Hoffer: The Passionate State of Mind, interview with Eric Sevaraid, CBS News special (2 parts), 1968
box 5 VHS videotapes, 1963-1978 Physical Description: 17 videotapes General Note Conversations with Eric Hoffer, 1963; Eric Hoffer: The Passionate State of Mind, 1968; The Savage Heart: A Conversation with Eric Hoffer, 1969; People of Our Time: Eric Hoffer, [probably 1974]; Eric Hoffer: The Crowded Life, 1978
box 6 Reel-to-reel tapes, 1963 Physical Description: 3 reels General Note Books and Authors, WRCV, 1963; Leisure and the Masses, panel session at the Palace Hotel, 1963
box 6 Cassette tapes, 1963, 2005 Physical Description: 5 audiotapes General Books and Authors , WRCV, 1963; Leisure and the Masses , panel session at the Palace Hotel, 1963; The True Believer: Reflections on Eric Hoffer , lecture and panel discussion at San Francisco Public Library, 2005
Finding Aid to the Eric Hoffer BASC 6 6 Papers 1946-2009 BASC 6