Jeffers, Robinson

An extraordinary collection of approximately 115 first editions, autograph letters and manuscripts, a signed photograph, bibliography and reference materials including many published on private presses, 1927–1983.

Jeffers (1887–1962) was a prodigy in Greek and Latin classics, graduating from Occidental College at the age of 20. He met Una Kuster in graduate school while she was married to a Los Angeles attorney, and their relationship became a scandal publicized in the Los Angeles Times in 1912. The two were married in 1913 and moved to Carmel, where Jeffers constructed Tor House and Hawk Tower. The central California coast was to dominate the subject of his poetry for decades to come, using motifs and forms from Greek tragedy and Nietzchean philosophy. At the peak of his fame, he was one of the few poets to be featured on the cover of Time Magazine. Part of the decline in his popularity was due to his opposition to the United States' entry into World War II.

The collection consists of the following:

Manuscripts:
1. Robinson Jeffers. Typed letter, 1 page (11 x 8 1/2 in.; 280 x 215 mm), Carmel, California, 22 January 1926, to George West, explaining the themes and motives of his story "Tamar"; formerly folded, some soiling. Red cloth folding-case, gilt-stamped title on spine.

2. Robinson Jeffers. Autograph letter signed ("Robinson Jeffers"), 1 page (11 x 8 1/2 in.; 280 x 215 mm), Carmel, California, 21 July 1926, to Mr. Braithwaite, granting permission to publish poetry in an anthology; small hole in top margin and some fraying in lower edge. Green half-morocco clamshell box.

3. Edward Weston. Autograph letter signed ("Edward Weston"), 1 page (11 x 8 1/2 in.; 280 x 215 mm) on his personal letterhead, Carmel, California, 13 May 1931, to Paul Sandacre, reporting on a failed attempt to visit Jeffers to show photographs evidently in anticipation of a publication. Green cloth folding-case.

4. Robinson Jeffers. Autograph letter signed ("Robinson Jeffers"), 1 page (11 x 8 1/2 in.; 280 x 215 mm), Carmel, California, June 1931, to Mr. Landacre, refusing to write a forward for the publication of his woodcuts, refers to aborted Weston visit (see previous). Black cloth folding-case, gilt-stamped title label on spine.

5. Robinson Jeffers. Autograph letter signed ("Robinson Jeffers"), 1 page (10 x 8 1/2 in.; 254 x 215 mm), Carmel, California, 10 February 1942, to Mr. [Henry W.?] Wells, commenting on a poem sent him, his correspondent's new book, and World War II. Grey cloth clamshell box.

6. Robinson Jeffers. Autograph letter signed ("Robinson Jeffers"), 1 page (11 x 8 1/2 in.; 280 x 215 mm), Carmel, California, 19 July 1954, to Mr. Turner, granting permission to publish "The Deer Lay down their bones"; formerly folded, a few chalk spots. Red half-morocco clamshell box, gilt-stamped title on spine.

7. Robinson Jeffers. Photograph signed, (3 1/2 x 4 3/8 in.; 90 x 112 mm), posing next to a portrait bust; torn with some loss. Blue half-morocco clamshell box.

8. Eliot, T.S. Typed letter signed ("T.S. Eliot"), 1 page (8 x 7 in.; 204 x 178 mm) on Faber & Faber letterhead, London, 13 February 1945, to John G. Caffrey in Seattle, Washington, commenting on Jeffers as a poet, and his plans for recording "Murder in the Cathedral"; formerly folded. Blue half-morocco folding-case.

9. Benjamin Harrison Lehman. Autograph poem "Big Sur 1962", 1 page (8 x 5 in.; 204 x 128 mm), no place or date. Black cloth folding-case, gilt-stamped title label on spine.

10. Robinson Jeffers. Autograph manuscript signed ("Robinson Jeffers") of Remembered Verses, 4 pages (11 x 8 1/2 in.; 280 x 215 mm), his introduction to Sydney S. Alberts' Bibliography (1933), in pencil with extensive revisions, along with a typescript of the text. With: Autograph manuscript of a portion of his poem "Saul", no date (possibly 1929), apparently unpublished. Red half morocco clamshell box.

11. Una Jeffers. 7 autograph letters signed ("Una Jeffers"), 7 pages (11 x 8 1/2 in.; 280 x 215 mm), Carmel, California, January 1929 –April 1931, to the publisher William Heinemann, discussing her husband's work and their mutual friends. In a looseleaf notebook, in a slipcase.

Original Publications include:
Women at Point Sur. New York: 1927, dust-jacket, trade edition, plus another copy, no. 109 of 265, signed, in a slipcase. — Poems. San Francisco: 1928, frontispiece by Ansel Adams, signed by Adams and Jeffers, green cloth, in slipcase — Such Counsels You Gave to Me (1937), inscribed to Albert Bender. — Be Angry at the Sun (1941), dust-jacket, inscribed to Jean Lehman. — Loving Shepherdess. New York: 1956, illustrated by Jean Kellogg, half-cloth in slipcase. — Granite & Cypress. Santa Cruz: Lime Kiln Press, 1975, 1 of 100, inscribed by William Everson, cream cloth, wood slipcase. — Whom Should I Write For Dear. Los Angeles: Ward Ritchie, 1979, marbled paper wrappers. — Point Lobos. Oakland: Peter and the Wolf Press, 1987, 1 of 26, cream cloth in wood slipcase; plus approximately 31 others.

Bibliography & Reference publications include:
Collected Poetry of Robinson Jeffers, vols. 1–5, Stanford: University Press, 1988–2001, plus another copy of the same. — Sydney S. Alberts. A Bibliography of the Works (1933), 1 copy inscribed twice by Jeffers to Elga and Arthur Alberts in 1935, plus a second uninscribed copy, and two reprints. — A. Ridgeway, ed. Selected Letters of ... 1897–1962 (1968). — Selected Poetry (1938). — L. C. Powell, Introduction to Robinson Jeffers (1932) and his Robinson Jeffers (1934) — W. Ritchie, The Poet and the Printers (Albion Press, 1980), inscribed; plus approximately 58 others.