Edward R. Hagemann (1921- ) was a professor of literature at the University of California, Los Angeles from 1954-1959 and the University of Louisville from 1963-1965. It was during his time at UCLA that Professor Hagemann compiled his important “Checklist of the Work of B. Traven and the Critical Estimates and Biographical Essays on Him; together with a Brief Biography,” which was published in the Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America, vol. 53, First Quarter, 1959, pages 37-67. This is the earliest known effort to list Traven’s works in their many editions and translations (at the time, into 21 different languages) as well as the articles about this mysterious writer. In compiling his bibliography, Hagemann accumulated many German, British, and American B. Traven first editions and short stories published in various magazines as well as an almost complete run of Ret Marut’s Der Ziegelbrenner magazine. This collection later became the foundation for the University of California, Riverside Libraries' excellent research collection on B. Traven.

B. Traven was the pseudonym for an internationally famous writer who guarded his identity with jealousy and determination throughout his life, creating one of the greatest literary puzzles of the 20th century. Other names he went by in his lifetime are Traven Torsvan, Hal Croves, and Ret Marut. His twelve novels, the best known of which are The Death Ship and the Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and many short stories have been translated into numerous languages. Films have been made of his the Treasure of the Sierra Madre, White Rose, Macario, The Death Ship, and Rebellion of the Hanged. He died in March 1969 in Mexico City, Mexico.