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Margaret Hawtof Kay collection on Stanley G. Weinbaum

 File
Identifier: MS-114

Collection Scope and Contents

The collection contains published and unpublished manuscripts, stories, and other materials written by Stanley G. Weinbaum. The manuscripts include science fiction stories, poems, prose, and criticisms. Included in these manuscripts are first drafts and rough outlines of his unpublished stories that may have been written under his penname of Marge Stanley. These manuscripts contain numerous sonnets, short and longform poetry, as well as short stories with editors notes and commentary.

The biographies and interviews that are included in the collection are primarily done through Weinbaum’s agents —particularly Lurton Blassingame— publishers and his wife Margaret Hawtof Kay. Several later articles about Weinbaum, including several by Eric Leif Davin, are also included within the collection.

Also included in the collection is correspondence compiled by Weinbaum's widow Margaret Hawtof Kay from the late 1990s and early 2000s regarding the disposition of Weinbaum's estate and the management of his literary works.

Dates

  • Creation: 1920-2003, undated
  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1920-1922

Creator

Languages

The collection is in English.

Access

This collection is open for research.

Publication Rights

Copyright Unknown: Some materials in these collections may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction, and/or commercial use, of some materials may be restricted by gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing agreement(s), and/or trademark rights. Distribution or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. To the extent other restrictions apply, permission for distribution or reproduction from the applicable rights holder is also required. Responsibility for obtaining permissions, and for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Biographical Note

Stanley Grauman Weinbaum was a science fiction writer who lived from 1902 to 1935. Prior to the initial acceptance of his science fiction stories, Weinbaum wrote numerous manuscripts for the freelance romantic and mystery market under the pseudonym Marge Stanley, the majority of which went unsold. In 1934, in what is now regarded as the "Golden Age of Science Fiction", Weinbaum released the first of his "Planetary Series", A Martian Odyssey. It was the first published science fiction story of the author and the first alien story to probe the alternative psyche of beings from extra-terrestrial bodies and explore the eco-systems of other planets all from a non-earth based view. It was also the first of the author’s stories to appear during his short two year period of publishing before he died prematurely of cancer in 1935.

Margaret Hawtof Kay was married to Stanley Weinbaum in 1926, and passed away in 1996.

Extent

0.83 Linear Feet (2 boxes)

Abstract

This collection contains manuscripts, published and unpublished works, poetry, and short stories written by the science fiction author Stanley G. Weinbaum before his death in 1935. Also included in the collection is correspondence compiled by Weinbaum's widow Margaret Hawtof Kay from the late 1990s and early 2000s regarding the disposition of Weinbaum's estate and the management of his literary works.

Collection Arrangement

This collection is arranged into three series as follows:

  1. Series 1. Manuscripts and other material, 1920-1922, undated
  2. Series 2. Publications, 1921-2002, undated
  3. Series 3. Correspondence, 1962-2003

Acquisition Information

Gifts of Mark J. Polland, 2014, 2023.

Related Archival Materials

Related archival materials can be found at Temple University: https://library.temple.edu/scrc/stanley-g-weinbaum-papers Collection ID: SCRC 76

Separated Materials Note

Separated books, multiple copies of published novels, can be found in the general UC Riverside library catalog.

Processing History

Processed by Aleia McDaniel, Student Processing Assistant, 2016.

Processing of the Margaret Hawtof Kay collection of Stanley G. Weinbaum materials was completed by undergraduate students from the University of California, Riverside as part of the Special Collections & University Archives Backlog Processing Project started in 2015. This project was funded by the UCR Library and administered by Bergis Jules, University and Political Papers Archivist, and Eric Milenkiewicz, Manuscripts Curator.

Title
Margaret Hawtof Kay collection on Stanley G. Weinbaum
Status
Processed
Author
Finding aid originally prepared in 2016 by Aleia McDaniel, Student Processing Assistant. Updates made by SCUA staff in 2023.
Date
2023
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Description is in English.

Repository Details

Part of the Manuscript Collections Repository

Contact:
University of California
Rivera Library
P.O. Box 5900
Riverside 92517-5900 USA