An Inventory of His Collection at the Harry Ransom
Center
Creator:
Houghton, Claude,
1889-1961
Title:
Claude Houghton
Collection
Dates:
1911-1975
Extent:
36 boxes (15.12 linear feet), 7 galley folders
(gf)
Abstract:
The collection of Claude Houghton
(pseudonym of Claude Houghton Oldfield) contains an extensive number of manuscripts
for his
stories, novels, plays, poems, and essays, as well as both outgoing and incoming
correspondence.
Call Number:
Manuscript Collection
MS-03097
Language:
English
Access:
Open for research.
Researchers
must create an online Research Account and agree to the Materials Use Policy before
using
archival materials.
Use Policies:
Ransom Center collections may contain material with sensitive or confidential information
that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers
are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable
living
individuals represented in the collections without the consent of those individuals
may have
legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy
may
arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be
deemed
highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the Ransom Center and The University
of
Texas at Austin assume no responsibility.
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Claude Houghton Collection (Manuscript Collection MS-03097). Harry Ransom Center,
The
University of Texas at
Austin.
Processed by:
Isabel Morales and Hope Rider, 2004; Joan Sibley and Richard Workman,
2018
Note:
This finding aid replicates and replaces information previously available only in
a card
catalog. Please see the explanatory note at the end of this finding aid for information
regarding the arrangement of the manuscripts as well as the abbreviations commonly
used in
descriptions.
This finding aid gathers together materials previously described separately in an
online
finding aid and in a card catalog, along with three acquisitions not previously cataloged.
The earlier form of the author’s name, Claude Houghton Oldfield, has been replaced
with the
current authoritative form of his name, which is his better known pseudonym, Claude
Houghton.
Works and Career-Related Material (boxes 1-8, gf 1)
This material was previously described in an online finding aid under the name of
Claude
Houghton Oldfield and formed a 2004 addition (Purchase R 15296) to the Claude Houghton
Oldfield Papers already at the Ransom Center. It contains typescripts for many of
his
novels, as well as two plays and several film novelizations. Also included are tear
sheets
of short stories and articles that he wrote for various publications, primarily The Aryan Path and The Aquarian Paths.
All of these works were written under the pseudonym Claude Houghton. Among the personal
papers, there is one folder of correspondence written to Ernest Rasdall, including
a signed
photo of Houghton and a typewritten autobiographical sketch.
Claude Houghton Oldfield Papers (boxes 9-31, gf 2-7)
This material was previously described in a card catalog under the name of Claude
Houghton
Oldfield. It is subdivided into four groups of materials: Works; Letters; Recipient;
and
Miscellaneous and contains eighteen boxes of manuscripts for novels, plays, stories,
and
poems as well as two boxes of correspondence. The most extensive correspondence is
with book
dealer Ben Abramson. This description replicates and replaces the information previously
available in the card catalog. Please see the explanatory note at the end of this
finding
aid for information regarding the arrangement of the manuscripts as well as the
abbreviations commonly used in descriptions.
Additional Acquisitions; Not Described in Card Catalog (boxes
32-36)
Three additional acquisitions not previously cataloged make up this portion. These
include
Purchase R 7294, 1976; Gift 2428, 1985; and Purchase R 13243, 1994. The first group
of
materials was acquired from Houghton’s long-time secretary-typist, Kathleen E. King.
It
consists mostly of manuscripts of his work, some with alterations dictated to King.
The
second group consists of papers collected by Grace White of Houston, Texas, who wrote
Houghton a fan letter that evolved into a friendship. Of interest in this group are
Houghton’s approximately 200 letters to White, two letters from writer Henry Miller,
and
correspondence from Constance Upcott Gill, a relative of Houghton’s who shared family
history with White. The third group comprises a small amount of material acquired
from the
estate of Dermot Francis Fahy.
