Purchases, 1957-1974 (R189, R2722, R3350, R5180, R6495)
Open for research
Chelsea Dinsmore, 2002
http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/research/fa/harris.frank.html
James Thomas Harris was born in Galway, Ireland, in 1856, the fourth of five children. After the early death of their mother, Harris was raised largely by his siblings before his father, a commander in the British Coast Guard, sent him to school in Wales. Harris ran away from school in 1871 and sailed to America.
Between 1871 and 1872 Harris worked as a bootblack, construction worker, hotel clerk, and possibly as a cowboy. He traveled from New York to Chicago and ended up in Lawrence, Kansas, in 1872, where two of his brothers had settled. While Harris worked in his brothers' butcher shop and attended lectures at the University of Kansas he met and was influenced by Byron Smith, a promising young classics professor with an interest in Karl Marx. Harris placed enough importance on his association with Smith to change his name as an indication of a sort of rebirth. From that time on he was known as Frank Harris.
Harris briefly returned to England in 1875 before leaving for Europe where he began an educational tour. He began at the Sorbonne in Paris, and then moved on to Heidelberg, Göttingen, and Munich. In 1878 he married Florence Adams, of Brighton. Following her death ten months later, Harris took an extended tour of Italy, Greece, Austria, Russia, and Ireland.
Upon returning to England Harris actively pursued a writing career. After publishing a few reviews and articles he gained the post of editor at
Harris' reaction to this change in fortune was to purchase the
In 1914 Harris sailed to America with Helen (Nellie) O'Hara, his mistress since 1898. In America Harris continued writing, published two volumes of
The remaining years of Harris' life were spent in ill health and reduced circumstances. He published
The Frank Harris Collection, 1888-1955, comprises a large amount of correspondence, as well as manuscripts, passports, and legal documents. The collection is organized into five series: Series I. Works, 1911-1931 (1.5 boxes); Series II. Correspondence, 1888-1931, (3 boxes); Series III. Personal Papers, 1909-1954, (.5 boxes); Series IV. Helen O'Hara Harris, 1914-1955 (4 boxes); and Series V. Third Party Works and Correspondence, 1903-1955 (1 box). This collection was previously accessible through a card catalog, but has been re-cataloged as part of a retrospective conversion project.
Series I contains typescripts for the fifth volume of Harris' autobiography and
The large Correspondence series is largely composed of personal letters to and from Harris, though many of Harris' business deals were tied up with personal matters and thus the letters are hard to classify. Correspondents of particular interest include Reginald Caton, Henry Davray, Helen O'Harris, George Bernard Shaw, Reginald Turner, and Louis Wilkinson. Some of the correspondence is written in French. A complete list of correspondents in this series is available in the Index of Correspondents at the end of this guide.
Series III, Personal Papers, is made up of account books, financial papers, legal documents, and passports. Also present are a number of lists, notes, and interviews.
The Helen (Nellie) O'Hara Harris series is made up of a few works by O'Hara and a great deal of correspondence, mostly to her. The few letters from O'Hara are interfiled. Her correspondents include many of the same people who wrote to her husband, as well as Harold Auer, Curtis Brown, Edward Root, Abe Tobin, and Lady Warwick. A complete list of correspondents in this series is available in the Index of Correspondents at the end of this guide. Additionally there are a few personal papers, including legal documents, passports, and diaries.
The final series is made up of works and correspondence written by people associated with Harris. A complete list of works present in this series is available in the Index of Works and a complete list of correspondents in this series is available in the Index of Correspondents at the end of this guide.
Elsewhere in the Ransom Center are five Vertical Files of
printed works by Harris, critical commentary of Harris' work, and newspaper
clippings. The Literary Files of the Photography Collection hold 20 photographs
of Harris, Nellie and various other friends and family. Other materials
associated with Harris may be found in the following collections at the Ransom
Center:
Names in