Center for Archival Collections

Introduction | Biographical Sketch | Awards to Ray Bradbury | Scope and Content | Series Description

 Introduction

The literary manuscripts, correspondence, and other non-book material in the Ray Bradbury Collection complement the comprehensive Bradbury book collection housed in the Rare Books Division. The materials date from 1936 when Bradbury began writing as a high school student up to the present time and includes manuscripts of many of his novels, short stories, poems, plays and screenplays, as well as notes, letters, recordings, original art, broadsides, photographs, pamphlets, posters, programs, transcripts, periodicals, and tearsheets.

The books and manuscripts of the Bradbury Collection were acquired in 1981 from William F. Nolan, the well-known author of Logan's Run and many other works and a long-time friend of Bradbury. Aided by access to Bradbury's personal files, Nolan spent over thirty-five years assembling the collection.

Photocopying of all manuscript material in the Collection is prohibited. Bradbury's letters may not be quoted without permission of either William Nolan or Ray Bradbury. The Dogs that Eat Sweet Grass may not be quoted without the permission of Mr. Bradbury.

This register was prepared by Nancy Steen, Rare Books Librarian in April 1986 and adapted for the World Wide Web in 2001 by Lee N. McLaird, Curator of Rare Books.

 Biographical Sketch

Ray Douglas Bradbury was born in 1920 in Waukegan, Illinois and moved with his family to Los Angeles in 1934. The childhood experiences he remembers most are horror films, fantasy books, the deaths of his grandfather and sister and an intense fear of the dark. He was fascinated with carnivals, circuses, the Tarzan books and magic.

1936 marked his first appearance in print: his poem "In Memory of Will Rogers" appeared in the Waukegan News-Sun. Two years later, his first short story, "Hollerbochen's Dilemma," was printed in Imagination. He first sold a story, "Pendulum," in 1941 to Super Science Stories.

Bradbury concentrated on fantasy and science fiction until the 1950s when he received widespread critical acclaim for The Martian Chronicles and for Fahrenheit 451, for which he won the 1954 Award in Literature from the National Institute of Arts and Letters. Other important awards received were the O. Henry Award (1948), the Benjamin Franklin Magazine Award (1954), and The Commonwealth Club of California Gold Medal (1954). Bradbury also received an Academy Award Nomination (1963) and a "Distinguished Career" Award from the Academy of Science Fiction and Fantasy (1980).

In more recent years, Bradbury has broadened the range of his work enormously. He has become a respected novelist, short story writer, poet, playwright, critic, and lecturer. He has written works for NASA and for symphony orchestras and has been deeply invovled in the development of Disney's Epcot Center. He adapted Melville's Moby Dick for the John Huston film.

Bradbury was married and the father of four daughters.  He died in 2012.

 Awards to Ray Bradbury

In 1954, the same year in which he completed the screenplay for Moby Dick, Ray Bradbury received an Award in Literature from the National Institute of Arts and Letters.

Among his many other awards:

1948: O. Henry Award for his short story "Powerhouse."

1949: National Fan Federation Award as "Best Author of the Year," in the science fiction/fantasy field.

1954: The Benjamin Franklin Magazine Award for "Sun and Shadow" as the "Best Short Story of 1953."

1954: The Gold Medal from the Commonwealth Club of California for Fahrenheit 451.

1956: The Boys Club of America Award for "Switch on the Night."

1963: An Academy Award Nomination from the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences for his screenplay, Icarus Montgolfier Wright.

1963: The Golden Eagle Film Award, from CINE, for Icarus Montgolfier Wright.

1968: The Robert Ball Memorial Award from the Aviation-Space Writers Association for his essay, "An Impatient Gulliver Above Our Roofs."

1974: The Valentine Davies Career Award, from the Writers Guild of America, for "contributions to the motion picture community which have brought dignity and honor to writers everywhere."

1977: The H. P. Lovecraft Life Achievement Award, from the World Fantasy Convention.

1980: A "Distinguished Career" Award from the Academy of Science Fiction and Fantasy.

1980: The Gandalf "Grand Master" Award, at the Hugo Ceremonies, World Science Fiction convention.

1981: The Mental Health Association Performance Award, from the MHA.

 Scope and Content

The core of the Bradbury Collection is the large number of literary manuscripts of the author's works. The central item is the original typed manuscript of Fahrenheit 451. In addition, over 120 other manuscripts including short stories, scripts, screenplays and poems are available in 160 drafts. Many include holograph corrections and notes by Bradbury.

Complementing this basic collection are a number of personal letters from Bradbury to William Nolan during the years 1950 to 1980 which provide fascinating insight into Bradbury's life and work during the period, including a series of letters written in Ireland during the filming of Moby Dick. Hundreds of periodicals, tearsheets, art works, photographs, broadsides, posters, programs, promotional materials, speeches, transcripts, and interviews form a large part of the collection. Virtually all of the periodical publications by Bradbury as well as many articles written about him and his works are included. A 135,000 word transcription of a series of taped interviews constitute an extremely rare and important Bradbury autobiography. Manuscripts of several unpublished bibliographies of Bradbury's works add greatly to the research value of the collection.

The researcher is also referred to the book segment of the Bradbury Collection housed in the Rare Books Division for many revealing inscriptions from the author. These notations as well as many other items attest to the unique quality of this collection which results from the long personal relationship between Nolan and Bradbury. This is certainly the most important Bradbury collection in existence.

 Series Description

SECTION 1 Original Typed Bradbury Manuscript (Ribbon Copy): Fahrenheit 451

SECTION 2 Original Typed Bradbury Manuscripts (Ribbon Copy):

• Screenplay (also in mimeo, carbon and Xerox)
• Short Stories
• Introductions
• Verse
• Essay, etc.

SECTION 3 Original Typed Bradbury Letters: 1950-1979 (Ribbon Copy) Mailed From:

• Los Angeles
• Rome
• London
• Dublin

Note: These letters are to be used for research purposes only. None may be quoted in any printed work without the written permission of Ray Bradbury.

SECTION 4 Original Bradbury Short Story Manuscripts (Author's Carbons): with contents pages

SECTION 5 Typed Manuscripts from Bradbury's Files (in Xerox): Fiction

SECTION 6 Typed Manuscripts from Bradbury's Files (in Xerox):

• Nonfiction
• Verse
• Diary Notes
• Teleplays
• Screenplays
• Stage Plays
• Film Treatments, etc.

SECTION 7 Typed Manuscript (in Xerox):

• The Dogs That Eat Sweet Grass (Bradbury's autobiographpy)
  Note: Not to be quoted without permission of Ray Bradbury

SECTION 8 Mimeo-Copy of Bradbury Manuscripts (Pinned, in Wrappers):

• Stage Plays
• Screenplays
• Teleplays
• Radio Play, etc.

SECTION 9 Bradbury's High School Writings (Reproductions): Including: Bradbury's High School Yearbook for 1938

SECTION 10 Bradbury's Own Fan Magazine (Complete set of 4 issues):

• Futuria Fantasia, 1939-1940

SECTION 11 Bradbury Limited Editions, Proof Copies, and Special Volumes

SECTION 12 Other Limited Edition Items by Bradbury:

• Verse Broadsides and Single Sheets
• Portfolios
• Special Pamphlets and Booklets

SECTION 13 Bradbury U. S. First Editions (Hardback)

• (Note: Group includes only non-limited first editions)

SECTION 14 Bradbury U. S. Paperback Editions

• First paperback printings, plus variant editions

SECTION 15 British First Editions (Hardback and Paperback)

• Includes original British editions never published in the United States

SECTION 16 British Variant Editions (Hardback and Paperback)

• SF Book Club Editions
• SF Collector's Library Editions
• Matched sets of reissued editions

SECTION 17 Foreign Editions (Hardback and Paperback)

• Argentina
• Brazil
• Bulgaria
• Czechoslovakia
• Denmark
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hong Kong
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Italy
• Japan
• Latvia (USSR)
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• U.S.S.R.
• Yugoslavia

SECTION 18 Books Containing Bradbury Introductions and Commentary (Hardback and Paperback)

SECTION 19 Bradbury in Various Books and Pamphlets:

• Interviews
• Lectures
• Panel Discussions

SECTION 20 Anthologies Containing Bradbury First Book Appearances (Hardback and Paperback):

• Nonfiction and Fiction

Note: Many of these anthologies constitute the only book printing of a particular item; more than half remain uncollected by Bradbury

SECTION 21 Bradbury in Selected Anthologies (Hardback and Paperback)

• Fiction and Nonfiction

SECTION 22 Bradbury in Textbooks (Hardback and Paperback)

SECTION 23 Bradbury in Fan Magazines (Whole Issues)

SECTION 24 Bradbury in Pulp Magazines (Whole Issues)

SECTION 25 Bradbury in Digest-Size Magazines (Whole Issues)

SECTION 26 Bradbury in Various Slick-Paper Magazines (Whole Issues)

SECTION 27 Bradbury in Literary Magazines and Quarterlies (Whole Issues)

SECTION 28 Bradbury in Newspapers and Supplements (Whole Issues)

SECTION 29 Bradbury in School Publications (Whole Issues)

SECTION 30 Bradbury in Writers Magazines, Trade and Film Publications (Whole Issues)

SECTION 31 Bradbury in Slick-Paper Science Fiction and Fantasy Publications (Whole Issues)

SECTION 32 Bradbury in Playboy and Other Men's Magazines (Whole Issues)

SECTION 33 Juvenilia in Fan Magazines (in Xerox):

• Fiction
• Nonfiction
• Verse
• Humor
• Letters and Drawings

SECTION 34 Uncollected Bradbury Stories (Tearsheets)

(Note: Many have neither been collected or anthologized)

SECTION 35 Original Bradbury Stories (Tearsheets)

• Script
• Weird Tales
• Pulp Magazines
• Digest-size Magazines
• Large Slick-Paper Magazines
• The Saturday Evening Post
• Playboy
• Smaller-size Slick-Paper Magazines
• The Reporter

SECTION 36 Reprinted Bradbury Stories (Tearsheets):

• Digest-size Magazines
• Pulp Magazines
• Slick-Paper Magazines and
• Stories submitted by William F. Nolan for Long After Midnight

SECTION 37 Revised Magazine-to-Book Bradbury Stories (Tearsheets)

SECTION 38 Bradbury Writes About (Tearsheets):

• Science Fiction
• Films and TV
• Theatre
• Los Angeles
• Tributes and Profiles
• Self Bios and Nostalgia Pieces
• Life as a Writer
• Varied Topics

SECTION 39 Bradbury Nonfiction from Life and The Writer (Tearsheets)

SECTION 40 Bradbury Verse (Tearsheets)

SECTION 41 Reviews by Bradbury (Tearsheets)

• Films
• Fiction
• Nonfiction

SECTION 42 Published Bradbury Speeches and Introductions (Tearsheets)

SECTION 43 Bradbury Interviews (Tearsheets) from:

• Magazines
• Newspapers
• Student Publications
• Writers Magazines
• Men's Magazines
• SF Publications
• Transcripts of Radio and TV Interviews

SECTION 44 Published Bradbury Letters (Tearsheets)

SECTION 45 By and About Bradbury, In Sound:

• LPs
• Cassettes (some with filmstrips)
• Reel-to-Reel Tapes

SECTION 46 Original Bradbury Art

(Also: Art by Joseph Mugnaini (photo prints) and Donn Albright (including originals))

SECTION 47 Books, Pamphlets and Study Guides on Bradbury's Life and Works

SECTION 48 Books Containing Chapters or Sections on Bradbury's Life and Works

SECTION 49 Critical Essays and Commentary on Bradbury (Tearsheets):

• English Journal and other sources

SECTION 50 Biographical Material on Bradbury (Tearsheets):

• Bio Profiles from Books
• Bio Profiles from Magazines
• Bio Profiles from Newspapers
• Magazine Bio-blurbs
• Bio Clippings -- including clips from Waukegan, Illinois
• RB in Writers Groups

SECTION 51 Student Papers on Bradbury (in Xerox)

SECTION 52 Essays and Letters on Bradbury from Fan Publications (Tearsheets)

SECTION 53 Review and New Clippings on Bradbury Books:

• The Martian Chronicles
• The Illustrated Man
• The Golden Apples of the Sun
• Fahrenheit 451
• Something Wicked This Way Comes
• Long After Midnight
• The Stories of Ray Bradbury and
• Reviews on Other Bradbury Books

SECTION 54 Review and News Clippings on Bradbury Film/TV Works

• Film: "Fahrenheit 451"
• Film: "The Illustrated Man"
• Film: "It Came from Outer Space"
• Film: "Moby Dick"
• Television: "The Martian Chronicles"
• Various Film/TV Projects

SECTION 55 Review and News Clippings on Bradbury Stage Productions:

• "Fahrenheit 451" and "Leviathan '99"
• "The Martian Chronicles"
• "The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit" and "Dandelion Wine"
• "The World of Ray Bradbury"
• Various RB Plays

SECTION 56 William F. Nolan Writing on Ray Bradbury (in original ribbon copy and holograph drafts. Also in Xerox and tearsheets.)

• Articles
• Introductions
• Story Prefaces
• Parodies
• Listings
• Letters
• Profiles
• Books

SECTION 57 Material Relating to The Ray Bradbury Companion:

• Galleys
• Unbound Sheets
• Promo Material
• Working Manuscript
• Listings

SECTION 58 Adaptations of Bradbury's Work by Other Writers (in mimeo and Xerox)

• Television
• Radio

SECTION 59 Adaptations of Bradbury Stories From E. C. Comics (Complete set of Tearsheets) (including a special signed issue of Wierd Science

SECTION 60 Special Bradbury Items:

• Folio Set of Hannes Bok
• Short Story Galleys on "I, Rocket"
• Color Proofs
• Promo Folder
• Dust Jackets
• Maps, etc.

SECTION 61 Play Programs of Bradbury Stage Productions, plus assorted booklets and catalogs

SECTION 62 Promotional Material on Bradbury, Including

• Fliers and Posters

SECTION 63 Original Photo Prints:

• Bradbury at various ages, Bradbury's family, manuscript pages, etc.

SECTION 64 Listings of Bradbury's Work:

• Bibliography on RB by Helen Lewis
• List of Early Sales
• RB Checklist by Donn Albright
• Bradbury in Translation
• Critical/Story Listings

SECTION 65 Additions to the Collection

Manuscripts by Subject | Rare Books & Special Collections