Scope and Content Note
The papers of John Steinbeck (1902-1968) span the years 1939-1990, with the bulk of the material dating from 1939 to 1941. Of his literary work, the collection includes typescripts with holograph corrections and galleys of The Grapes of Wrath and Sea of Cortez: A Leisurely Journal of Travel and Research, the latter coauthored by Edward Flanders Ricketts, together with related material. A letter by Steinbeck to friends Cynthia Rogers Wallsten and Robert Wallsten describes his stay on Capri Island, Italy, in 1962.
The 2022 Addition includes correspondence from Elaine A. Steinbeck to her mother, Libbie Adeline Anderson, and other family members. Letters and postcards include details and updates about Elaine A. Steinbeck's daughter, Waverly Scott Kaffaga, and John Steinbeck's sons, Thomas Steinbeck and John Steinbeck IV; John Steinbeck's health; John Steinbeck IV's departure to Vietnam as an army specialist; life in Sag Harbor, New York; and traveling in England, France, and Italy. Correspondence from John Steinbeck to Eugene Istomin notes his refusal to take part publicly in American politics, and Steinbeck's published letter to Adlai E. Stevenson II in the March 1960 issue of Coronet addresses the topic of immorality in the United States. Photographs include an Associated Press image of Steinbeck with John Steinbeck IV in Saigon, Vietnam, in 1966.