Large group of material from the family of A.J. Waterhouse, California journalist, writer, newspaper editor, and poet. Includes letters and copies of letters between A.J. Waterhouse and his family members; letters from other California literary figures to A.J. Waterhouse; notebooks and scrapbooks of his writings; two books by Waterhouse, inscribed to his wife and his daughter; and more.
Fascinating literary archive revealing much of the life and career of this California newspaper editor and writer, respected and well-known in his day. Alfred James Waterhouse, 1855-1928, was at various times editor at the San Francisco Examiner, Sacramento Bee, Stockton Mail, Fresno Republican, Santa Ana Blade, and Marysville Democrat. He was also a poet of some note, authoring two published volumes, “Some Homely Little Songs” (1899) and “Lays for Little Chaps” (1902), both present here, the former inscribed to his wife, the latter to his daughter Dorothy. Waterhouse was friends with Jack London, Ina Coolbrith, and Joaquin Miller, among other members of the northern California literati, and in a small family photo album that is present in the collection is a photograph of the Waterhouses and Millers seated on a doorstep. There is a scrapbook containing many printed and typed poems by Waterhouse, and another in holograph manuscript. Among the letters between Waterhouse and his family are revelations of his earlier, tragic marriage; his courtship of his second wife, Lillian Francis Hines (or Frances Lillian Hines, she apparently could not make up her mind); his estrangement from his daughter Ruth from his first marriage; and many other personal details. An intriguing archive of an influential if unremembered figure from the early days of California journalism, when such giants as William Randolph Hearst held sway.