Sheldon R. Jaffery Papers

The Sheldon R. Jaffery Papers includes correspondence, manuscripts, research files and notes, manuscript drafts and specialist catalogs related to Jaffery's literary interests and publications.

The collection reflects various aspects of Jaffery's interest in science fiction, fantasy, and horror literature and centers on his personal interests in Arkham House books, weird menace pulp fiction, DAW books, and his book dealer business. The majority of the collection consists of correspondence, research material, and manuscript drafts of eight books Jaffery has written, including Horrors and Unpleasantries: A Collector's Price Guide and Bibliography of Arkham House (1982), The Collector's Index to Weird Tales (1985), Sensuous Science Fiction (1984), The Weirds (1987), Selected Tales of Grim and Grue from the Horror Pulps (1987), Future and Fantastic Worlds: A Bibliographical (1972-1987), Retrospective of DAW Books (1987), The Corpse Maker (1988), and The Arkham House Companion (1989). The majority of the manuscript material is from the 1980s, although some of the Arkham House documents date back to 1946.

The author's manuscripts are not literary works, per se. Rather, Jaffery's strengths lie in his work as a collector, researcher and bibliographer. Of particular value is the correspondence Jaffery conducted with many of the original Arkham House authors while compiling his book Horrors and Unpleasantries. Also of significance are the original Arkham House trade catalogs and brochures and the photocopied Arkham House correspondence from August Derleth that Jaffery used as primary research material for the guide. Correspondence between DAW books' publisher Donald A. Wollheim and Jaffery complements the Future and Fantastic Worldssection of the collection. The massive amount of research material used by Jaffery to compile the The Collector's Index to Weird Talesis also valuable to researchers, along with the hundreds of specialist book dealer catalogs Jaffery gathered. A highlight of the collection is Jaffery's near complete series of Arkham House books and DAW books, which complement the Browne Popular Culture Library's prior holdings of fanzines and pulp magazines, where many of the writers of these books first had their work published.

The first 8 boxes of the Sheldon R. Jaffery Papers have been processed and included in the inventory. However, the initial finding aid includes a description of both the processed and the unprocessed materials in its Series Description note, transcribed below:

Series I: Horrors and Unpleasantries/The Arkham House Companion (8 boxes), 1947-1989. Arranged alphabetically by correspondent's name and then chronologically. Includes Correspondence with Arkham House authors, Arkham House Publishing Company personnel, other Arkham House researchers, and miscellaneous potential publishing companies, including the Popular Press, the final publisher of Horrors and Unpleasantries (1982). Research materials and manuscripts for the book are included, as well as publicity and review material and original Arkham House catalogs and brochures. The manuscript, correspondence, research materials, and Arkham House catalogs used for compiling the revised edition, The Arkham House Companion (1989), are also part of the series.

Series II: The Collector's Index to Weird Tales (4 boxes), 1983-1988. Arranged alphabetically by correspondent's name and chronologically by functional type. Includes Correspondence with other Weird Tales researchers and with Popular Press personnel. Jaffery's research materials, including index cards used to compile the guide, are contained as well as manuscripts, promotional material, and reviews.

Series III: Sensuous Science Fiction (1 box), 1983-1987. Arranged alphabetically by correspondent's name and by functional type. Includes Correspondence with fellow researchers, Popular Press personnel, and photocopying receipts and related correspondence. Jaffery's research files, manuscripts, and a review of the book are included.

Series IV: The Weirds (1 box), 1985-1987. Arranged by functional type. Correspondence is arranged alphabetically by letter writer's name. Includes photocopying receipts, research notes, and manuscripts.

Series V: Selected Tales of Grim and Grue from the Horror Pulps (1 box), 1972?-1989. Arranged by functional type. Correspondence is arranged alphabetically by letter writer's name. Includes receipts, research notes, and manuscripts.

Series VI: Future and Fantastic Worlds (2 boxes), 1986-1987. Arranged chronologically by functional type and alphabetically by correspondent's name. Includes Correspondence with other DAW researchers, DAW Books, Inc. personnel, and Starmont House personnel. Includes research material, manuscripts, photocopied book covers, legal documents, and receipts.

Series VII: The Corpse-Maker (1 Box), 1988. Arranged in the same order as published book. Consists of the manuscript for this anthology of stories by Hugh B. Cave.

Series VIII: Otherworld's Material (4 boxes), 1971-1989. Arranged alphabetically be dealer's or correspondent's nameIncludes book dealer and company catalogs, such as those from McClintock Books, Pandor's Books Ltd., J. and Kennelly, Soft Books and Robert and Phyllis Weinberg. Correspondence relating to Jaffery's book dealer business "Otherworld's" is contained along with miscellaneous professional correspondence.

Series IX: Miscellaneous Material (3 boxes)1983-1989Includes publications seemingly unrelated to the previous series or subseries which are arranged in rough chronological order. Also lists fanzines and periodicals from the Jaffery Collection that have been intershelved with related materials at the Browne Popular Culture Library.

Series X: Duplicate Books (1 box)1983-1988Duplicate copies of books published by Sheldon R. Jaffery are included in this series.