Table of Contents
Scope and Contents of the Collection
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Overview of the Collection |
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| Creator: | Sinclair, Upton, 1878-1968. |
| Title: | Upton Sinclair Letters |
| Inclusive Dates: | 1939-1951 |
| Quantity: | 1 folder (SC) |
| Abstract: | Letters from American author Upton Sinclair to Melville Kress. |
| Language: | English |
| Repository: |
Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries 222 Waverly Avenue Syracuse, NY 13244-2010 https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center |
Biographical History
Upton Sinclair (1878-1968) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American author, best known for his novels exposing corruption and poor social, economic and working conditions. His 1906 novel The Jungle led to reforms in the American meat-packing industry, including passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act. He ran twice for Congress on the Socialist Party candidate, unsuccessfully, and was the Democratic nominee for Governor of California in 1934. The campaign captured a great deal of attention; conservatives portrayed Sinclair as a Communist and circulated quotes from his novels taken out of context in an attempt to prove that he was an enemy of military veterans, lawyers, businessmen, the Knights of Columbus, universities, Christianity, and the Boy Scouts, among other things. He was defeated by his opponent, Frank F. Merriam. The campaign is notable for being one of the first to employ mass media techniques.
Melville Kress was a self-educated factory worker who took an interest In Upton Sinclair’s writings. The two corresponded regularly, and when Sinclair began writing his eleven-volume series of historical novels regarding the years leading up to World War II, he asked Kress to review each chapter.
Scope and Contents of the Collection
The Upton Sinclair Letters consists of twenty signed typescript letters from Upton Sinclair to Melville Kress concerning literary matters, primarily Sinclair's "World's End" series of historical novels. The collection does not include any letters from Kress.
Restrictions
Access Restrictions
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Use Restrictions
Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.
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Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Upton Sinclair Letters,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries
Acquisition Information
Purchase, 2015.
Finding Aid Information
Created by: MRC
Date: 12 Jan 2015
Revision history: