Harry Whittington manuscripts

Collection — Box: 323

Identifier: MSS 0-313

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Three typrescript drafts of books by H. Whittington: 'Trouble Rides Tall' (1958), 'Play for Keeps' (1957), and 'Strangers on Friday' (1959).

Dates

1957-1959
Other: Date acquired: 01/06/1961

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open to all researchers.

Conditions Governing Use

All requests for permission to quote, publish, broadcast or otherwise reproduce from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Associate Dean for Special Collections & Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Florida State University Libraries as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.

Biographical or Historical Information

Harry Benjamin Whittington was born in Ocala, Florida on February 4, 1915. He married Kathryn L. Lavinia Odom and father two children, Harriet Kathryn Beebe and Howard Hardee.

Whittington has been called the "king" of paperback fiction. Between 1951 and 1963, he produced 85 books, primarily crime fiction but also westerns and other genres as well. He was educated in the Florida public schools and took night classes in English. He worked as a copywriter for an advertising agency, a postal worker, an editor, a freelance writer, a screenwriter, and an editor and writer for US Department of Agriculture. He wrote under a variety of pseudonyms and seemed to select his name to match his genre. For example, he chose Ashley Carter as a nom de plume for a series of pre-Civil War plantation novels. Other pseudonyms he used include Tabor Evans, Whit Harrison, Kel Holland, Harriet Kathryn Myers, Blaine Stevens, Clay Stuart, Hondo Wells, Harry White, and Hallam Whitney.

Extent

5.00 folders (5 folders.)

0 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Source of Acquisition

Donated by Harry Whittington

Method of Acquisition

Items were sent to FSU Libraries by Abelard-Schuman, publishers.

Related Materials

Whittington also donated several books to the Libraries which may be found in the Florida Collection in Special Collections & Archives or in the Main Collection of Strozier Library.