Robert E. Howard on Display at the Harry Ransom Center Essay
Well, Two-Gun Bob has made it to the big time — he has a display of his writings and publications at the Harry Ransom Center.
As noted in my previous post, the Center acquired the Glenn Lord Collection of Howard’s typescripts. Here is a blurb from the official press release:
Howard maintained a regular correspondence for six years with fantasy writer H.P. Lovecraft, and the two debated the merits of civilization vs. barbarianism, cities and society vs.
the frontier, the mental vs. the physical and other subjects. Some of this correspondence is preserved in the collection.Other highlights in the collection include Howard’s hand-drawn map of Earth in the Hyborian Age, the setting for his Conan stories; original typescripts of works such as “The Hour of the Dragon” and “The God in the Bowl”; and a handwritten draft of his play “Bran Mak Morn.”Lord became a collector of Howard’s work in the 1950s and amassed the world’s largest collection of Howard’s stories, poems and letters. Lord served as the literary agent for Howard’s heirs for almost 30 years, and his collection was used as the source text for almost every published Howard work appearing in books and magazines between 1965 and 1997.
The materials will be accessible once processed and cataloged. Two cases of Howard materials will be on display in the Ransom Center’s lobby through Sept. 3.
Whether it is a coincidence or not, this display runs concurrently with Worldcon 71, which has a heavy emphasis on REH in its program line-up. Austin is pretty darn close to San Antonio, so it is certainly worth a little side trip if you are attending the convention and have the time to see this fantastic display of Howardia.
Excellent news story on YouTube about Glenn, REH and the collection donated to the Harry Ransom Center.
