Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
Otto Binder Collection
Date(s)
- 1929-1971 (Creation)
Extent
10 boxes and 2 oversized folders
Name of creator
Biographical history
Otto Oscar Binder began writing science fiction with his brother Earl under the pen name Eando Binder and was first published in 1932. He kept the name Eando after Earl retired from writing in 1936. By 1935 they had produced 450,000 words, and by 1938, according to science fiction authority Sam Moskowitz, "Eando Binder had become one of the three most popular writers in the field." His popularity reached its height with his introduction of Adam Link, a very different robot conceptualization. Binder had a talent for plotting and was credited with being one of the more imaginative writers of the period. He largely left the science fiction field in the 1940s to write continuities for the Captain Marvel comic book series, which he did for 17 years. He made a brief and largely unsuccessful attempt to return to science fiction writing in the early 1950s. His last science fiction appearance was Mankind: Child of the Stars, with Max Hugh Flindt. Binder also wrote more than 300 nonfiction articles and wrote extensively on unidentified flying objects.
Otto Binder also wrote under the names John Coleridge, Dean D. O'Brien, Gordon A. Giles, Ione (or Ian) Frances Turek, and may have written under the house name Will Garth. He was an editor of two space magazines, Space World, and Jets and Rockets.
There are several sources available about Otto Binder, including:
- Clute, John. The Science Fiction Encyclopedia (St. Martin's, 1993), p. 121-122.
- Reginald, R.. Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, A Checklist 1700-1974, with Contemporary Science Fiction Authors II. Detroit, MI: Gale Research, 1979. Volume 2, p. 817-818.
- Ash, Brian. The Visual Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. New York: Harmony, 1977, pp. 133.
Obituary, New York Times, October 19, 1974., p. 34
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
This collection consists of typescripts of several of Binder's novels with most including the author's corrections and accompanying carbons, and a number of short stories with most corrected including carbons and in some cases tearsheets from the magazines in which the stories initially appeared, corrected and with continuation sheets for expansion into full-length books.
In addition, there are close to 300 business and personal letters, photographs, postcards, and other files including broadcasting projects, non-fiction articles, letters and critiques from literary agents and publishers, materials on Space World, and several folders of unfinished manuscripts. Unusual "picture cards" featuring text and photographs on postcards are included.
Excluding duplicate carbons, letters, etc., there are approximately 2,300 pages (mostly 11 x 8.5-inches) of typescript with a total of about 575,000 words. Many of Binder's letters are on letters received or on the backs of manuscript or script fragments.
System of arrangement
This collection is arranged into multiple series. Items are arranged chronologically where publication date of work is known.
Series 1: Manuscripts
Series 2: Correspondence
Series 3: Other Materials
Series 4: Oversized Materials
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
Physical access
These materials are stored offsite and require additional time for retrieval.
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Binder originally bequeathed this material to Sam Moskowitz. It was later "borrowed" from Moskowitz's papers, and later came up for sale from James Cummins Bookseller in 2002. It was purchased originally as an addendum to the Sam Moskowitz Collection.
Immediate source of acquisition
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Related descriptions
Notes element
Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Sources used
Archivist's note
Finding Aid Authors: Hal Hall.
Reprocessed by Jeremy Brett in August 2023.
Archivist's note
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