Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
The Hyborian Age Archives
Date(s)
- 1938-1968 (Creation)
Extent
1 box
Name of creator
Biographical history
John D. Clark (1907-1988) was a noted American chemist and science fiction writer and fan. He received his Ph.D. from Stanford in 1934. From 1949 to 1970 he was the Chief Chemist at the Naval Air Rocket Test Station in Dover, New Jersey, which later became the Liquid Rocket Propulsion Laboratory of Picatinny Arsenal, where he developed liquid propellants. In 1972 he published a nonfiction work, Ignition! An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants which included a preface by his friend, Isaac Asimov.
Clark was an active member of the early science fiction community. He published several stories in the 1930s with his friend L. Sprague de Camp and was friendly with other notable figures including L. Ron Hubbard and Fletcher Pratt. He became a fan of Robert E. Howard's fantasy stories in the 1930s. With P. Schuyler Miller, Clark worked out an outline of Conan's career as well as a map of his world, which he sent to Howard, who confirmed and corrected their findings, which were eventually published in the 1938 fanzine The Hyborian Age. Recognized as an early authority on Howard's work, Clark was invited to write introductions to the Gnome Press collections of his work in the 1950s. The Archive contains the materials relating to the publication and revisions of these items.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
This archive of documents are from the Robert E. Howard file of John D. Clark. Included are correspondence, manuscript (including drawn maps of Howard's Hyborian Age universe, and published material relating to the 1950s republication of Conan the Barbarian stories.
System of arrangement
Papers are arranged chronologically.
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
From the estate of John D. Clark.
Immediate source of acquisition
Purchased by L.W. Currey.