HarperCollins Publishers

Page from the original manuscript of “The Man from Snowy River”

A handwritten page from the original manuscript of “The Man from Snowy River” by Banjo Paterson. More

Letter from Stella Miles Franklin submitting her novel My Brilliant Career

Stella Miles Franklin submitted this letter along with the manuscript of her first novel, My Brilliant Career, to Angus & Robertson in Australia, in March 1899, when she was just nineteen years old. More

Sympathy telegram to Coretta Scott King following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

The day after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (April 5, 1968), Harper honorary director Cass Canfield sent this telegram... More

Letter to Eleanor Roosevelt regarding a new autobiographical book

Harper editor and chairman of the board Cass Canfield sent this letter, dated April 10, 1951, to Eleanor Roosevelt... More

“A Word of Apology” from Harper & Brothers regarding the Harper fire of 1853

In this “Word of Apology” published in Harper’s New Monthly Magazine in January 1854, the Harper brothers address the devastating fire that ruined their New York City offices on Cliff Street in late 1853. More

Telegram regarding the publication of One Hundred Years of Solitude

In this Western Union telegram dated September 14, 1967, from Cass Canfield Jr. (an editor at Harper) to Carmen Balcells (the agent of Gabriel García Márquez)... More

Handwritten letter from John Gray regarding his manuscript for Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus

John Gray sent 330 pages of his manuscript for Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus to his editor Susan Moldow on September 25, 1991, accompanied by this handwritten note. More

Original proposal for Lawrence Hill’s The Book of Negroes

Lawrence Hill’s agent, Janet Turnbull Irving, submitted this one-page summary for his as yet unwritten novel Migration to HarperCollins Canada Editor-in-Chief Iris Tupholme in 1998. More

Internal memo from Collins Canada announcing a hot air balloon publicity stunt

To launch the new Canadian trade paperback imprint Totem, in September 1975, Collins Canada’s head of publicity Lucinda Vardey organized the release of hot air balloons over Toronto and neighboring suburbs. More

Cigarette packet with Timothy Findley’s handwritten book proposal for Pilgrim

While at lunch with his editor, Iris Tupholme, Canadian author Timothy Findley reached into his pocket to read from a note that he had written on the inside flap of his cigarette package. More

A planning meeting at Collins Canada, circa 1940s

In this photograph, Charles H. Sweeny, Editorial and Production, F. F. Appleton, publisher (center), and Margaret V. Paull, staff artist and typographer, plan the first Canadian production of Little Grey Rabbit Books. More

Employees in the Collins Canada mailroom, circa 1940s

Collins Canada employees working in the general office during the 1940s More

Employees in the Collins Canada general office, circa 1940s

Collins Canada employees working in the general office during the 1940s More

Original contract for Thorn-Apple Tree

Grace Campbell’s debut novel, Thorn-Apple Tree, was one of the earliest works of fiction written by a Canadian to be published by William Collins Sons & Co. Canada Ltd. More

Candy package with Timothy Findley’s plans for his novella You Went Away

Canadian author Timothy Findley’s only novella, You Went Away (1996), was based on his parents’ marriage. More

Canada Post stamp honoring Harlequin

This stamp from Canada Post was created in 2000 to honor Harlequin’s history in the country. More

Signed copy of the first book ever published by Mills & Boon

A copy of the first book ever published by Mills & Boon, Arrows from the Dark by Sophie Cole (1909), signed by Messrs. Gerald Mills and Charles Boon. More

Prince Charles reading a Harlequin Mills & Boon title

Prince Charles checks out The Pirate by Jayne Ann Krentz, a Harlequin Mills & Boon title, at the library in Perth, Scotland, in 1995. More

Brochure from the 2009 celebration of Debbie Macomber’s fictional town of Cedar Cove

In August 2009, the real town of Port Orchard, Washington (bestselling romance author Debbie Macomber’s hometown), turned itself into Macomber’s fictional town of Cedar Cove for five days... More

Original artwork suggested by Syd Hoff for Danny and the Dinosaur

Illustrator Syd Hoff sent these sketches to Ursula Nordstrom, head of the U.S. Harper Children’s division, as suggestions for the now-classic Danny and the Dinosaur. More

Letter from Russell Hoban, author of Bread and Jam for Frances

Russell Hoban is known for his classic series about Frances, a badger who is a picky eater with a huge aversion to eggs (Bread and Jam for Frances). More

Letter from John Donovan submitting the manuscript for I’ll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip.

In June 1968, author John Donovan wrote to Ursula Nordstrom, head of the U.S. Harper Children’s division, asking her to read the manuscript... More

Letter from Garth Williams regarding illustrations for the Little House series

When acclaimed illustrator Garth Williams was commissioned to create new illustrations for Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series, he traveled west to see the actual sites Wilder referred to in her writings and to meet Laura herself. More

Letter from Fred Gipson regarding Old Yeller

Old Yeller is the beloved tale of a boy and his loyal, clever, “big yeller” dog. More

Letter recommending Sounder for publication

Harper editor Ferd Monjo wrote this letter to the head of the U.S. Harper Children’s division, Ursula Nordstrom, regarding a manuscript he had received in July 1968. More

Letter from Ursula Nordstrom regarding Frog and Toad Are Friends

This humorous letter from 1970 was written by Ursula Nordstrom, head of the U.S. Harper Children’s division, to Frog and Toad Are Friends author and illustrator Arnold Lobel. More

Letter from Arnold Lobel regarding Frog and Toad Are Friends

This handwritten letter from Arnold Lobel to Ursula Nordstrom, head of the Harper Children’s division in the U.S., accompanied the submission of his manuscript for the now-classic Frog and Toad Are Friends. More

Letter from Katharine White (E. B. White’s wife) regarding Stuart Little’s illustrations

Letter from Katherine White (E. B. White’s wife) regarding Stuart Little’s illustrations

This letter from E. B. White’s wife, Katharine White, to Ursula Nordstrom, head of the U.S. Harper Children’s division, expresses her husband’s excitement... More

Letter from E. B. White regarding Stuart Little

B. White (Andy) writes to his editor Eugene Saxton (Gene), presenting his manuscript for Stuart Little... More

Marketing and publicity brochure for Charlotte’s Web

This 1963 marketing and publicity brochure for Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White includes a letter from White explaining how he got the idea for the story. More

Sam Moore with Ronald Reagan

Sam Moore was the founder of Royal Publishing, which acquired Thomas Nelson in 1969 and adopted its name. More

Original editorial correspondence regarding Joni Eareckson Tada

A diving accident in 1967 left Joni Eareckson, then seventeen, a quadriplegic in a wheelchair, without the use of her hands. More

The Zondervans on their silver anniversary

Bernie and Pat Zondervan, founders of the religious publishing firm Zondervan, review some of their early publications on the silver anniversary of their company in 1956. More

The Zondervan brothers

Bernie and Pat Zondervan (founders of religious publishing firm Zondervan) in their first store in Grand Rapids in 1933, shortly before they began publishing books. More

Bernie and Pat Zondervan outside their Grand Rapids headquarters

The publishing house of Zondervan was launched during the Great Depression (1931) by brothers Pat and Bernie Zondervan in the spare bedroom of a Michigan farmhouse. More

Letter from C. S. Lewis

In this letter to Collins publisher Billy Collins, dated November 1954, C. S. Lewis—author of The Chronicles of Narnia series, Mere Christianity, and The Screwtape Letters, among others—outlines what he sees as his three types of “literary output”: “A. Religious and General. B. Fiction. C. Academic.” More

Author: Allen Yee