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Creator
Campbell, Joseph, 1904-1987
Call number
MssCol 23930
Physical description
83.65 linear feet (203 boxes)
Language
English
Preferred Citation
Joseph Campbell papers, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library
Repository
Manuscripts and Archives Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

Joseph Campbell was a mythologist, author, lecturer, and professor of literature at Sarah Lawrence College. His papers date from 1905 to 1995, and contain his writing, research, lectures, correspondence, photographs, and press clippings. The collection consists of files pertaining to Campbell's career in academia, and his research and writings on comparative mythology and literature.

Biographical/historical information

Joseph Campbell (1904-1987) was an American mythologist, author, lecturer, and professor of literature at Sarah Lawrence College. He is best known for his 1949 book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, which introduced the concept of the monomyth, Campbell's theory that the archetypical hero's journey is shared across world mythologies.

Campbell was born in White Plains, New York on March 26, 1905, and grew up in New Rochelle, New York. Campbell graduated from the Canterbury School, in New Milford, Connecticut in 1921, and began classes at Dartmouth College. Two years later, Campbell transferred to Columbia University, where he earned a Bachelor's degree in English Literature in 1925, and a Master's degree in Arthurian Studies in 1927. Campbell spent the following two years studying in Europe at the University of Paris and University of Munich.

Upon returning from Europe, Campbell moved to Woodstock, New York, and began writing short fiction and novels. Between 1931 and 1932, Campbell spent time in California where he befriended John and Carol Steinbeck, and accompanied the marine biologist Ed Ricketts on a trip to Juneau, Alaska. The following year, Campbell took a teaching job at the Canterbury school, while also seeking a full-time position in higher education.

Campbell accepted a job as a Professor of Literature at Sarah Lawrence College in 1934. Four years later he married the dancer and choreographer, Jean Erdman, who was one of his former students. Campbell published his first book in 1943, a collaboration with Maude Oakes and Jeff King entitled, Where the Two Came to Their Father. Campbell was greatly influenced by the writing of both James Joyce and Thomas Mann, and published books on both authors. A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake (1944) was written with Henry Morton Robinson, and was one of the first major textual analyses of Joyce's Finnegans Wake.

Campbell published a number of books on comparative mythology, which included The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949); The Mythic Image (1974); the four-volume The Masks of God (1959-1968); the essay collection, The Flight of the Wild Gander; and The Historical Atlas of World Mythology, which was first published in 1983. Campbell had intended to publish four volumes of The Historical Atlas of World Mythology, but only the first volume was completed in his lifetime.

Throughout his career Campbell collaborated on many writing projects, often as an editor. His most significant editing project was the works of the German scholar, Heinrich Zimmer. After Zimmer's death in 1943, Campbell was tasked with editing and publishing Zimmer's writing. These books include Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization (1946), The King and the Corpse: Tales of the Soul's Conquest of Evil (1948), Philosophies of India (1951), and The Art of Indian Asia (1955). After completing this final volume of Zimmer's work, Campbell took a sabbatical from Sarah Lawrence and made his first trip to Asia, spending the bulk of his time in India and Japan.

Campbell was also a prolific public speaker and lecturer, and travelled around the country to conferences, workshops, and speaking engagements. Two of his books, Myths to Live By (1972) and The Inner Reaches of Outer Space: Metaphor as Myths and as Religion (1986), are based on his lectures. Campbell spent his career publishing and lecturing, and remained at Sarah Lawrence until his retirement in 1972. That same year he co-founded Theater of the Open Eye in New York City with Jean Erdman. The theater served as a venue for Campbell's lectures, as well as Erdman's dance and theatrical works.

Between 1985 and 1987, Campbell recorded a series of conversations with the journalist, Bill Moyers. On October 30, 1987, Campbell died in Honolulu, HI. His conversations with Moyers were broadcast a year later as the television series, The Power of Myth. This television series brought increased attention and recognition to Campbell's work.

In 1990, the Joseph Campbell Foundation was incorporated in an effort to preserve and promote Campbell's work.

Scope and arrangement

The Joseph Campbell papers date from 1905 to 1995 (bulk dates 1930s-1980s), and consist of materials related to Campbell's career as a college professor, lecturer, researcher, and author. The collection is arranged into eight Series, and holds Campbell's original writing; teaching materials; files from his appearances in film and television; his research files; correspondence; photographs; and press clippings. Campbell's files detail his research and writing work on mythology and literature, and chronicle the many lectures he gave throughout his career. The papers were previously held and processed by The OPUS Archives & Research Center at the Pacifica Graduate Institute, and include some materials that were added posthumously, such as lecture transcripts and outgoing correspondence. Projects started by Campbell in his lifetime and completed after his death, such as The Historical Atlas of World Mythology, are also held in the collection.

The Joseph Campbell papers are arranged in eight series:

  • Series I: Diaries and Journals
    1917-1977

    Series I contains an assortment of handwritten notebooks and some typescripts composed by Campbell between 1917 and 1977. This includes the Grampus journals, in which Campbell discusses his time in California in the 1930s, and his trip to Alaska with Ed Ricketts. The Grampus materials also contain a typed copy of an Ed Ricketts manuscript, and some materials related to John Steinbeck. Of note are Campbell's journals from his trip to Asia in the 1950s, which encompass an assortment of handwritten diaries, notes, outlines, an address book, and typed journals. Additionally, there are four bound books of original writings that were assembled posthumously. The writings are original, but the order is artificial. These bound writings contain project plans, notes, schedules, banking information, seminar outlines, lecture notes, and lists.

  • Series II: Writing
    1927-1995

    Series II dates from 1927 to 1995, and holds Campbell's original writings, comprising a mixture of manuscripts, drafts, materials intended for publication, and unpublished items. This includes pieces Campbell edited or produced in collaboration with other scholars; typed manuscripts; proposals for writing projects; published articles; and materials related to Campbell's published books.

    Editing and Collaborations comprises writings in which Campbell served as an editor, as well as pieces he authored with other writers. In the 1930s and 1940s, Campbell edited lectures from the Eranos conferences in Ascona, Switzerland, and prepared them for publication as Papers from the Eranos Yearbooks for Bollingen press. Campbell's notes and reports for this project are compiled in the Eranos Papers files. Also included are Campbell's notes and annotations on the papers of Heinrich Zimmer that he edited for publication. Of special interest is a handwritten draft script and notes from an opera collaboration with John Cage that was never produced, and a folder of Maya Deren's writings that Campbell edited.

    Among Campbell's writings is also a selection of manuscripts, most notably his 1927 Master's thesis, "A Study of Dolorous Stroke." There is also an assortment of partial drafts which were posthumously separated, arranged by topic, and labeled as "outtakes." These materials comprise handwritten drafts, typed excerpts, manuscript fragments, outlines, and notes. Many of these items also contain handwritten page numbers, but it is not evident where the writings originated, or with which work they are associated. Also included in the manuscript files are Campbell's fiction and short stories and a number of unpublished works.

    The Series also holds a small selection of proposals, most of which are from the 1950s. These proposals are for various writing and research projects, as well as Campbell's 1953 study trip to India.

    The Published Articles contain an assortment of Campbell's early pieces, reviews, and chronologically arranged published works in their final form.

    The Published Books files comprise notes, images, and manuscripts from Campbell's books. Included are materials from A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Masks of God, The Mythic Image, Inner Reaches of Outer Space, Flight of the Wild Gander, and Historical Atlas of World Mythology. The most comprehensive materials are from the Historical Atlas of World Mythology files, some of which were compiled after Campbell's death. There are handwritten and typed manuscripts, notes, research files, proofs, and many files of images intended for inclusion in the final text. The research materials are arranged alphabetically by topic, and also include some posthumously bound research notes.

  • Series III: Teaching
    1932-1987

    Series III contains files related to Campbell's work as a college professor and lecturer. The Series holds Campbell's CVs and a few certificates; files from Campbell's teaching work at Sarah Lawrence College, the Foreign Service Institute, and Theater of the Open Eye; a comprehensive collection of his lecture notes and outlines; some lecture texts and transcripts; and programs and flyers from various speaking engagements.

    The Sarah Lawrence files contain course lecture notes, outlines, and typed lecture texts and transcripts from Campbell's tenure at the college. These course materials were filed by year, but typically do not state the class title to which they correspond. The Foreign Service Institute files hold contracts, schedules and a lecture transcript, while the Theater of the Open Eye materials include board minutes, brochures, financial records, and schedules.

    The Lectures files are all arranged chronologically, and include each lecture's title, date, and the location, when this information was documented. The files comprise an assortment of notes, outlines, and transcripts that span over five decades. Materials from Campbell's lectures further assist to provide a detailed record of his public speaking and travel itinerary throughout his career.

  • Series IV: Film and Television
    1963-1987

    Series IV holds files that relate to Campbell's appearances and work in film and television. Files from Mask, Myth and Dream and The Power of Myth both contain transcripts of Campbell's televised lectures and conversations. The Series also hold a television proposal for The Mythic Landscape, and filmmaker's logs and notes for The Hero's Journey. All files are arranged chronologically by project.

  • Series V: Research Files
    1926-1980s

    Campbell's Research Files consist of handwritten notes and outlines, as well as some images, prints, and slides. The materials are all arranged alphabetically by subject matter, most of which are the names of countries or regions. The major exception is the Authors and Philosophers files, which comprise Campbell's notes on individuals such as William Blake, Franz Boas, Geoffrey Chaucer, James Joyce, Immanuel Kant, Marcel Proust, Claude Lévi- Strauss, Friedrich Nietzsche, and W.B. Yeats.

    The Series also holds files of reading notes, which includes materials removed from Campbell's personal book collection. The items removed from the book collection were placed in folders and labeled with specialized call numbers by OPUS. A list of Campbell's book collection and the numbering system can be found as an additional resource to the finding aid.

    Additionally, the Series holds a selection of posthumously bound notes. The arrangement of the research files, as well as the assigned subjects were likely applied after Campbell's death.

  • Series VI: Correspondence
    1929-1987

    Series VI contains Campbell's professional and personal correspondence, which dates from 1929 to 1987. The majority of the files are incoming letters, and are generally professional in nature. While most correspondence is arranged alphabetically by correspondent or organization name, there is a selection of letters to Campbell commenting on his books and lectures, which are filed by title. Most folders in the Series contain a single letter, and include a label displaying a typed summary of the letter's content. The major exception is correspondence between Campbell and Jean Erdman, where an abundance of incoming and outgoing letters is present, none of which were individually described. There is additional personal correspondence from Campbell's parents, immediate family, and close friends found in the Series as well.

  • Series VII: Photographs
    1905-1987

    Prints, slides, and negatives that were held by or depict Campbell are in Series VII. Most of the images are personal photographs, and portray Campbell's immediate family, friends, colleagues, his travels, and Campbell himself. The Series includes photographs of Campbell as a child, as a participant in college sports, and on vacation with his family. There are also professional portraits of Campbell, and photographs of such individuals as Christine Eliade, Simon Garrigues, Angela Gregory, C.G. Jung, Einar Palsson, Ed Ricketts, Dick Roberts, Carol Henning Steinbeck, Herbert K. Stone, and Heinrick Zimmer. While most of the photographs appear to have originated from Campbell and Erdman, there are some images of Campbell which were obtained from others to be used in posthumous book projects. All materials are arranged chronologically by topic, with the exception of two albums of photographs from the 1920s.

  • Series VIII: Press
    1918-1987

    Series VIII contains clippings of articles about Campbell and his work. The press files were previously arranged in a manner similar to the correspondence files in Series V. Most articles are in individual folders, and include a description of the material it holds. These files have been subsequently arranged by topic, which includes Awards; Books; Film and Television; Interviews and Profiles; Lectures; Reviews; and a scrapbook of press clippings dating from 1924 to 1944. All press files are further arranged chronologically within each topic.

Administrative information

Custodial history

Most of the collection was previously held and maintained by The OPUS Archives & Research Center at the Pacifica Graduate Institute, which acquired Campbell's papers from Jean Erdman and the Joseph Campbell Foundation in 1991. The foundation continued to deposit materials at OPUS in subsequent years, while also utilizing the collection for book projects and research purposes. Therefore, the collection does include some materials added to the collection after Campbell's death. Although the collection predominantly consists of Campbell's own original work, his arrangement was not always maintained by OPUS, and decisions regarding the collection's physical re-arrangement were not documented. There were additional papers that remained in the custody of Erdman and the Joseph Campbell Foundation, which were donated directly to the New York Public Library between 2016 and 2017.

Source of acquisition

Donated by the Joseph Campbell Foundation in 2016. Additional materials donated by Jean Erdman in 2017.

Processing information

Processed by Heather Lember and Kit Fluker in 2019.

Using the collection

Location

Manuscripts and Archives Division
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018-2788
Brooke Russell Astor Reading Room, Third Floor, Room 328

Additional resources