Richard Halliburton Papers

Halliburton, Richard (1900-1939)

Richard Halliburton was an American traveler, adventurer, and author, whose books about his exploits captured the romantic spirit of his generation. He followed Ulysses' route through the Mediterranean and emulated Lord Byron by swimming the Hellespont. He swam the Panama Canal, ran from Marathon to Athens, visited the penal colony at Devil's Island, and climbed the Matterhorn, Mount Olympus, and Mount Fuji. These and other experiences became the basis for Halliburton's romantic narratives; and his literary career developed out of his meticulous logging of events that occurred on his adventures. However, in March 1939, Halliburton left Hong Kong aboard a motor-powered Chinese junk called the "Sea Dragon", which he had built, en route to San Francisco. Both he and his boat disappeared after encountering a severe typhoon, some 1,200 miles west of Midway Island.

The papers span Halliburton's short but adventurous life, from his Lawrenceville School essay, "Disillusioned," through his Princeton University years (Princeton Class of 1921), his years of worldwide travel, lecturing, and writing, to his posthumously-published "autobiography" of letters to his parents (1940). Autograph and/or typescript drafts of seven of his books, The Royal Road to Romance (1925), The Glorious Adventure (1927), New Worlds to Conquer (1929), The Flying Carpet (1932), Seven League Boots (1935), A Book of Marvels (1937), and Second Book of Marvels (1938), are present, as are some short stories, essays, and notes from his school days. There are also passports, publishing contracts, memorabilia, maps, and newspapers clippings. Halliburton's numerous letters to his parents (1919-1939) provide a vivid account of his travels, and they are supplemented by a large quanitity of photographic prints and negatives documenting the locations he visited, many of which were never published in his books. Correspondence of others includes letters from Devil's Island prisoners, with some manuscripts. Also present are Halliburton's research materials for a biography of Rupert Brooke that he never wrote, including his correspondence with Brooke's friends and acquaintances and summaries of interviews he had with them, as well as copies of Brooke's works and correspondence, some clippings, and photographs.

The collection is arranged into the following five series: Works; Correspondence; Biographical Materials; Photographs; and Papers of Others.

Publications: All of Halliburton's books were published by Bobbs-Merrill of Indianapolis: The Royal Road to Romance (1925), The Glorious Adventure (1927), New Worlds to Conquer (1929), The Flying Carpet (1932), Seven League Boots (1935), A Book of Marvels (1937), Second Book of Marvels (1938), Richard Halliburton: His Story of His Life's Adventures (1940).

Papers of Halliburton are a gift of Wesley Halliburton. Collection of letters and telegrams from Halliburton to his editor is a gift of Thomas Orchard. Photographs are a gift of William C. Wilson. Misc. manuscripts, documents, correspondence are a gift of the First National Bank of Memphis. 3 Letters from Halliburton to P.L. Williams were purchased in 2005. An inscribed copy of The Royal Road to Romance was a gift of Patricia A. Oakes in 2017.

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

Finding aid updated and all photographic materials rehoused by Kelly Bolding in 2016, with assistance from Fiona Bell '18. Lexy deGraffenreid updated the Conditions Governing Access note in January 2025.

No appraisal information is available.

Use

Copyright and literary rights for materials created by Richard Halliburton in this collection are held by the Trustees of Princeton University. Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, any copyright vested in the donor has passed to The Trustees of Princeton University and researchers do not need to obtain permission, complete any forms, or receive a letter to move forward with use of donor-created materials within the collection. For materials in the collection not created by the donor, or where the material is not an original, the copyright is likely not held by the University. In these instances, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have a question about who owns the copyright for an item, you may request clarification by contacting us through the Ask Us! form.

Preferred Citation

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Richard Halliburton Papers, Box and Folder Number; Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Publisher

Manuscripts Division

Date

2002

Creator

Halliburton, Richard (1900-1939)

Subject

Adventure and adventurers -- 20th century

Fathers and sons -- United States -- 20th century

Prisoners' writings, French -- French Guiana -- Devil's Island. -- 20th century

Schools, Russian -- photographs

Seri Indians -- photographs

Students -- Soviet Union -- photographs

Travelers -- Maps

Voyages and travels -- 20th century

Voyages around the world -- 20th century

Taj Mahal (Agra, India) -- photographs

People

Brooke, Rupert (1887-1915)

Organization

France. Armée de terre. Légion étrangère

Place

Angkor (city). -- photographs

Athens (Greece) -- photographs

Athos (Greece) -- photographs

Baalbek (Lebanon). -- photographs

Bagdad (Iraq). -- photographs

Bali (Indonesia). -- photographs

Borneo (Malaya). -- photographs

Boulder Dam (Colo.). -- photographs

Corfu Island (Greece) -- photographs

Dardanelles. -- photographs

Devil's Island (French Guiana) -- photographs

Egypt -- photographs

Ethiopia -- photographs

Fort Jefferson (Fla.) -- photographs

Gibraltar -- photographs

Greece -- photographs

Iguazu Falls (Brazil). -- photographs

Iran -- photographs

Istanbul (Turkey) -- photographs

Ithakē (Greece) -- photographs

Java (Indonesia) -- photographs

Jerusalem (Israel). -- photographs

Kasmir (India). -- photographs

Ladakh (India). -- photographs

Leh (India) -- photographs

Macchu Picchu (Peru). -- photographs

Manila (Philippines) -- photographs

Morocco -- photographs

Moscow (R.S.F.S.R.). -- photographs

Olympus, Mount (Greece) -- photographs

Petra (Extinct city) -- photographs

Saint Petersburg (Russia) -- photographs

San Salvador. -- photographs

Taorima (Sicily). -- photographs

Tempe (Greece). -- photographs

Thailand -- photographs

Tiberias Lake (Israel). -- photographs

Timbuctoo (Mali). -- photographs

Vladivostok (Russia) -- photographs

Occupation

Authors and publishers -- United States -- 20th century

Travelers, American. -- 20th century

Language

English

Form

Contracts

Correspondence

Drafts (preliminary versions)

Maps

photographs -- 20th century