William F. Nolan Collection on Ray Bradbury

 Collection
Identifier: MS-0231

Collection Organization

As Bradbury’s friend and earliest bibliographer, William F. Nolan compiled an impressive collection of manuscripts, printed works, promotional items, speech transcripts, art works, and interviews. In addition to the impressive array of rare manuscripts, Nolan preserved a series of correspondence written to him by Bradbury from 1950 to 1980. These letters show the evolution of their friendship and provide insight into Bradbury’s process and work during the most prolific part of his career. The core of this collection is the large number of literary manuscripts of Bradbury’s works. This includes an original typed manuscript of Bradbury’s most popular novel, Fahrenheit 451; it also includes over 120 other manuscripts for short stories, scripts, screenplays and poems, often in multiple drafts. Many include holograph corrections and notes by Bradbury. Most of the included manuscripts are photocopies made of originals that were in Bradbury’s personal collection, or the collections of other friends of Bradbury. In many cases, the manuscript photocopies are the only publicly available copies of these drafts.

Researchers will find many unique items in the collection including adaptations of Ray Bradbury’s work by himself and others. This includes a copy of the comic book Weird Science #18, which reproduces Bradbury’s “Mars is Heaven” story from The Martian Chronicles. The comic book is signed by Bradbury, artist Wally Wood, writer Al Feldstein, and editor Bill Gaines. The collection also includes a copy of Bradbury’s script for John Huston’s 1956 film Moby Dick, the first of the many scripts Bradbury wrote for both stage and screen. Also included is a copy of The Dogs That Eat Sweet Grass, which was transcribed from a series of interviews Bradbury gave at UCLA. As part of his original register for the collection, William F. Nolan wrote notes describing each item in the collection. Copies of the notes are included in the folder for the corresponding item in the collection. The notes, which vary in detail from minimal to extensive, add context and sometimes speak to the provenance of the items in the collection. This collection includes several boxes of unprocessed materials, including photographs, copies of Bradbury's printed output in novels, compilations, and periodicals, as well as Nolan's research for his bibliographic writings on Bradbury.

Researchers interested in the science fiction genre and the many facets of Ray Bradbury’s life will find this collection invaluable.

Literary Manuscripts, 1938-1981, undated

 Series – Multiple Containers
Dates
Creation: 1938-1981, undated

"About Bill Nolan" by Ray Bradbury, 1963

 File – Box 1, Folder: 1
Dates
Creation: 1963

"About Face" (photocopy), 1961

 File – Box 1, Folder: 2
Dates
Creation: 1961

"After Many a Summer", undated

 File – Box 1, Folder: 3
Dates
Creation: undated

"All Summer In A Day", 1953

 File – Box 1, Folder: 4
Dates
Creation: 1953

"An American Journey"- Narration Script, 1964

 File – Box 1, Folder: 5
Dates
Creation: 1964

"The American Journey" (photocopy), 1964

 File – Box 1, Folder: 6
Dates
Creation: 1964

"And the Moon Be Still as Bright"- Teleplay, 1955

 File – Box 1, Folder: 7
Dates
Creation: 1955

"And the Rock Cried Out", undated

 File – Box 1, Folder: 8
Dates
Creation: undated

"And the Rock Cried Out"- 2nd Draft (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 1, Folder: 9
Dates
Creation: undated

"And the Rock Cried Out"- 3rd Draft (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 1, Folder: 10
Dates
Creation: undated

"And the Rock Cried Out"- Screenplay 1st Draft, 1957

 File – Box 1, Folder: 11
Dates
Creation: 1957

"And the Rock Cried Out"- Screenplay (photocopy), 1968

 File – Box 1, Folder: 12
Dates
Creation: 1968

"And the Rock Cried Out"- Screenplay, undated

 File – Box 1, Folder: 13
Dates
Creation: undated

"The Anthem Sprinters"- Play, 1969

 File – Box 2, Folder: 1
Dates
Creation: 1969

"Any Friend of Nicholas Nickelby's..."- Play, undated

 File – Box 2, Folder: 2
Dates
Creation: undated

"The April Witch"- First Draft (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 2, Folder: 3
Dates
Creation: undated

"The April Witch"- Second Draft (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 2, Folder: 4
Dates
Creation: undated

"The April Witch", undated

 File – Box 2, Folder: 5
Dates
Creation: undated

"The Aqueduct" (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 2, Folder: 6
Dates
Creation: undated

"The Arrival of the Carnival" (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 2, Folder: 7
Dates
Creation: undated

"Astro-Illogical" (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 2, Folder: 8
Dates
Creation: undated

"The Attic Where the Meadow Grows" (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 2, Folder: 9
Dates
Creation: undated

"The Beautiful Shave" (photocopy), 1951

 File – Box 2, Folder: 10
Dates
Creation: 1951

"The Beautiful Woman" by Charles Beaumont, edited by Ray Bradbury, undated

 File – Box 2, Folder: 11
Dates
Creation: undated

"The Beginnings of Imagination" (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 2, Folder: 12
Dates
Creation: undated

"Beyond the Reef"- Play, undated

 File – Box 2, Folder: 13
Dates
Creation: undated

"The Blue Bottle", ca. 1967

 File – Box 2, Folder: 14
Dates
Creation: ca. 1967

"To Build a Fire" (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 2, Folder: 15
Dates
Creation: undated

"The Bullet Trick" (photocopy), 1956

 File – Box 2, Folder: 16
Dates
Creation: 1956

"The Burning Man" (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 2, Folder: 17
Dates
Creation: undated

"Castle Deep" (photocopy), 1938

 File – Box 2, Folder: 18
Dates
Creation: 1938

"To The Chicago Abyss"- Play, undated

 File – Box 2, Folder: 19
Dates
Creation: undated

"Christmas on Mars" (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 2, Folder: 20
Dates
Creation: undated

"The Circus" (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 2, Folder: 21
Dates
Creation: undated

"Colonel Stonesteel's Genuine Home-Made Truly Egyptian Mummy" (photocopy), 1979

 File – Box 2, Folder: 22
Dates
Creation: 1979

"Colonel Stonesteel's Genuine Home-Made Truly Egyptian Mummy" (photocopy), 1979

 File – Box 2, Folder: 23
Dates
Creation: 1979

"Come, and Bring Constance"- Edited, undated

 File – Box 2, Folder: 24
Dates
Creation: undated

"Creative Man AMong His Servant Machines"- Speech, 1966

 File – Box 2, Folder: 25
Dates
Creation: 1966

"Dandelion Wine"- Musical, 1973

 File – Box 2, Folder: 26
Dates
Creation: 1973

"Dandelion Wine"- Musical (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 2, Folder: 27
Dates
Creation: undated

"A Device Out of Time"- Play, undated

 File – Box 2, Folder: 28
Dates
Creation: undated

Diary Notes (photocopy), 1939 - 1942

 File – Box 2, Folder: 29
Dates
Creation: 1939 - 1942

"The Dogs That Eat Sweet Grass", 1976

 File – Box 3, Folder: 1
Dates
Creation: 1976

"The Dreamers" (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 3, Folder: 2
Dates
Creation: undated

"The Dreamers"- Film treatment (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 3, Folder: 3
Dates
Creation: undated

"Drink Entire: Against the Madness of Crowds", undated

 File – Box 3, Folder: 4
Dates
Creation: undated

"Drunk, and In Charge of a Bicycle", undated

 File – Box 3, Folder: 5
Dates
Creation: undated

"El Dia De Muerte", undated

 File – Box 3, Folder: 6
Dates
Creation: undated

"Electric Grandmother"- Teleplay, 1981

 File – Box 3, Folder: 7
Dates
Creation: 1981

Fahrenheit 451, 1953

 File – Box 4, Folder: 1
Dates
Creation: 1953

Fahrenheit 451-Clippings, including serialized version printed in Playboy, undated

 File – Box 4, Folder: 2
Dates
Creation: undated

Fahrenheit 451- Screenplay (photocopy), 1979

 File – Box 4, Folder: 3
Dates
Creation: 1979

"A Final Sceptre, a Lasting Crown"- Play, undated

 File – Box 4, Folder: 4
Dates
Creation: undated

"The Fireman" (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 4, Folder: 5
Dates
Creation: undated

"The Fog Horn", undated

 File – Box 4, Folder: 6
Dates
Creation: undated

"The Fox and the Forest"- Screenplay synopsis, undated

 File – Box 4, Folder: 7
Dates
Creation: undated

"The Fox and the Forest"- Screenplay, ca. 1971

 File – Box 4, Folder: 8
Dates
Creation: ca. 1971

"The Fox and the Forest"- Screenplay, ca. 1980

 File – Box 4, Folder: 9
Dates
Creation: ca. 1980

"The Gift"- Teleplay, 1958

 File – Box 5, Folder: 1
Dates
Creation: 1958

"The Great Collision of Monday Last"- Play (photocopy), 1960

 File – Box 5, Folder: 2
Dates
Creation: 1960

"The Green Machine", undated

 File – Box 5, Folder: 3
Dates
Creation: undated

"Hail and Farewell", 1952

 File – Box 5, Folder: 4
Dates
Creation: 1952

"Have I Got a Chocolat Bar for You", undated

 File – Box 5, Folder: 5
Dates
Creation: undated

"Here There Be Tygers", undated

 File – Box 5, Folder: 6
Dates
Creation: undated

"Here There Be Tygers" (photocopy), 1959

 File – Box 5, Folder: 7
Dates
Creation: 1959

"I, Rocket" Galley proof (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 5, Folder: 8
Dates
Creation: undated

"Icarus Montgolfier Wright"- Screenplay, undated

 File – Box 5, Folder: 9
Dates
Creation: undated

"The Illustrated Man"- Film treatment (photocopy), 1960

 File – Box 5, Folder: 10
Dates
Creation: 1960

"In Pursuit of the White Whale" (photocopy), 1956

 File – Box 5, Folder: 11
Dates
Creation: 1956

"The Inferno" (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 5, Folder: 12
Dates
Creation: undated

"The Inherited Wish", 1973

 File – Box 5, Folder: 13
Dates
Creation: 1973

"The Inspired Chicken Motel" (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 5, Folder: 14
Dates
Creation: undated

"The Inspired Chicken Bungalow Court" (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 5, Folder: 15
Dates
Creation: undated

"Invasion Eve" (photocopy), 1944

 File – Box 5, Folder: 16
Dates
Creation: 1944

"Invisible Boy", 1953

 File – Box 5, Folder: 17
Dates
Creation: 1953

"The Kilimanjaro Machine"- Teleplay outline (photocopy), 1980

 File – Box 5, Folder: 18
Dates
Creation: 1980

"Leviathan '99"- Radio play, undated

 File – Box 5, Folder: 19
Dates
Creation: undated

"Leviathan '99"- Play, 1972

 File – Box 5, Folder: 20
Dates
Creation: 1972

"Long After Midnight"- Selected pages, 1975

 File – Box 5, Folder: 21
Dates
Creation: 1975

"Long Thoughts on Best-Sellers by Worst People" (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 5, Folder: 22
Dates
Creation: undated

"The Man" (photocopy), 1947

 File – Box 5, Folder: 23
Dates
Creation: 1947

"Mars is Heaven"- Screenplay (photocopy), 1961

 File – Box 5, Folder: 24
Dates
Creation: 1961

The Martian Chronicles - Contents page only (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 6, Folder: 1
Dates
Creation: undated

The Martian Chronicles- Film character outline, 1960

 File – Box 6, Folder: 2
Dates
Creation: 1960

The Martian Chronicles- Screenplay, 1961

 File – Box 6, Folder: 3
Dates
Creation: 1961

The Martian Chronicles- Screenplay, 1963

 File – Box 6, Folder: 4
Dates
Creation: 1963

The Martian Chronicles- Screenplay, 1978

 File – Box 6, Folder: 5
Dates
Creation: 1978

The Martian Chronicles- Autographed Screenplay Part I (TV miniseries), 1978

 File – Box 6, Folder: 6
Dates
Creation: 1978

The Martian Chronicles- Autographed Screenplay Part II (TV miniseries), 1978

 File – Box 6, Folder: 7
Dates
Creation: 1978

The Martian Chronicles- Autographed Screenplay Part III (TV miniseries), 1978

 File – Box 6, Folder: 8
Dates
Creation: 1978

The Martian Chronicles- Screenplay Part I (TV miniseries), 1978

 File – Box 7, Folder: 1
Dates
Creation: 1978

The Martian Chronicles- Screenplay Part II (TV miniseries), 1978

 File – Box 7, Folder: 2
Dates
Creation: 1978

The Martian Chronicles- Screenplay Part III (TV miniseries), 1978

 File – Box 7, Folder: 3
Dates
Creation: 1978

The Martian Chronicles- Play (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 7, Folder: 4
Dates
Creation: undated

"Martian Fragments" (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 7, Folder: 5
Dates
Creation: undated

"The Martian Ghosts" (photocopy), ca. 1948

 File – Box 7, Folder: 6
Dates
Creation: ca. 1948

"The Meadow"- Play, undated

 File – Box 7, Folder: 7
Dates
Creation: undated

"A Medicine for Melancholy", undated

 File – Box 7, Folder: 8
Dates
Creation: undated

"Melissa Toad, Witch" (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 7, Folder: 9
Dates
Creation: undated

"Melissa Toad, Witch: A Novella" (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 7, Folder: 10
Dates
Creation: undated

"The Messiah" (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 7, Folder: 11
Dates
Creation: undated

"A Miracle of Rare Device" (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 7, Folder: 12
Dates
Creation: undated

Moby Dick- Screenplay (photocopy), 1954

 File – Box 8, Folder: 1
Dates
Creation: 1954

Moby Dick- Dialogue edits handwritten by Bradbury and John Huston, 1954

 File – Box 8, Folder: 2
Dates
Creation: 1954

"The Mummy" (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 8, Folder: 3
Dates
Creation: undated

"Once the Years Were Numerous"- Poem, 1978

 File – Box 8, Folder: 4
Dates
Creation: 1978

"One Night In Your Life", undated

 File – Box 8, Folder: 5
Dates
Creation: undated

"Payment In Full", undated

 File – Box 8, Folder: 6
Dates
Creation: undated

"The Playground", undated

 File – Box 8, Folder: 7
Dates
Creation: undated

"Pillar of Fire"- Play, undated

 File – Box 8, Folder: 8
Dates
Creation: undated

"To Prove That Cowards Do Speak", undated

 File – Box 8, Folder: 9
Dates
Creation: undated

"The Picasso Summer" (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 8, Folder: 10
Dates
Creation: undated

"The Pedestrian"- Play (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 8, Folder: 11
Dates
Creation: undated

"Report from Space"- TV concept pitch, ca. 1955

 File – Box 8, Folder: 12
Dates
Creation: ca. 1955

"Riabouchinska", undated

 File – Box 8, Folder: 13
Dates
Creation: undated

"The Rising Tide" (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 8, Folder: 14
Dates
Creation: undated

"The Rocket"- Teleplay, 1960

 File – Box 8, Folder: 15
Dates
Creation: 1960

"The Rocket Summer"- Stage concept pitch, 1958

 File – Box 8, Folder: 16
Dates
Creation: 1958

"The Rocket Summer"- Rewrite, 1957

 File – Box 8, Folder: 17
Dates
Creation: 1957

"The Screaming Woman" (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 8, Folder: 18
Dates
Creation: undated

"The Season of Disbelief"- Radio Play, 1956

 File – Box 8, Folder: 19
Dates
Creation: 1956

"The Season of Sitting", 1952

 File – Box 8, Folder: 20
Dates
Creation: 1952

"The Shop of Mechanical Insects" (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 8, Folder: 21
Dates
Creation: undated

"A Short Wait Between Lives", 1951

 File – Box 8, Folder: 22
Dates
Creation: 1951

Something Wicked This Way Comes- Screenplay, 1976

 File – Box 9, Folder: 1
Dates
Creation: 1976

"The Son of Richard III" (photocopy), 1973

 File – Box 9, Folder: 2
Dates
Creation: 1973

"The Star Wilderness"- Comic strip outline (photocopy), undated

 File – Box 9, Folder: 3
Dates
Creation: undated

"Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright"- 2nd Draft, 1950

 File – Box 9, Folder: 4
Dates
Creation: 1950

"The Tiniest Touch of Petulence" (photocopy), 1948

 File – Box 9, Folder: 5
Dates
Creation: 1948

"To The Future", 1950

 File – Box 9, Folder: 6
Dates
Creation: 1950

"A Touch of Petulence" (photocopy), 1979

 File – Box 9, Folder: 7
Dates
Creation: 1979

"The Tunnel to Yesterday" (photocopy), 1959

 File – Box 9, Folder: 8
Dates
Creation: 1959

"They Have Not Seen The Stars", 1978

 File – Box 9, Folder: 9
Dates
Creation: 1978

"The Veldt"- Play, undated

 File – Box 9, Folder: 10
Dates
Creation: undated

"Visiting Hours", 1951

 File – Box 9, Folder: 11
Dates
Creation: 1951

"Way In The Middle of the Air", undated

 File – Box 9, Folder: 12
Dates
Creation: undated

When The Elephants Last in the Dooryard Bloomed- Content pages only, 1973

 File – Box 9, Folder: 13
Dates
Creation: 1973

"The Window"- Photocopy, undated

 File – Box 9, Folder: 14
Dates
Creation: undated

"A Walk in the Green Garden" (photocopy), 1980

 File – Box 9, Folder: 15
Dates
Creation: 1980

"The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit"- Play, undated

 File – Box 9, Folder: 16
Dates
Creation: undated

"The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit"- Play- Edited, undated

 File – Box 9, Folder: 17
Dates
Creation: undated

"Ylla", undated

 File – Box 9, Folder: 18
Dates
Creation: undated

Correspondence, 1950-1979

 Series – Box 10
Dates
Creation: 1950-1979

Bradbury to Nolan, 1950-1957

 File – Box 10, Folder: 1
Dates
Creation: 1950-1957

Bradbury to Nolan, 1962-1979

 File – Box 10, Folder: 2
Dates
Creation: 1962-1979

Personal Papers, 1938-1980

 Series – Box 10
Dates
Creation: 1938-1980

Newspaper Clippings- Bradbury's high school newspaper, 1938

 File – Box 10, Folder: 3
Dates
Creation: 1938

Poetry broadsides, 1970-1980

 File – Box 10, Folder: 4
Dates
Creation: 1970-1980

Christmas Poems, 1975-1980

 File – Box 10, Folder: 5
Dates
Creation: 1975-1980

Fanzines, 1938-1977, undated

 Series – Multiple Containers
Dates
Creation: 1938-1977, undated

Bradbury early fiction pieces (photocopy), 1938-1952

 File – Box 10, Folder: 6
Dates
Creation: 1938-1952

Bradbury early non-fiction (photocopy), 1937-1946

 File – Box 10, Folder: 7
Dates
Creation: 1937-1946

Bradbury early poems (photocopy), 1938-1940

 File – Box 10, Folder: 8
Dates
Creation: 1938-1940

Bradbury early letters & drawings (photocopy), 1938-1944

 File – Box 10, Folder: 9
Dates
Creation: 1938-1944

Futura Fantasia (with access copies), 1939-1940

 File – Box 10, Folder: 10
Dates
Creation: 1939-1940

Chickies & Duckies, Winter 1974

 File – Box 10, Folder: 11
Dates
Creation: Winter 1974

Cthulu Calls, 1975

 File – Box 10, Folder: 12
Dates
Creation: 1975

Guts, 1968

 File – Box 10, Folder: 13
Dates
Creation: 1968

Ibid, 1977

 File – Box 10, Folder: 14
Dates
Creation: 1977

Imagination!, 1938

 File – Box 10, Folder: 15
Dates
Creation: 1938

Imagination!, 1938

 File – Box 10, Folder: 16
Dates
Creation: 1938

Inside, 1953

 File – Box 10, Folder: 17
Dates
Creation: 1953

Is, 1971

 File – Box 10, Folder: 18
Dates
Creation: 1971

Kaleidoscope, ca. 1967

 File – Box 10, Folder: 19
Dates
Creation: ca. 1967

Le Zombie, 1940

 File – Box 10, Folder: 20
Dates
Creation: 1940

New Worlds, 1939

 File – Box 10, Folder: 21
Dates
Creation: 1939

Out There, ca. 1972

 File – Box 10, Folder: 22
Dates
Creation: ca. 1972

Pioneer #24, undated

 File – Box 10, Folder: 23
Dates
Creation: undated

Prehensile, 1975

 File – Box 10, Folder: 24
Dates
Creation: 1975

Presenting Moonshine, August 1971, August 1975

 File – Box 11, Folder: 1
Dates
Creation: August 1971, August 1975

RBCC, 1975

 File – Box 11, Folder: 2
Dates
Creation: 1975

Rhodomagnetic Digest, ca. 1953

 File – Box 11, Folder: 3
Dates
Creation: ca. 1953

Science Fiction Review, 1977

 File – Box 11, Folder: 4
Dates
Creation: 1977

Shangri La, 1949-1950

 File – Box 11, Folder: 5
Dates
Creation: 1949-1950

Space Ways, 1940

 File – Box 11, Folder: 6
Dates
Creation: 1940

Starwind, 1976

 File – Box 11, Folder: 7
Dates
Creation: 1976

Tabebuian, 1976

 File – Box 11, Folder: 8
Dates
Creation: 1976

Tangent, 1976

 File – Box 11, Folder: 9
Dates
Creation: 1976

Torquasian Times, 1950-1951

 File – Box 11, Folder: 10
Dates
Creation: 1950-1951

Xanadu, 1970

 File – Box 11, Folder: 11
Dates
Creation: 1970

Xenophile, May 1975, October 1975

 File – Box 11, Folder: 12
Dates
Creation: May 1975, October 1975

Xenophile, September 1976, November 1977

 File – Box 11, Folder: 13
Dates
Creation: September 1976, November 1977