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Title:	James Norman Hall papers, 1909-1951.
Summary note:	These papers include letters, literary typescripts, photographs, and news clippings of World War I aviator and American author James Norman Hall. The letters are mostly written by the author to his mother Ella (Young) Hall of Colfax, Iowa and cover the time span of 1909 to 1951. The largest portion are written from Papeete, Tahiti where Hall lived with his wife and children and worked on manuscripts for Mutiny on the Bounty and other adventure books and World War I memoirs. The early letters are written during his travels to the United Kingdom while a student of Grinnell College and Harvard College, and are followed by a series of letters from his time as a reporter and aviator during World War I. The literary typescripts include pages from Kitchener's Mob, a chapter from the Lafayette Flying Corps, and copies of poems The Old Hall Door, Trench Eighty-Three: Flanders, and The Song for the Soldier. Among the still images are snapshots of Captain Hall after his plane was shot down in World War I; a photo of Hall with other American aviators held prisoner by the Germans at Landshut, Bavaria; and a series of original photos of Papeete, Tahiti (circa 1925) sent to his mother with descriptive notes on the reverse. These papers and photographs are supplemented by news clippings and magazine articles about James Norman Hall's military and literary accomplishments.
Source of Acquisition:	Donated by Mr. and Mrs. James N. Hall, 1978.
Biographical/Historical note:	James Norman Hall was born in Colfax, Iowa in 1887. After attending public schools in that community and graduating from Grinnell College, he moved to Boston where he worked as a social worker and began studies for a master's degree from Harvard. He was on a vacation in the United Kingdom when World War I began and served in the British Army as a machine gunner until his claim of Canadian nationality was discredited. Upon return to the United States, Hall published his war memoirs under the title Kitchener's Mob in 1916. As a reporter for the Atlantic Monthly he was sent to France to report on the Lafeyette Escadrille and ultimately joined them as a member of the Lafayette Flying Corps. When the U.S. entered the war in 1917 he was made a captain in the Army Air Service and flew on behalf of his native country until being shot down and taken prisoner by the Germans. After the war, Captain Hall moved to the island of Tahiti where he authored a series of adventure books, some in collaboration with fellow WWI aviator Charles Nordhoff. The most famous of these was the trilogy concerning the Royal Navy's HMS Bounty that consisted of Mutiny on the Bounty (1932), Men Against the Sea (1934), and Pitcairn's Island (1934). In addition to adventure fiction and war memoirs, James Norman Hall also wrote poetry and created a sensation in the literary world when he revealed that he had authored a volume of poems published and marketed as the works of child poet Fern Gravel. Several of Hall's books were made into films during his lifetime, including Mutiny on the Bounty and Botany Bay.
Subject(s):	Hall, James Norman, -- 1887-1951. Air pilots, Military -- United States -- Photographs. World War, 1914-1918 -- Aerial operations, France -- Personal narratives. World War, 1914-1918 -- Aerial operations, American -- Personal narratives. Poets, American -- Iowa -- 20th century. Authors, American -- Iowa -- 20th century -- Photographs. Authors, American -- Iowa -- 20th century -- Correspondence. Colfax (Iowa) -- History. Tahiti (French Polynesia: Island) -- History -- 20th century.
Author:	Hall, James Norman, 1887-1951.
Format:	1 linear feet (2 containers )
Permanent Record Link:
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9983285623802771 2021-01-25 170825i19091951xx 000 0 eng d ‡a(OCoLC)1001948718 ‡a(OCoLC)on1001948718 ‡aHDM‡erda‡cHDM ‡aHDMF ‡aH143 [Location: N15/7/3] 1 ‡aHall, James Norman,‡d1887-1951. 10‡aJames Norman Hall papers,‡f1909-1951. ‡a1‡flinear feet (2‡fcontainers ) ‡aNo restrictions on access. 2 ‡aThese papers include letters, literary typescripts, photographs, and news clippings of World War I aviator and American author James Norman Hall. The letters are mostly written by the author to his mother Ella (Young) Hall of Colfax, Iowa and cover the time span of 1909 to 1951. The largest portion are written from Papeete, Tahiti where Hall lived with his wife and children and worked on manuscripts for Mutiny on the Bounty and other adventure books and World War I memoirs. The early letters are written during his travels to the United Kingdom while a student of Grinnell College and Harvard College, and are followed by a series of letters from his time as a reporter and aviator during World War I. The literary typescripts include pages from Kitchener's Mob, a chapter from the Lafayette Flying Corps, and copies of poems The Old Hall Door, Trench Eighty-Three: Flanders, and The Song for the Soldier. Among the still images are snapshots of Captain Hall after his plane was shot down in World War I; a photo of Hall with other American aviators held prisoner by the Germans at Landshut, Bavaria; and a series of original photos of Papeete, Tahiti (circa 1925) sent to his mother with descriptive notes on the reverse. These papers and photographs are supplemented by news clippings and magazine articles about James Norman Hall's military and literary accomplishments. ‡aJames Norman Hall papers, 1909-1951, Special Collections, State Historical Society of Iowa, Des Moines. ‡cDonated by Mr. and Mrs. James N. Hall,‡d1978. 0 ‡aJames Norman Hall was born in Colfax, Iowa in 1887. After attending public schools in that community and graduating from Grinnell College, he moved to Boston where he worked as a social worker and began studies for a master's degree from Harvard. He was on a vacation in the United Kingdom when World War I began and served in the British Army as a machine gunner until his claim of Canadian nationality was discredited. Upon return to the United States, Hall published his war memoirs under the title Kitchener's Mob in 1916. As a reporter for the Atlantic Monthly he was sent to France to report on the Lafeyette Escadrille and ultimately joined them as a member of the Lafayette Flying Corps. When the U.S. entered the war in 1917 he was made a captain in the Army Air Service and flew on behalf of his native country until being shot down and taken prisoner by the Germans. After the war, Captain Hall moved to the island of Tahiti where he authored a series of adventure books, some in collaboration with fellow WWI aviator Charles Nordhoff. The most famous of these was the trilogy concerning the Royal Navy's HMS Bounty that consisted of Mutiny on the Bounty (1932), Men Against the Sea (1934), and Pitcairn's Island (1934). In addition to adventure fiction and war memoirs, James Norman Hall also wrote poetry and created a sensation in the literary world when he revealed that he had authored a volume of poems published and marketed as the works of child poet Fern Gravel. Several of Hall's books were made into films during his lifetime, including Mutiny on the Bounty and Botany Bay. 0 ‡aMaterials entirely in English. 10‡aHall, James Norman,‡d1887-1951. 0‡aAuthors, American‡zIowa‡y20th century‡vCorrespondence. 0‡aAuthors, American‡zIowa‡y20th century‡vPhotographs. 0‡aPoets, American‡zIowa‡y20th century. 0‡aWorld War, 1914-1918‡xAerial operations, American‡vPersonal narratives. 0‡aWorld War, 1914-1918‡xAerial operations, France‡vPersonal narratives. 0‡aAir pilots, Military‡zUnited States‡vPhotographs. 0‡aTahiti (French Polynesia: Island)‡xHistory‡y20th century. 0‡aColfax (Iowa)‡xHistory. Des Moines Historical Library Manuscripts Location: N15/7/3 DM Des Moines Historical Library MANU Manuscripts Location: N15/7/3 ‡aC0‡aC0†bHDM