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Homer Eon Flint papers

 Collection
Call Number: MS 328

Overview

This collection contains stories written by Homer Eon Flint, both in published form and as draft submissions to his editors; professional correspondence; personal photographs; financial records; notes and sketches of Flint's inventions; as well as writings about Flint.

Dates

  • Creation: 1911-2002

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

No access restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Spencer Library staff may determine use restrictions dependent on the physical condition of manuscript materials.

Biography of Homer Eon Flint

Homer Flint (born Flindt; he went by Flint in his professional capacity) was born in 1888 or 1889 in Albany, Oregon to Henry Flindt and Emily Burkhart.

Flindt attended primary and secondary school in San Jose, California but did not graduate from high school. Early jobs he held included working as a delivery boy for a dry goods store, office boy for an insurance agent, and draftsman at an architectural firm. Flindt remained interested in design and inventing things the rest of his life.

Flindt read a variety of romantic fiction from the late 19th and early 20th centuries by such authors as H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, and M. Rider Haggard. He became interested in writing himself and started with the San Jose Morning Times, later writing a monthly column for a shoemakers' magazine while working as a shoemaker for his brother Charles.

In 1907 Flindt met and began courting Mabel Elisabeth Williams. She'd had scarlet fever as a child and so had reduced hearing in both ears. They married in 1911 and had their first child, Max, in 1915. Daughter Bonnie was born in 1918, and their third child, Vella, was born in 1921.

Flint began writing for the movies in the 1910s. While convalescing in the hospital from emergency surgery for appendicitis, he began writing short stories in the genre of "scientific romance" (science fiction) as well as more straightforward short and serialized fiction for pulp magazines. His stories ranged from taking place on the moon ("The Man in the Moon" and "Out of the Moon") to exploring life after death ("The Greater Miracle") to turning a person into a giant ("The Nth Man"). He is also known for his story "The Planeteer" and his novel The Blind Spot (1921), co-authored with Austin Hall.

Flindt's wife moved with their children to Washington, California in the early 1920s so she could teach and earn additional money to support the family. When making plans to reunite permanently, Homer Eon Flindt was killed in a car wreck in March 1924 under mysterious circumstances.

Extent

1.5 Linear Feet (3 document cases)

Language of Materials

English

Scope and Contents

This collection is arranged into four series, the bulk of which is comprised of published and typescript versions of works written by Homer Eon Flint and personal correspondence. Also in the collection is some professional correspondence with editors, agents, and film companies. Other personal material includes financial documents, photographs, newspaper clippings, and personal notes and announcements. Photocopied material in the last box was in part used by Vella Munn when writing a biography of her grandfather, copyrighted in 2012, and received from Kathleen Flint-Walsh.

Material that is photocopied or otherwise not original has been notated whenever possible. The author typically spelled his name "Flint" when acting in a professional capacity and "Flindt" personally; the finding aid has attempted to reflect that distinction throughout.

Physical Location

MS 328

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift, Vella Munn, 2014, 2015, 2017.

Source

Subject

Title
Guide to the Home Eon Flint Collection
Subtitle
Homer Eon Flint papers
Author
Finding aid compiled by tmw, 2016. Finding aid encoded by tmw, 2016. Finding aid revised by tmw, 2017.
Date
2016-09-09
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Finding aid written in English.
Finding aid permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/10407/3378839621

Repository Details

Part of the University of Kansas. Kenneth Spencer Research Library Repository

Contact:
1450 Poplar Lane
Lawrence KS 66045-7616 United States
785-864-4334