The Eaton Collection

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1. Early Imaginary Voyages and Utopian Materials

The collection offers scholars a rare look at the precursors of modern SF and fantasy.

During the 1980s, the Eaton Collection acquired a number of rare 18th- and 19th- century utopias and imaginary voyages in English, French, German and Dutch. This collection of more than 100 titles includes the rare French series, Voyages Imaginaires, published on the eve of the French Revolution.

In 2003, Special Collections received a gift of the 1517 Utopia, by Sir Thomas More. This rare edition is considered the very first work of science fiction.

2. Science Fiction from Around the World

French Science Fiction Collection

This collection comprises some 10,000 titles, from the works of Jules Verne to the most current flourishing of French-language SF. It also includes some 2,000 bandes dessinées, or illustrated narratives, in the SF/Fantasy genres. It has a complete run of the Fleuve Noir anticipation series, whose 2001st and last title was published in 2001. There is also a complete run of the influential French magazine Fiction, which began publishing in 1953.

Japanese Science Fiction Collection

The majority of the Eaton Collection's Japanese science fiction was acquired as part of a large donation from Fred Patten in 2005. Materials from this donation include a variety of Anime and Manga items in both print and multimedia formats. Some of the more popular titles found in this collection are a series of anime books titled Lemon People as well as videos from the anime series' Robotech and Initial D.

3. Collection of Philip K. Dick Books

In 1994, the Eaton Collection purchased an exhaustive collection of printings and editions of Philip K. Dick novels and stories, both in English and in diverse European languages, from academic Tom Loock. Comprised of 500 plus items, this collection is a unique resource for Dick scholars, because it contains rare European "omnibus" editions, in which pioneering scholarship is found previously unknown to English-language scholars. The Europeans admired Dick, and considered him a great 20th Century writer, when American critics dismissed him out of hand as a "sci-fi" writer.

4. Boys' Books Adventure Collection

The Eaton Collection possesses some 3,000 boys' books, written mainly in late 19th the early 20th century. This is a unique archive for scholars interested in the fictional myths and models that gave rise to American magazine science fiction after the 1920s. Found here are such works as Young Tom Edison, The Steam-Man of the Prairies, Tom Swift, as well as other examples of "Proto-SF".

5. Fanzine Collections of Note

These fanzine collections give the Eaton Collection the largest academic holdings of such materials in the world.

Terry Carr Collection

The Terry Carr Collection was the personal fanzine collection of noted editor, author and fan Terry Carr. Among his many accomplishments, Carr was instrumental in transforming the Ace Books line into a literary workshop that produced a number of "new wave" writers in the early 1960s, including Ursula Le Guin, Thomas Disch, Samuel R. Delany, and Harlan Ellison. Considered a "collector's collection", the Terry Carr Collection was acquired by UCR in 1986, following Mr. Carr's death. It comprises more than 15,000 fanzines and semi-prozines, dating from the 1930s through the 1970s. This was the first collection of its kind to be incorporated into a university library, and many of its titles are unique in the nationwide library database WorldCat. In fact, the Carr Collection, now fully catalogued, provided the informational matrix for any future fanzine national archiving and cataloging.

Bruce Pelz Collection

Bruce Pelz was a librarian at the University of California, Los Angeles as well as a longtime science fiction fan and fanzine collector. Upon Mr. Pelz's death in 2002, UCR acquired his collection of approximately 200,000 fanzines and fan documents. Search the online database.

Rick Sneary Collection

Rick Sneary was a long-time, Los Angeles based, science fiction fan. During the 1940s and 1950s he engaged in voluminous correspondence with other California based fans and writers, notably Ray Bradbury and Marion Zimmer Bradley. The Sneary Collection consists of some 10,000 fanzines from this period, as well as several boxes of his personal letters. It was bequeathed to the Eaton Collection upon Mr. Sneary's death in 1993.

6. Comic Book Collection

Edward Casebeer, a professor at Indiana University, built his comic book collection as a teaching tool for seminars on the comic book and illustrated narrative. Dr. Casebeer donated this collection to the Eaton Collection in 1996. Ninety-five percent of his collection was dedicated to superhero narratives, fantasy or horror. We have expanded comic book holdings from his initial 20,000 issues to some 125,000 issues today.

7. Archival Collections

Gregory Benford collection [Coll 177]

This collection contains the manuscripts and correspondence of physicist and science fiction writer Gregory Benford. Benford, a professor of physics at the University of California, Irvine, received the Lord Prize for contributions to the sciences in 1995. His fiction has won many awards, including the Nebula Award for his novel Timescape, the manuscript of which is in this collection along with writer-editor-agent correspondence pertaining to this, and other novels. Benford's career has touched on all aspects of a life in science fiction fandom, a successful career in physics, writer of fiction and non-fiction works, and literary critic.

David Brin collection [Coll 179]

David Brin's 1983 novel, Startide Rising (the manuscript is included in our holdings), won three of the most prestigious awards for science fiction in 1983, receiving the Hugo, Nebula and Locus Awards. His post-apocalypse novel, The Postman, not only won the Locus and John W. Campbell Awards in 1985, it was made into a movie in 1997. His works continue to be nominated and win awards. Brin has had extensive scientific training and his novels have been translated into twenty languages. This collection is comprised of Brin's personal papers and manuscripts.

Robert Forward collection [Coll 175]

Robert L. Forward was a senior scientist at the Hughes Corporation, followed by a literary career, as probably the "hardest" of hard SF writers. This collection is unique in that it provides an anatomy of his many activities. It contains all of his scientific papers (Forward held a number of active patents), annotated manuscripts for each of his novels, numerous drafts and published versions of non-fictional papers, articles and books, and voluminous correspondence with publishers, agents, and consultants.

Anne McCaffrey papers [Coll 183]

Anne McCaffrey's first novel, Restoree (1967), was a protest against the absurd and unrealistic portrayals of women in science fiction novels in the 1950s and early 1960s. McCaffrey is best known for her two extremely popular series: The Ship Who Sang and the Dragonriders of Pern. This collection consists of manuscripts, drafts, and galley proofs of many of McCaffrey's books. Some of the titles included in this collection are Killashandra, Dragonsong, and Renegades of Pern.

William Rotsler collection [Coll 195]

William Rotsler was an author of science fiction and a prominent member of science fiction fandom. He is best known for his cartoons and artwork that were featured in numerous fanzines, books, and newspapers. This collection consists of his artwork, papers, Flash Gordon comics, newspaper clippings, and other science fiction related materials.

Morris Dollens collection [Coll 196]

Morris Dollens was both an artist and writer of science fiction. He was mosy widely known for his science fiction paintings that were used in books and magazines during the 1950s. This collection mainly consists of slides depicting his artwork, but it also includes photographs, negatives, and other printed materials.

Fred Patten collection on Science Fiction and Animation [Coll 250]

Fred Patten is widely known for his work as a historian of anime, manga, and furry fandom. Patten is also considered one of the founders of furry fandom and is the leading expert on anime and manga in the United States. This collection contains a variety of items regarding these genres as well as science fiction and includes fanzines, convention materials, studio press kits, promotional materials, videos, and posters.