John W. Hilton, Hardly Any Fences: Baja California in 1933-1959, Typescript, 1958 - 1979 (MSS 25)

Extent: 0.4 Linear feet (1 archives box)

Manuscript of John Hilton's book Hardly Any Fences: Baja California in 1933-1959 (1977), published as volume 38 of the Baja California Travel Series. Included are edited typescripts of individual chapters, some of which were omitted from the published version, correspondence, examples of illustrations and miscellaneous production materials. The collection is arranged in two series: 1) MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTION MATERIALS and 2) TYPESCRIPTS.

John Hilton, desert painter and author, attended school and worked in the Los Angeles area until the Depression when he moved to the desert a few miles south of Indio. There he painted desert landscapes, wrote magazine articles and travelled extensively in Sonora, Mexico. In 1950, he moved to Twentynine Palms where he continued to paint and write, often teaching art to supplement his income.

Hilton's paintings soon gained popularity and he exhibited in the Grand Central Galleries in New York. During the 1950s he had seven one-man exhibits and his work is included in many public and private collections.

John Hilton lived occasionally in the fishing village of Bahia de los Angeles, Baja California Norte, before the advent of the paved highway, and wrote about its people and the nearby places he visited. Although his stays extended over a period from 1933 to 1959, his accounts were written between 1958 and 1959.

The collection contains the manuscript for John Hilton's book Hardly Any Fences: Baja California in 1933-1959 (1977) which was published by Dawson's Bookshop as volume 38 of their Baja California Travel Series. Included are original typescripts for individual chapters, many of which were omitted from the published version. Also included in the collection is correspondence regarding publication, some reproductions of Hilton's paintings used as illustrations in the book and miscellaneous production materials.

The collection is arranged in two series: 1) MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTION MATERIALS and 2) TYPESCRIPTS.

Container List

MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTION MATERIALS

Scope and Content of Series

Series 1) MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTION MATERIALS: Correspondence, artwork, photographs, news clippings, and biographical information about John Hilton.

Box 1 Folder 1
Correspondence, 1975 - 1979
Box 1 Folder 2
Artwork illustrations

Contains a set of the tipped-in illustrations used in the book and three polaroid photographs of Hilton's original paintings.

Box 1 Folder 3
Miscellaneous production materials
Box 1 Folder 4
Newspaper clippings and biographical materials

TYPESCRIPTS

Scope and Content of Series

Series 2) TYPESCRIPTS: Typescript drafts of Hardly Any Fences: Baja California in 1933-1959, including unpublished materials.

Box 1 Folder 5
Painting for the Governor

Typescript, also contains preliminary pages and preface, pp.1-31.

Box 1 Folder 6
Down to the bay of the angels

Typescript, pp. 32-51.

Box 1 Folder 7
Our search for the lost mission

Typescript, pp. 52-72.

Box 1 Folder 8
So many tried

Typescript, pp. 73-95. This chapter was omitted from the published book.

Box 1 Folder 9
Calamity Jane sees a ghost

Typescript, pp. 96-127.

Box 1 Folder 10
Virgin of the rock

Typescript, pp. 113-127. Includes a revision of the first three pages of this chapter.

Box 1 Folder 11
Angel de la Guardia

Typescript, pp. 128-148.

Box 1 Folder 12
Fabulous Mr. Diaz

Typescript, pp. 149-164.

Box 1 Folder 13
South to El Arco

Typescript, pp. 165-180.

Box 1 Folder 14
Of rubies and pearls

Typescript, pp. 181-209. This chapter was omitted from the published version.

Box 1 Folder 15
Thirsty ghosts of Llano Perdido

Typescript, pp. 210-224.

Box 1 Folder 16
Exploring with the Carmans

Typescript, pp. 225-238. This chapter was omitted from the final version.

Box 1 Folder 17
And so we suffered

Typescript, pp. 239-254.

Box 1 Folder 18
Las Flores

Typescript, pp. 255-270.

Box 1 Folder 19
Night on a shrimp boat

Typescript, pp. 271-279. This chapter was omitted from the published version.

Box 1 Folder 20
Sea turtle hunt

Typescript, pp. 288-301. This chapter was omitted from the published version.

Box 1 Folder 21
Desert shore was our supermarket

Typescript, pp. 302-336. This chapter was omitted from the published version.

Box 1 Folder 22
Passing parade

Typescript, pp. 337-356. This chapter was omitted from the published version.

Box 1 Folder 23
Sting ray and the coyote

Typescript, pp. 357-380. This chapter was omitted from the published version.

Box 1 Folder 24
San Luis and the enchanted island

Typescript, pp. 381-404. This chapter was omitted from the published version.

Box 1 Folder 25
Whispering Canyon

Typescript, pp. 405-430.

Box 1 Folder 26
Road back

Typescript, pp. 431-453. This chapter was omitted from the published version.

Box 1 Folder 27
Hardly and fences: Baja today

Typescript. Unpaginated chapter omitted from the published version.

Box 1 Folder 28
Hardly any fences: Baja today (longer version)

Photocopy of a typescript