Robert E. Howard Museum

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Robert E. Howard Museum
Robert E. Howard Museum Front Gate.jpg
Front gate of Howard Museum
Robert E. Howard Museum
Established1919
LocationJct Fourth St (SH 36) and Ave. J
Cross Plains, Texas
Coordinates 32°7′16″N99°10′18″W / 32.12111°N 99.17167°W / 32.12111; -99.17167
TypeHouse museum
Website The Robert E. Howard Foundation
Robert E. Howard House
Robert E. Howard Museum Plaque.jpg
National Register plaque
Relief map of Texas.png
Red pog.svg
Robert E. Howard House
Usa edcp relief location map.png
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Robert E. Howard House
Arealess than one acre
NRHP reference No. 94000984 [1]
Added to NRHPAugust 19, 1994

The Robert E. Howard Museum is located at the junction of Texas State Highway 36 and Avenue J in Cross Plains, in the county of Callahan, in the U.S. state of Texas. The museum was the family home of author Robert E. Howard, creator of Conan the Barbarian, Solomon Kane, Kull of Atlantis, Sailor Steve Costigan, and others. [2] [3] Howard was notable for his contributions to Weird Tales and other magazines as well as his close collaborations and friendship with famous author and editor H. P. Lovecraft. His work is considered critical to Working-Class Literature and the preservation of American Folk-tales, especially in relation to Texan literature and regional Tall Tale methods. The structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Callahan County, Texas in 1994.

Contents

History

The T-shaped white frame home was built c.1919, by Mr. and Mrs. J.M.Coffman. Dr. Isaac M. Howard and his wife Hester Ervin Howard bought it shortly thereafter and moved in with their son, Robert. The sun porch was converted into a bedroom for their son, and a new porch and bathroom were built onto the home by Dr. Howard. in 1936, Robert E. Howard committed suicide in his 1935 Chevrolet sedan in the driveway using a .380 Browning pistol. [4] His father later sold the house in 1944 to Mrs. Nancy Elizabeth Grisham. [5]

Museum

The Robert E. Howard Press Association and the non-profit Robert E. Howard Foundation sponsor an annual event in June to celebrate the author's legacy. [6] Many of the local businesses are involved in the annual Robert E. Howard Days event. The local library extends its hours during the event to showcase their collection of original typescripts and first editions. [7] The Cross Plains Review, where Howard once worked, also operates their own gift-shop and showcases some of his original belongings. [8] Also involved is the local post office, which provides their specialized cancellation stamps in honor of the late author. The museum is filled with things like Howard's father's bible, a bust of Cleopatra that Howard purchased, books he owned, original manuscripts, data about his writing income, correspondence with HP Lovecraft, bibliographies, maps of the fictional land of Cimmeria, movie posters, pictures of Howard's family and friends, pictures of Cross Plains, various reprintings of his stories, poetry compilations, and personal documents like his canceled checks. [9]

Hours, admission

Admission is free only by pre-arrangement or during the Howard Days annual event. [6]

Further reading

See also

Related Research Articles

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Conan the Barbarian is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films, television programs, video games, and role-playing games. Robert E. Howard created the character in 1932 for a series of fantasy stories published in Weird Tales magazine.

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"Worms of the Earth" is a short story by American fantasy fiction writer Robert E. Howard. It was originally published in the magazine Weird Tales in November 1932, then again in 1975 in a collection of Howard's short stories, Worms of the Earth. The story features one of Howard's recurring protagonists, Bran Mak Morn, a legendary king of the Picts.

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Blond Barbarians and Noble Savages is a 1975 collection of essays on the fantasy writers Robert E. Howard and H. P. Lovecraft by science-fiction writer L. Sprague de Camp, first published by T-K Graphics. It was reissued in 1986 by Borgo Press as number 2 in its Essays on Fantastic Literature series.

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<i>The Conan Swordbook</i> Book by Lyon Sprague de Camp

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<i>The Blade of Conan</i> Book by Lyon Sprague de Camp

The Blade of Conan is a 1979 collection of essays edited by L. Sprague de Camp, published in paperback by Ace Books. The material was originally published as articles in George H. Scithers' fanzine Amra. The book is a companion to Ace's later volume of material from Amra, The Spell of Conan (1980). Most of the material in the two volumes, together with some additional material, was reprinted from three previous books issued in hardcover by Mirage Press; de Camp's collection The Conan Reader (1968), and the de Camp and Scithers-edited anthologies The Conan Swordbook (1969). and The Conan Grimoire (1972).

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<i>The Robert E. Howard Reader</i>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Witch Shall be Born</span> Conan novella by Robert E. Howard

"A Witch Shall Be Born" is one of the original sword and sorcery novellas by Robert E. Howard about Conan the Cimmerian. It was written in only a few days in spring of 1934 and first published in Weird Tales in December 1934. A book edition was published in 1975 by Donald M. Grant, Publisher with illustrations by Alicia Austin.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "Howard's Heroes". Conan Properties International. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  3. Dreher, Rod (12 February 1997). "A Writer Loves and Dies in Texas". Sun Sentinel. Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  4. "REH World". Savage Studios. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  5. "NRHP Howard House" (PDF). Texas Historical Commission. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  6. 1 2 "Robert E. Howard Home Restored by Project Pride". CrossPlains.com. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  7. Graham, Don (2011). State of Minds: Texas Culture and Its Discontents . University of Texas Press. p.  1. ISBN   978-0-292-72361-0.
  8. "Cross Plains Review". Savage Studios. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  9. "Visiting The Robert E. Howard Museum In Cross Plains, Texas". ourlittlelifestyle.com. 2024-07-04. Retrieved 2024-08-09.