JACK TAYLOR-LEIF EDWARD STENSBY CORRESPONDENCE, 1924-1928
Vault A45, Taylor, Unit 2
EXTENT: 37 letters and postcards, plus envelopes and enclosures.
ORGANIZATION AND ARRANGEMENT: Three series: I. Correspondence 1924-1928; II. Envelopes unmatched with letters; III. Enclosures (clippings and ephemera). Letters and envelopes in series I and II filed chronologically. Series III filed by material type.
BIOGRAPHY/HISTORY: Jack Taylor (born in or around 1854—the same year that Thoreau’s Walden was published), also known as “The Lone Camper,” was so inspired by the life and writings of Henry David Thoreau that, when his doctor gave him only a year to live after he took ill in 1914, he dedicated his remaining time to living in the spirit of Thoreau: leading a simple life, avoiding overindulgence, and enjoying the open air of nature. From that point on, he lived on the road, walking and camping his way across the country with his dog, Nappy, and a cart containing his few possessions. He avoided any consumption of alcohol, ate an exclusively vegetarian diet, and traveled everywhere by foot.
By 1924, ten years after his doctors had given him up for lost, Jack Taylor had traveled over 9,000 miles and was still going strong. By 1926, he had walked over 12,000 miles. During his travels, he often stopped in small towns and cities, and talked about his lifestyle, about the benefits of healthy living, and about his love of Walden Pond and Thoreau’s writing.
Jack Taylor was an avid writer, keeping up not only his personal correspondence with Leif Edward Stensby (a Concord resident then in his teens) and a personal diary (mentioned in his letters, though not included in this collection), but also writing a number of newspaper articles during some of his stops, and working on a book about camping that he hoped to publish someday.
SCOPE AND CONTENT: Personal correspondence between Jack Taylor and members of the Stensby family, mostly Leif Edward Stensby. Series I contains correspondence (letters and postcards) between Taylor and Stensby, most of it from Taylor to Stensby (January 10, 1924-March 26, 1928), and a single letter from Taylor to Bertha and Esther Stensby (March 2, 1924). The letters are personal in nature, detailing Taylor’s travel experiences, Stensby’s progress at school, and updates about the wall and cairn at Walden Pond.
Series II consists of envelopes unmatched with letters from Taylor to Stensby (loose envelopes without associated letters, dating from May 18, 1924 to September 7, 1925, plus three of unknown date).
Series III contains clippings and ephemera—items enclosed by Taylor in letters to Stensby. These include: undated newspaper clippings about Taylor (among them several articles written and typeset by Taylor himself), providing information about stops on his travels, arranged chronologically; a copy of “The Night Before Christmas” clipped from a newspaper (undated); three photographs clipped from newspapers; three cardstock publicity fliers describing Jack Taylor’s travel distances and gear; a copy of This Week in the Nation’s Capital for the week of March 9 to 15, 1924; maps of the Bear Mountain Hudson River Bridge area and Long Island; guides to the C&B Line (“Leif Stensby” written in pen on the front cover) and to Biltmore Shores; a page from a letter (appears to be from Stensby, describing a postcard he was sending to Taylor, with a poem), and a piece of paper with Jack Taylor’s address, marked “General Delivery”.
SOURCE OF ACQUISITION: Donated by Carol Moulthrop, via the Concord Museum, 2008.
RESTRICTIONS ON USE: Photocopies of newspaper clippings are contained in Folder 8 for patron use (no patron access to original clippings).
NOTES/COMMENTS: Accessioned April 1, 2009 (AMC 171). When the collection was received the donor had already attempted some organization, and most of the letters were in chronological order. Because the enclosures had been removed from the letters and grouped together, it was impossible to determine which letters most of them originally accompanied. (The letters marked July 18, 1925 and August 21, 1926 were not paired with envelopes when the collection was received, but the correctly dated envelopes were found in the bundle of empty envelopes.) Due to the fragile nature of the clippings, photocopies were created for patron use.
PROCESSED BY: Roy MacKenzie; finding aid prepared in March 2009.
CONTAINER LIST
SERIES I. Jack Taylor Correspondence Jan. 10, 1924-Mar. 26, 1928:
Folder 1
Jack Taylor to Leif Edward Stensby, January 10, 1924, with envelope
Leif Edward Stensby to Jack Taylor, January 1924
Jack Taylor to Leif Edward Stensby, January 21, 1924, with envelope
Leif Edward Stensby to Jack Taylor, January 30, 1924
Jack Taylor to Leif Edward Stensby, February 1, 1924, with envelope
Leif Edward Stensby to Jack Taylor, February 9, 1924
Leif Edward Stensby to Jack Taylor, February 1924
Jack Taylor to Leif Edward Stensby, February 19, 1924, with envelope
Leif Edward Stensby to Jack Taylor, undated
Jack Taylor to Bertha and Esther Stensby, March 2, 1924, with envelope
Folder 2
Jack Taylor to Leif Edward Stensby, March 10, 1924, with envelope
Leif Edward Stensby to Jack Taylor, undated
Jack Taylor to Leif Edward Stensby, April 9, 1924, with envelope and business card
Leif Edward Stensby to Jack Taylor, undated
Leif Edward Stensby to Jack Taylor, undated
Leif Edward Stensby to Jack Taylor, undated
Jack Taylor to Leif Edward Stensby, August 14, 1924, with envelope
Jack Taylor to Leif Edward Stensby, December 22, 1924
Folder 3
Post script from Jack Taylor to Unknown
Jack Taylor to Leif Edward Stensby, April 23, 1925, with envelope
Jack Taylor to Leif Edward Stensby, April 28, 1925, with envelope
Jack Taylor to Leif Edward Stensby, July 18, 1925, with envelope
Jack Taylor to Leif Edward Stensby, February 23, 1926, with envelope
Jack Taylor to Leif Edward Stensby, August 21, 1926, with envelope
Jack Taylor to Leif Edward Stensby, September 24, 1926
Folder 4
Jack Taylor to Leif Edward Stensby, September 30, 1926, with envelope
Jack Taylor to Leif Edward Stensby, October 1, 1926, with envelope
Jack Taylor to Leif Edward Stensby, October 7, 1926
Jack Taylor to Leif Edward Stensby, October 14, 1926, with envelope
Jack Taylor to Leif Edward Stensby, December 29, 1926, with envelope
Jack Taylor to Leif Edward Stensby, June 20, 1927
Jack Taylor to Leif Edward Stensby, July 10, 1927, with envelope
Folder 5
Jack Taylor to Leif Edward Stensby (post card), August 29, 1927, with envelope
Jack Taylor to Leif Edward Stensby (post card), October 7, 1927, with envelope
Jack Taylor to Leif Edward Stensby, December 15, 1927, with envelope
Jack Taylor to Leif Edward Stensby, February 27, 1928, with envelope
Jack Taylor to Leif Edward Stensby, March 26, 1928, with envelope
SERIES II. Envelopes unmatched with letters (Jack Taylor to Leif Edward Stensby):
Folder 6
Twenty-one envelopes
SERIES III. Clippings and ephemera
Folder 7
Original newspaper clippings about Taylor
Newspaper photo clippings, undated
Three cardstock publicity fliers about Jack Taylor
This Week in the Nation’s Capital March 9 - 15, 1924
Map of Bear Mountain Hudson River Bridge [sometime after November, 1924]
Map of Long Island (copyright 1926)
C&B Line guide, 1926
Biltmore Shores guide, undated
Single page of undated letter
Single page containing Jack Taylor’s address
Folder 8
Photocopied clippings for patron use
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Mounted 1st April 2009. rcwh.