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Winnie and Russ collected an entire scrapbook of reviews of A Pictorial, ninety-nine percent positive. The one truly negative review, ironically, came from The New York Times, which touts as its motto: "All the news that's fit to print." On March 2, 1980, Doris Grumbach reviewed A Pictorial with a scathing attack:
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For reasons not entirely clear to me, picture books about famous people abound. This one about Jack London is neither a good pictorial history nor an acceptable biography.
Unfortunately, an ordinate amount of text is required because of the limited number of photographs available. Some pictures bear only the most remote connection to London--one bears the caption, "Packers on the trail near sheep camp." Both the inside and the outside of a bath house that London frequented are included, as are an exterior and interior shot of a Buffalo jail where London once spent 30 days. When Russ Kingman comes upon a photograph of genuine interest, he goes overboard in his delight: "The actual cabin in which London lived" is the caption for one picture, and Mr. Kingman then goes on to show the same cabin in the background of a photograph of himself and his friends. And one of Mr. Kingman's choices is particularly puzzling: a picture of the magazine Owl, said to contain London's first published magazine story. But there is no corresponding reference in the text, so we cannot even learn the name of the story.
If the pictures and their captions are poor, the text is abysmal. Mr. Kingman's prose is childish, his grammar is often faulty, and he indulges in inappropriate conjectures: "When Jack read the above statement, he doubtless understood why the Archbishop didn't use part of his $75,000 a year salary to alleviate some of the suffering." "Doubtless?" Furthermore, Mr. Kingman's judgments are hyperbolic: The Call of the Wild, in his view, "opened a new era of literature" and London's "fame was unequaled by any other writer in history."
I cannot think of one kind word to say about this wretched book. |
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Two responses to Doris Grumbach at The New York Times say it all. On March 26, 1980, Sal Noto responded: |
Dear Ms. Grumbach:
Recently I read your review of Russ Kingman's A Pictorial Life of Jack London (Sunday, March 2, Book Review).
Madam, if I wanted to spend the time, I could literally tear your shallow and unsubstantiated statement to pieces. Frankly, I cannot think of one kind word to say about your wretched review.
Sincerely yours,
Sal Noto
cc: Editor
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On April 10, 1980, Jackie Koenig also responded: |
Dear Editor:
Regarding your review of the latest Jack London biography, do you know why western writers are better than the eastern establishment? We learn to read before we learn to write.
Sincerely,
Jackie Koenig |
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Dale L. Walker wrote a more lengthy response to The New York Times editor, berating reviewers who fail to read and write sensitively about what they review and cites Grumbach as representing "the worst coming from New York."
In 1980 Russ dusted off his ministerial clothes to marry Jim Kuehn and fianc�e Cindy at the Beringer Winery in St. Helena. (There is a famous picture in A Jack London Echo of a smiling Russ looking on the newlyweds as they kissed for what seemed forever after the ceremony.) In addition, Russ and Winnie took some much needed vacation time, traveling to Australia and New Zealand to visit Winnie's restaurant-owning family. Russ said he didn't gain much new information on Jack London in Australia, but both Winnie and he had a great time. On the return flight to the States, Russ and Winnie had made prior arrangements to meet Sal and Nancy Noto in Hawaii in order to retrace some of Jack's footsteps on the island of Maui. Sal Noto published a complete account of this excursion in Jack London Echoes, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Jan.) 1981, pp. 22-27. Just a few of the places they visited included the Pioneer Inn, where Jack and Charmian spent a night in 1907, the Iao Valley with its "velvety green peaks and running mountain streams." "The highlight of our Maui visit was the trip to the crest of Haleakala (Ha lay ah ka la) Crater, an extinct volcano, towering more than 10,000 feet in elevation. Jack gives a vivid account of the same trip in The Cruise of the Snark (see Chapter VIII, 'The House of the Sun'). Charmian gives an excellent day-by-day impression of their Haleakala adventure in Our Hawaii." Russ and Winnie also kept an extensive photographic log of this trip with Winnie's succinct captions explaining the sights and people of New Zealand, Australia, and Hawaii.
In the summer of 1981 they took the summer to travel cross-country in their motor home to Vermont after Dale L. Walker stayed with them in June while he attended the Western Writers of America Convention in Santa Rosa. After they returned to California, Winnie's mother passed away, but they followed through with plans in December to visit Edward Allatt, a London aficionado, in England. On December 23, Russ, Winnie, and Edward Allatt had lunch with the writer Victor R.S. Tambling at "The Spotted Dog" restaurant and ale house in Forest Gate, London. Russ had corresponded with Tambling for years and had always wanted to meet him face-to-face to see if his impressions of Tambling matched with what he had imagined. He was delighted with the meeting. Tambling's impression was that "Russ and Winnie have a wonderful sense of humor, are first-rate raconteurs, and they have the complete biography of Jack London in their heads." (A Jack London Echo, 1983, p. 41).
An interesting anecdote from 1981 centers around Russ and Winnie's practice of leaving a generous supply of books outside the bookstore in case someone stopped by for reading matter and the store happened to be closed. Russ marked the price inside cheap but interesting titles and posted a sign to leave the money in a mail slot which he nicknamed "The Money Grabber." Occasionally, a dollar or two would appear. On the night of August 13, 2023 this cordial note was left by a Kimi and Rico in the "Money Grabber": |
I do declare! That never, ever, not even in the steaming back alleys of Timbuktu have I yet encountered a bookstore that kept its wares unguarded outside. Under the full moon, deep in Sonoma Valley, two world travelers and truth seekers have discovered this fine nook of yours--God Bless Jack London and all his aficionados! Style you got, and again much thanx & Good Luck and God Bless for the amount of Romanticism, Trust & Truth you demonstrate in this here system of yours. Maybe one day we'll meet!" |
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The note is a perfect testament to the faith and trust Winnie and Russ always placed in people.
In 1981, while the paperback edition of A Pictorial was released, Russ was in negotiations with translators and publishers in other countries. Eventually, A Pictorial was translated into French, Spanish, Ukrainian, Russian, and Japanese. One of Russ's main problems was collecting royalties from dishonest publishers who were distanced from American copyright protections. The Japanese, however, were scrupulously honest.
The highlights of 1982 included a flight to Portland, Maine, for a book buying trip. Russ and Winnie rented a car and drove around New England collecting Londoniana and visited Vermont once again. In May Jim Bankes spent a week at the Research Center gathering information for his book on Jack London and boxing. On June 25 Russ married John M. Warn and fianc�e Victoria in an unusual but highly appropriate ceremony at the Wolf House ruins in Jack London State Park. But the most important meeting was with Eiji Tsujii, a Japanese scholar of Jack London, who grew into one of Russ's many adopted sons. On that first meeting, Russ, Winnie, Eiji, and Frances Buxton had lunch at the London Lodge. Mike Bates had an extended stay with the Kingmans in August, most likely in preparation for the publication of the special tribute issue to Russ and Winnie in A Jack London Echo distributed at the Jack London Banquet in 1983.
Russ and Winnie had learned that Becky London Fleming, who was now living alone in her house in Oakland, was beaten and robbed by burglars. Russ was incensed that a daughter of Jack London was living alone and largely uncared for in what had become a dangerous neighborhood in Oakland. At that moment he conceived the idea of moving Becky to Glen Ellen to be close to the center of Jack London activities. He and Winnie persuaded Becky to sell her house, and with part of the money he would build Becky her own apartment next to the bookstore. He began almost at once, digging away part of the mountain by hand, pouring the foundation, arguing with building inspectors, and finally putting in the finishing nails. It was a Herculean task for a man Russ's age--he was then 66. Unfortunately, the strenuous activity provoked an angina attack. He spent a few days in the hospital but recovered quickly on medication. In October, Russ and Becky spoke at a fundraising event in Jack London State Park to raise money for the renovation of the London cottage.
Also in 1983 Russ initiated the end of the unhappy business relationship which had developed between him and Crown. Russ had solid grounds for feeling that he had received shabby treatment. In a detailed letter to Crown Publishers, Inc., he detailed his grievances. |
October 13, 2023
Judith Hansen
Crown Publishers Inc.
One Park Avenue
New York, NY 10016
Dear Judith:
I am returning the agreement with modifications. I am also enclosing a copy of my contract. I am giving you a short review of the way Crown has treated me and how my contract has been broken time after time. If you can show me how Crown can legally say, "All rights to physically reproduce our edition remain our property and permission for such reproduction must be obtained from us" I will then sign such an agreement. I would also like to know where you can find anything in our contract that grants you the right to state, "If on the other hand, you would like to photo offset from our edition, the fee will be $1000.00."
Paragraph 11. I was supposed to have been paid $500. upon acceptance of each 25% segment. Crown did not keep this agreement. Finally I decided that the best way to get this advance was to take it out in books. The advertised price of the book was $12.95 and I presold 400 copies at this price. Crown did finally make an adjustment that was satisfactory. Then the price was set at $14.95. I put out a 650 piece mailing at this price only to have Crown change the price to $15.95. I had to sell at least one hundred copies at my advertised price of $14.95. I absorbed this cost without complaint. Then Crown published a paperback at $9.95. See paragraph 9(e). I was to get 10% royalty if the price did not exceed 60% of the catalogue retail price of the regular trade edition. The catalog price was $15.95 and $9.95 was a little over 62%. I was paid 5% royalty. When I complained I was told that it was near enough to 60% so the 5% royalty would apply. I responded that my contract said 60% and not nearly 60! Once again Crown pulled a fast one and increased the price of the cloth edition to $16.95 so the percentage would be slightly under the 60%. After my complaint Crown paid me the extra 5% until the new catalog came out with the $16.95 price and finally agreed to pay a fantastic 1% additional royalty on the paperback.
When A Pictorial was first published Jake Goldberg called me and told me that Crown would have one copy made up in leather as a Christmas present to the author. He said that this was always done for your authors. I never received such a copy.
Crown sold hundreds of copies for prices as low as $3.98 and I never could get a rational explanation as to why they would sell my book for these prices but charged me the full price. I have a full computer readout from your records to substantiate this.
Paragraph 16. I was notified by Crown that you were no longer going to promote my book. Actually I discovered that you were no longer going to promote the book when I saw the book in remainder catalogs. I called and was told that Crown was discontinuing publication of The Pictorial. I was not notified in accordance with my contract which states that I would be given written notice of Crown's intention to discontinue publication. IN WHICH EVENT THE AUTHOR SHALL HAVE THE RIGHT TO TERMINATE THIS AGREEMENT BY GIVING WRITTEN NOTICE THEREOF TO THE PUBLISHER, subject to extant rights of others in the work. If any others have extant rights of any kind I have not been told about it. Therefore, I can only assume that there are no extant rights. As soon as I knew that the book was discontinued I wrote and requested that our agreement be terminated. I also requested to purchase all remaining copies of the book. We agreed that I would pay 46% of $7.98 for the cloth edition and 46% of $4.98 for the paper edition. I sent a check and the books were shipped. Now I discover that you still have books in stock. If this is true I want to purchase them in accordance with our agreement.
There is nothing in our contract, which is now null and void, that even mentions that I am to pay Crown for the right to publish my book by photo offset. However, I don't want to treat Crown in the same way that I have been treated so I will do my best to require my new publisher to pay $1,000. to Crown for the right to publish the present volume by litho even though I feel that it is not a legal obligation. I also feel that Crown should sell me the text films for $1,000 in light of the many breaches of my contract. I do not need the jacket film since I will change the title to the one that I tried my best to get Crown to use—Wolf, A Comprehensive Biography of Jack London.
I always feel that you could have sold several hundred thousand copies of this biography had you used a better title and properly promoted the book. It would have sold in the millions in Russia alone, if any attempt had been made to find a publisher there. Within two weeks after I reverted the foreign rights I had publishers in Russia, Italy and Mexico.
Crown's decision to remainder my book in breach of my contract will always be a problem. Once a book is remaindered it is difficult to convince dealers that they should buy the book at the regular price. I am constantly having to explain to my customers that the book is not a remaindered book since they have seen it in stores at the remainder price. The only way I can overcome this is to tell them that these are hurt copies and were sold to remainder dealers along with other books that had been returned to the publisher. I also discovered that Crown simply put returns back on the shelf and sold them to dealers. One of my last orders contained one book that still had the dealer's return letter in the book.
I do not want any legal entanglements with Crown and hope that you will sign the enclosed agreement and initial the lines which I have crossed out.
Sincerely,
Russ Kingman |
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On November 26, 2023 Russ received the following reply from Crown: |
November 16, 2023
Mr. Russ Kingman
c/o Jack London Bookstore
P.O. Box 337
14300 Arnold Drive
Glen Ellen, California
Re: A Pictorial Life of Jack London
Dear Mr. Kingman:
Your recent letter to Judith Hansen regarding the reversion rights to the above-entitled book has been forwarded to my attention.
I have reviewed your letter and your proposed changes to the October 5 reversion letter with Alan Mirken. Although there is no specific clause in our publishing agreement with you contractually requiring you to pay a photo offset fee in order to publish this book, it is a legally recognized right of the publisher to charge such a fee nonetheless. Upon reversion of rights, the author gains control of the right to publish the material contained in a book (i.e., text and photographs/illustrations). The physical reproduction of the book, including the typeset, design and format, however, is owned by the publisher. Therefore, in order to photo offset the original publisher's version of the book for subsequent publication by another publisher, permission must be obtained from the original publisher. In this instance such permission is the payment to us of a photo offset fee.
We agree to the reduction of the fee for the purchase of the text and/or jacket film to $1,000 from the previously quoted $2,500 figure. However, we still require a $1,000 fee if you wish to photo offset from our edition of the book.
I have enclosed new copies of the reversion letter reflecting the change in the purchase price of the film. Please sign each copy and return to us for our countersignature as set forth in the letter.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely yours,
Paula M. Breen
Senior Contracts Administrator
cc: Alan Mirken |
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The matter was concluded by December. |
December 1, 2023
Paula M. Breen
Senior Contracts Administrator
Crown Publishers Inc.
One Park Avenue
New York, NY 10016
Dear Paula:
Your proposal is fair so I am enclosing two signed copies.
At this time I do not know whether we still need the films of the text or the right to reprint from offset. Since there are about 280 illustrations it will be impossible to simply shoot the pages. Another problem is that there are so many typos in the book that we may have to reset the type. I am enclosing a copy of the errata sheet. I will also have to do a new index since the people who did the original didn't know enough about Jack London to cover some of the items that should have been included. I won't be able to use the films for the dust wrapper since we are going to be using a different title for the book. Our working title is Wolf, A Pictorial Biography of Jack London. I think we will use a different picture also. We will give Crown credit as the original publisher, if you so wish.
When the book is published we will certainly contact your office and pay the agreed fees as noted in your proposal for the use of anything that still belongs to your firm.
I am truly sorry that Crown didn't realize the potential of A Pictorial Life of Jack London and really promote it. The book is now accepted by nearly all leading scholars as the best biography of Jack London. The people who are planning to publish it want me to go on a one year tour to promote the book and Hughes Massie Limited in London will be handling the foreign sales. It is now being translated by Juan Meany in Mexico City for Spanish sales and by Verduga Publishers for the Russian sales.
As you probably know I have not been too happy with my relations with Crown. However, I do owe you a great deal. Herb Michelman was a real gentleman and took a chance on a completely unknown author. I am sure that you would have been as disappointed as I have been. I still believe that we would have had a successful book if the word biography had been put in the title as I requested and been given adequate promotion.
I have made no final commitment for the republication of the book. If, by some remote possibility, Crown wants to continue publication of the book, I will gladly fly to New York and discuss the matter. My only requirements would be that the title include the word biography, that there would be no royalty shenanigans and that the book be properly promoted. If Crown isn't interested then all you have to do is sign one of the enclosed reversion letters and send it to me.
Sincerely,
Russ Kingman |
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After Crown rescinded all rights to A Pictorial, Russ subsequently contracted with David Rejl, a publisher from the Czech Republic, to reissue the book in paperback in 1987. When that issue sold out, Rejl reissued the hardback edition in 1993. Happy with Rejl's business ethics, Russ also contracted with him to print 1,000 copies of his Jack London: A Definitive Chronology (1992), a year before he died. Crown bungled a potentially lucrative book deal since over 10,000 copies have been sold to date in both paper and hardback.
In 1984 Russ received an invitation to attend the 50th anniversary of his high school graduating class from Vergennes High School. Russ, of course, couldn't pass up the opportunity to hobnob with the twenty or so graduates who were still around. Russ and Winnie flew to Boston, then rented a car for the drive to Vermont for a strong dose of nostalgia. When they returned to Glen Ellen, they took Becky on a sightseeing trip to Southern California, which included something Becky had always wished to do--visit Disneyland. During this year Russ, not having room to display the contents of his museum any longer, negotiated the sale of most of it to long-time London collector, Waring Jones. Waring moved the extensive collection to safe storage in Santa Rosa, where it remains to this day, with the agreement that all items be returned to the Jack London Foundation if and when the Foundation established a suitable museum.
Waring Jones, newspaper reporter, playwright, and man of some independent means, has had a long association with people in the London circle dating from 1952 when he covered the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco, which nominated Adlai Stevenson for President. Having just completed reading Irving Stone's Sailor on Horseback, and having some spare time to do some sightseeing, Waring called Irving Shepard and asked if he came up to Glen Ellen whether he could have a tour of the Jack London Ranch. Irving Shepard obliged. From that moment Waring developed a passion for all things related to Jack London. In a trip to San Francisco some years later, as he was checking the Jack London holdings in Room 304 of the San Francisco Public Library, he discovered that Joan London, Jack's eldest daughter, worked for West Coast labor unions in an office in San Francisco. He called her to arrange a personal meeting and found her outgoing and friendly. Joan invited him for dinner with her husband, Bart Abbott, at their home in Walnut Grove, California. Waring found her open and sharing. In subsequent correspondence, Waring persuaded Joan to sell him all of the correspondence she had from her father. This extensive collection of letters and memorabilia is now in safe storage, presumably to be made available to future scholars.
Shortly after Russ had moved his advertising office from San Francisco to Oakland, Waring made a visit to Jack London Square "to seek out the man who was in charge of promoting Jack London." He discovered Russ in a modest office which was crammed with Jack London books and memorabilia. In a taped Interview on July 28, 2024 at the Jack London Research Center, Waring related his history with the Kingmans: |
When I first met Russ he was full of beans and life--my kind of guy. Russ had copies of Jack London's books for sale at $4.00 each for reading. I bought about twenty or so books for reading copies. I like to read what I buy. I even got a copy of Theft for $75.00, an incredible bargain since they now go for about $1,500.00. Anyway, Russ and I started writing each other, and I met him one more time before the first Jack London Banquet in Oakland. After Russ moved the museum artifacts to Glen Ellen and established a bookstore below the Grist Mill, I saw him again when my wife YoYo, who is a Danish reporter, and I took our first vacation together in Glen Ellen. We did the standard tour of Jack London State Park--the House of Happy Walls, Wolf House, the grave, the cottage, and the Pig Palace. We stayed at the Chauvet Hotel in Glen Ellen for $7.00 or $10.00 per night. The hotel had only cold water, and the manager locked the doors every night at 11:00 p.m. The hotel is closed now, but I'll never forget the experience. I bought a few items from Russ on that visit. In fact, I always bought from the Kingmans when I visited them.
After Russ moved the bookstore and museum across the road to its present location, I would spend four to six days with Russ and Winnie during my two-week summer encampment at the Bohemian Club. I slept on a small cot in the back room which was the museum. I also met Milo Shepard around the time of the accidental death of his oldest brother. He and I became good friends.
During these annual four to six day visits, Russ and I would talk, talk, talk about Jack London--breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Russ and Winnie were always very accommodating, and they became like brother and sister to me. Even while I was there, though, Russ did a lot of writing--tons of letters and research every day, just like Jack.
I'll never forget the day that an old man came into the bookstore while Russ and I were chatting. He introduced himself and told Russ that he remembered Jack's favorite horse. Russ said that was interesting and asked when the gentleman was born. Russ was polite, but responded, "Did you know that you were born on the very day that the horse died?" Nobody could fool Russ because he had the facts in his head.
Russ was a constant source of amusement to me. He was full of sassy, outrageous jokes. He even nicknamed me "September" after someone who visited Jack and Charmian in the month of September drank all the wine in the house. Russ said my visits messed up the calendar because he always had September in July. I like to talk and probably drove Russ crazy with my questions. In fact, it got to the point that Russ limited me to five questions per year, so I resorted to writing pages of related questions all attached with semicolons. Sometimes he would call me "stupid," but I never took offense because of the ironic way he said it.
I remember that Russ and I had only one disagreement. It happened when I bought the artifacts in his museum. Russ and Winnie were somewhat short on cash, but also needed the space to expand the bookstore. Russ made a list of the contents and named his price. I couldn't afford to pay the entire amount at one time, so we agreed that I would pay a certain amount over several years. We also agreed that the articles would return to Glen Ellen if a suitable museum were established. After the deal Russ said that some of the ephemera was not to be included. So each year I would give four or five pieces back instead of all that he thought should be returned. Russ was a little angry with me for a time, but he quickly got over it. He wasn't one to hold a grudge, so our friendship continued. Most of the contents of the museum is still in safe storage in Santa Rosa waiting for a suitable home.
Finally, I'd like to make a few general remarks about my dear friends. Russ and Winnie never had a lot of money, but what they had they wanted to share. The fireplace that Russ built in the Redwoods was like the Bohemian Grove of Glen Ellen. I will never forget the cookouts there for visiting London buffs--the famous Kingman steaks, corn-on-the-cob, and Ranch wine furnished by Milo Shepard. The tolerance, joy, and spontaneous caring that Russ and Winnie showed toward others is etched in my mind. Russ cared about the little guy, just like Jack did. His mind was a fascination for me. I think of him as a Henry Ford of American literature. His death was a great loss to me. He used to say things to me like, "Well, September, are you having honey on your cornflakes this morning?" I miss that. |
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Waring Jones still visits Winnie during his two-week encampment at Bohemian Grove. His private holdings of Londoniana will in the future prove to be of great significance to scholarship and long-range plans of the Jack London Foundation to establish a viable museum to house London artifacts.
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