Collection of Maps, Diaries, Manuscripts and Photographs Documenting the Life and Work of the Con Artist, War Correspondent and Cartographer Jack or Jacques de Beaufort aka "The Dude Reporter," with a Focus on His Cartographic and Literary Activities in Mid-Century Los Angeles

Europe and California, 1950. Includes two small diaries from 1901 and 1917 with sporadic entries, a large photo album measuring 14 x 11 with appx. 400 small photographs from 1906-1909 attached to album pages, most measuring 3 x 2,, as well as a few larger format images laid in. With 100 plus pages of typed pages including retained correspondence, story ideas, and various other manuscripts. With eleven maps, produced for his "Of Men and Maps" series, including five copies of a large map entitled "Whither Russia," in varied states and in large sizes up to 30 by 36 inches, and a handful of small ephemeral pieces. Generally near fine condition, with the exception of the album, which is missing its rear board and has some pages loose and torn. Very Good. J.M. de Beaufort, a war correspondent for the London Daily Telegraph and New York American during World War I, recounted his wartime adventures in the 1917 book "Behind the German Veil: A Record of a Journalistic War Pilgrimage." Originally arriving in Chicago in 1909, he married a steel magnate's daughter and pursued a career in show business. However, by 1912, he had gone through a divorce and transitioned to newspaper work, earning the moniker of the "Dude Reporter." Originally born in the Netherlands as Jacques Albert Uilenbroek, he was thought to be a deserter. He spent the latter part of his life in the United States, apparently jailed in San Francisco for a stint in the 1920s, and eventually settled in Los Angeles.
Offered here is an interesting smattering of material from the life of the mysterious De Beaufort, which bookends his most unusual career and life with a large visual photographic record of his life in Europe as a young man and over a hundred pages of manuscript material from late in his life, with a highlight being several maps in draft form for an apparently unpublished project called "Of Men and Maps." As a group the material shows the work of an ex-con artist and war correspondent trying to regain his form while living in Los Angeles. He was still writing as a "Special Correspondent" at this point, though the title seems to have been fully honorary. Also included are two small pocket journals, with sporadic notations from his life in Europe in 1900 and in 1917. In its entirety the group gives an interesting visual and manuscript record of a literary, fraudulent and imaginative transatlantic life and intellect.
The cartographic highlight of the group is several iterations of a large map called "Whither Russia," in varied forms, which show an interesting interpretation of the sphere of influence of the USSR and its growth from 1939 to 1946. Also included are two drafts of a map of Operation Market-Garden in the Netherlands in 1944, an unidentifed tactical map of a military battlefield, a map called "Middle East Jackpot," showing the division of territory between the Allied and Axis powers, a map called "Dawn's Early Light, some reproduced small format maps from the De Beaufort's and a small map called "Gifts from Yalta." De Beaufort was working on these maps for a column called "Of Men, Maps and Memories," that was published in the East Los Angeles Tribune. He also sent the columns out in newsletter form from his address at 1635 N. Ogden Drive in Los Angeles.
The collection of manuscripts, drafts and retained correspondence tackle a range of subjects, perhaps most interestingly those detailing De Beaufort's creative process - drafts of stories, lists of ideas for stories, and letters. His over the top style is on display in a lot of the writings, some of which are of unknown origin and purpose. The documents contain correspondence between De Beaufort and Edwin Pauley, the oil man and presidential advisor. In one untitled essay, he asks himself the question "What has been your most thrilling experience?" and his reply is, " Silly questions. Who or at least what newspaperman of some 25 turbulent years standing - and falling - could answer such a question. A reporter's life has a thousand thrills. There was that rainy day in Marcy 1915, in the fortress of Loetzen, when I stood face to face with Hindenburg. Hm, yes, that was quite a thrill..." De Beaufort was entrenched in the Los Angeles journalistic scene at this point, and the documents show the degree to which he relied on his former glories to attempt various career revitalizations endeavors.
The album of photographs from 1906-1909, over 400 in total, give a visual record of the young Uilenbroek's life in Europe. The star of the collection is his bulldog Bob, who travels throughout Europe with him and eventually comes to America by 1907. Mary, who we presume to be his future wife, is featured heavily in the images. It is unclear whether he was working at this point, the images show affluent young people (and their dog) in varied cities and are purely of a personal nature. Other photographs laid in are relics from his war correspondent period. The loose photographs and ephemera are a mix of portraits from different periods from his life, including two pictures of Sydney Turing Barlow Lawson, one signed by his widow. The journals are sporadically filled and hard to decipher though one legible passage says "drinking all day."
Overall the group gives evidence of this intriguing life and is the only extant group of material relating to Beaufort, to our knowledge, with the exception of a single journal from his time in Belgium during WWI that was sold at Bonhams and is still available in the trade as of this writing.