June Mansfield Miller On The Internet

There's so much to say about June, it certainly can't be summarized on a single blog entry. So I'll start my first post on June Mansfield (June Smith/ June Miller/ June Corbett ... but I'll stick to Mansfield because she personally chose the name) with a run-down of the various June-related items one can find on The Net.

The Motherlode: Cara Bradley's on-line thesis research on the subject of June. This includes a biography, an analysis of June's place in the writings of Henry Miller, the same for June in the writings of Anais Nin, and a bibliography of works related to the love triangle between June, Henry and Anais. [*UPDATE: This link may be dead; please read her biography here].

There is also a solid June biography entry on Wikipeida. This also includes a bibliography of works in which June is written about as Subject (including Stephen Starck's June Scattered In Fragments [1998], which is rare and expensive, but can be purchased through Roger Jackson's website, and June's interview in Henry Miller: Colossus Of One [1967]).

The photo at the top of this posting was taken circa 1930 by Brassai, and is one of only a few known photographs of June. The colour photo above--of a much older June [1958?]--was originally posted on an Anais Nin tribute site I can't seem to be able to find anymore. Thankfully, William Ashley has posted it on his website.

Lopez Books has/had a collection of books and photographs, supposedly from June's own collection, on which Henry had made inscriptions to her. Here's a list of a few of the titles with inscriptions:

Maurizius Forever (Henry Miller) - 1946: "June -/ Here's one/ you may/ not know./ HM".

Henry Miller Autographed Note - (undated): "June -/ Tell me what/ you have read/ and I'll know/ better what to/ send!"/ Henry"

The Idiot (Fyodor Dostoevski) - 1927: "June/ Your wit and/ wisdom inspire a/ Scotish [sic] mind;/ Your beauty/ has captured an/ Irish heart./ [wax seal]/ 10-18-27."

Siddhartha (Hermann Hesse) - 1956: "... to read in moments of despair."

Henry Miller (Rowholt bio) - 1961: "Dear June -/ We made it/ at last! (From/ 1924-1961)/ Now I can take/ a walk on the/ wild side!/ Henry."

A few other such inscribed titles from June's collection may be found at Between The Covers ; here's June's copy of The Paris I Love sent by Henry in 1956, and a 1956 postcard from Henry to June [seen above, left].

Pacific Book Auctions describes a few letters it once had (now sold), written by June to Henry Miller in the late 60's: ("Many of the letters complain of ill health & poverty, some delve into the past.") A sample quote from June to Henry: "Henry - this is to explain more that I simply acted as a buffer of the world surrounding you - I tried at the time to explain - I could not understand Anais or anyone's influence - I could not & still do not understand your ---...I still am unequipped to write and explain anything - for me the world dropped. I sat through the nights with a stranger who assumed a p-- of nonsense, who used the excuse of making love to me but lacked the understanding - all."

PBA also referes to two colour photos of June from 1958, one of which I believe is the source of the one above.

Finally, look at this essay about June's place in the erotica of Anais Nin, written by Jen Maher-Bontrager, and read Nin's descriptions of June from her Henry & June journal, from excerpts provided by anaisnin.net.

For another photo of June, see my posting about June's association with The Pepper Pot, the Greenwich Village restaurant.