The Online Catalog allows searching and browsing of information about the Florida State Archives’ holdings of over 48,000 cubic feet of state and local government records and historical manuscripts. The catalog provides descriptions of over 3,400 collections and lists the contents of containers and folders in many of those collections. For assistance with accessing and using State Archives collections, call our Reference Staff at 850.245.6719 or email us at archives@dos.myflorida.com.
Jack Beater was a Florida author and historian who wrote books on South Florida - historical and fictional - and on the pirate Jose Gaspar (Gasparilla) from the 1930s to the 1960s. Beater also wrote short stories for men's and hobby magazines, political commentary, and several mechanical how-to books. His work has also appeared under the names Jaxon Jannis, Orlando Beater, and Harriet Bright Courtney.
Beater was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1896. After serving as a military instructor during World War I, Beater moved to Fort Myers, Florida, in 1920. Beater spent the next decade working odd jobs, including as a mechanic and car salesman. In the 1930s, he began publishing "articles" in magazines to accompany his ads for aquarium fish that he was selling through the mail. Soon, he began publishing fictional and historical articles for several magazines, and eventually was contracted to write a series of how-to manuals for automobiles and electrical engineering. In 1949, Beater self-published a history of famed Florida pirate Jose Gaspar (Gasparilla). Though today considered by historians to be a fictional character invented in the late 1800s, Beater maintained his authenticity and published several versions of his history over the next twenty years. In 1959, Beater sold his Jose Gaspar story to Dell publishing as a paperback. He also authored and published "Tales of South Florida," "Pirates and the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf," "Pioneers of South Florida," and "True Tales of West Florida," among other Florida-themed books, as well as a collection of political essays. Many of his books were released by Florida publishing houses.
Summary:
This collection consists of the manuscripts and publications of South Florida author and historian Jack Beater. Included are original manuscripts and carbon copies of Beater's many writings, including his book-length studies on the pirate Jose Gaspar (Gasparilla). The collection also includes the illustrations Beater produced for his works, correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs of Beater and the Fort Myers area, and the galleys of his paperback novel, The Sea Avenger. This collection also provides information on Florida pirates and legends, the Gasparilla festival in Tampa, publishing in Florida, South Florida history, and popular political opinion of the early 1960s.
Finding Aids:
Folder listing available. 0
Additional Physical Form:
Reproduction Note:
Location of Originals/Duplicates:
Associated Materials:
Language Notes:
Ownership/Custodial History:
Publication Note:
General Note:
Electronic Records Access:
Subject Access Fields:
Beater, Jack, 1896- Gaspar, Jose, 1756-1821.
Authors Florida. Pirates.
Clippings. aat Manuscripts. aat Photographs.
Fort Myers (Fla.) Tampa (Fla.)
for detailed listing.