Here you’ll find a collection of noteworthy documents relating to H. P. Lovecraft’s life and death.

“Return of a Birth” for H. P. Lovecraft, 1890.

This form was filed for births that took place at home. Lovecraft was born on 20 August 1890 at his grandfather’s house at 194 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island. This document gives his mother’s age as 33, while she was actually 32 (her birthday was in October).

Hope Street High School Transcript for H. P. Lovecraft, 1908 or later.

Lovecraft attended Hope Street High School sporadically from 1904 to 1908. He excelled at plane geometry (92), chemistry (95), and physics (95), but was a mediocre student at elementary algebra (74) and intermediate algebra (75).

Last Will of Howard P. Lovecraft, 12 August 1912.

A week before Lovecraft’s 22nd birthday, he drafted a will and had it witnessed by his friend Chester Pierce Monroe, Chester’s father Addison Pierce Munroe (a Rhode Island state senator who had retired from business at age 47), and Albert A. Baker (the family lawyer).

Draft Registration Card of Howard P. Lovecraft, 5 June 1917.

At 26 years old, Lovecraft registered for the draft (as required by law). He lists his occupation as “Writer”; his eyes and hair are both listed as “dark brown”.

Certificate and Record of Marriage between Howard Phillips Lovecraft and Sonia Haft-Greene, 3 March 1924.

Howard and Sonia were married at St. Paul’s Chapel in lower Manhattan. Sonia’s birthplace is given as “Cherringov, Russia” (probably Chernigov, now Ukraine, though she was actually born in Ichnia or Konotop) and her parents as Simon and Rachel Haft (actually Simyon and Racille Haft Shafirkin).

Marriage Announcement, after 3 March 1924.

After Howard and Sonia were married, they had 200 announcements printed and sent them to family and friends.

Certificate of Death of Howard Philips Lovecraft, 16 March 1937.

Lovecraft died at 7:15 a.m. on Monday, 15 March 1937 at the Jane Brown Memorial Hospital in Providence—just two miles from the site of his birth. His principal cause of death is listed as “carcinoma of small intestines” with a contributory cause of “chronic nephritis”.

Last Will of Annie E. P. Gamwell, 10 January 1940.

In the will of Lovecraft’s younger aunt (who died on 29 January 1941), she grants to August Derleth and Donald Wandrei her royalties for The Outsider and Others. She granted all her property to her second cousin, Mrs. Roy A. (Ethel) Morrish, and her friend, Edna W. Lewis.

Letter from Ethel P. Morrish and Edna W. Lewis to August Derleth and Donald Wandrei, 2 May 1941.

The so-called “Morrish-Lewis gift” gave to August Derleth and Donald Wandrei the right to continue publishing Lovecraft’s work, but did not give them an exclusive right to do so nor did it transfer any copyright to those works.