Finding aid for the H. Jack Lang Papers

Biography of H. Jack Lang

Biography courtesy of the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History.

H. Jack Lang (1904-1996) was an advertising executive, editor, author, and philanthropist. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Rosetta "Setta" (Stettiner) Lang, a Red Cross volunteer, and Charles E. Lang, a partner in the automotive firm Rauch & Lang. He graduated from Antioch College in 1928 and founded the H. Jack Lang Company in 1932, which became Lang, Fisher, and Stashower, in 1937, and merged into Liggett-Stashower, Inc., in 1987. In August 1942, Lang took leave as president of Lang, Fisher & Stashower, Inc., to serve in the United States Army Air Corps, serving in India and attaining the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1945.

In order to reach potential customers for his first advertising client, the Wolf Envelope Company, Lang conceived of The Wolf Magazine of Letters, a monthly booklet of witty correspondence which he edited for about sixty years and which led to an additional career as editor and author. He edited several volumes of collected letters, including The Wit and Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln (1941), Letters in American History (1982), and Dear Wit (1990). In 1964, he compiled a collection of letters written by American presidents from George Washington to Lyndon B. Johnson, and the series was syndicated to newspapers through the Los Angeles Times Syndicate. Lang sold his interest in the advertising agency in 1967 but continued working until his retirement in 1972, after which he maintained an office at the agency where he did his editing until a few months before he died. Lang was elected to the Cleveland Advertising Hall of Fame in 1977, and his Rowfant Manuscripts was named one of the best books of 1979 by the American Institute of Graphic Arts. He served as a trustee of Antioch College, Planned Parenthood of Greater Cleveland, and Mount Sinai Medical Center, and was a member of the Rowfant Club, the Oakwood Club, and the City Club of Cleveland. Lang married Frances Elizabeth Wise in 1935 and the couple had two children, Wendy Frances and John Andrew. Lang died at his Cleveland Heights home and is buried at Mayfield Cemetery.

click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for H. Jack Lang

click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for Lang, Fisher & Stashower

Scope and Content

The H. Jack Lang Papers, 1942-1992 and undated, consist of articles, correspondence, drafts, manuscripts, newspaper and magazine clippings, publication requests, reader contributions, scrapbooks, and transcripts.

This collection is of value to researchers interested in the life of H. Jack Lang, and particularly in his publication and editing of The Wolf Magazine of Letters, The Wit and Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln, Letters in American History, Epistolary Wit, Authors to Authors, and The Wittiest Letters of the World's Greatest Wits. Those with an interest in the history of advertising and the publishing industry in Cleveland, Ohio, will find the collection valuable. Additionally, his correspondence from 1942-1945 will be of particular value to researchers interested in the experience of an American officer during World War II. Those studying the history of the Jewish community of Cleveland, Ohio, will also find this collection useful.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Access

None.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

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Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 5345 H. Jack Lang Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio.

Acquisition Information

Gifts of Wendy Lang in 2013 and 2015.

Processing Information

Processed by Whitney Stalnaker in 2015.

Detailed Description of The Collection