Jack Kerouac wrote ‘On the Road’ on a 120-foot scroll

In the spring of 1951, author Jack Kerouac produced a full-length, single-spaced draft of his novel ‘On the Road’ in just three weeks. To maintain spontaneity and avoid the interruption of changing sheets, Kerouac used rolls of architectural tracing paper taped together into a continuous 120-foot scroll.

Editor Gerald Howard described the manuscript as a ‘literary singularity.’ Although the book was published six years later to significant acclaim, the scroll initially caused friction with Kerouac's publisher, who reportedly claimed the draft could not be edited. After years of effort by his agent, Sterling Lord, the novel was eventually published by Viking for a $1,000 advance.