Category: NHPRC

NHPRC Grant | Kurt Wiese papers

This is one in a series of posts related to our NHPRC-sponsored project: Twentieth Century Children’s Literature: Exploring the Past, Understanding the Present. Previous posts can be found here.

Special Collections and University Archives is pleased to announce the publication of a newly revised finding aid for the Kurt Wiese papers (Ax 445). The finding aid is available on ArchivesSpace.

Illustration by Kurt Wiese for North America: The Land They Live in for the Children Who Live There by Lucy Sprague Mitchell (New York: Macmillan, 1931), circa 1931, Kurt Wiese papers, Ax 445, Box 1, Folder 8, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR.

The Kurt Wiese papers represent a major portion of Wiese’s body of work produced as an illustrator and author of American children’s literature. The collection is comprised of original children’s book production material and personal papers.

The children’s book production material series includes Wiese’s original artwork and related preparatory materials used in the creation of children’s books written by Wiese and other authors. The bulk of the artwork is comprised of ink and litho crayon illustrations on paper and board, but it also includes press-ready color-separated art on acetate, dummies, cover art, sketches, and proofs. It also includes typed manuscripts, as well as publisher and author correspondence.

The personal papers series includes personal and commercial artwork by Wiese not created for children’s books, as well as personal scrapbooks and photographs of Wiese. The original artwork is comprised of sketchbooks, drawings, paintings, and etchings, as well as some illustrations for magazines, periodicals, and greeting cards.

Cover sketch by Kurt Wiese for Freddy and Simon the Dictator by Walter Rollin Brooks (New York: Knopf, 1956), circa 1956, Kurt Wiese papers, Ax 445, Box 21, Folder 6, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR.

Kurt Wiese was born on April 22, 1887 in Minden, Germany. From 1909 to 1915, he worked and traveled throughout China and Southeast Asia. But at the outbreak of World War I, he was captured and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp in Australia. After being released at the end of the war, Wiese returned to Germany but the economy was so bad that he left for Brazil, where he began his career in illustration. In 1927 Wiese moved to the United States, where he married Gertrude Hansen in 1930 and they permanently resided in New Jersey. His first critical success in book illustration was Felix Salten’s Bambi in 1929. Wiese wrote and illustrated 20 children’s books and illustrated another 300 for other authors. He received the Caldecott Honor Book Award in 1946 for You Can Write Chinese and in 1948 for Fish in the Air. He also illustrated the Newbery Award winner Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze, and the Newbery Honor books Honk the Moose, Li Lun, Lad of Courage, and Daughter of the Mountains. Kurt Wiese died on May 27, 1974.

NHPRC Grant | Edwin Tunis papers

This is the third of a series of blog posts highlighting our NHPRC-sponsored project: Twentieth Century Children’s Literature: Exploring the Past, Understanding the Present. Previous posts can be found here.

Special Collections and University Archives is pleased to announce the publication of a newly revised finding aid for the Edwin Tunis papers (Ax 776). The finding aid is available on ArchivesSpace.

Final illustration for The Young United States depicting a printing press, circa 1968, Edwin Tunis papers, Ax 776, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.

The Edwin Tunis papers consist primarily of children’s book production material and correspondence. The production material for each book may include research sketches, original illustrations, outlines, holograph drafts, drafts, dummies, printer’s copies, galley proofs, page proofs, layouts, paste-ups, publicity materials, reviews, and sample book jackets. In most cases, the book publishing process is represented completely, from preliminary research materials to final galley proofs and page layouts. Some personal papers are also represented in the collection, which include articles, bookplate sketches, Christmas cards and biographical material.

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NHPRC Grant | Kurt Werth papers

This is the second of a series of blog posts highlighting our NHPRC-sponsored project: Twentieth Century Children’s Literature: Exploring the Past, Understanding the Present. Previous posts can be found here.

Special Collections and University Archives is pleased to announce the publication of a newly revised finding aid for the Kurt Werth papers (Coll 100). The finding aid is available on Archives West.

A boy in a tiger costume walks down a suburban street at night.
Sketch for A Tiger Called Thomas, circa 1963, Box 13, Kurt Werth papers, Coll 100, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.

The Kurt Werth papers represent a major portion of Werth’s body of work produced as an illustrator and author of American children’s literature. The collection is comprised of original children’s book illustrations and manuscripts, other artwork and manuscripts, personal papers, artifacts, personal and professional correspondence, and papers of his wife, Margaret Werth.

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NHPRC Grant | Twentieth Century Children’s Literature

In September 2019, SCUA began working on a new project: Twentieth Century Children’s Literature: Exploring the Past, Understanding the Present. This project is generously supported by a two-year grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), a division of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

Detail of dust jacket illustration for The Newcomers.
Detail of dust jacket illustration for The Newcomers, circa 1974. Left: Ink on acetate overlays, Right: Color proof. Kurt Werth papers, Coll 100, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.

This project will greatly improve access to the collections of three prominent children’s literature authors: Kurt Wiese, Edwin Tunis, and Kurt Werth. The goals of this project are to:

  • rehouse manuscript material and original illustrations
  • update associated finding aids to current standards
  • mount online and local exhibitions promoting the historical significance of the material

The collections identified for this grant represent a core strength in the University of Oregon’s holdings, with broad appeal that reflects upon the American experience during and after the two World Wars. Children’s literature, which often flies under the cultural radar, is a fascinating rubric through which one can understand the ideological tenor of a society. Our collective values, for better or worse, are mirrored back to us in the stories and lessons of our children. Twentieth century children’s literature echoes the radical changes that occurred in American society: at times celebratory, optimistic, and inclusive; and alternately vexing and racist, presenting a white-washed and Eurocentric account of American history.

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