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Arts, Architecture & Literature in Special Collections

This guide offers brief descriptions of relevant art, architecture, and literature collections. Links are provided whenever online inventories exist.

Carol's Saltshaker: A Link to Lesbian Literature's Foundations

The past meets the present in our Friday File series, where we delve through artifacts housed at the UO Libraries and let them talk. Before The Price of Salt, books featuring gay and lesbian relationships usually ended in repentance or tragedy. But Patricia Highsmith's second novel didn't.

Literature Related Guides

Teaching with Primary Source Materials

Our collections exist to be used. When students work directly with primary source materials, historic photographs, and documents that are old or unique, they discover an excitement and passion not generated by textbooks.

Primary source documents can inspire, but they also teach about learning to verify sources, tracking down connections, finding evidence from content and from physical clues.

Women Authors | SCUA Collections Documenting Women, Gender, and Sexuality

Special Collections and University Archives collects in the topical area Women, Gender, and Sexuality, including Women’s Back to the Land movement, women linguists focusing on gender issues in language, women who have affected the political process and cultural landscape.

Allen, Sally Elliot. (1800-1943).

Papers. 1906-1943. 3 ft.
Ida Elliot (Sally) Allen was a Pacific Northwest writer and playwright. She was born in Methuen, Massachusetts, educated at the University of Wisconsin, and married Eric Allen in 1906. The Allens lived in Seattle, Washington until 1912, when he was appointed dean of the School of Journalism at the University of Oregon. The collection includes correspondence; manuscripts, including the play, What the Gulls Knew; published materials; a scrapbook; and reminiscences.
(Ax 239)

Arvonen, Helen. (b. 1918).

Papers. 1947-1973. 7 ft.
Helen Arvonen is a Canadian-born author, now living in Sault Ste. Marie. The papers consist of manuscripts of two novels and five short stories. There are also 35 letters from Edith Margolis of the Lenninger Literary Agency.
(Ax 374)

Ayer, Margaret. (d. 1981).

Papers. 1944-1970. 4.5 ft.
Margaret Ayer was born in New York City and educated at the Museum School of Industrial Arts in Philadelphia. She was did illustrating for St. Nicholas magazine, and has written and illustrated many books. The papers include manuscripts, original illustrations, and copies of published works.
(Ax 506)

Barron, Ann.

Manuscript. 1967. 230 pp.
Ann Barron was a writer whose manuscript, Sleep, Sable Brother, was published in 1969 by Gold Medal Books under the title Strange Legacy.
(A216)

Barry, Iris Thorpe.

Papers. 1939-1973. 3.5 ft.
Iris Thorpe Barry wrote short stories, poetry, articles, and books. The collection contains correspondence and the original typed manuscripts of novels, short stories, and poems.
(Ax 227)

Benary-Isbert, Margot. (1889-1979).

Papers. 1950-1971. 4.5 ft.
Margot Benary-Isbert was a German-born naturalized U.S. citizen who began writing professionally in 1952. Her papers include manuscripts in German with English translations, notes, original illustrations, published articles, poems, book reviews, biographical information, and correspondence.
(Ax 394)

Bishop, Elizabeth. (1911-1979).

Letters to Carley Dawson. 1948-1949, 24 letters.
Elizabeth Bishop was born in Worcester, Massachusetts and graduated from Vassar College. In 1949-1950, she was a consultant in poetry at the Library of Congress. She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1956 for Poems: North and South (Boston, 1955). The letters refer to poets, poetry, and personal problems.
(A 214)

Bobbe, Dorothy de Bear. (1895-1975)

Papers. 1925-1972. 1.5 ft.
Dorothy de Bear Bobbe was an editor, reviewer, author, and historian. The collection includes correspondence, manuscripts, and research material.
(Ax 808)

Bratton, Helen. (b. 1899).

Papers. 1962-1969. 1.5 ft.
Helen Bratton was the poet laureate of Monterey Peninsula in 1962. Her papers include correspondence, manuscripts, notes, reviews, and biographical material.
(Ax 614)

Call, Hughie Florence (1890-1969).

Papers. 1936-1968. 1.5 cubic feet.
Hughie Florence Call was a writer, lecturer, and creative writing instructor. Her papers include correspondence, manuscripts, research notes, tearsheets, reviews, legal documents, and memorabilia.
(Coll. 73)

Collins, Mary Garden.

Papers. 1941-1953. 1 ft.
Mary Garden Collins was a California mystery writer. Her papers contain correspondence, including seven letters from Gertrude Atherton, 1943 to 1947; scrapbooks; and manuscripts.
(Ax 201)

Condon, Miriam L.

Papers. 1892-1968. 0.25 ft.
This collection contains manuscripts, documents, correspondence, photographs, and a travel notebook by Miriam Condon, a writer.
(A237)

Craig, Mary Francis. (b. 1923).

Papers. 1958-1979. 8 ft.
Mary Francis Craig was an author of short stories and articles for religious magazines and romances for confession magazines. She also wrote books for children and young people. Her early work was written as Mary Francis Shura. The papers consist of manuscripts, correspondence, biographical material, and photographs. Correspondence is with publishers and literary agents.
(Ax 435)

Davies, Mary Carolyn.

Papers. 1919-1934. 2.5 ft.
Mary Carolyn Davies was a writer and a poet. The collection includes manuscripts, business correspondence, reviews, biographical data, and photographs.

Day, Gerry.

Papers. 1949-1975. 3.5 ft. Gerry Day writes western stories and television scripts. The collection includes outlines, revisions, and manuscripts of screenplays, television scripts, and short stories.
(Ax 436)

Eaton, Minerva Hendershott.

Papers. 1 folder.
This collection contains documents, biographies, and reminiscences about the early history of Union County, Oregon. Most of these papers were delivered as addresses to the Pioneer Association of Union County.
(CB Ea85)

Eunson, Katherine Albert (1903-1970).

Papers. ca. 1940-1947. 0.5 ft.
The collection consists of manuscripts by Eunson (pseudonym Katherine Albert) and her husband, Dale Eunson, of plays, screen plays, and short stories.
(Ax 745)

Faubion, Nina Lane (1884-1945)

Papers. 1887-1938. 1 box.
Nina Lane Faubion, writer, artist, and amateur mycologist, was the daughter of Senator Harry Lane of Oregon. She was his secretary in Washington, D.C. Her papers include 20 letters to and from Nan Wood Honeyman, 1936-1938, and an unpublished manuscript, "Undiplomatic Relations," describing Congress and official Washington as she saw it between 1915 and 1917. The Faubion papers also contain letters and a scrapbook of Harry Lane.
(Ax 185)

Fetter, Elizabeth Head (1904-1972).

Papers. 1926-1972. 7.5 ft.
Elizabeth Head Fetter (pseudonym Hannah Lees) wrote detective and mystery stories. Her papers include correspondence, manuscripts, travel diaries, journals, biographical data, and published items.
(Ax 743)

Fetter, Elizabeth Head (1904-1972).

Papers. 1958-1987. 21 ft.
Ethel Nestell Fortner was a poet, editor, and book reviewer for The Human Voice, a poetry quarterly. She edited New as a Wave, written by her friend Eve Triem. The collection contains correspondence, manuscripts, poetry by other poets including Eve Triem, biographical material, scrapbooks, audio tapes, and photographs.
(Coll. 182)

Friermood, Elizabeth Hamilton (b. 1903).

Papers. 1951-1963. 1.5 ft.
Elizabeth Friermood was an author and public librarian in Indiana. The collection includes original manuscripts and related material as well as correspondence.
(Ax 453)

Fritz, Jean Guttery (b. 1915).

Papers. 1962-1969. 1 box.
Jean Guttery Fritz is a Chinese-born author of historical biographies and novels for juveniles. Her papers include manuscripts in several stages with related correspondence.
(Ax 664)

Fuller, Ethel Romig (1883-1965)

Papers. 1924-1965. 3 ft.
Ethel Romig Fuller was the poetry editor of the Oregonian and in 1957 was appointed Poet Laureate of Oregon by Governor Robert D. Holmes. The papers include manuscripts, correspondence, and scrapbooks. See also the Blanch DeGood Lofton papers.
(A 650)

Gates, Doris (1901-1987)

Papers. 1936-1985. 27 ft.
Doris Gates taught at San Jose State College and the University of San Francisco in the 1940s and was an author and editor of children's books. Her papers include correspondence, manuscripts, editorial files from Ginn and Company, letters from children, audio tapes, and books.
(Coll. 180)

Gorman, Mary (b. 1908).

Papers. 1940-1965. 3 ft.
Mary Gorman Palmtag wrote romance and confession stories. The collection includes manuscripts, published items from True Confessions and Modern Romances, and correspondence.
(Ax 139)

Glaser, Lillian Gerard.

In William and Lillian Glaser Papers. 1921-1963. 32 ft.
The Glasers specialized in printing color reproductions of illustrations for children's books, The collection includes correspondence, job-order files, manuscripts, art work, books printed by the Glasers, and some personal material.
(A 874)

Hall, Grace E. (Adams). (d. 1939)

Papers. 1892-1939. 3 ft.
Grace E. Hall was the poet-in-residence for the Portland Oregonian for twelve years. The papers include correspondence, manuscripts, tearsheets, photographs, and memorabilia.
(Ax 792)

Hamilton, Eloise (b. 1903)

Papers. 1948-1964. 1 box.
Eloise Hamilton was an Oregon poet and free-lance writer. The collection includes correspondence, manuscripts, and photographs.
(Ax 235)

Henry, Vera (b. 1909).

Papers. 1949-1967. 1 box.
Vera Henry wrote for confession magazines and was an editorial associate with the Writer's Digest. The papers include manuscripts of short stories and correspondence with Edith Margolis of Lenniger Literary Agency.
(Ax 376)

Hobart, Alice Tisdale (1882-1967).

Papers. 1917-1967. 4 ft.
Alice Tisdale Hobart was a writer who was inspired by a trip to China in 1910 to write The Cup and the Sword, Innocent Dreamers, and Venture into Darkness. The papers include manuscripts, source material, first editions, and correspondence.
(Ax 197)

Holberg, Ruth Langland (1889-1984).

Papers. 1923-1972. 6 ft.
Ruth Holberg was an author of books for juveniles, a poet, and a painter. Her papers include manuscripts, research notes, correspondence, a 1923 diary of her European travels, an journal from the late 1920s and early 1930s, and photographs.
(Coll. 179)

Hunt, Mary Vincent.

Manuscript. n.d. 309 pages.
The manuscript by Mary Vincent Hunt is of Night Song in Vegas.
(A 220)

Jackson, Jean.

Papers. 1953-1967. 1 box.
Jean Jackson writes confession stories. The collection includes manuscripts of confession stories and of a published article about how to make a confession story saleable, and correspondence with Edith Margolis of Lenniger Literary Agency.
(Ax 379)

Jones, Mary Alice Lange.

Papers. 1943-1977. 2.5 ft.
Mary Alice Jones writes romance and true-confession stories. The collection includes correspondence with Edith Margolis of Lenniger Literary Agency, manuscripts, college papers, account books, and memorabilia.
(Ax 344)

Joseph, Nannine (1890-1976).

Papers. 1930-1976. 10.5 ft.
Nannine Joseph was a literary agent who worked with Brandt and Brandt Literary Agency. The papers include correspondence with authors and clients, manuscripts, and collected photographs.
(Ax 821)

Kleihauer, Lois Dykeman (1907-1986).

Papers. 1944-1985. 1.75 cubic ft.
Lois Dykeman Kleihauer was an author and a poet. The papers include correspondence, manuscripts, published articles, financial material, and books.
(Coll. 143)

Knight, Ruth Adams (1894-1974)

Papers. 1938-1971. 7.5 ft.
Ruth Adams Knight was a writer who created her own radio series, "Brave Tomorrow," and wrote network programs. The collection includes manuscripts from all aspects of her writing career, correspondence, and published works.
(Ax 784)

Krautter, Elisa Bialk (b. 1912).

Papers. 1947-1968. 4.5 ft.
Elisa Bialk Krautter was a journalist and author for juveniles and adults. The papers include manuscripts, correspondence, and fan letters from children.
(Ax 503)

Lampman, Evelyn Sibley (1907-1980).

Papers. 1948-1980. 7 cubic ft.
Evelyn Sibley Lampman was a writer for radio stations in Portland and author of children's books. Her papers include correspondence, manuscripts, illustrations, a scrapbook, and photographs.
(Coll. 11)

Lea, Fanny Heaslip (1883-1955).

Papers. 1912-1955. 1.5 cubic ft.
Fanny Heaslip Lea was a short story writer and journalist. Manuscripts include her book, Poison; also included are correspondence and memorabilia.
(Coll. 22)

Lee, Borghild Lundberg (b. 1892).

Papers. 1908-1975. 1.5 ft.
This Norwegian-born author moved to Portland in 1924. Her papers include manuscripts, published poems, poems by others, correspondence, and photographs. There is one letter from Edna St. Vincent Millay.
(Ax 430)

Lenniger Literary Agency

Records. 1926-1978. 67 ft.
The records of the Lenniger Literary Agency contain the correspondence of August Lenniger, the agency's founder, and of Edith Margolis. Company ledgers are also included.

Levinger, Elma Ehrlich (1887-1958).

Papers. 1912-1958. 1.5 ft.
Elma Ehrlich Levinger was the wife of Lee Joseph Levinger (Ax 310). She wrote plays, novels, poems, and short stories, most of them related to or based on Jewish history and folklore. The collection contains manuscripts of her work.
(Ax 309)

Littell, Anita Damrosch.

In Robert Littell Papers. 1901-1963. 8 ft.
The Robert Littell Papers include letters that Anita Littell wrote to the Littell and Damrosch families from Europe, 1949 to 1963.
(Ax 400)

Lofton, Blanche De Good (1885-1971).

Papers. 1938-1963. 4 ft.
Blanche De Good Lofton was an Oregon poet and author of nonfiction articles. The collection includes manuscripts, scrapbooks of published pieces, copies of her books, and correspondence with Ethel Romig Fuller.
(Ax 282).

Lynch, Margaret Frances "Peg" (b. 1916).

Papers. 1944-1976. 46.5 cubic ft.
Margaret Frances Lynch was an author who wrote for television and radio and an actress. The collection includes radio and television scripts for "Ethel and Albert" and "The Couple Next Door," which she created and starred in with Alan Bunce. There is also material relating to the Radio Writers Guild, 1950 to 1952.
(Coll. 66).

Machetanz, Sara Burleson (b. 1918).

Papers. 1954-1961. 1 folder.
Sara Burleson Machetanz was born in Johnson City, Tennessee and educated at East Tennessee State College. With her husband, Frederick, she has written books and produced films about Eskimo life in Alaska. The papers include minor manuscript fragments, and 40 letters and a diary written at Unalakleet, Alaska, 1954-1955, describing experiences in an Eskimo village.
(A 219)

MacMillan, Eleanor (1889-1958).

Papers. 1902-1958. 1.25 cubic feet.
Eleanor MacMillan was a poet and critic who wrote for the Spectator (1924). Her poetry has been published in Oregon Business Woman, The Voice, and The Lariat at times under the pseudonyms of Etla Mack, Ted Mack, and June MacMillan Ordway. The collection includes manuscripts, reviews, scrapbooks, and memorabilia.
(Coll. 93)

McNulty, Faith.

Manuscripts. 1962-1963. 2 items.
This collection contains manuscripts of this writer's book, Wholly Cats (Bobbs-Merrill, 1962) and her story, "Collision in the City," (The New Yorker, August 3, 1963).
(A 201)

Martin, Lillie M. (1890-1975?)

Manuscripts. 1930-1950. 34 pieces.
Lillie Martin was a writer of short stories. The collection contains manuscripts of short stories written between 1930 and 1950.
(F813 M364)

Moore, Lilian.

Papers. 1959-1968. 1.5 ft.
Lilian Moore was a children's author, a member of the Bureau of Educational Research of the New York City Board of Education, and a representative for Scholastic Book Service. The collection includes manuscripts, galley proofs, and published items.
(Ax 434)

Moore, Rosalie (b. 1910)

Papers. 1935-1970. 1.5 ft.
Rosalie Moore was a poet, playwright, and writer who helped found the Activist Group and wrote The Grasshopper's Man (New Haven, 1939). Her real name was Gertrude Elizabeth Moore. The collection includes correspondence, manuscripts, and scrapbooks.
(Coll. 215)

Morrison, Dorothy.

Manuscripts. 1977-1979. 0.5 ft.
Dorothy Morrison is an author of historical works. The collection includes holograph revisions of Ladies Were Not Expected (Atheneum, 1977) and The Eagles and the Fort (Atheneum, 1979).
(Ax 862)

Norcross, Ellinor (1889-1972).

Poems. n.d. 2 folders.
Ellinor Norcross was an Oregon poet and a teacher. The collection contains manuscripts of published and unpublished poems.
(A192)

Nye, Sarah Litsey.

Miscellaneous Papers. 1943-1961. 1 folder.
Sarah Litsey Nye was a writer. The papers include correspondence, notes, and two manuscripts, "A Path to the Water" and "The Lady."
(A 287)

Offord, Lenore Glen (b. 1905).

Papers. 1943-1959. 1 ft.
Lenore Glen Offord was a mystery writer and a critic. The collection includes research and unpublished manuscripts on the Botkin murder case of 1898.
(Ax 845)

Phelps, Naomi

Papers. n.d. 2 ft.
The Naomi Phelps papers include manuscripts of published and unpublished poems, research notes about Idaho and a pamphlet, Briar Pipes (New York, 1935).
(Ax 222)

Robbins, Kate L. (b. 1834).

Letters. 1855-1886. 99 letters.
Kate L. Robbins was a pioneer. One series of her letters describes a sea journey and life at Indian Creek, California. Another series, from 1869 to 1886, describes living conditions in Ochoco and Prineville, Oregon.
(A105)

Rutland, Eva Elsie (Neal) (b. 1917).

Papers. 1949-1979. 0.75 ft.
Eva Elsie Rutland wrote The Trouble with Being a Mama (Abingdon Press, 1964) about life as a wife and mother of four in a middle class black family. The collection includes correspondence manuscripts, reviews, and memorabilia.
(Coll. 63)

Ryan, Queene B. Lister (1891-1973).

Papers. 1927-1956. 1 box.
This collection contains manuscripts and correspondence by this Oregon poet who published under the name Queen B. Lister.
(Ax 231)

Scherf, Margaret (1908-1979).

Papers. 1967-1972. 1.5 ft.
Margaret Scherf wrote mystery and detective stories. The collection includes correspondence with Isabelle Taylor and manuscripts.
(Ax 666)

Seely, Nell (1878-1968).

Papers. 1939-1965. 5 ft.
Nell Seely was an Oregon resident and composer of "Blue Night" (New York, 1944). The collection includes correspondence, music manuscripts, and music notebooks.
(Ax 585)

Stevenson, Janet (Marshall) (b. 1913).

Papers. 1929-1978. 7.5 ft.
Janet Marshall Stevenson was a writer, playwright and lecturer at West Coast colleges. The collection includes correspondence, manuscripts, political writings, and documents about her dismissal from the University of Southern California faculty in 1952.
(Ax 265)

Strong, Barbara Nolen (b. 1902).

Papers. 1965-1974. 3 ft.
A literary editor of Story Parade, Barbara Nolen Strong also wrote books about Africa and Mexico. The collection includes manuscripts written or edited by Strong and issues of Story Parade, 1937 to 1954 (incomplete).

Trimble, Jacquelyn Whitney (b. 1927).

Papers. 1958-1976. 3 ft.
Jacquelyn Whitney Trimble writes mystery stories. The collection includes correspondence, manuscripts, travel journals and literary journals.
(Ax 669)

Walden, Amelia Elizabeth (b. 1909).

Papers. 1954-1977. 1.5 cubic ft.
Amelia E. Walden taught English and drama from 1929 to 1945, and has written over 40 young-adult novels. The collection includes manuscripts and galley proofs, page proofs, and production information and a copy of Heartbreak Tennis (Westminster Press, 1977).
(Coll. 054)

Waldo, Mary Jane (1915-1967).

Papers. 1948-1965. 3 ft.
Waldo wrote for the Portland Oregonian as well as romance and confession stories. The collection includes manuscripts, poems, manuscripts by Peg Bracken Lull and Jean Loftus, and correspondence.
(Ax 427)

Way, Isabel Stewart (b. 1904).

Papers. 1931-1973. 4.5 ft.
Isabel Stewart Way wrote short stories and novels. The collection includes correspondence, manuscripts, and published books.
(Ax 371)

Werner, Vivian Lescher (b. 1921).

Papers. 1961-1975. 1.5 ft.
Vivian Lescher Werner was a free-lance writer for juveniles. The collection contains manuscripts and correspondence.
(Ax 641)

Whiteley, Opal Stanley (b. 1897).

Papers. 1911-1922. 2.5 ft.
Opal Stanley Whitely was an amateur naturalist who attended the University of Oregon from 1916 to 1918. Her family moved to Walden, Oregon around the time Opal Whiteley turned six years old. It was in Walden at around the age of six that she purportedly wrote her controversial nature diary. She also wrote a collection of lectures on nature called The Fairyland Around Us (Los Angeles, 1918). The collection consists of photographs, correspondence, class notes, personal notes and memoranda, material relating to her Christian Endeavor work, collected printed matter, and books.
(Ax 97)

Winston, Clara (1921-1983).

In the Richard and Clara Winston Papers. 1967-1978. 4.5 ft.
Clara and Richard Winston were professional translators, who translated mainly from German. The collection includes manuscript translations from German, Dutch, and French as well as outlines, proofs, and revisions.
(Ax 672)

Woodman, Ruth Cornwall (1895-1970).

Papers. 1914-1969. 12 ft.
Ruth Cornwall Woodman was the author of scripts for "Death Valley Days." The collection includes correspondence, manuscripts, radio and television scripts of "Death Valley Days," and research material for a history of the Pacific Coast Borax Company.
(Ax 690)

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Preferred Citation Format for SCUA Materials

[Identification of item], Date (if known), Collection Title, Collection Number, Box and Folder number [or photo ID number], Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.

Mission | Special Collections & University Archives

Special Collections and University Archives is the primary repository for the University of Oregon’s archives, rare books, historic photographs, and one of the largest historical manuscripts collections in the Pacific Northwest. Our mission is to acquire, preserve, and make available a clearly defined set of primary sources and rare books, reflecting the written, visual, and audio history and culture of Oregon, the Pacific Northwest, and selected aspects of American and world history. Our diverse collections support all types of research, from K–12 education to international scholarship. We strive to play an active and creative role in the teaching, research, and service missions of the University.

Historical Collection Strengths

  • Oregon history, politics, culture
  • Authors and illustrators of children’s books
  • The conservative and libertarian movement in the last half of the twentieth century
  • Popular literature, with an emphasis on Western fiction
  • Missionaries to foreign countries, especially in the Far East
  • Labor History
  • Journalism and Communications
  • Photographs of the Northwest, including the Major Lee Moorhouse and Angelus Studio collections
  • Environmental history
  • Northwest literature, including fiction by Ken Kesey, Damon Knight, Kate Wilhelm, Ursula K. Le Guin, Molly Gloss, and William Stafford
  • Doris Ulmann photograph archives of Appalachia
  • Utopian and intentional communities
  • Northwest architecture
  • Northwest economic history