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The Glenn Noble Research Files

Collection Summary

Origin of Collection: This is a collection of research files on local history accumulated by local historian Glenn Noble. His widow Lillian Noble donated the files to Lincoln City Libraries in 1993.

Collection Name: Heritage Manuscripts Noble [Papers 1940s-1980s.]

Extent of Collection: 9.25 linear feet of files, with 2 linear feet of additional notebooks, manuscripts, and ephemera.

Storage: 9.25 linear feet of files in acid free folders in hanging files. Additional materials in original format.

Abstract: Local historian Glenn Noble (1902-1989) created this collection in researching books and articles on the history of southeast Nebraska and the Brownville and Nebraska City areas. The collection consists of newspaper clippings, historical ephemera, letters, interview notes, pamphlets and publications, manuscripts and notebooks. The disintegrating newspaper clippings have been copied onto acid-free paper to permit continued access.

Dates: The majority of the collection dates from the 1920s to the 1980s.

Repository: The Jane Pope Geske Heritage Room of Nebraska Authors, Bennett Martin Public Library, 136 South 14th Street, Lincoln, Nebraska 68508-1899. Phone: (402) 441-8516.

Rights: No brief comprehensive statement about rights can be made for this collection.

Restrictions: Researchers may view the materials and take notes in pencil. Photocopying of files and ephemera is generally permitted. Lincoln City Libraries retains all publication rights to previously unpublished materials. The use of unpublished materials from this collection will be considered on a case by case basis, and requires written application. Permission to publish must be obtained in writing from the Library Director, and researchers may expect that the review period for permission may be a month or more. Researchers are expected to follow all applicable copyright laws.

Publications: The following publications have drawn on this collection:

Noble, Glenn. Flashes from the story of colorful old Brownville. Brownville: Brownville Historical Society, 1978.
Noble, Glenn. John Brown and the Jim Lane Trail. Broken Bow: Purcells, 1977.
Noble, Glenn. Historically eventful Nebraska City. Nebraska City, 1981.
Noble, Glenn. Frontier Steamboat Town: First Fort Kearney; Nebraska City: Westward Impact. Lincoln: Midgard, 1989.

 

dsc: 7-9-2006

Rudolph Umland Papers and Archives

Collection Summary

Origin of Collection: Rudolph Umland donated this collection to Lincoln City Libraries in 1989.

Collection Name: Rudolph Umland Papers and Archives.

Extent of Collection: 4.8 linear feet of Scrapbooks, manuscripts, and files. Umland’s 15 volume Scrapbook accounts for 75% of the materials in the collection.

Storage: In acid free boxes. Materials in original folders, or in scrapbooks prepared by Umland himself. Humidity and temperature are monitored and controlled.

Abstract: Rudolph “Rudy” Umland, 1907-1993, was a local farm boy who became a prolific writer of essays, short fiction, local history, and book reviews. He was educated sporadically at the University of Nebraska. A penetrating intellect leavened with a generous sense of humor displayed in his writing attracted the interest of Lowry Wimberly, editor of the Prairie Schooner. Wimberly got Umland a job with the troubled Nebraska WPA Federal Writers’ Project. Umland rescued the Project, becoming its de facto editor, Assistant State Director (1936-1940), and State Director (1940-1941). Umland organized and edited the Project’s most significant publications. Umland befriended or worked with many writers, including Mari Sandoz, Weldon Kees, and Loren Eiseley . The multivolume Scrapbook and files in this collection trace his early life, his education, travels as a hobo, work on the Federal Writers’ Project, his military service and government career. The majority of materials in the Scrapbook are copies, clippings, or reprints of his published journal, magazine and newpaper articles and reviews.

Dates: Inclusive dates are 1890-1988.

Repository: The Jane Pope Geske Heritage Room of Nebraska Authors, Bennett Martin Public Library, 136 South 14th Street, Lincoln, Nebraska 68508-1899. Phone: (402) 441-8516.

Rights: A large portion of the collection consists of published articles and ephemera which are under publishers’ copyrights. Rights to correspondence remain with the respective authors. Lincoln City Libraries owns rights to Umland’s unpublished work in the collection.

Restrictions: Researchers may view the materials and take notes in pencil. These materials may not be photocopied. Lincoln City Libraries retains all publication rights to previously unpublished materials. The use of unpublished materials from this collection will be considered on a case by case basis, and requires written application. Permission to publish must be obtained in writing from the Library Director, and researchers may expect that the review period for permission may be a month or more. Researchers are expected to follow all applicable copyright laws.

Related Holdings: The Gale E. Christianson Collection of Eiseley Research Materials contains an extensive correspondence between Gale Christianson and Rudolph Umland and some photographs of Umland as an older man.

The Nebraska State Historical Society has an Umland Collection.

 

dsc: 7-9-2006

Weldon Kees Papers and Archives

Biographical Sketch

H. Weldon Kees (1914-1955?), writer, poet, composer, musician, filmmaker and artist, was born in Beatrice, Nebraska. Educated at Doane College, the University of Missouri, and the University of Chicago, he finally received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Nebraska in 1935. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in library science from the University of Denver in 1939. While in Nebraska, Kees worked for the Federal Writers’ Project, contributing short stories and articles. In the late 1930s, Kees married Ann Swan and moved to Denver, Colorado. There he worked for the Denver Public Library and as Acting Director of the Bibliographic Center for Research, Rocky Mountain Region. In 1943 Kees moved to New York, where he wrote for Paramount News, Time Magazine, and for six months served as Art Critic for The Nation.

In 1949 Kees founded Forum 49 in Provincetown, Massachusetts. This group sought to bring together all the arts with artists such as Hans Hoffman, Robert Motherwell, Adolph Gottlieb and Elaine de Kooning. At the same time, Kees’ paintings were included in a series of shows at the Peridot Gallery in New York City, and his poetry appeared in respected literary journals and magazines, most notably the Robinson poems in the New Yorker. Eventually the Kees tired of New York and the couple moved to San Francisco, where Weldon entered the film and music scene. He composed the music for James Broughton’s film “The Adventures of Jimmy” (1951). He collaborated on films with anthropologist Gregory Bateson, and produced his own experimental films, such as “Hotel Apex.” With associate and friend Michael Grieg, Kees co-produced both “Behind the Movie Camera,” a weekly radio program for KPFA, Berkeley; and “The Poet’s Follies,” (1955) a vaudeville program. In July 1955, Kees disappeared, leaving his car on the Golden Gate Bridge.

History of the Collection

Mrs. Sarah Kees, Weldon Kees’ mother, gave the Weldon Kees Papers to Lincoln City Libraries in 1963. The Papers include letters, manuscripts, photographs, audiotape, and films. Since 1963 the Kees Papers have been joined by two closely related collections, the Kees-Getty Correspondence, donated in 1978 by Norris Getty, and the Robert Knoll Research Files, given to the Heritage Room by Robert Knoll in 1986. The three collections, while physically separate, have come to be known together as the Kees Archives.

Kees Archives Summary (Component collections are listed separately)

The Weldon Kees Papers

Collection Summary

Origin of Collection: The collection originated in materials collected from Weldon Kees apartment by his parents, John and Sarah Kees, after Kees’ death or disappearance in 1955. The parents added their own collection of photographs and other materials and Sarah Kees donated the collection to Lincoln City Libraries in 1963.

Collection Name: The Weldon Kees Papers.

Extent of Collection: Two linear feet of files and scrapbooks. In addition: Film reels of many sizes, including unedited film for the unpublished Point Reyes project, and audio recordings.

Storage: Except for photographs, all original file folders and contents have been retained as donated (folders have Weldon Kees’ and Sarah Kees’ writing and labels), but have been placed in an acid free container. Scrapbooks are shelved above the papers. Photographs are in a cased album. Audio and film materials are stored in darkness. Humidity and temperature are monitored and controlled.

Abstract: Contains correspondence, draft correspondence, manuscripts, photographs, scrapbooks, raw and edited film, audio recordings and ephemera comprising the estate of Weldon Kees, an important figure in the literary and art world from the early 1940s into the pre-beat scene of the 1950s.

Dates: Inclusive dates are 1916-1961, however the bulk of the collection dates from 1942-1955.

Repository: The Jane Pope Geske Heritage Room of Nebraska Authors, Bennett Martin Public Library, 136 South 14th Street, Lincoln, Nebraska 68508-1899. Phone: (402) 441-8516.

Rights: Lincoln City Libraries holds the copyrights to all original unpublished Kees materials in this collection. Collaborative materials and all other materials may have other copyholders. Researchers are expected to follow all applicable copyright laws.

Restrictions: Researchers may view the materials and take notes in pencil only. These materials may not be photocopied. Items in the accordion file may be viewed item by item only. Lincoln City Libraries retains all publication rights to previously unpublished materials. The use of unpublished materials from this collection will be considered on a case by case basis, and requires written application. Permission to publish must be obtained in writing from the Library Director, and researchers may expect that the review period for permission may be a month or more. Researchers are expected to follow all applicable copyright laws.

Finding Aids: A paper finding aid is available from Heritage Room staff.

Publications: The following publications have drawn on this collection:
Robert E. Knoll, ed. Weldon Kees and the Midcentury Generation. Letters, 1935-1955. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1986.
James Reidel Vanished Act: The Life and Art of Weldon Kees. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2003
Daniel A. Siedell, ed. Weldon Kees and the Arts at Midcentury. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2003

The Weldon Kees—Norris Getty Correspondence

Collection Summary

Origin of Collection: Norris Getty saved his correspondence with Weldon Kees and donated it to Bennett Martin Public Library in 1978.

Collection Name: The Weldon Kees—Norris Getty Correspondence.

Extent of Collection: One linear foot of files.

Storage: Acid free box, materials were left in original folders because of notations on the folders themselves. Humidity and temperature are monitored and controlled.

Abstract: Norris Getty and Weldon Kees met when both worked for the WPA’s Federal Writers’ Project in Nebraska in the mid 1930s. The friendship lasted until Kees death and the two corresponded regularly. Getty taught classics at the Groton School while Kees established himself as an important figure in the literary and art world from the early 1940s into the pre-beat scene of the 1950s. Most of the collection is correspondence, however there are a few published items or third party items that postdate Kees death/disappearance in 1955.

Dates: Inclusive dates are 1937 to 1961.

Repository: The Jane Pope Geske Heritage Room of Nebraska Authors, Bennett Martin Public Library, 136 South 14th Street, Lincoln, Nebraska 68508-1899. Phone: (402) 441-8516.

Rights: Norris Getty transferred both ownership and his own copyrights to the Libraries when he donated the collection in 1978. Acting for Lincoln City Libraries, the City Attorney obtained releases from the Kees heirs. Lincoln City Libraries owns all copyrights in this correspondence.

Restrictions: Researchers may view the materials and take notes in pencil only. These materials may not be photocopied. Lincoln City Libraries retains all publication rights to previously unpublished materials. The use of unpublished materials from this collection will be considered on a case by case basis, and requires written application. Permission to publish must be obtained in writing from the Library Director, and researchers may expect that the review period for permission may be a month or more. Researchers are expected to follow all applicable copyright laws.

Finding Aids: A paper finding aid is available from Heritage Room staff.

Publications: The following publications have drawn on this collection:
Robert E. Knoll, ed. Weldon Kees and the Midcentury Generation. Letters, 1935-1955. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1986..
James Reidel Vanished Act: The Life and Art of Weldon Kees. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2003
Daniel A. Siedell, ed. Weldon Kees and the Arts at Midcentury. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2003

The Robert Knoll Research Files

Collection Summary

Origin of Collection: Robert Knoll collected these files in the Heritage Room during his writing of Weldon Kees and the Midcentury Generation. Letters, 1935-1955 (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1986). In 1993 Knoll transferred all ownership and authority over the collection to Lincoln City Libraries. Original materials in these files were donated to Lincoln City Libraries by Bernice Wells, Margaret Smith, Anton Myrer, Robert and Kay Helm, and Nancy Johnson.

Collection Name: The Robert Knoll Research Files.

Extent of Collection: Approximately 3.5 linear feet of files, boxed manuscripts, and publications.

Storage: In acid free folders, original folders or original containers. Fragile materials in mylar sleeves. Humidity and temperature are monitored and controlled.

Abstract: The bulk of this collection consists of published materials, Knoll’s notes, and his files on Kees’ correspondents, and Knoll’s own correspondence with people in Kees’ circle. Some files contain original Kees correspondence and ephemera.

Dates: Inclusive dates are 1914-1987, the bulk of the materials date from 1937-1984.

Repository: The Jane Pope Geske Heritage Room of Nebraska Authors, Bennett Martin Public Library, 136 South 14th Street, Lincoln, Nebraska 68508-1899. Phone: (402) 441-8516.

Rights: No brief, comprehensive statement about rights can be made for this collection. Lincoln City Libraries owns literary rights to many of the unpublished materials in the collection.

Restrictions: Researchers may view the materials and take notes in pencil only. These materials may not be photocopied. Lincoln City Libraries retains all publication rights to previously unpublished materials. The use of unpublished materials from this collection will be considered on a case by case basis, and requires written application. Permission to publish must be obtained in writing from the Library Director, and researchers may expect that the review period for permission may be a month or more. Researchers are expected to follow all applicable copyright laws.

Finding Aids: A paper finding aid is available from Heritage Room staff.

Publications: The following publications have drawn on this collection:
Robert E. Knoll, ed. Weldon Kees and the Midcentury Generation. Letters, 1935-1955. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1986.
James Reidel Vanished Act: The Life and Art of Weldon Kees. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2003
Daniel A. Siedell, ed. Weldon Kees and the Arts at Midcentury. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2003

Loren Eiseley Summary and Holdings

Biographical sketch

Nebraskan Loren Eiseley (1907-1977), an anthropologist who taught for many years at the University of Pennsylvania, became one of the most admired nature writers of the twentieth century. Drawn to literary pursuits as well as the sciences, Eiseley made of himself a kind of poet-scientist. As an undergraduate at the University of Nebraska he contributed poetry and essays to Prairie Schooner and became one of the journal’s student editors. His career as an anthropologist took him from the University of Kansas, to Oberlin College, to the University of Pennsylvania where he was Benjamin Franklin Professor of Anthropology and the History of Science. His book Darwin’s Century was considered a brilliant contribution to our understanding of the origins of Darwinism that invited its broad audience to think about the science in cultural context. Eiseley’s efforts, and his example, helped establish History of Science as a professional field of study at American universities.

Much of Eiseley’s writing on anthropological subjects had a strong meditative and even introspective cast. He was a powerful essayist who gained an ever widening audience for his ability to show us how much our investigations of the natural world can teach us about human insight and human limitations. His writing gained him admirers and correspondents as diverse as the science fiction writer Ray Bradbury, the poet W.H. Auden, and the cultural critic Lewis Mumford. The collections document the personal and professional life of this influential public intellectual.

Eiseley Collections in the Heritage Room

The Gale E. Christianson Collection of Eiseley Research Materials

Collection Summary

Origin of Collection: This collection was assembled by Gale E. Christianson in researching his biography of Eiseley, Fox at the Wood’s Edge: A Biography of Loren Eiseley New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1990. Christianson donated the materials to Lincoln City Libraries in 2005.

Collection Name: The Gale E. Christianson Collection of Eiseley Research Materials

Extent of Collection: The collection consists of 9.5 linear feet of files and manuscripts and, additionally, 95 cassette recordings of interviews.

Storage: Papers are in acid free folders in hanging files. All folders retain Christianson’s original label text. Photographs and negatives in acid free or non-reactive protective envelopes. Audio tapes stored separately and scheduled for conservation. Humidity and temperature are monitored and controlled

Abstract: This collection offers much documentation of Eiseley’s early years and career that is new and not available anywhere else. It also includes many new sources on Eiseley’s later years. Christianson corresponded with Eiseley’s teachers, friends, and colleagues, some of whom wrote extensive essays about their experiences with Eiseley. Christianson also interviewed many of these people on tape, and the tapes and his notes are included in the collection. Christianson obtained research materials from many university and publishing house archives. For a more extensive description see the Introduction. A finding aid is available in the Heritage Room. The recordings in this collection are currently undergoing conservation work and may not be available. Contact the Heritage Room for information about availability of these materials.

Repository: The Jane Pope Geske Heritage Room of Nebraska Authors, Bennett Martin Public Library, 136 South 14th Street, Lincoln, Nebraska 68508-1899. Phone: (402) 441-8516.

Rights: No brief comprehensive statement can be made about the rights to papers in this collection. Lincoln City Libraries has physical ownership of the collection. Rights to original correspondence in this collection remain with the authors of the correspondence or their estates. Rights to the older photographs in the collection generally belong to the University of Pennsylvania Museum. See additional information under “restrictions” below.

Restrictions: Researchers may view the materials and take notes in pencil only. Materials bearing the stamp of other archives may generally be viewed, but cannot be copied, or, for publication, reproduced, quoted, or cited without permission from the originating archive. Usage notes in the finding aid note these limitations. Other restrictions may apply. Photocopying is not permitted. Lincoln City Libraries retains any rights it may have to unpublished materials in this collection. Researchers are expected to follow all copyright laws.

Finding Aids: An INTRODUCTORY SURVEY and a paper File List and Item Inventory are available in the Heritage Room.

The Lazlo Kubinyi Collection of Eiseley Book Illustration

Collection Summary

Origin of Collection: Collection created by Laszlo Kubinyi.

Collection Name: The Laszlo Kubinyi Collection of Eiseley Book Illustrations.

Extent of Collection: 22 original drawings.

Storage: In acid free protective mats in flat acid free box. Temperature and humidity are monitored and controlled.

Abstract: Laszlo Kubinyi illustrated Eiseley’s poetry collections The Innocent Assassins and Notes of an Alchemist. This is a collection of over twenty original drawings for those volumes.

Repository: The Jane Pope Geske Heritage Room of Nebraska Authors, Bennett Martin Public Library, 136 South 14th Street, Lincoln, Nebraska 68508-1899. Phone: (402) 441-8516.

Rights: The artist, Laszlo Kubinyi, retains all rights.

Restrictions: The collection may be viewed under supervision by Library staff. The collection may be used for Library displays in the Library only. The artwork may not photographed, scanned, copied, or reproduced by any means.

Lincoln City Libraries Eiseley Collection

Due to long standing interest of library staff and, after Eiseley’s death, cooperation between the Libraries and The Friends of Loren Eiseley, an organization incorporated in 1982 to celebrate the life and works of Loren Eiseley, the Library gradually accumulated its own collection of Eiseley materials. These materials include Eiseley correspondence, letters from Eiseley’s teachers and fellow students at the University describing their experiences with him, and Eiseley display materials acquired from a variety of sources. The Friends of Loren Eiseley have donated various individual items to the Heritage Room. These include a painting by Eiseley’s mother, and a doll house, the subject of one of Eiseley’s poems, from his office at the University of Pennsylvania.

Collection Summary

Origin of Collection: The collection was assembled by Lincoln City Libraries staff, and by The Friends of Loren Eiseley, who subsequently donated display materials to the Heritage Room at Bennett Martin Public Library.

Collection Name: Bennett Martin Public Library Collection of Eiseley Materials

Extent of Collection: Two four inch deep 16X20 inch storage boxes, one photoalbum, sixteen linear inches of vertical files, and display objects including a framed painting and a doll house.

Storage: Documents are stored in acid free folders. Fragile original Eiseley correspondence stored in mylar sleeves. Temperature and humidity are monitored and controlled.

Abstract: Collection includes library correspondence with Eiseley, library correspondence with Nebraska residents who were close to Eiseley in his early years, Eiseley correspondence with friends, photographs, and display objects.

Repository: The Jane Pope Geske Heritage Room of Nebraska Authors, Bennett Martin Public Library, 136 South 14th Street, Lincoln, Nebraska 68508-1899. Phone: (402) 441-8516.

Rights: In most cases, copyrights for letters in this collection belong to the respective authors of those letters. All rights to photographs in the photograph album belong to the University of Pennsylvania.

Restrictions: Researchers may view the materials and take notes in pencil only. Requests to copy, photograph or otherwise reproduce materials from the collection will be considered. Fragile materials may not be copied. The library retains any rights it may have in the unpublished materials in this collection.

Nebraska Academy of Science Eiseley Donation

Collection Summary

Origin of Collection: C. Bertram Schultz and Loren Eiseley worked together as part of the Old South Party team of bone diggers sponsored by the Nebraska State Museum in the 1930s. Schultz eventually became Director of the Museum and Eiseley joined the faculties of Kansas and Oberlin, finally settling at the University of Pennsylvania for the majority of his career. Schultz and Eiseley kept a professional and personal correspondence that spanned from their done hunting days at Nebraska until Eiseley’s death in 1977. The highlights of this donation include letters between Mabel and Loren Eiseley and Schultz, photographs of Eiseley’s induction to the Nebraska Hall of Fame, reproductions of some of Eiseley’s writings, clippings about Eiseley, and files on two memorial services that were held at Eiseley’s death. This donation was assembled by staff at the Nebraska Academy of Science and given to the Friends of Loren Eiseley which deposited it with the Jane Pope Geske Heritage Room of Nebraska Authors. It was processed for storage by Christine Pappas—a job completed on Jan. 11, 2001.

Collection Name: Nebraska Academy of Science Eiseley Donation

Extent of Collection: Four inches of files.

Storage: Documents are stored in acid free folders in acid free document box. Humidity and temperature are monitored and controlled.

Abstract: Includes the C. Bertram Schultz-Loren Eiseley Correspondence: 1943-1978; other correspondence regarding Eiseley, photographs, newspaper clippings, and materials from memorial convocations held after Eiseley’s death in Pennsylvania and Nebraska.

Repository: The Jane Pope Geske Heritage Room of Nebraska Authors, Bennett Martin Public Library, 136 South 14th Street, Lincoln, Nebraska 68508-1899. Phone: (402) 441-8516.

Rights: The Library has been given physical ownership of the collection.

Restrictions: Researchers may view the materials and take notes in pencil only. Requests to copy, photograph or otherwise reproduce materials from the collection will be considered. Fragile materials may not be copied. The library retains any rights it may have in the unpublished materials in this collection.

Eiseley Association Books

The Friends of Loren Eiseley and the family of C. Bertram Schultz have donated a number of Eiseley association books to the library. These are now held in the Heritage Room: EISELEY ASSOCIATION BOOK LIST

Archival Collections

The Heritage Room archive contains manuscripts, artwork, photographs, letters, scrapbooks and other unpublished materials by Nebraska authors and from Nebraskans prominent in the publishing world, including:

Loren Eiseley Summary and Holdings
Weldon Kees Papers and Archives
Guide to the Dorothy Thomas Archive
Rudolph Umland Papers and Archives
The Glenn Noble Research Files
The Wright Morris-Victor Musselman Correspondence
Clifton Hillegass Papers

Contact the Heritage Room:

The Jane Pope Geske Heritage Room of Nebraska Authors
Bennett Martin Public Library
136 South 14th Street
Lincoln, NE 68508-1899

Phone: 402-441-8516

E-mail: heritage@lincoln.ne.gov

Regular hours:

Sunday: 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Monday – Thursday: 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM

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Support the Heritage Room:

Join the Nebraska Literary Heritage Association to support the Heritage Room. Donations to the Foundation for Lincoln City Libraries may also be designated for the Heritage Room.

Donate Books or Papers to the Heritage Room:

We would enjoy discussing any possible donations of works by Nebraska authors or author memorabilia with you. We provide a Certificate of Gift for those who cannot visit in person.