Alberte Spratt Sea of Cortez Illustrations, circa 1940, Date acquired: 05/01/1968
Collection context
Summary
- Creator:
- Spratt, Alberte
- Extent:
- 46 items
- 1 boxes
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
[Title of Item], [Date of Item], Alberte Spratt Sea of Cortez Illustrations, Special Collections & Archives, Florida State University Libraries, Tallahassee, Florida. http://purl.fcla.edu/fsu/MSS_0-348
Background
- Scope and content:
46 original drawings used as illustrations for Sea of Cortez by John Steinbeck and Edward Ricketts, 1941.
- Biographical / historical:
For nearly a decade before his death in 1968, American author John Steinbeck maintained a steady correspondence and close friendship with Jack Rudloe, founder of Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratory in Panacea, Florida. An amateur marine specimen collector, Steinbeck made a six-week collecting trip in 1940 around the Baja Peninsula in the Gulf of California with his friend, Ed Ricketts, a professional marine biologist in Monterey's Cannery Row (and the inspiration for Steinbeck's fictional character, Doc). The famous journey, on the vessel, The Western Flyer—a 75-foot purse seiner—was documented in the 1941 book, the Sea of Cortez, which featured delicate, pencil illustrations of sea urchins, sun stars and bristleworms cataloged and processed on the trip (more than 500 species of fauna were documented on the voyage). As a gesture of friendship, Stenbeck gave Rudloe, the original portfolio of drawings by California artist Alberte Spratt (1893-1950).
- Acquisition information:
Gift of Jack Rudloe
Gift from Rudloe and his wife, Anne, a marine biologist and FSU adjunct professor.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
Access and use
- Restrictions:
This collection is open to all researchers.
This collection is in an offsite storage location. Please contact lib-specialcollections@fsu.edu with requests for access or for more information.
- Terms of access:
These drawings are in copyright in the United States. Re-use or copying of these works beyond Fair Use may require permission from the rights-holder.
All requests for permission to quote, publish, broadcast or otherwise reproduce from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Associate Dean for Special Collections & Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Florida State University Libraries as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
- Preferred citation:
[Title of Item], [Date of Item], Alberte Spratt Sea of Cortez Illustrations, Special Collections & Archives, Florida State University Libraries, Tallahassee, Florida. http://purl.fcla.edu/fsu/MSS_0-348
- Location of this collection:
-
116 Honors WayTallahasseeFL32306-2047USA
