Walter and Dorothy Donnelly family papers, 1887-2021
Collection context
Summary
- Creator:
- Donnelly, Walter
- Donnelly, Dorothy, 1903-1994
- Abstract:
- The materials show the Donnellys' diverse and far-reaching interests, primarily in the humanities. A majority of the materials are about typography and typophiles, including monographs and chap books.
- Extent:
- 7.5 Linear Feet 15 Boxes, 1 Flat File
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
Walter and Dorothy Donnelly Family Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida Libraries, Orlando, Florida.
Background
- Scope and content:
The collection is arranged in three series, Family Papers, Typophiles and Additional Materials.
Series I, Family Papers, 1887-1979, Undated, contains family photographs, memorabilia, poetry, and collected information on printers, printing and typography.
Series II, Typophiles, 1941-1969, Undated, consists of materials collected by the Donnellys as members of the organization of printers, typographers and appreciators of bookmaking. Materials include Chap Book Commentaries, fine press published information about the typophiles as a group, similar to an organizational newsletter that includes a colophon. Keepsakes were items created for an event such as Christmas to exhibit typographic skills. The Monographs are small examples of printing that exemplify the best of design, typography, and technique.
Series III, Additional Materials, 1909-2021, Undated, consists of seven boxes of card catalogs Walter and Dorothy Donnelly created to keep track of their inventory of the book collection. Various incoming and outgoing letters to the Donnellys, newspaper clippings, articles, poetry, and unpublished and published writings by the Donnellys can be found in the series. The personal books of Dorothy Donnelly, including her daily missal and reading and diary journals, are also featured.
- Biographical / historical:
Walter Donnelly and Dorothy Boillotat Donnelly collected thousands of fine books between 1920-1994, for their family library at 612 Lawrence Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Walter (1900-1981) was Editor of the University of Michigan Press when he retired in 1970. Dorothy (1903-1994) was an award-winning poet. They have three sons, Jerome, Stephen, and Denis.
In 1931 Dorothy and Walter were married, Dorothy completed her Master's Degree from the University of Michigan, and she won the Avery Hopwood Contest. The $1,500 prize enabled the couple to live in France and Italy for a time. Dorothy wrote several acclaimed books of poetry as well as numerous articles for the magazine transition (always spelled in the lower case), publishing work by writers such as Hart Crane, Ernest Hemingway and Carl Jung. Eugene Jolas, the French editor of transition, wrote Dorothy in 1931, "You are the only one in America whose writing seems to me to be going in the right direction."
Walter also published some poetry and wrote plays with playwright and screenwriter Paul Osborn when the two were in college at the University of Michigan. After living in Greenwich Village and Paris, he returned to Ann Arbor to accept a position at the University of Michigan editing Museum Publications as well as doing editorial work for the Press.
The Donnelly's had a keen interest in the printing arts. Collected materials include examples from the best paper-makers, type designers, typographers, book binders, and printers as well as those artists involved in book illustrations. Notable in the collection are numerous publications of The Typophiles, a small group of graphic arts professionals based in New York, including luminaries like Bruce Rogers and Frederic W. Goudy. The Typophiles, who began meeting around 1932, are still meeting and publishing today.
- Acquisition information:
- The Donnelly sons donated their parents' collection to the University of Central Florida Library in 1999 (CFM1999_08). Additional materials received from Jerome Donnelly in 2020 (CFM2020_06; CFM2020_10), 2021 (CFM2021_21), and 2022 (CFM2022_05).
- Processing information:
Collection processed by Nadine Helm and Elizabeth Konzak; finding aid created by Nadine Helm and Elizabeth Konzak. The materials were organized and foldered. Some materials have water damage and were freeze dried in August 2006. Ria Heising and Suphi Burak Ogreten added addional materials received from Jerome Donnelly in 2021. Ria Heising and Suphi Burak Ogreten added addional materials received from Jerome Donnelly in 2021. Addition processed and finding aid updated by Amelia Cuttle in 2023.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
Access and use
- Restrictions:
The entire collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
Unpublished records are protected by copyright. Permission to publish quote or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.
- Preferred citation:
Walter and Dorothy Donnelly Family Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida Libraries, Orlando, Florida.
- Location of this collection:
-
John C. Hitt Library12701 Pegasus Drive, Building 2OrlandoFL32816-8030USA
