|
The papers of writer, folklorist, and educator J. Frank Dobie contain numerous manuscript
drafts for Dobie's books, articles, and newspaper columns; voluminous correspondence
to and
from family, friends, writers, folklorists, educators, politicians, publishers, editors,
book dealers, artists, students, and the general public; extensive subject files of
research
material; personal, financial, and legal papers; as well as works received from friends
and
students and third party correspondence. Spanning circa 1700 to 1988, the papers are
arranged in two series: I. Dobie Papers, 1848-1966 and II. Later Dobie Papers Acquisitions,
circa 1700-1988. The papers are primarily written in English with some Spanish language
material also present. The papers in Series I. were previously described on an estimated
17,000 catalog cards (12 drawers) accessible only onsite at the Ransom Center. This
finding
aid replicates and replaces information previously available only through the card
catalog. |
|
The Dobie works represented (1,113 titles) are primarily shorter works dating back
to the
1920s, the bulk of which appeared in his newspaper columns. Longer works from the
1940s
forward are also present including The Mustangs (1952), Tales of Old-time Texas (1955), I'll Tell You a Tale (1960), Cow People (1964), and the posthumously published autobiographical
Some Part of Myself (1967). Also present are materials for
unpublished works, such as an unrealized reader called "Heritage of West and Southwest" and a collection of off-color tales
with the working title "Piss and Vinegar." |
|
Chief correspondents include his wife, Bertha McKee Dobie; his mother, Ella Byler
Dobie;
and his publisher, Little, Brown and Company. Other notable correspondents include
Roy
Bedichek, Maynard Dixon, Fred Gipson, John Howard Griffin, John Graves, Carl Hertzog,
President Lyndon Baines Johnson, Tom Lea, John A. Lomax, Alexander Phimister Proctor,
Carl
Sandburg, Ross Santee, Henry Nash Smith, Frank Wardlaw, Walter Prescott Webb, Herbert
Faulkner West, and Senator Ralph Yarborough. Dobie also received many letters from
his
readers and the general public, especially fellow Texans. The correspondence spans
major
historical events such as the two World Wars, the Great Depression, the fight for
academic
freedom at The University of Texas, and the fight for civil rights in the 1940s. |
|
Series I. Dobie Papers, 1848-1966
|
|
Series I. is arranged in four subseries: A. Works, 1916-1967; B. Letters, 1903-1964;
C.
Recipient, 1899-1967; D. Miscellaneous, 1848-1966. |
|
Subseries A. Works
|
|
The Works subseries consists of manuscript drafts, notes, and research material for
Dobie's
published books and newspaper columns from 1916-1967 (19 boxes). The bulk of the works
are
represented by typescripts and carbon typescripts, many with handwritten revisions,
but
handwritten manuscripts and notes are also included. The Guide to Life and Literature of the Southwest is represented by a
printed book with handwritten and typed pages inserted. The drafts of the autobiographical
work Some Part of Myself, which was published posthumously, contain
revisions and insertions by Bertha McKee Dobie. |
|
The works are arranged alphabetically by title. A complete index of titles is included
in
the Index of Works in this finding aid. |
|
Subseries B. Letters
|
|
The Letters subseries spans 1903-1964 (24.25 boxes) and contains Dobie's outgoing
correspondence to 863 colleagues, students, organizations, family members, and friends.
The
bulk of the Letters are written to Bertha McKee Dobie, his wife, and Ella Byler Dobie,
his
mother. The letters to Bertha begin from the time of their courtship in 1914 until
1963. The
letters document the Dobies' life together, especially the times when they were apart
including their courtship before they were married, and during Dobie's time teaching
at
Cambridge during World War II. Dobie also wrote to his mother often. The Letters to
his
mother begin in 1903 and end just before her death in 1948. |
|
The letters are arranged alphabetically by recipient name. They consist of other Dobie
family members including his father, Richard Jonathan Dobie, and sisters Martha Dobie
and
Fannie Dobie Stanford, as well as Tom Lea, Herbert Faulkner West, John Young, the
publisher
Little, Brown and Company, and various University of Texas at Austin departments.
All
correspondent names are listed in the Index of Letters included in this finding aid. |
|
Subseries C. Recipient
|
|
The Recipient subseries consists of Dobie's incoming letters from approximately 12,732
correspondents, 1899-1967 (148 boxes). A great deal of the Recipient correspondence
includes
carbon copies of Dobie's letters to that person or organization. As with the Letters
series,
the bulk of the correspondence in this series comes from Bertha McKee Dobie and Ella
Byler
Dobie. Also well represented are other members of the Dobie family, especially his
sisters
Martha Dobie and Fannie Dobie Stanford; as well as Ruth Dodson; Isabel Gaddis; Little,
Brown
and Company; and Southwest Review. |
|
The recipient correspondence is arranged alphabetically by author name and then
chronologically. All correspondent names are listed in the Index of Recipient Correspondence
segment of this finding aid. |
|
Subseries D. Miscellaneous
|
|
Items in the Miscellaneous subseries range from 1848 to 1966 (34.75 boxes) and consist
of
Dobie's personal papers and notes on various subjects, works by others, and third
party
correspondence, especially to Dobie's mother Ella Byler Dobie from various friends
and
family members, and to Bertha McKee Dobie. |
|
Dobie's papers in this series include letters sent to him after his speech at Terrell
High
School in Fort Worth, Texas on integrating higher education in Texas; genealogical
notes and
materials on Dobie antecedents; and materials on legends, lost treasure, Oklahoma
legends,
and Southwest and ghost legends. There are also extensive notes for his book The Mustangs, and notes on various other subjects including James
Cox, George Washington Trahern, brands, camp cooks, Charles Goodnight, cowboy
characteristics and speech, horses, the code of the west, and early trail drivers.
Twenty-eight notebooks and address books contain notes he took on trips, notes on
research
material, and various lists and contact information. |
|
Material related to the Dobie Estate goes as far back as 1848 and consists of contracts
and
paperwork regarding land ownership, marriage contracts, and military paperwork. The
works by
others include essays and assignments by Dobie's students, often with his notes and
grades,
as well as dissertations, and works by other writers. |
|
Author or creator names, titles of works, and correspondent names present in this
subseries
appear in the Index of Miscellaneous in this finding aid with approximately 869 entries. |
|
Series II. Later Dobie Papers Acquisitions, circa 1700-1988
|
|
Series II. is arranged in six subseries: A. Works, 1927-1971; B. Subject Files, 1880-1971;
C. Correspondence, 1923-1974; D. Items Withdrawn from Dobie Books, various dates;
E.
Personal Papers, 1889-1974; F. Works and Correspondence by Others, circa 1700-1988.
The
materials in this series were all later acquisitions that were never described in
the card
catalog with the other Dobie Papers. |
|
For materials in this series, Dobie's own folder titles have been retained whenever
available and identifiable file groups were maintained. Materials in the folders were
left
in original order as much as possible to reveal the way that Dobie kept his files
and to
document his working methods. When materials in a folder were too voluminous, they
were
split into multiple folders during processing, sometimes by separately grouping formats
such
as correspondence, manuscripts, clippings, etc. Because Dobie's wife Bertha outlived
him by
ten years and edited several unpublished Dobie works for posthumous publication, it
is
obvious that she gathered some of the materials together and sometimes added later
materials
and notes to Dobie's existing files. |
|
Subseries A. Works
|
|
The Works subseries includes manuscripts and supporting materials for articles, books,
book
reviews, introductions, and speeches by Dobie spanning 1927-1971 (6 boxes). Among
the major
works represented are The Flavor of Texas (1936), an unused chapter for
A Texan in England (1945), a proposed reader to have been titled
"Heritage of West and Southwest" and substantial work toward
collecting off-color tales to have been published as "Piss and Vinegar." |
|
The manuscripts are arranged alphabetically by folder title and are often accompanied
by
notes, research, correspondence, or clippings used as source material. In addition
to
unpublished works, some of the manuscripts likely represent differing versions from
published items. Some of the works bear notes by Bertha Dobie during her work to edit
posthumous Dobie publications, such as Carl Sandburg & Saint Peter at the
Gate (1966) and 'Buried treasure stories'
(unrealized). Several folders of articles were left in their original groupings as
they may
represent further selections toward other collected works. |
|
A complete index of titles is included in the Index of Works in this finding aid and
the
names of those writing letters to Dobie filed in this subseries appear in the Index
of
Recipient Correspondence. |
|
Subseries B. Subject Files
|
|
The Subject Files subseries contains materials reflecting Dobie's lifelong interests
in
folklore, the history of Texas and the Southwest, and related topics associated with
range
life spanning 1880-1971 (21 boxes and 3 index card boxes). |
|
The files are essentially Dobie's working files and they generally include a mix of
materials: clippings from newspapers and other printed materials; Dobie's notes, including
field notes of conversations and information copied from printed sources; original
historical documents collected or transcripts of originals; incoming correspondence,
often
bearing Dobie's handwritten subject designations, notes, comments, or other markings,
sometimes accompanied by Dobie's outgoing carbon copy letters; manuscript drafts of
works by
Dobie; and pictorial material usually in the form of either photographs or illustrations
from printed sources, although occasionally there is also original art work. |
|
The files are arranged alphabetically by Dobie's original folder title and his file
groupings have also been maintained. The largest single group of files represent materials
gathered for a biographical study of the cowboy artist Charles M. Russell. Other figures
well represented are Andy Adams, James Bowie, William Henry Hudson, and Big Foot Wallace.
There is also a large group of files on animals that is especially rich in material
collected on deer, horses, roadrunners, turkeys, and wolves. |
|
Several files contain lengthy runs of correspondence with individuals, most particularly
those with the pioneering musicologist and folklorist John A. Lomax and with sculptor
Alexander Phimister Proctor concerning the Seven Mustangs sculpture commissioned for
the UT
Austin campus. |
|
Many of the files contain recorded anecdotes, stories, and tall tales. Dobie's interest
in
language also led to his large collection of words and phrases of the range and Southwest,
as well as proverbial sayings, recorded chiefly on index cards. Other files reflect
Dobie's
varied interests in art and artists, censorship, collecting, England and the English
people,
literature, politicians, ranching, Texas history, and writers and writing. |
|
Titles of manuscript drafts of works by Dobie in this subseries appear in the Index
of
Works in this finding aid. The names of those writing letters to Dobie that are filed
in
this subseries are included in the Index of Recipient Correspondence. |
|
Subseries C. Correspondence
|
|
The Correspondence files are dominated by correspondence with booksellers, publishers
and
agents, and a large group of Christmas greeting cards gathered by Dobie, 1923-1974
(11
boxes). The files are arranged alphabetically by original file title with original
file
groupings retained. |
|
Files with several booksellers chiefly concern new acquisitions for the Dobie library,
circa 1959-1964, and include both correspondence and invoices for books purchased.
Correspondence with publishers and agents is dominated by Dobie's longtime connection
with
Little, Brown and Company, with correspondence, contracts, and royalty statements
spanning
1938 to 1974. A large file of correspondence with the University of Texas concerns
the
acquisition of the Dobie library and archives, 1957-1963. |
|
Dobie's large collection of selected Christmas greeting cards dates from 1936 through
1963.
The earlier cards more frequently depict Texas or Southwestern themes, while the later
cards
were those he found interesting at the time. Many of the cards were collected because
of
their Western illustrations, by artists including Edward Borein, Tom Lea, Charles
M.
Russell, and many others. |
|
Particularly interesting is a file named "Correspondents," which contains a few letters
Dobie thought notable, mainly from the general public. There are also some files of
grouped
letters concerning specific Dobie books, a selection of letters from schoolchildren,
and
telegrams received after an automobile accident in 1962. |
|
The names of those writing letters to Dobie that are filed in this subseries are included
in the Index of Recipient Correspondence in this finding aid. |
|
Subseries D. Items Withdrawn from Dobie Books
|
|
This subseries contains chiefly correspondence, some Dobie manuscripts, clippings,
and
other items that were withdrawn from books in Dobie's library when they went through
the
cataloging process after acquisition by the Ransom Center (4 boxes). The items remain
grouped together by the book that they came from in an overall arrangement by the
Library of
Congress call number assigned. The catalog records for these books in the UT Library
Catalog
mention these withdrawals and keeping the items arranged in call number order enables
retrieval of the separated items from individual books. And because Library of Congress
call
numbers are based on a classification system, the withdrawals naturally group around
particular subjects or authors. |
|
It was apparently a long-standing habit of Dobie's to keep related letters, manuscripts,
and clippings filed in books in his library. Often the materials withdrawn relate
to the
subject of the book, other times they concern the author of the book or Dobie's book
reviewing activities, and sometimes they relate to the acquisition of a particular
book. |
|
Correspondents in this subseries are included in the Index of Recipient Correspondence
in
this finding aid and titles of works by Dobie are also included in the Index of Works.
|
|
Subseries E. Personal Papers
|
|
The Personal Papers subseries contains various personal documents, financial and legal
records, and teaching files that document Dobie's life, 1889-1974 (4 boxes). Among
the
notable items are a 1913 logbook; notes from a Shakespeare class taken at Columbia
University in 1913; papers concerning the Dobie family ranch and Dobie's own Paisano
property; a nearly complete run of income tax returns from 1937 through 1963 as well
as
wills for both Dobie and his wife Bertha; as well as some of Dobie's teaching files
from UT
Austin, particularly his "Life and Literature of the Southwest" course, 1930-1943. |
|
The files are arranged alphabetically by folder title, sometimes grouped by the type
of
material. |
|
Subseries F. Works and Correspondence by Others
|
|
The final subseries contains chiefly manuscript works by persons other than Dobie
or
correspondence between third-parties (i.e., not by or to Dobie himself), circa 1700-1988
(12
boxes, 1 index card box). The materials are arranged alphabetically by author and
title
(when multiple works are present by a single author), with two groupings that collect
together brand books or works on Charles M. Russell. |
|
The works present in this subseries represent works in galleys or proofs presented
to Dobie
for review; some UT Austin theses collected by Dobie; works by colleagues or friends
on
subects of interest to Dobie; works by others about Dobie; and works or correspondence
by
Dobie family or associates, such as his wife Bertha and his secretary Willie Belle
Coker.
Sometimes the works are accompanied by correspondence. |
|
The earliest materials present in this subseries include a circa 1700 manuscript with
Spanish and Italian horse marks, and two brand books and two scout books documenting
border
cattle brands and cattle thefts obtained by Dobie- relation E. M. Dubose, who was
a U.S
customs inspector in Texas, 1905-1914. |
|
Also of interest is a manuscript by Bertha Dobie entitled "People and the Stories They Tell," circa 1929-1935, queries she
received from readers of her gardening column, and her alphabetical plant and gardening
notes kept on index cards. |
|
Author or creator names, titles of works, and correspondent names present in this
subseries
appear in the Index of Miscellaneous in this finding aid |
