Collection Guide
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Landacre (Paul) Collection
Press Coll. Archives Landacre
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
William Andrews Clark Memorial Library
Title: Paul Landacre Collection
Creator:
Landacre, Paul, 1893-1963
Creator:
Landacre, Margaret G. McCreery, 1891-1963
Identifier/Call Number: Press Coll. Archives Landacre
Physical Description:
57 Linear Feet
(86 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1893-2010
Abstract: The Paul Landacre Archive contains the artist's original artwork, prints, and blocks, personal papers, business archive, and
published versions of his work, as well as the personal papers of his wife, Margaret McCreery Landacre. This collection also
includes realia and memorabilia, such as print-making tools, school diplomas, and awards.
Language of Material:
English
.
Collection is open for research.
The collection has been arranged in the following series:
- Paul Landacre Original Artwork, Prints, and Blocks
- Margaret and Paul Landacre Correspondence
- Margaret and Paul Landacre Published Works, Clippings, and Exhibition Catalogs
- Margaret and Paul Landacre Personal Records, Realia, and Photographs
Paul Hambleton Landacre was born in Columbus, OH, on 9 July 1893. He attended Ohio State University where he was a track and
field athlete with dreams of participating in the Olympics. During his sophomore year, he contracted a streptococcus infection
that caused permanent damage to his right leg and meant the end of his running career. After a long convalescence, he left
the midwest for San Diego, where his father and stepmother had settled, and found work as a commercial illustrator at an advertising
firm where he met his future wife, copywriter Margaret McCreery. Margaret Gertrude McCreery had been born in Missouri in 1891,
but by the early 1910s had also relocated to San Diego with her parents and siblings.
Around 1923, Margaret moved to Los Angeles to further her career, and Paul soon followed. They married in 1925 and settled
in the Edendale neighborhood of Los Angeles, in a house on El Moran Avenue where they would live for the rest of their lives.
Landacre enrolled in some drawing courses at the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles, but he largely taught himself the craft
of printmaking. In 1929, Margaret introduced Paul and his work to Jake Zeitlin, the Los Angeles bookseller for whom she worked
at the time, and Zeitlin became an important early champion of Paul and his artwork. Through Zeitlin, Landacre also met Delmer
Daves, another significant supporter and friend. During the 1930s, Landacre produced editions of single prints, in addition
to working on book and magazine illustration. He also received some income from the Landacre Association, a subscription scheme
organized by Zeitlin and Daves. Increasing commissions for book illustrations drew his attention away from art prints during
the 1940s. The most notable books containing his work are
California Hills (1931),
The Boar and Shibboleth (1933), five books by Donald Culross Peattie (1939-1953),
Tales of Soldiers and Civilians (1943),
De Rerum Natura (1957), and
On the Origin of Species (1963). From 1953 until his death he taught a course at Otis Art Institute.
Over the course of their lives together, Margaret played an instrumental role in Paul's career, continuing to work outside
their home in addition to working behind the scenes to organize his business affairs and running their household (which included
a succession of bulldogs). In 1963 Margaret McCreery Landacre died of cancer, and four weeks later, Paul Landacre died of
injuries sustained in an attempt to take his own life.
The nucleus of this collection was acquired in 1986, with Joseph Landacre's gift (MS.1986.010) of many of his brother's papers
and artworks, and with the Clark Library's purchase from Zeitlin and Ver Brugge (MS.1986.011) of a large number of Landacre's
original wood blocks.
The Clark Library has added to this collection over time and it also includes materials from the following accessions: MS.1986.007,
MS.1997.011, MS.2003.006, MS.2004.008, MS.2006.012, MS.2007.014, MS.2008.028, MS.2009.003, MS.2009.004, MS.2009.005, MS.2011.015,
MS.2011.017, MS.2013.005, MS.2016.027.
The Crisell Collection on Paul Landacre (MS.2020.009, Gift of Robert and Toni Crisell) is included in this finding aid, but is also described separately
in its own guide and is physically housed in separate boxes.
The Anthony Lehman Collection on Paul Landacre is included in this finding aid, but it is also described separately
in its own guide and is physically housed in separate boxes.
[Item title], [Box/Folder], Paul Landacre Archive (Press Coll. Archives Landacre). William Andrews Clark Memorial Library,
University of California, Los Angeles.
Processing and Cataloging History
This collection was originally processed by Clark Library staff including Lori Chin and a machine-readable finding aid was
created by Caroline Cubé in 1998.
Additional processing and upgraded encoding were completed by Rebecca Ruud and Rebecca Fenning Marschall from 2007-2009.
A full revision of this finding aid and the addition of materials from the
The Crisell Collection on Paul Landacre was completed in August 2022 by Rebecca Fenning Marschall. An additional revision of this finding aid and the addition of
materials from
The Anthony Lehman Collection on Paul Landacre was completed in August 2023 by Rebecca Fenning Marschall.
-
The Crisell Collection on Paul Landacre , MS.2020.009, UCLA William Andrews Clark Memorial Library.
-
The Anthony Lehman Collection on Paul Landacre , MS.2003.007, UCLA William Andrews Clark Memorial Library.
The Clark Library's Paul Landacre collection contains the artist's original artwork, prints, and blocks, as well as his personal
papers, business archive, and published versions of his work. Realia and memorabilia, including items such as print-making
tools, school diplomas, and awards are also included here. Many of the items in this collection come directly from the artist's
own archive and were donated by his brother Joseph Landacre in 1986 and 1991. In addition to Paul Landacre's personal archive
and papers, the papers of his wife, Margaret McCreery Landacre, are also collected here and include both her personal correspondence,
records, and published writings, as well as her political and business correspondence.
In an attempt to provide a complete picture of Paul Landacre materials at the Clark Library, this finding aid also describes
the Crisell Collection on Paul Landacre (MS.2020.009) and
the Anthony Lehman Collection on Paul Landacre , though those collections are also described separately in their own finding aids.
Copyright has not been assigned to the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, UCLA. All requests for permission to publish
or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Clark Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf
of the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, UCLA 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.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Wood blocks (printing blocks)
Woodcuts (prints)
Wood-engravers--California--20th century