Thomas Pinney Papers, circa 1795-2005

Collection context

Summary

Creators:
Pinney, Thomas
Abstract:
Thomas Pinney is the author of several books on wine history including a two-volume set on the history of wine in the United States. The collection includes research materials for Pinney's books, wine subject files, information on wineries, publications and reports, wine newsletters, photographs, postcards, wine labels, and other wine-related ephemera.
Extent:
66.8 Linear Feet (137 boxes and 2 flat file drawers)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Box/folder# or item name], Thomas Pinney Papers, Collection no. 0061, Southern California Wine and Wine Industry Collection, Special Collections and Archives, University Library, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection includes a wide range of items related to wine and wineries, including research materials for Pinney's wine history books, wine labels, wine catalogs, wine newsletters, winery brochures, lists of wine-tasting awards from the California State Fair and the Los Angeles County Fair dating from the 1940s, and a list of bonded wineries.

Many of the research materials, particularly the older ones, are photocopies of primary sources.

Biographical / historical:

Thomas Pinney is Professor Emeritus of English at Pomona College and the author of wine history books. He was born on April 23, 1932 in Ottawa, Kansas to John J. and Lorene Pinney. Thomas Pinney received a bachelor of arts degree in 1954 from Beloit College in Wisconsin. In 1960, he earned his Ph.D. from Yale University.

While studying at Yale, Pinney developed an interest in wine and, in 1956, he started collecting wine-related materials. He also became interested in the literature of wine.

After earning his Ph.D., Pinney taught at Hamilton College in New York and then at Yale. In 1962, he became an assistant professor of English at Pomona College in Claremont, California.

In 1989, Pinney published the first of his two-volume set on the history of wine in the United States: A History of Wine in America: From the Beginnings to Prohibition. The second volume, A History of Wine in America: From Prohibition to the Present was published in 2005. For the second volume, Pinney won the 2006 International Association of Culinary Professionals Cookbook Award for Wine, Beer, or Spirits.

Pinney's other books on wine include The Wine of Santa Cruz Island, The Makers of American Wine: A Record of Two Hundred Years (2012) and The City of Vines: A History of Wine in Los Angeles (2017). Pinney also served as editor and wrote an introduction for The Brady Book: Selections from Roy Brady's Unpublished Writings on Wine (2003).

Pinney taught at Pomona College for more than three decades before retiring in 1997.

Acquisition information:
The collection was donated to California State Polytechnic University, Pomona by Thomas Pinney on June 24, 2005.
Processing information:

The processing of this collection and the creation of this finding aid was funded by the generous support of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

The collection was processed by Rob Strauss, Emily Chavarria, Josh Rose, and Alex Dan in March 2018.

Arrangement:

The collection is organized into the following series: Series 1. Writings and Research Materials; Series 2. Publications and Reports; Series 3. Graphic Materials; Series 4. Correspondence; Series 5. Wine Awards; Series 6. Ephemera.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Advance notice required for access.

Terms of access:

Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.

Preferred citation:

[Box/folder# or item name], Thomas Pinney Papers, Collection no. 0061, Southern California Wine and Wine Industry Collection, Special Collections and Archives, University Library, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Location of this collection:
3801 West Temple Ave.
Pomona, CA 91768, US
Contact:
(909) 869-3775