Finding Aid to the Wilder Bentley Autobiographical Manuscript MS.585

Maritxu Carmen de Alaiza and Holly Rose Larson
Library and Archives at the Autry
2012 October 9
210 South Victory Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91502
rroom@theautry.org


Contributing Institution: Library and Archives at the Autry
Title: Wilder Bentley Autobiographical Manuscript
Creator: Bentley, Wilder
Identifier/Call Number: MS.585
Physical Description: 0.1 Linear Feet (1 folder)
Date (inclusive): 1966
Abstract: Wilder Bentley (1900-1989) was a poet and printer associated with The Archetype Press. This is a hand-written autobiography entitled Brief History of the life of Wilder Bentley written November, 1966 in Berkeley, California.
Language of Material: English .

Processing History

Processed by Glenna Schroeder, circa 1977-1981. Biographical note composed by Maritxu Carmen de Alaiza, 2012. Finding aid completed by Holly Rose Larson, NHPRC Processing Archivist, 2012 October 9, made possible through grant funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commissions (NHPRC).

Scope and Contents

This is a hand-written autobiographical manuscript entitled Brief History of the life of Wilder Bentley written November, 1966, in Berkeley, California.

Preferred Citation

Wilder Bentley Autobiographical Manuscript, 1966, Braun Research Library Collection, Autry Museum of the American West; MS.585.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright has not been assigned to the Autry Museum of the American West. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Research Services and Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Autry Museum of the American West as the custodian of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

Conditions Governing Access

Appointments to view materials are required. To make an appointment please visit https://theautry.org/research-collections/library-and-archives  and fill out the Researcher Application Form.

Biographical Note

Printmaker, painter, and craftsman Wilder Mayo Bentley (known also as Wilder Bentley the Younger) was born in 1928 in Oklahoma City. He began his artistic pursuits early on, illustrating broadsides distributed annually by his father Harvey Wilder Bentley (a printer and printshop owner), before age ten, and learning typesetting from him in his young adulthood. In 1959 in San Francisco, Bentley set up the Bread & Wine press where he published four pamphlets of poetry by various authors, and went on to exhibit his work throughout the west. Thus far he has created many folios of his art in a variety of media, including engravings in wood and copper, watercolors, and digital works. Among these are included the works "Oiomai, a Prophesy" (1965), "Adrift in Valueland, Vol. I: The Triumph of the Antichrist" (1970), "Native Funk and Flash" (1976-77), which would be included in a traveling group show that went to museums throughout the southwest; and "Storm's Fury" (2007). Education: Received A.B. at Univeristy of California, Berkeley, 1951; studied at University of Perugia, Italy, 1952 – 1953. Private study with Chiura Obata, 1940 – 1965; worked with and was mentored by father Harvey Wilder Bentley at Archetype Press, Berkeley.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Poets -- United States
Artists -- United States
Manuscripts
Small presses
Printers -- California