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Finding Aid to the Julia Cooley Altrocchi papers, undated, 1848-1972 (bulk 1935-1965)
BANC MSS C-H 115
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Table of contents
Collection Title: Julia Cooley Altrocchi papers
Date: undated
Date (inclusive): 1848-1972
Date (bulk): 1935-1965
Collection Number: BANC MSS C-H 115
Creator:
Altrocchi, Julia Cooley
Extent:
13 cartons, 5 oversize boxes, 2 oversize folders, 3 cardfile boxes, 7 volumes
(16.8 linear feet)
Repository: The Bancroft Library.
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-6000
Phone: (510) 642-6481
Fax: (510) 642-7589
Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu
URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/
Abstract: The papers of Julia Cooley Altrocchi including correspondence, manuscripts, galley proofs, clippings, broadsides, publications
and artifacts.
Languages Represented: Collection materials are in Italian, English
Collection is open for research.
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Head
of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 94720-6000. Consent is given on behalf of The
Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright
owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner. See:
http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html.
Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research
and educational purposes.Materials in this collection may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition,
the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, donor
restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected
by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public
domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively
with the user.
[Identification of item], Julia Cooley Altrocchi papers, BANC MSS C-H 115, The Bancroft Library, University of California,
Berkeley
There are no alternate forms of this collection.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog
Julia Cooley Altrocchi--Archives.
Women authors, American--California
Women poets, American--California
California--History
San Francisco (Calif.)--History
San Francisco (Calif.)--Social life and customs
West (U.S.)--History
Galley proofs (Printing)
Manuscripts for publication
The Julia Cooley Altrocchi papers were given to the Bancroft Library by Julia Cooley Altrocchi from 1960-1972. Additions were
made by Paul H. Altrocchi in 1973 and 1998.
No additions are expected.
Processed by Mario H. Ramirez in 2012.
Biography/Organization History
Julia Cooley Altrocchi (1893-1972) was an author and poet. A resident of Berkeley, California from 1928 until her death, Cooley
Altrocchi was born in Seymour, Connecticut and raised in Chicago, Illinois. The daughter of Harlan Cooley and Nellie Wooster
Cooley, Cooley Altrocchi attended University High School at the University of Chicago and graduated from Vassar College in
1914. She married Rudolph Altrocchi in 1920. The couple moved to the San Francisco Bay Area upon the latter’s appointment
as Professor and Chair of the Italian Department at the University of California, Berkeley; after holding positions at Columbia
University, University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University, the University of Chicago and Brown University.
Cooley Altrocchi published her first book of poetry, Poems of a Child, at the age of 11, and published a number of other monographs,
many of which delved into the history of California and its people. Notable among these was Snow Covered Wagons (1936), a
story-in-verse about the Donner Party expedition. Other works included Wolves Against the Moon (1940), The Old California
Trail (1945), Black Boat (1945) The Spectacular San Franciscans (1949) and Girl with Ocelot and Other Poems (1964). Her writings
also appeared in various literary journals and anthologies.
Cooley Altrocchi was active in Bay Area literary circles, and served as President of the California Writers Club from 1941
to 1943. She was also an honorary member of the Ina Coolbrith Circle, the San Francisco Browning Society and the Poets of
the Pacific, and a member of the National Poetry Society of America and National League of PEN Women, among other organizations.
Scope and Content Note
The Julia Cooley Altrocchi papers provide researchers with insight into early-mid 20th century literary life in the San Francisco
Bay Area and Cooley Altrocchi’s development as a writer.
Highlights of the papers include unpublished original manuscripts, poetry, lectures, notes, as well as numerous clippings,
diaries and scrapbooks that chronicle Cooley Altrocchi’s life and career. The collection also contains correspondence with
individuals such as Gertrude Atherton, Langston Hughes, Esther B. Darling, Hildegarde Hawthorne, Evelyn Wells and Albert Bender,
among others. Included as well are materials and writings by and about Rudolph Altrocchi, photographs, research material,
broadsides, artwork, publications and artifacts.
The collection spans the years 1848 to 1972, with the bulk concentrating on the years 1935 to 1965. It is divided into eight
series: I. Correspondence, II. Writings, III. Subject Files, IV. Organizations, V. Clippings, VI. Photographs, VII. Scrapbooks
and VIII. Artifacts.