Robert M. Briggs Papers MS-0453

Amanda Lanthorne
Special Collections & University Archives
09/24/2010
5500 Campanile Dr. MC 8050
San Diego, CA 92182-8050
askscua@sdsu.edu


Contributing Institution: Special Collections & University Archives
Title: Robert M. Briggs Papers
Creator: Briggs, Robert M.
Identifier/Call Number: MS-0453
Physical Description: 0.38 Linear Feet
Date (inclusive): 1943-2004
Date (bulk): 1943-1945
Language of Material: English .

Scope and Contents

The Robert M. Briggs Papers (1943-2004) document Brigg's military duty during the Second World War and his paintings and personal writings. Highlights include Briggs' scrapbook of photographs, newspaper clippings, sketches, and watercolors of fellow servicemen, local Okinawans, landscapes, and battleships during World War II.  Briggs drew many of the sketches rapidly while under enemy fire and painted them in later.  Filed alphabetically, the collection consists of newspaper clippings, photographs, sketches, watercolors, poems, essays about WWII and the Rocky Mountains, and an interview with Kathy Neal, Special Collections Librarian, discussing his experiences during WWII.  The majority of materials date from 1943-1945.

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The copyright interests in some of these materials have been transferred to or belong to San Diego State University. The nature of historical archival and manuscript collections means that copyright status may be difficult or even impossible to determine. Copyright resides with the creators of materials contained in the collection or their heirs. Requests for permission to publish must be submitted to the Head of Special Collections, San Diego State University, Library and Information Access. When granted, permission is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical item and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder(s), which must also be obtained in order to publish.  Materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials.

Source of Acquisition

Robert M. Briggs

Accruals and Additions

2005-059. Additions were made on January 26, 2005.

Related Materials

World War II San Diego State College Servicemen's Correspondence Collection, 1941-1945
Military Order of the World Wars, San Diego Chapter Records, 1949-2002
Leonard Fierro Papers, 1927-1995
Haakon Maurice Chevalier Diary, 1945-1946
Kramer J. Rohfleisch Papers, 1935-1945
World War II German Manuscript Collection, 1937-1945
Hitler Memorabilia Collection, 1932-1977

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, folder title, box number, Robert M. Briggs Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, San Diego State University Library.

Biographical Note

Robert M. Briggs was born and raised in Colorado. While in high school he worked as a ranger for the Rocky Mountain National Park. At 19, Briggs joined the military and worked as a sharpshooter and communications sergeant during the Second World War. He was stationed primarily in the Pacific Theatre, where he made sketches and watercolors of other servicemen, battleships, local people, and landscapes. Many of his sketches were displayed in the mess hall and at the Officer's Club. Briggs also painted insignias on military planes, including the insignia on Bockscar, the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki.
After returning from the Pacific, Briggs received a master of arts from Stanford University, and later obtained a doctorate of education from the Colorado State College of Education. In 1957, he became a professor of secondary education at San Diego State University where he taught for nearly thirty years, retiring in 1985. Briggs passed away in 2005.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Photographs
Personal Papers

box 1, folder 1

Interview with Kathy Neal, Special Collections Librarian Folder 1 September 16, 2004

box 1, folder 2

"Reflections" - illustrated poetry and essays by Robert Briggs Folder 2

box 1, folder 3

World War II Scrapbook Folder 3 circa 1943-1945

box 1, folder 4

World War II Scrapbook Folder 4 circa 1943-1945

box 2, folder 1

Oversize Watercolors and Bockscar Plane Insignia Collage Folder 1 circa 1943-1945