Finding Aid to the Theodora Kroeber Papers, 1881-1983 (bulk 1960-1979)

Series 1: Correspondence. 1923-1979.

Physical Description: Boxes 1-4; Oversize folder 1

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically, with the incoming and outgoing letters interfiled. Unidentified correspondents are at the end of the alphabetical subseries.

Content/Description

This series is divided into two subseries: General and Condolences, with the bulk dating from 1960 to 1979. The General letters are mostly personal, representing relationships with family, friends, academics and colleagues, but also include correspondence with publishers or agents when general in nature, or when several works are discussed. Correspondence regarding a specific publication is filed under the name of the publication in the Writings series.

Professional correspondents of note include David Hales (he is also found under University of California Press), regarding Sierra Club, Almost Ancestors and Ishi; Dale Valory, regarding A. L. Kroeber; Indiana University Press, regarding Inland Whale; University of California, Berkeley Libraries and the Robert H. Lowie Museum of Anthropology (now the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology) regarding the donation and use of A. L. Kroeber Papers; and the University of California Press, regarding Theodora Kroeber and A. L. Kroeber's publications.

The bulk of her personal correspondence is with her children, Theodore, Clifton and Karl Kroeber and Ursula K. Le Guin; with A. L. Kroeber's sister, Elsbeth Kroeber; and with her friends, Ruth Chrisman Aren [Gannett] (which is also the earliest correspondence), and Lita Osmundsen, which is both personal and professional in nature.

Condolences include letters and telegrams Theodora Kroeber received on the death of her second husband, A. L. Kroeber, and letters to John Quinn on the death of Theodora Kroeber. Of note are the remembrances many colleagues at the University of California and universities worldwide wrote about A. L. Kroeber.

General. 1923-1979

box 1, folder 1-2

Arens, Ruth Chrisman. 1923-1926

Content/Description

(see also Gannett, Ruth Chrisman)

oversize-folder 1A

4 letters. 1925

box 1, folder 3

A Miscellany. 1961-1978

box 1, folder 4

Bliven, Bruce and Rosie. 1962-1976

box 1, folder 5

Brower, Anne and David Ross. 1962-1979

box 1, folder 6

B Miscellany. 1960-1979

box 1, folder 7

Cameron, Eleanor. 1971-1972

box 1, folder 8

Caughey, John Walton and LaRee. 1962-1978

box 1, folder 9

Chandler, Tertius. 1961-1977

box 1, folder 10

Cody, Fred. 1961-1977

box 1, folder 11

Cohn, Arlan. 1971-1978

box 1, folder 12

Collier, Donald. 1971-1972

box 1, folder 13

Conklin, Harold C. 1961-1968

box 1, folder 14

Cortes, Margaret. 1964-1971

box 1, folder 15

Count, Earl W. 1960-1978

box 1, folder 16

Cowell, Olive Thomson. 1972-1976

box 1, folder 17

Crivy, Joseph. 1960-1964

box 1, folder 18

Curtis Brown, Ltd. 1973

box 1, folder 19

C Miscellany. 1960-1978

box 1, folder 20

Darnell, Regna. 1968-1971

box 1, folder 21

Dobson, Jerome and Bridget. 1971

box 1, folder 22

Driver, Harold E. 1961-1973

box 1, folder 23

Du Bois, Cora Alice. 1970-1972

box 1, folder 24

D Miscellany. 1961-1978

box 1, folder 25

Ediciones Guadarrama, S. L. 1968-1969

box 1, folder 26

E Miscellany. 1960-1977

box 1, folder 27

Foss, Charlotte Elizabeth. 1977-1979

box 1, folder 28

Freilich, Morris. 1970-1971

box 1, folder 29

F Miscellany. 1965-1978

box 2, folder 1

Gannett, Lewis and Ruth Chrisman. 1959-1969

Content/Description

(see also Arens, Ruth Chrisman)

box 2, folder 2

Gifford, Delila S. 1978

box 2, folder 3

G Miscellany. 1960-1979

box 2, folder 4-5

Hales, David. 1962-1975

box 2, folder 6

Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 1962-1970

box 2, folder 7

Harold Matson Company, Inc. 1973-1974

box 2, folder 8

Heath, Barbara Honeyman. 1965-1966

box 2, folder 9

Heizer, Robert Fleming. 1956-1976

box 2, folder 10

Hogan, William and Phyllis. 1966-1977

box 2, folder 11

Hurly, John. 1972

box 2, folder 12

H Miscellany. 1959-1978

box 2, folder 13

Indiana University. Press. 1962-1970

box 2, folder 14

I - J Miscellany. 1967-1974

box 2, folder 15

Kantor, J. R. K. 1970-1979

box 2, folder 16

Kessel, Harlan. 1971-1973

box 2, folder 17

Kluckhohn, Clyde. 1948-1955

box 2, folder 18

Kroeber Anthropological Society. 1967-1976

box 2, folder 19

Kroeber, Clifton B. 1955-1976

box 2, folder 20

Kroeber, Elsbeth. 1943-1962, undated

box 2, folder 21

Kroeber, Karl. 1955-1972

box 2, folder 22

Kroeber, Theodore. 1974-1977

box 2, folder 23

K Miscellany. 1962-1978

box 2, folder 24

La Prade, Z. H. 1969-1974

box 2, folder 25

Lavender, David Sievert. 1963-1966

box 2, folder 26

Le Guin, Ursula K. 1962-1979

box 2, folder 27

L Miscellany. 1960-1979

box 3, folder 1

Montagu, Ashley. 1967-1970

box 3, folder 2

Moon, Douglas. 1966-1967

box 3, folder 3

Mosk, Nancy. 1965-1977

box 3, folder 4

M Miscellany. 1960-1978

box 3, folder 5

N Miscellany. 1970-1978

box 3, folder 6

Osmundsen, Lita. 1960-1974

box 3, folder 7

O Miscellany. 1967-1977

box 3, folder 8

Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology

[formerly the Robert H. Lowie Museum of Anthropology]. 1960-1975

box 3, folder 9

Pitkin, Harvey. 1968-1978

box 3, folder 10

Pope, Saxton, Jr. 1961-1966

box 3, folder 11

Powdermaker, Hortense. 1969

box 3, folder 12

P Miscellany. 1956-1977

box 3, folder 13

Quinn, John. 1968-1971

box 3, folder 14

Rosenberg, James. 1955-1970

box 3, folder 15

Rowe, John Howland. 1961-1963

box 3, folder 16

R Miscellany. 1966-1979

box 3, folder 17

Sands, Kathleen M. 1978

box 3, folder 18

Schein, Ruth and Herman. 1964-1976

box 3, folder 19

Seger, Imogen [Coulborn]. 1966-1977

box 3, folder 20

Seibert, Jan. 1962-1975

box 3, folder 21

Sierra Club. 1968-1969

box 3, folder 22

Singer, Milton B. 1962-1964

box 3, folder 23

Stern, Daphne Darling. 1970

box 3, folder 24

Steward, Julian Haynes. 1960-1972

box 3, folder 25

S Miscellany. 1960-1978

box 3, folder 26

Thoresen, Timothy H. H. 1972

box 3, folder 27

Tonine, Bianca. 1969-1978

box 3, folder 28

T Miscellany. 1958-1978

box 4, folder 1

University of California. 1960-1977

box 4, folder 2

University of California, Berkeley. Library. 1960-1979

Content/Description

(including The Bancroft Library and the George and Mary Foster Anthropology Library)

box 4, folder 3-4

University of California Press. 1960-1978

box 4, folder 5

U Miscellany. 1973-1977

box 4, folder 6

Valory, Dale. 1966-1970

box 4, folder 7

V - W Miscellany. 1962-1979

box 4, folder 8

Y - Z Miscellany. 1962-1978

box 4, folder 9

Unidentified. 1969-1979, undated

Condolences. 1960-1979

box 4, folder 10-13

Upon the death of A. L. Kroeber. 1960-1972

box 4, folder 14-17

Upon the death of Theodora Kroeber. 1979

Series 2: Writings. 1953-1983.

Physical Description: Boxes 5-9; Oversize folder 1

Arrangement

Arranged first by the type of work, then alphabetically by title.

Content/Description

The Writings series is divided into four subseries: Books, Articles and Book Reviews, Poetry, and Other Writings. These writings are mostly published works, with some unpublished or abandoned projects. The books on Ishi are in their own series. The folders relating to each work contain some or all of the following: correspondence with publisher/editorial correspondence (some regarding rights and reproductions), typescripts, galleys, newsclippings, reviews, promotional material, and congratulatory letters. There are comparatively few manuscripts, and very few research materials or notes.

Books. 1957-1978

box 5, folder 1-8

Alfred Kroeber: A Personal Configuration . 1965-1978, undated

Content/Description

correspondence, annotated typescript, author's corrections, reviews

oversize-folder 1A

poster. undated

box 5, folder 9-11

Almost Ancestors: The First Californians . 1966-1970, undated

Content/Description

correspondence, promotional material, reviews

box 6, folder 1-5

Carrousel . 1974-1978

Content/Description

correspondence, annotated typescripts, unbound printer's copy, reviews

box 6, folder 5-7

Cooking for Sex: From Soup to Bed (The Soup Primer) . 1973-1974, undated

Content/Description

[unpublished] correspondence, annotated typescript

box 6, folder 8

Drawn From Life . 1977-1978

Content/Description

correspondence, reviews

box 6, folder 9-14

Grand Junction [unpublished novel]. 1972-1973

Content/Description

correspondence, notes, photographs of miner's tombstone, typescript

box 7, folder 1

A Green Christmas . 1967-1968

Content/Description

correspondence, reviews

box 7, folder 2-6

I, Chadwick . 1973-1974

Content/Description

correspondence, author's corrections, annotated typescripts, copies of illustration

box 7, folder 7-14

The Inland Whale . 1957-1977, undated

Content/Description

correspondence, typescript, revised galleys, reviews, congratulatory letters

Articles And Book Reviews. 1961-1983

box 8, folder 1

History of Kamtschatka and the Kurilski Islands, with the Countries Adjacent . ca 1963

Content/Description

by S. P. Krasheninnikov [book review]

box 8, folder 2

"The Hunter Ishi". 1961-1965

Content/Description

correspondence, reprint from The American Scholar

box 8, folder 3

"On Changing Doctors without Trauma". 1977-78

Content/Description

correspondence, annotated typescript

box 8, folder 4

"Plastic Hippy" [unpublished]. 1972-1974, undated

Content/Description

correspondence

box 8, folder 5

"Retrospective on Oral History". 1983

Content/Description

published reprint of Appendix I from Timeless Woman: Writer and Interpreter of the California ndian World, Bancroft Library, Regional Oral History Office interview.

box 8, folder 6

"Shropshire Revisited," coauthored with A. L. Kroeber. 1962, undated

Content/Description

correspondence, notes

box 8, folder 7

Stranger and Friend: The Way of an Anthropologist . 1966

Content/Description

by Hortense Powdermaker [book review]

Poetry. 1962-1979

box 8, folder 8-10

"Poem for the Living". 1962-1968

Content/Description

correspondence including readers' responses, signed typescript

oversize-folder 1A

original page from This Week Magazine. Nov. 11, 1962

box 8, folder 11-12

"The Dancing at Tylissos," from Tillai and Tylissos. 1979

Content/Description

photocopy of annotated typescript, annotated galley

box 8, folder 13

Miscellany. 1970, undated

Other Writings. 1953-1979

box 9, folder 1

Bloody Island Massacre [undeveloped project]. ca. 1975

Content/Description

notes, bibliography

box 9, folder 2

Bread and Butter Anthropology [undeveloped project. ca. 1962[?]

Content/Description

regarding A. L. Kroeber], notes and bibliography

box 9, folder 3

Dedicatory Letter to the Editor [about A. L. Kroeber]. 1969

Content/Description

reprint from the Kroeber Anthropological Society Papers, no. 40

box 9, folder 4

Handbook of the California Indians, by A. L. Kroeber. 1966

Content/Description

[foreword], annotated page proof

box 9, folder 5

[In memory of Kathleen Tolman]. undated

Content/Description

photocopy of annotated typescript

box 9, folder 6-7

Ishanihura [libretto]. 1968-1970, undated

Content/Description

correspondence, annotated typescript, notes

box 9, folder 8

"Ishi and Fedna" [privately distributed story]. 1962

Content/Description

copyright registration

box 9, folder 9-12

Karok Myths, by A. L. Kroeber [preface]. 1976-1978, undated

Content/Description

correspondence, editor's notes, annotated typescripts, reviews

box 9, folder 13

Pigsty Landing [unpublished]. 1953, undated

Content/Description

correspondence, notes, annotated typescript

box 9, folder 14

"Theodora" [obituary]. 1979

Content/Description

annotated carbon copy of typescript, memorial program

box 9, folder 15

"The Willow-basket Fence" (limited vocabulary stories). 1972, undated

Content/Description

[short story] correspondence, annotated typescript

box 9, folder 16-19

Yurok Myths, by A. L. Kroeber [preface]. 1973-1978

Content/Description

correspondence, annotated typescript, reviews

box 9, folder 20

"Culture Generations," by Rudolph Scherer [translation]. 1968-1971

Content/Description

correspondence, newsclipping, typescript

box 9, folder 21

Miscellany. 1966, 1979, undated

Content/Description

annotated typescripts and notes on unpublished or abandoned projects

Series 3: Ishi. 1911-1978

Physical Description: Boxes 10-13.

Arrangement

Arranged by genre type.

Content/Description

The Ishi series is divided into the four subseries: Research and Production Materials, Correspondence, Rights and Permissions, and Publicity. This is where material relating to the Ishi are found. Exceptions are "The Hunter Ishi," an article in the Writings series, and correspondence on mixed subjects, found with the publishers in the Correspondence series.

The first subseries, Research and Production Materials, contains what little remains of Theodora Kroeber's notes and research material on Ishi. Of special interest are the first-hand accounts of Ishi by people who wrote to her after the first book was published, maps from A. L. Kroeber's Ishi notebook (pages 73 & 74), and financial records of Ishi's estate.

The Correspondence subseries contains incoming and outgoing business correspondence having to do with the publication of the books, separated by publisher; general correspondence, alphabetically arranged by the name of the correspondent; and fan mail. Included in the general correspondence are praises and comments by reviewers and colleagues. In a letter to Bill Hagan of the San Francisco Chronicle, Theodora Kroeber gives a summation of her readers' responses.

Fan mail, arranged for the most part by date, is comprised of responses from readers all over the world, telling how much they loved the story of Ishi and how it changed their lives, and asking further questions about the story. Attached to the letters are Theodora Kroeber Quinn's replies, in which she elaborates on Ishi, adds more details of the story, or explains the story from a different angle. Materials sent by elementary school classes are kept together as a group. These include children's letters and art work inspired by Ishi.

The Rights and Permissions subseries, contains correspondence between Theodora Kroeber, her publishers and people interested in reprinting parts of Ishi, writing their own version of Ishi, translating the story into another language, or using the story as the basis for a film.

The final subseries, Publicity, contains information about Theodora Kroeber's public appearances, transcripts of her interviews, articles about Ishi published after the book was released, and reviews and promotional materials about the book.

Research And Production Materials. 1911-1977

box 10, folder 1

Notes. 1958-1960, undated

box 10, folder 2-11

First hand accounts of Ishi. 1961-1977

box 10, folder 12-13

Notes and correspondence on the Yana Region. 1961-1967, undated

box 10, folder 14

Maps from A. L. Kroeber notebook. undated

box 10, folder 15

Ishi's finances. 1915-1960

box 10, folder 16-17

Illustrations from book. undated

box 10, folder 18-20

Production notes. 1955, undated

box 10, folder 21-22

Newsclippings. 1911-1959, undated

Correspondence. 1916-1978

box 10, folder 23-25

University of California Press. 1959-1978, undated

box 10, folder 26

Parnassus Press. 1962-1977, undated

box 10, folder 27

General. 1916-1977

box 11, folder 1-13

Fan mail. 1961-1978, undated

box 12, folder 1-8

Fan mail. 1962-1970

Rights And Permissions. 1961-1978

box 12, folder 9-11

General. 1962-1975

box 12, folder 12-19

Foreign translations. 1961-1978

box 12, folder 20-23

Films. 1962-1978, undated

Publicity. 1961-1978

box 13, folder 1

Personal appearances. 1962-1965

box 13, folder 2

Interviews. 1961-1966

box 13, folder 3

Radio transcriptions. 1962

box 13, folder 4-6

Articles. 1961-1978

box 13, folder 7-13

Reviews. 1961-1974, undated

box 13, folder 14-16

Promotional materials. 1961-1977, undated

Series 4: University Of California, Board Of Regents. 1977-1978.

Physical Description: Box 14.

Arrangement

Arranged by genre type.

Content/Description

This series contains materials relating to the brief time in which Theodora Kroeber served as a Regent of the University of California. Included are correspondence, business as well as congratulatory letters from friends and politicians; her official "maiden" and "farewell" statements; material related to the meetings themselves, such as agendas, memos, and reports; and her notes. Filed last are newsclippings, relating to her selection and service as a regent, and miscellaneous ephemera.

Of note are the reports she received about the proposed Dark Sky Optical Observatory at Junipero Serra Peak for the Lick Observatory, and the notes she had taken before and after the meetings, where she gives her impressions of the regents' proceedings and policies, and her comments on issues brought before the meetings.

box 14, folder 1-3

Correspondence. 1977-1978

Content/Description

General and congratulatory letters

box 14, folder 4-5

Statements. 1977-1978

Content/Description

"Maiden" statement and "farewell" statement

box 14, folder 6

Meetings. 1977-1978

box 14, folder 7

Notes. 1977

box 14, folder 8

Newsclippings and ephemera. 1977-1978

Series 5: Biographical Material. 1960-1982.

Physical Description: Boxes 14-16.

Arrangement

Arranged by genre type.

Content/Description

This series includes biographical information on Theodora Kroeber Quinn, including her vitae, an annotated transcript of her oral history, autobiographical notes and letters, a posthumous autobiography, diaries and travelogues, and miscellaneous ephemera relating to her personal life.

Some early fragments of her writings can be found here, for example, autobiographical notes entitled "Softly, if Spoken," which John Quinn refers to in the preface to her autobiography, A Woman Writes. The diaries were heavily edited by Theodora Kroeber, but small portions including "early Carrousel thoughts" remain here.

A Woman Writes, compiled and edited by John Quinn, but never published, includes some of her short writings and poetry, as well as her own comments on her work.

The Miscellany includes a few issues of "The Palette," an art newsletter published by John Quinn, to which Theodora Kroeber contributed.

box 14, folder 9

Vitae. 1963-1977, undated

box 14, folder 10-13

Bancroft Library, Regional Oral History Office. 1976-1978

Content/Description

annotated transcript of Timeless Woman: Writer and Interpreter of the California Indian World

box 15, folder 1-2

Autobiographical notes and letters. 1961-1978, undated

box 15, folder 3-12

A Woman Writes: A Posthumous Autobiography of Theodora Kroeber Quinn 1981

Content/Description

[unpublished] annotated typescript

box 16, folder 1

Eulogies. 1979

box 16, folder 2-3

Diaries. 1961-1976, undated

box 16, folder 4

80th birthday party. 1977

box 16, folder 5-6

Miscellany. 1960-1979, undated

box 16, folder 7

Newsclippings. 1964-1982

Series 6: Kracaw Family Papers. 1881-1959.

Physical Description: Box 16.

Arrangement

Arranged by genre type.

Content/Description

This series is dedicated to Theodora Kroeber's family, the Kracaw's and the Johnstons, and includes family histories, personal narratives, diaries and writings not by Theodora Kroeber. The personal narratives (recollections) written by her mother, Phebe Jane Johnston Kracaw, and her uncle, George D. Johnson, are of particular value for the information they give about crossing the Plains, frontier life in California and Oregon, and encounters with Native Americans, including one in Western Pennsylvania, dating back to the French and Indian War.

box 16, folder 8-10

Genealogy. ca. 1930-1932, undated

box 16, folder 11-16

Recollections of frontier and pioneer life. undated

box 16, folder 17-18

Diaries of Phebe Jane Johnson Kracaw [mother]. 1884-1934

box 16, folder 19

Letter from Charles Emmet Kracaw [father] to Phebe Johnson [Kracaw]. 1881

box 16, folder 20

Writings by Forest Charles Kracaw [brother]. 1942-1959

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