The Walter and Dorothy Donnelly Collection
Walter Donnelly and Dorothy
Boillotat Donnelly collected thousands of fine books between 1920-1994, for
their family library at 612 Lawrence Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Walter (1900-1981) was Editor of the
University of Michigan Press when he retired in 1970. Dorothy (1903-1994) was
an award-winning poet. Their three sons, Jerome, Stephen, and Denis, gave
almost 5,000 items from their parents' wonderful collection to the University
of Central Florida Library in early 1999. The collection shows the Donnellys'
far-reaching interests, primarily in the humanities. Most of the books were added to the Library's general
circulating collection, and many rare and unique items were designated for the Special
Collections Department.
Dorothy and Walter
In 1931 Dorothy and Walter were married, Dorothy completed her Master's
Degree from the University of Michigan, and she won the Avery Hopwood Contest.
The $1,500 prize enabled the couple to live in France and Italy for a time.
Dorothy wrote several acclaimed books of poetry and numerous articles for the
now-famous little magazine transition (which was always spelled in the
lower case), publishing among the likes of Hart Crane, Ernest Hemingway and
Carl Jung. Eugene Jolas, the French editor of transition, wrote Dorothy
in 1931, "You are the only one in America whose writing seems to me to be going
in the right direction." Poetry is well represented in the Donnelly Collection.
Walter published some
poetry and wrote plays with playwright and screenwriter Paul Osborn when the
two were in college at the University of Michigan. After living in Greenwich
Village and Paris, he returned to Ann Arbor to accept a position at the
University of Michigan editing Museum Publications as well as doing editorial
work for the Press. The Donnelly Collection includes many University of
Michigan publications.
Art Books and Book Arts
Books on art of the world and art exhibition catalogs,
especially Asian, comprise several hundred books in the collection. An even
larger number of works demonstrate the Donnellys' keen interest in the printing
arts. Many of these books are rare and have been placed in the Book Arts
section of the Special Collections & University Archives.
Necessary to the production
of fine books was the commitment of their makers. Many of the books in this
collection include examples of the best paper-makers, type designers,
typographers, book binders, and printers as well as those artists involved in
book illustrations. Nonesuch and Golden Cockerel are two fine presses represented
in the Donnelly Collection. Especially notable in the collection are numerous
publications of The Typophiles, a small group of New York graphic arts
professionals, including luminaries like Bruce Rogers and Frederic W. Goudy. The Typophiles,
who began meeting around
1932, are still meeting and publishing today.
Many printers from the 15th Century onward used a device or
'printer's mark' to accompany or serve as their imprint in a book. Above are
devices used by Curwen Press and Rupert Hart-Davis taken from books in the
Donnelly Collection.
The Donnellys carefully
bookplated all of their acquisitions. The above plate and the one on the front
of this brochure are among the most unusual.
World Literature
TheThe majority of the collection is in world literature, often in the
original language or first English translations, with a preference for British
literature. Walter at one time spoke 10 languages including Greek and Latin.
The sons remember their parents conversing over dinner in French. The
collection contains many first editions, as well as numerous works signed by
the authors. Dorothy also collected many religion and philosophy books
including the oldest book in the collection
Via Crucis, published around
1780.
Travel Books
Although they did not
travel abroad after the Depression, the Donnellys collected much travel
literature, not just from Europe but from all over the world.
The hand-colored illustration above is from one of only 400 copies
printed of
Randolph Caldecott's Sketches of North Italian Folk (London:
Pickering and Chatto, 1878).
With a nod to the three
Donnelly brothers who donated the collection, this graphic was taken from
George Ade's
People You Know (New York: R. H. Russell, 1903).
Last Updated:
30-Apr-07
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