Descriptive Summary
Walter and Dorothy Donnelly Family Papers
1887-1976, bulk
1941-1958
CFM1999_08
1 box, 0.75
linear feet
The materials show the
Donnellys’ diverse and far-reaching interests, primarily in the
humanities. A majority of the materials are about typography and typophiles,
including monographs and chap books.
Materials are written in English
Special Collections & University
Archives,
University of Central Florida Libraries,
P. O. Box 162666 Orlando,
FL 32816,
Telephone: 407-823-2576,
E-mail: speccoll@ucf.edu
Acquisition Information
The Donnelly sons donated their parents’ collection to the
University of Central Florida Library in 1999.
Processing History
The materials were organized and foldered. Some
materials have water damage and were freeze dried in August 2006.
Access
The entire collection is open for research.
Copyright Statement
Unpublished records are protected by copyright. Permission to publish
quote or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright
holder.
Separated Material
Books donated with the Walter and Dorothy Donnelly Family Papers have
been cataloged individually. Please search the Library Catalog using the series
Walter and Dorothy Donnelly Collection.
Biographical Note
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. They have three sons, Jerome, Stephen, and Denis.
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 as well as
numerous articles for the magazine
transition (always spelled in the lower
case), publishing work by writers such as 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."
Walter also 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's had a keen interest in the printing arts. Collected
materials include examples from the best paper-makers, type designers,
typographers, book binders, and printers as well as those artists involved in
book illustrations. Notable in the collection are numerous publications of The
Typophiles, a small group of graphic arts
professionals based in New York, including luminaries like Bruce Rogers and
Frederic W. Goudy. The Typophiles, who began meeting around 1932, are still
meeting and publishing today.
Collection Scope and Content Note
The collection is arranged in two series, Family Papers and
Typophiles. The first series contains Family papers, including photographs,
memorabilia, poetry, and collected information on printers, printing and
typography.
Series II, Typophiles, consists of materials collected by the
Donnelly's as members of the organization of printers, typographers and
appreciators of bookmaking. Materials include Chap Book Commentaries, fine
press published information about the typophiles as a group, similar to an
organizational newsletter that includes a colophon. Keepsakes were items
created for an event such as Christmas to exhibit typographic skills. The
Monographs are small examples of printing that exemplify the best of design,
typography, and technique.
Selected Subjects and Access Points
Similar records may be found by searching the Library Catalog under
the following index terms.
Donnelly Family
Walter and Dorothy
Donnelly
Typophiles (New York,
N.Y.)
Typophile chap
books
Preferred Citation
Walter and Dorothy Donnelly Family Papers, Special Collections and
University Archives, University of Central Florida Libraries, Orlando,
Florida.
Contents List
Series I: Family Papers,
1887-1976.
6 Folders.
Collected documentation on the Donnelly family, including
photographs, collected memorabilia, ephemera, and collected research on
printing and typography.
Box
Photographs
1
1
Robert Francis, Agnes Perkins dated August
1974
1
2
Robert Francis, Dave Perkins dated August 1974
1
3
Dorothy and Walter Donnelly (wedding photo 1931?) 5x7
1
4
Dorothy and Walter Donnelly (wedding photo 1931?)
8x10
1
5
Donnelly home at 612 Lawrence Street, Ann Arbor,
Michigan
1
6
Walter and Dorothy Donnelly in their home Ann Arbor,
Michigan
1
7
Dorothy Donnelly at her home in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Donnelly – Collected Memorabilia
1
1
Books and their Enemies
1
2
Hamlet: to the Players
1
3
Some Historical Notes on the Antiquarian Book Trade
in Ann Arbor
1
4
Benjamin Franklin’s Letter to King George
Poetry
1
1
Rhythm and Rhyme (in envelope)
1
2
The Asphodel Book Shop (in envelope)
1
3
Sticks Stones/Names Bones
Printers and Printing
1
1
WAD to RR: A Letter about Designing Type
1
2
Oh! If There Were No Printers
1
3
For the Birthday of Frederic William Goudy
1
4
BR an Exhibition
1
5
For Nearly Five Centuries (Oxford University Press)
(w/ envelope)
1
6
The Caxton Ovid
Publishers’ Prospectuses
1
1
Announcing a New Book
1
2
Durer’s 1511 Drawing of a Press and Printer
1
3
Mes Dessins (Os meus desenhos)
1
4
Profiles through the Ages
1
5
John Speed’s England
Miscellaneous
1
1
Bill Nye’s Suggestions for a School of
Journalism
1
2
The Crew of the Ship "Earth" (2 copies)
1
2
The Crew of the Ship "Earth" (2 copies)
1
3
Footnotes
1
4
Nineties (1890s)
1
5
Some Notes on the Making of Grimy Gertrude…
1
6
A Font of Type
1
7
Army, Navy and Marine Corps Insignia
1
8
Identification Booklet – U. S. Armed Forces
1
9
Medals and Service Ribbons of the U. S. Armed Forces
Series II: Typophiles,
1941-1958.
19 Folders.
This series consists of materials collected by the Donnelly's as
members of the organization of printers, typographers and appreciators of
bookmaking.
Box
Chap Book Commentaries,
1941-1958.
The Chap Book Commentaries include information about the
Typophiles as a group, such as information about what publications have been
printed, announcements, and obituaries, serving as an organizational
newsletter. Each Chap Book contains a colophon on the type and printer.
1
1
About Typophile Chap Books
1
4
Number 4
1
5
Number V
1
6
No. 6
1
7
No. 7
1
8
Number VIII
1
9
IX
1
10
Number X
1
11
Number 11
1
12
No. XII
1
13
XIII
1
14
XIV
1
15
No. XV
1
16
XVI
1
17
XVII
1
18
XVIII
1
19
Nineteen
1
20
Number 20
1
21
Number XXI
1
22
Number 22
1
23
Number XXIII
1
24
XXIV
1
25
XXV
1
26
Number 26
1
27
Number 27
1
28
XVIII
1
29
XXIX
Keepsakes, 1944-1954,
undated.
Keepsakes were published by members of the typophiles for events
and were often themed for Christmas. The keepsakes are small examples of fine
press printing.
General
1
1
Ancient Customs used in a Printing-House
1
2
A Fable (The Hunter, The Fox, and The Tiger)
1
3
The Modern Chappel Movement
1
4
It’s Better than Working: Confessions of a
Dealer in Rare Books
1
5
Two Keepsakes for Typophiles
Christmas
1
8
Holidays in Wales
1
9
God Jul!
1
10
A Keepsake: 1944
1
11
Christmas Party Games
1
12
Fröhliche Meihnachten (Christmas in Germany)
1
13
S Rozhdestvom Khristovym! (Russian For Merry
Christmas)
1
14
The Shaker Order of Christmas: 1954
1
15
A Christmas Bestiary (in envelope)
1
16
The Magi (w/ envelope)
1
17
Short Speech to My Friends
1
18
BR and Breton's The Twelve Moneths and Christmas
Day
1
19
Two of Blackwell's Christmas Cards
Monographs,
1942-1957.
The Typophiles mailed out examples of fine press printing and
commemoratives, documenting the best of technique, type and design. The small
monographs were mailed to subscribers as they were completed.
1
2
To F.W.G. at LXXVII
1
3
An Interview with Archibald MacLeish
1
4
To F.W.G. at Seventy-Eight
1
5
Let’s Give Him Enough and on Time
1
6
Floor Plan of a Legend
1
7
A Letter from Salerno
1
8
A Keepsake for Friends of Fred W. Goudy
1
10
Let Our Hearts Be Stout, Almighty God
1
11
The Typophilistine
1
12
A Prayer
1
13
Proofreader’s Mind
1
15
The Structure of a Book
1
16
Printers as Men of the World
1
17
To Bruce Rogers on his Birthday
1
18
In Memory of Daniel Berkeley Updike
1
19
Politics and the English Language
1
20
An Editorial on Responsibility
1
21
Librarians as Readers of Books
1
22
Will Bradley’s 80th Birthday
1
23
Presentation of the Gold Medal of the American
Academy of Arts and Letters to Bruce Rogers
1
24
Seed Corn, House Organ of the Molehill Press
1
25
Souvenirs of My Inky Past
1
27
Sez Higgins-McArthur
1
28
Two Robert Nathan Pieces
1
30
Fred Goudy’s Last Letter
1
31
The Art of the Book
1
32
The Uncut Page: A Minority Report
1
33
Maurice Serle Kaplan
1
34
Books and People
1
35
Time is a Holiday
1
36
Between-Hours Press
1
38
The Way to Wealth
1
40
Let’s Make a B for Bennett
1
41
Strictly for the Birds
1
43
The Art of Virtue
1
46
The Outlook for Graphic Arts Education
1
47
Who are the Typophiles?
1
48
Arthur Wisner Rushmore
1
51
An Old Fogy’s Lament