Sylvester Nemes Papers, 1973-2010 PDF
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Nemes, Sylvester
- Title
- Sylvester Nemes Papers
- Dates
- 1973-201019732010
- Quantity
- 15 linear feet
- Collection Number
- Collection 2576, MtBC, us (collection)
- Summary
- The Sylvester Nemes Papers consists of research, notes, drafts and manuscripts of Nemes' books, both his published works on fly fishing, as well as two unpublished works of historical fiction. Also included in the collection are correspondence, a brief biography, miscellaneous personal records, his obituary, business and professional records, photographs, negatives, memorabilia, and slides.
- Repository
- Montana State University Library, Merrill G. Burlingame Special Collections
Montana State University-Bozeman Library
Merrill G Burlingame Special Collections
P.O. Box 173320
Bozeman, MT
59717-3320
Telephone: 406-994-4242
Fax: 406-994-2851
https://www.lib.montana.edu/archives/contact-form/ - Access Restrictions
-
This collection is open for research.
- Languages
- English
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Sylvester Nemes was born on April 2, 1922 in Erie, Pennsylvania. His parents, Dominic Nemes and Pauline Angel, were Romanian. He grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, where he was introduced to fly tying by a friend and mentor, and traveled frequently to Pennsylvania with his homemade flies to fish the rivers and streams there. Nemes enlisted in the Army at age 19 as the U.S. was entering World War II. He was stationed at the Ibsley Air Field in Hampshire, England as a member of the Fighter Control Squadron with the Eighth Air Force. While stationed, he was set up on a blind date with Hazel Mary Barclay, an English nursing student. Nemes landed at Omaha Beach on D-Day, staying there for nine months as part of a team directing fighter aircraft. When he returned to England, he married Hazel on March 17, 1945 in Southampton, Hampshire. After the war, Hazel and Sylvester's first child, Diana, was born in England. The family moved to the U.S. where their second and third children, Eric and Gregory, were born. While the couple raised their family, Nemes earned a bachelor's degree in English from Kent State University. He went on to work as a copy writer and a photographer in Cleveland, Detroit, and Chicago. Nemes, Hazel, and their children moved to Crown Point, Indiana in 1961, where Nemes worked as a photojournalist and continued to cultivate his love of fly fishing.
Nemes published his first book in 1975 through Chatham Press. The Soft-Hackled Fly championed wet fly fishing and the beauty and utility of flies tied with bird feathers in an era when dry fly fishing was the dominant trend. In the book he details the history of the soft-hackled fly and gives instruction on tying them and using them in fishing. Nemes went on to become a prolific author on the subject of fly fishing, writing Learn How to Fly Fish in One Day (1986), Soft-Hackled Imitations (1991), The Soft-Hackled Fly: A Trout Fisherman's Guide (1993), The Soft-Hackled Fly Addict (1993), Spinners (1995), Six Months in Scotland: an American View of its Salmon Fishing (1998), Two Centuries of Soft-Hackled Flies: a Survey of the Literature With Original Patterns, 1747-Present (2004), and The Soft-Hackled Fly and Tiny Soft Hackles: a Trout Fisherman's Guide (2006). He wrote two unpublished novels: "Goodbye, Crown Point," about John Dillinger, the Depression-era bank robber, and an unnamed manuscript about World War II-era P38 fighter aircraft pilots. Hazel and Sylvester moved to San Francisco in the early eighties before settling in Bozeman, Montana, at the base of the Bridger Mountains, in 1984. Nemes continued to fish, create his own fly patterns, and write books. He had admirers as far-flung as Japan, where fans of his started a fly fishing club devoted to the use of the soft hackle, and a Nemes-branded fly fishing rod was produced and sold. He was honored by Trout Unlimited in Bozeman in 2008 with their Legends of the Headwaters award. Nemes died at home on February 3, 2011 outside of Bozeman.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The bulk of this collection is made up of the research, notes, drafts and manuscripts of Nemes' books, both his published works on fly fishing, as well as two unpublished works of historical fiction. This portion of the collection is largely typed pages and handwritten notes in spiral-bound notebooks, but also some galleys and artwork. There is also a large amount of correspondence, mainly from readers and fans of his work expressing their admiration for Nemes, and ordering books and hand-tied flies from him. Biographical material is limited to a few folders which include family correspondence, a brief biography, miscellaneous personal records, and his obituary. Nemes' business and professional records are mainly comprised of correspondence with publishers, book and fly orders and invoices, and other records related to the writing and publishing of his books. In the final series there are photographs, negatives, memorabilia, and several binders of slides taken by Nemes of flies, landscapes in the West and in England and Scotland, fish and rivers, and friends and family.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
This collection is currently unavailable for user access. If you have questions, please contact us directly.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Series 1: Biographical materialReturn to Top
This small series contains a print of a portrait of Sylvester Nemes, some family correspondence, a short biography written on Nemes in the mid-1980s, and Nemes' obituary from the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
1/1 |
Nemes Portrait
|
1996 |
1/2 |
Biography
|
1980s-2011 |
1/3 |
Correspondence
|
undated; 1995; 1997 |
1/4 |
Miscellaneous Personal Records
|
1992-2001 |
Series 2: Business and Professional RecordsReturn to Top
This series contains all records pertaining to Nemes' professional life (excluding any book manuscript material, artwork or research, which is contained in Series 4). Included are wholesale book orders, royalty reports, receipts from travels to Europe, publisher correspondence with Stackpole Books and Chatham Press, book publicity materials, and articles written by and articles written about Nemes. Legal agreements, including an agreement to produce a Nemes-branded fishing rod in Japan, are also found in this series.
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
2/1 |
Awards/Certificates
|
1990-2007 |
2/2 |
Organizations
|
1981-2009 |
2/3 |
Articles by Nemes
|
1975; undated |
2/4 |
Articles about Nemes
|
1982-2011 |
2/5 |
Book Reviews/Press
|
1986-1996 |
2/6 |
Book Publicity
|
1988-1989; 1995 |
2/7 |
Book Publicity Mailings
|
1990-1991 |
2/8 |
Book/Fly Orders
|
1981-2002 |
2/9-10 |
The Soft Hackled Fly Orders from Magazine
Ad
|
|
2/11 |
Fly Fishing Heritage
|
1987 |
2/12 |
Fly Fisherman's Library
|
1982; undated |
2/13 |
Fly Fisherman Magazine
|
1975-1983 |
3/1 |
Fly Fisherman Japan Edition
|
1983; undated |
3/2 |
English
Correspondence/Research
|
1974-1982; undated |
3/3 |
Trip to England/Fishing in
England
|
1972-1986; undated |
3/4 |
Trip to Scotland
|
1996-1997; undated |
3/5-6 |
Stackpole Books -
Correspondence
|
1984-2006 |
3/7 |
Stackpole Books - Royalty Statements,
Invoices
|
1986-2007 |
3/8 |
General Publisher
Correspondence
|
1973-2005 |
3/9 |
Publishing Agreements
|
1985-2010; undated |
3/10 |
Title Page Proofs
|
undated |
3/11 |
Submission to Barnes and Noble
|
1998 |
3/12 |
English Publisher
Correspondence
|
1995-1996 |
3/13 |
Chatham Press
|
1975-1981 |
3/14 |
Chatham Press
|
1975-1980 |
3/15 |
Goodbye Crown Point - Publisher
Search
|
1992-2007 |
3/16 |
Publisher Price Quotes
|
1982-1995 |
4/1 |
Miscellaneous Invoices/Receipts
(Incoming)
|
1983-1996 |
4/2 |
Nemes-Branded Japanese Rod
|
1997-2000 |
4/3 |
Modern Imaging Dispute
|
1988 |
4/4 |
Copyright Registration
|
1988 |
4/5 |
Color World Printers
|
1988-1998 |
4/6 |
Umpqua Feather Merchants
|
1990-2002 |
4/7 |
Transcribed Tapes
|
1975; 1977 |
4/8 |
Brochures and Catalogs
|
1990-2002 |
4/9 |
Fly Fishing Dictionary
|
2005 |
4/10 |
Business Correspondence
|
1980-1989; undated |
4/11 |
General Articles and Newspaper
Clippings
|
1993-2006; undated |
4/12 |
Miscellaneous Business Records
|
|
4/13 |
Spinners - Trademark
|
Series 3: CorrespondenceReturn to Top
The bulk of letters are fan mail from Nemes' readers, who wrote to order books and flies as well as to ask for fishing and fly tying advice. Some sent Nemes examples of their hand crafted flies along with their letters (all flies can be found in Series VI). Outgoing Correspondence contains copies of all correspondence written by Nemes that is not contained in Series 2, folders 2 and 5-8. Incoming correspondence is arranged alphabetically by last name, while outgoing correspondence is arranged by year. All photographic material has been placed in Series 6.
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Incoming
|
||
Box/Folder | ||
5/1-2 |
A
|
|
5/3 |
B
|
|
5/4-6 |
B
|
|
6/1-2 |
B
|
|
6/3-6 |
C
|
|
6/7 |
D
|
|
7/1 |
D
|
|
7/2 |
E
|
|
7/3-4 |
F
|
|
7/5-6 |
G
|
|
7/7-8 |
H
|
|
8/1-3 |
H
|
|
8/4 |
I
|
|
8/5 |
J
|
|
8/6-8 |
K
|
|
8/9 |
L
|
|
9/1-2 |
L
|
|
9/3-6 |
M
|
|
10/1 |
N
|
|
10/2 |
O
|
|
10/3-5 |
P
|
|
10/6 |
Q
|
|
10/7 |
R
|
|
11/1-2 |
R
|
|
11/3-6 |
S
|
|
11/7 |
T
|
|
12/1 |
T
|
|
12/2 |
U
|
|
12/3 |
V
|
|
12/4-5 |
W
|
|
12/6 |
Y
|
|
12/7 |
Z
|
|
12/8-9 |
No Last Name
|
|
12/10 |
Letter Fragments
|
|
Outgoing
|
||
Box/Folder | ||
13/1 | 1973-1975 | |
13/2 | 1976 | |
13/3 | 1977 | |
13/4 | 1980-1989 | |
13/5 | 1990-1994 | |
13/6 | 1995-1999 | |
13/7 | 2000-2008 | |
13/8 | undated |
Series 4: Book Manuscripts, Drafts, and Book-Specific ResearchReturn to Top
Contains drafts, manuscripts, galleys, and artwork for Nemes' books, along with research (copies of articles and typed and handwritten notes) directly related to the writing of a book, arranged by book. Contains what appears to be a very early draft (circa 1973) of The Soft-Hackled Fly. All articles and notes written by Nemes that could not be identified as part of one of his literary projects have been placed in Series 5.
Container(s) | Description |
---|---|
Box/Folder | |
14/1-9 |
Soft Hackled Fly Manuscript
|
14/10 |
Soft Hackled Fly - Title Page
|
14/11 |
Soft Hackled Fly - Intro to New
Edition
|
14/12 |
Soft Hackled Fly - Folder
Notes
|
14/13-14 |
Learn How to Fly Fish - Drafts
|
14/15 |
Learn How to Fly Fish -
Artwork
|
14/16 |
Learn How to Fly Fish -
Artwork
[see box 32]
|
15/1 |
Learn How to Fly Fish: Drafts
|
15/2 |
Learn How to Fly Fish: Artwork
|
15/3 |
Soft Hackled Fly Imitations - Handwritten
Notes
|
15/4 |
Soft Hackled Fly Imitations -
Notes
|
15/5-11 |
Soft Hackled Fly Imitations -
Drafts
|
15/12 |
Soft Hackled Fly Imitations -
Artwork
[see box 32]
|
16/1-3 |
Soft Hackled Fly Imitations -
Manuscript
|
16/4 |
D. Hughes Soft Hackled Fly Imitations
Introduction
|
16/5 |
Soft Hackled Fly Imitations -
Artwork
|
16/6-8 |
Soft Hackled Fly Imitations -
Galleys
|
16/9 |
Spinners - Book Proposal
|
16/10 |
Spinners - Notes
|
17/1-7 |
Spinners - Drafts
|
18/1-7 |
Spinners - Drafts
|
18/8 |
Spinners - Artwork
|
19/1 |
Scotland Travel
|
19/2 |
Scotland Travel
|
19/3 |
Scotland Travel
|
19/4-7 |
Scotland Articles and Research
|
20/1 |
United Kingdom Articles and Newspaper
Clippings
|
20/2 |
Six Months in Scotland - Chapter
Ideas
|
20/3-9 |
Six Months in Scotland -
Drafts
|
20/10 |
Six Months in Scotland (?) -
Drafts
|
20/11 |
Six Months in Scotland -
Artwork
|
21/1 |
Two Centuries of Soft Hackled Flies -
Handwritten Notes
|
21/2-7 |
Two Centuries of Soft Hackled Flies -
Articles
|
21/8-10 |
Two Centuries of Soft Hackled Flies -
Manuscript
|
22/1-5 |
Two Centuries of Soft Hackled Flies -
Manuscript
|
22/6-8 |
Two Centuries of Soft Hackled Flies -
Galleys
|
23/1 |
Tiny Soft Hackles - Notebooks
|
23/2 |
Tiny Soft Hackles - Research
|
23/3-4 |
Tiny Soft Hackles - Manuscript
|
23/5-6 |
P38 Novel - Notes
|
23/7-9 |
P38 Novel - Articles and
Research
|
23/10 |
P38 Novel - Articles and
Research
[see box 32]
|
24/1 |
P38 Novel - Drafts
|
24/2 |
P38 Novel - Manuscript
|
24/3-10 |
Goodbye, Crown Point - Dillinger
Articles
|
25/1-3 |
Goodbye, Crown Point - Dillinger
Articles
|
25/4-5 |
Goodbye, Crown Point - Notes
|
25/6-8 |
Goodbye, Crown Point -
Manuscript
|
26/1-8 |
Goodbye, Crown Point -
Manuscript
|
27/1-9 |
Goodbye, Crown Point -
Manuscript
|
28/1 |
Goodbye, Crown Point -
Manuscript
|
28/2 |
Goodbye, Crown Point - Manuscript Sample
|
28/3 |
Unidentified Manuscript - Soft Hackled Fly
Origins/Tarpon Story
|
28/4 |
Unidentified Manuscript - Fishing the Soft
Hackled Fly
|
28/5 |
Unidentified Manuscript - Fishing the Soft
Hackled Fly in Big Rivers
|
28/6 |
Unidentified Manuscript - Fishing Soft
Hackles
|
28/7 |
Unidentified Manuscript - Soft Hackled Fly
Writing
|
28/8 |
Unidentified Manuscript - Fiction
Manuscript
|
Series 5: General Research and NotesReturn to Top
Spiral-bound notebooks, loose papers, and legal pads of handwritten notes and photocopies of articles kept by Nemes for various writing projects.
Container(s) | Description |
---|---|
Box/Folder | |
28/9 |
Entomological Society of London
Articles
|
28/10 |
Entomology Articles
|
28/11-16 |
Handwritten Notes
|
29/1-6 |
Handwritten Notes
|
30/1-6 |
Handwritten Notes
|
31/1-4 |
Handwritten Notes
|
32/1-5 |
Handwritten Notes
|
32/6 |
History of Elementary Schools -
Articles
|
Series 6: Photographs, Slides, and MemorabiliaReturn to Top
Color photographs of Sylvester Nemes with family and friends, readers' photos sent to Nemes, 3x5 negatives of fly tying, and several binders of slides taken of various subjects. Some binders were labeled by Nemes, the rest are labeled in brackets, and are mainly comprised of images of flies, rivers, Nemes, the English and Scottish countryside, and western landscapes. This series also includes a small collections of flies (mostly those sent to Nemes by readers), his Legend of the Headwaters award, and a framed photo with mounted flies from a Japanese fishing club.
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
32/7 |
Photos: S. Nemes, #1-7
|
|
32/8 |
Photos: S. Nemes and Others,
#8-13
|
|
32/9 |
Photos: Unidentified people,
#14-17
|
|
32/10 |
Photos: Miscellaneous fishing-related,
#18-20
|
|
32/11 |
Photos: Normandy map, #21-24
|
|
32/12 |
Photos: Fly tying, #25-37
(Tying leader to fly, #25-27, Blood knot, #28-37)
|
|
32/13 |
Negatives: Flies, #38-46
|
|
32/14 |
Negatives: Fly tying, #47-69
|
|
32/15 |
Negatives: Fishing/casting,
#70-83
|
|
32/16 |
Negatives: Horses, #84-85
|
|
32/17 |
Photo: Federation of Fly Fishers Conclave,
#86
|
August 1988 |
33/1 |
Flies
|
|
33/2 |
Legend of the Headwaters
plaque
|
2008 |
33/3 |
Framed photograph of Soft Hackles, a
Japanese fishing club, along with flies
|
2006 |
Slide
binders
|
||
box-item | ||
34/1 |
Spinners
|
1990-1995 |
34/2 |
Spinners
|
1993-1994 |
34/3 |
Spinners
|
1991-1995 |
34/4 |
Spinners
|
1987-1999 |
34/5 |
Two Centuries
|
1998-2000 |
34/6 |
Scotland
|
undated |
34/7 |
Scotland
|
1990-1998; undated |
35/8 |
[Various]
|
1984-1995 |
35/9 |
[Various]
|
1987-1996 |
35/10 |
[Various]
|
1982-1998 |
35/11 |
[Various]
|
1989-1995 |
35/12 |
[Various]
|
1982-2000 |
35/13 |
[Various]
|
1986-1995 |
35/14 |
Mixed
|
1987-2000 |
35/15 |
[Various]
|
1976-2005 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
- Subject Terms :
- Americans
- Americans -- England
- Fishers
- Fishers -- Montana
- Fly fishing
- Fly fishing
- Fly tyers
- Fly tyers -- Montana
- Fly tying
- Fly tying
- Military operations, Aerial -- American
- Publishers and publishing
- Publishers and publishing -- United States
- Travel
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Aerial operations, American -- Fiction
- Personal Names :
- Nemes, Sylvester -- Archives
- Nemes, Sylvester
- Corporate Names :
- World War (1939-1945)
- Geographical Names :
- Bozeman (Mont.)
- England
- England -- Description and travel
- Montana
- Montana -- Bozeman
- Scotland
- Scotland -- Description and travel
- United States
- United States, West
- West (U.S.) -- Description and travel
- Form or Genre Terms :
- Archives
- Fiction
- Personal papers -- Montana -- Bozeman
- Photographs