George E. Brown, Jr. Correspondence with Vardis Fisher

George E. Brown, Jr. Correspondence with Vardis Fisher, 1954-1968

Overview of the Collection

Title: George E. Brown, Jr. Correspondence with Vardis Fisher
Dates: 1954-1968 (inclusive)
19541968
Quantity: 0.1 linear feet, (1 folder)
Collection Number: MSS 169
Summary: Chiefly letters and postcards to Brown, of Twin Falls, Idaho, from novelist Vardis Fisher discussing his medical problems and literary work; together with a few postcards from Brown to Fisher and others.
Repository: Boise State University Library, Special Collections and Archives
Special Collections and Archives
1910 University Drive
Boise ID
83725
Telephone: 2084263990
archives@boisestate.edu
Access Restrictions: Collection is available for research.
Languages: English
Sponsor: Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided, in part, by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Dr. George E. Brown, Jr., of Twin Falls, Idaho, was both friend and physician to Vardis Fisher. Born in Miles City, Montana, on March 24, 1913, he received both his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Michigan. Brown was Vardis Fisher's physician in the early 1950s, until he left Idaho to accept an appointment as assistant professor of medicine at the University of Cincinnati, a position he held from 1957 until 1960. When he returned to Idaho, he and Vardis Fisher resumed their medical and social relationship, which lasted until Fisher's death in 1968.

Dr. Brown died in Boise, Idaho, on March 23, 2004.

Source: Biographical information on George E. Brown, Jr., was derived from Biographical Directory of the American College of Physicians (Bowker, 1979).

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Most of the letters were written by Vardis Fisher. Because Twin Falls was a long distance call from Fisher's home in Hagerman, Fisher communicated with Dr. Brown via the U.S. mail. While the subject matter of the letters is mainly medical, Fisher includes references to his literary work. It is apparent from the letters that Brown read Fisher's books and discussed them with him, though Fisher chided him, "As a literary critic, you are as big a bum as I am a doctor..." (November 5, 1965). The letters also reveal that Brown and his wife Martha occasionally exchanged visits with Vardis and Opal Fisher.

A notable document in the collection is a personal medical history Fisher compiled for Brown in 1961. In more than one letter Fisher freely discussed his drinking habits, reporting both his periods of abstinence and his binges. In 1967 he wrote: "Alcohol is one of my best friends: it is the only thing I have that enables me to discharge for a few hours my bottled up hostilities and frustrations....In younger years I was able to release these pressures by rapidly climbing a tall mountain, or by putting on boxing gloves....One of my favorite books is by a medical man called Alcohol: the Friend of Man. He means, of course, in all the civilized ways it serves us." (April 9, 1967)

All of the letters and postcards from Vardis Fisher to George E. Brown, Jr., were typed; most were signed in a longhand signature, "Vardis." Dates of many of the postcards were derived from the postmarks; some dates (in square brackets [ ]) were inferred from context. All items are one page in length unless otherwise noted.

Forms part of the Idaho Writers Archive.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Alternative Forms Available

Letters and postcards have been photocopied. Originals are available for consultation if necessary.

Preferred Citation

[item description], George E. Brown, Jr. Correspondence with Vardis Fisher, Box [number] Folder [number], Boise State University Special Collections and Archives.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

Photocopies of the letters and postcards are assembled in a binder in chronological order.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Dr. George E. Brown, 1986.

Related Materials

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Description	Dates
Vardis Fisher to Brown	1954 October 10
Brown to Vardis Fisher	1954 October 12
Vardis Fisher to Brown	1955 February 26
Vardis Fisher to Brown	1957 April 15
Vardis Fisher to Dr. Bernard L. Kreilkamp; medical history (one page)	1960 February 22
Vardis Fisher to Brown; medical history (2 pages)	1961 March 1
Vardis Fisher to Brown	1961 March 15
Vardis Fisher to Brown	1961 April 3
Vardis Fisher to Brown	1961 April 10
Vardis Fisher to Brown	1961 May 15
Vardis Fisher to Brown	1961 August 1
Vardis Fisher to Brown	1961 August 18
Felix Marti-Ibanez (MD Publications) to Brown	1961 December 6
Vardis Fisher to Brown	1962 March 20
Vardis Fisher to Brown	1963 April 25
Vardis Fisher to Brown	1963 April 28
Vardis Fisher to Brown	[1963 October]
Vardis Fisher to Brown	1964 February 7
Vardis Fisher to Brown	1964 April 11
Vardis Fisher to Brown	1964 May 5
Vardis Fisher to Brown	1964 May 9
Vardis Fisher to Brown	1964 June 6
Vardis Fisher to Brown	1964 November 12
Vardis Fisher to Brown	1965 November 1
Vardis Fisher to Brown	1965 November 5
Vardis Fisher to Brown	1965 November 15
Vardis Fisher to Brown	1965 November 16
Vardis Fisher to Brown and his wife Martha ("Marty")	1965 December 19
Vardis Fisher to Brown	1966 March 28
Vardis Fisher to Brown	1966 May 12
Vardis Fisher to Brown	1966 June 15
Vardis Fisher to Brown ("Dear doctor and friend George")	1966 June 18
Vardis Fisher to Brown	1966 August 8
Vardis Fisher to Brown	1966 December 28
Vardis Fisher to Brown	1967 February 27
Vardis Fisher to Brown	1967 March 3
Brown to Opal and Vardis Fisher	[1967 April]
Vardis Fisher to Brown	1967 April 9
Vardis Fisher to Brown	1967 April 12
Vardis Fisher to Brown	[1967 April]
Vardis Fisher to Brown	1968 April 16
Vardis Fisher to Brown	1968 May 29
Vardis Fisher to Brown	1968 June 2
Vardis Fisher to Brown	1968 June 21
Vardis Fisher to Brown	undated
Vardis Fisher to Brown, enclosing copy of "Orphan With a Gun," a mimeographed review of Fisher's books by Andrew Offutt	undated

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