Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Photographs of Theodore Roethke and family, approximately 1908-1997
Overview of the Collection
- Title
- Photographs of Theodore Roethke and family
- Dates
- approximately 1908-1997 (inclusive)19081997
- Quantity
-
60 photographic prints (1 box, 2 oversize folders) ; various sizes
20 negatives (1 folder) ; 35 mm - Collection Number
- PH0791
- Summary
- Photographs of Theodore Roethke and his family
- Repository
-
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu - Access Restrictions
-
Selections from the collection can be viewed on the Libraries Digital Collections website. Permission of Visual Materials Curator is required to view original photographs. Contact Special Collections for more information.
- Languages
- English
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
American poet and author Theodore Roethke (1908-1963) was born in Saginaw, Michigan to Helen Huebner Roethke and Otto Roethke. He attended the University of Michigan from 1929 to 1936 and received BA and MA degrees. He married Beatrice Heath O'Connell in 1953. Roethke began his career as a teacher in 1931. Roethke taught English at a number of universities, culminating in an appointment to the University of Washington in 1947 that lasted until his death.
In 1941 Roethke wrote his first volume of verse, Open House. Roethke went on to write many other books of collected poetry. In 1954 Roethke received a Pulitzer Prize for his book The Waking: Poems 1933-1953. He inspired several other poets as an advisor to graduate students at the University of Washington including Carolyn Kizer, Richard Hugo, David Wagoner, and many others.
Sources:
"Roethke, Theodore (1908-1963) - HistoryLink.org." Accessed September 26, 2017. http://www.historylink.org/File/5410.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
Theodore Roethke, his parents Otto and Helen Roethke, his sister June, their home and greenhouse in Michigan, as well as photographs of Roethke's wife Beatrice Roethke Lushington and his lifelong friend Katherine Stokes.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Alternative Forms Available
View selections from the collection in digital format
Restrictions on Use
Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. The Cunningham Trust holds the copyright and licenses reproduction rights for all Imogen Cunningham photographs. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Acquisition Information
Donor: Beatrice Roethke Lushington, November 1999; June Roethke estate, September 1997 ; Karyl Winn, 1997; Hoyt Public Library, November 1999. James McCloud, April 7, 1978 - 6 photographs item #s 28-33. 21 photographs (20 prints and 1 contact sheet) and 20 negatives transferred from the Dave Duncomb collection PH1499, April 2019.
Processing Note
Processed by Marion Brown, 2008; Michael Lowry Lamble, June, 2019; Susan Fitch, 2020
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Otto Roethke and Helen HuebnerReturn to Top
Otto T. Roethke was born on December 31, 1872 in Saginaw, Michgan. He and Helen Huebner were married in 1906. Otto's father, Wilhelm, a German immigrant, ran a large set of greenhouses. Otto became a market-gardener who owned a large local 25-acre greenhouse, along with his brother. Otto Roethke died from cancer on August 29, 1923 when his son Theodore was a teenager.
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box/Folder | item | ||
1/1 | 1 |
Otto Roethke in a suit Lyon, Saginaw,
Michigan (photographer)
|
between 1892 and 1902? |
1/1 | 2 | Otto Roethke facing to the left Beckmann, Saginaw, Michigan (photographer)
|
between 1890 and 1897? |
1/1 | 3 | Otto Roethke facing to the right Beckmann Bros Saginaw,
Michigan (photographer)
|
between 1898 and 1917? |
1/1 | 4 | Portrait of Otto Roethke in a hat, suit and
bowtie |
between 1910 and 1915? |
1/1 | 5 |
Otto Roethke and man, possibly Charles
Roethke At some point, Karl changed his name to Charles--possibly to
Anglicize his name.
|
between 1900 and 1909? |
1/1 | 6 | between 1900 and 1906? | |
1/1 | 7 | beween 1900 and 1906? | |
1/1 | 8a | Grandmother Huebner, Great Grandmother Wuest, Norman
Kromau, Laraine and Aunt Gustie in a bedroom Beckmann Bros., Saginaw, Michigan (photographer)
|
between 1898 and 1917 |
box:oversize | |||
XC2 | 8b | Portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Huebner, Theodore and June
Roethke's grandparents |
1870s? |
Theodore and June RoethkeReturn to Top
Theodore was born in 1908, June in 1913.
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box/Folder | item | ||
1/2 | 9 |
Portrait of infant Theodore Roethke Beckmann Bros (photographer)
|
1909? |
1/2 | 10 | 1917? | |
1/2 | 11 | Theodore Roethke in front of a post |
1917? |
1/2 | 12 |
June and Helen Reothke Written on verso: My favorite, June and Mother
|
between 1923 and 1925? |
1/2 | 13 |
Helen Roethke standing among flowers. Written on verso: Mother--flowers she raised in backyard.
|
between 1919-1921? |
1/2 | 14 | 1920? | |
1/2 | 15a | between 1920 and 1923 | |
box:oversize | |||
XC2 | 15b | The Roethke Greenhouse |
between 1890 and 1923 |
Box/Folder | |||
1/2 | 16 |
Portrait of June Roethke Le Clare (photographer)
|
1932 |
Beatrice Roethke LushingtonReturn to Top
Beatrice was a former student of Theodore's who married him in 1953. Although his junior, she quickly took on a caretaker role in his life, watching over him through his mental health crises and periods of hospitalization. Despite a sometimes difficult marriage, Beatrice remained a strong supporter of Theodore and had some of his works unpublished works released following his death. She remarried in 1972, and lived in England for the rest of her life.
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box/Folder | item | ||
1/3 | 17 |
Studio portrait of Beatrice Roethke, Winchester
Virginia Turgeon, Washington DC (photographer)
|
Spring 1943 |
1/3 | 18 | 1952 | |
1/3 | 19 |
Portrait of Bea Roethke Lushington Imogen Cunningham, San Francisco (photographer)
Copyright belongs to Imogen Cunningham Trust. Restrictions may
exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections,
University of Washington Libraries for details.
Unsigned. Imogen Cunningham label on verso, stamped negative No.
6.
|
1972? |
PortraitsReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box/Folder | item | ||
1/4 | 20a-20c | June Roethke |
before 1945? |
1/4 | 21 | between 1936 and 1947? | |
1/4 | 22a-22b |
Theodore Roethke looking away from the
camera James O. Sneddon (Photographer)
|
April 30, 1952 |
box:oversize | |||
XC2 | 22c |
Theodore Roethke looking away from the
camera James O. Sneddon (Photographer)
|
April 30, 1952 |
Box/Folder | |||
1/4 | 23a-23b |
Theodore Roethke looking to the side of the
camera James O. Sneddon (Photographer)
|
April 30, 1952 |
1/4 | 24-25 | between 1955 and 1963 | |
1/4 | 26-27 | January 14, 1959 |
Photographs of Theodore Roethke by Imogen Cunningham, 1959?Return to Top
Copyright belongs to Imogen Cunningham Trust. Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.
Unsigned. Stamped on back with credit to Imogen Cunningham, 1331 Green St., San Francisco 9. Undated.
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box/Folder | item | ||
1/5 | 28 |
Theodore Roethke looking into the camera with arms
folded Imogen Cunningham, San Francisco (photographer)
|
1959? |
1/5 | 29 |
Theodore Roethke looking into the camera Imogen Cunningham, San Francisco (photographer)
|
1959? |
1/5 | 30 |
Theodore Roethke looking at the camera Imogen Cunningham, San Francisco (photographer)
|
1959? |
1/5 | 31 |
Theodore Roethke looking at the camera with mouth
open Imogen Cunningham, San Francisco (photographer)
|
1959? |
1/5 | 32 |
Theodore Roethke looking into the camera Imogen Cunningham, San Francisco (photographer)
|
1959? |
1/5 | 33 |
Theodore Roethke seen at slight angle with eyes
closed Imogen Cunningham, San Francisco (photographer)
|
1959? |
Photographs of Roethke by Duncombe, March 7, 1962Return to Top
Duncombe was a student photographer at the University of Washington, working as part of the Tyee yearbook staff.
A series of photos originally taken for the University of Washington Tyee yearbook and later published in the poetry publication Madrona, Volume I, Number 3, 1972.
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box/Folder | item | ||
1/6 | 34-42 | March 7, 1962 | |
1/6 | 43-45 | March 7, 1962 | |
1/6 | 46-53 | March 7, 1962 |
Roethke home and graves in MichiganReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box/Folder | item | ||
1/7 | 54 | 1997? | |
1/7 | 55 | 1997? | |
1/7 | 56-59 | 1997? |
Katherine M. StokesReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box/Folder | item | ||
1/7 | 60 |
Portrait of Katherine M. Stokes John Wanamaker, New
York, NY (photographer)
Kathy Stokes was a close friend of Theodore's and a lifelong
correspondent.
|
1935? |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Greenhouses--Michigan--Saginaw--Photographs
- Poets, American--20th century--Homes and haunts
- Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)
Personal Names
- Roethke, Helen H., 1881-1955--Photographs
- Roethke, June, 1913-1997--Photographs
- Roethke, Otto, 1872-1928--Photographs
- Roethke, Theodore, 1908-1963--Family--Photographs
- Roethke, Theodore, 1908-1963--Photographs
- Stokes, Katharine Martin, 1906---Photographs