Esther Shephard papers, 1852-1972

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Shephard, Esther
Title
Esther Shephard papers
Dates
1852-1972 (inclusive)
Quantity
14.88 linear feet
Collection Number
0994
Summary
Papers of an author, professor of literature and literary critic
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

Open to all users

Request at UW

Languages
English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Esther Maria Lofstrand, born 1891 at Minneapolis, attended public schools in Minnesota. In 1916, after her marriage to Richard T. Shepherd (d. 1915), she came to Washington and attended the State Normal School at Bellingham; afterwards teaching high school for a short time in Belgrade, Montana. Mrs. Shepherd returned to Washington and earned a B.A. in 1920, M.A. in 1921, and Ph.D. in 1938 from the University of Washington. In 1921 she married C. Ellis Shephard (d. 1938) and was known professionally as Esther Shephard for the rest of her career. Mrs. Shephard's master's thesis was, "Frontier Literature," published in 1921. In this and subsequent tall-tale writings, "Paul Bunyan," (self-published by Esther and C. Ellis Shephard in a limited edition in 1924 and republished, with illustrations by Rockwell Kent, in 1941) is Mrs. Shephard's masterwork. The tales, collected in West Coast logging camps by the Shephards, were retold in warm and witty prose by Mrs. Shephard. In the 1930's she began to concentrate on play-writing and Walt Whitman criticism, in addition to sporadically continue to write poetry. Her Ph.D. dissertation, "Walt Whitman Prose," was published in 1938. Her most important academic appointment was in the English Department at San Jose State College, where she taught ca. 1939-1959. During this period her poetic retelling of an ancient Chinese legend, "The Cowherd and the Sky Maiden," was published in 1950. It was produced as an opera in 1952, with music by John Verral and staged by John Ashby Conway, at the University of Washington. Several Whitman articles also date from Mrs. Shephard's San Jose years. Mrs. Shephard died in February, 1975.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Correspondence, literary manuscripts, notes and research materials, photos, clippings, reviews, financial records, and other papers, relating to Shephard's career as professor at San Jose State College (1939-1959), her compilation of the Paul Bunyan legends, the publication of her book Paul Bunyan (1924), and her work as literary critic of the writings of Walt Whitman. Correspondents include: Harcourt, Brace and Co., Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., McNeil Press, Seattle, Wash., Erna Gunther, Arthur Meier Schlesinger, and Mrs. Carl Sandburg.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Consult the restrictions governing reproduction and use for each of the accessions listed below.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

Organized into 2 accessions.

  • Accession No. 0994-001, Shephard Esther papers, 1921-1955
  • Accession No. 0994-002, Shephard Esther papers, 1852-1972

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

 

Accession No. 0994-001: Shephard Esther papers, 1921-1955Return to Top

1.88 linear feet

Scope and Content: Paul Bunyan correspondence, notes, research material, etc.

Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.

Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Acquisition Info: Donated by Mrs. Shephard in the 1940's.

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder Accession
1/1-22 0994-001
Correspondence: Incoming
General Notes: Organized alphabetically
1921-1954; undated
2/1-11 0994-001
Correspondence: Outgoing
 1921-1954
2/12-16, 3/1-2 0994-001
Manuscripts
 undated
3/3-10 0994-001
Notes
 1922-1945
3/11-3/17 0994-001
Reserach Material
 1922-1945
4/1-3 0994-001
Illustrative Materials
 1924 -1941
4/4-6 0994-001
Ephemera
 1922-1935
4/7 0994-001
Publicity
 1924
4/8-9 0994-001
Reviews
 1925-1926
4/10 0994-001
Award (Junior Scholastic Gold Seal)
 1942
4/11-13 0994-001
Clippings
 1922-1942, undated
5/1 0994-001
Miscellany
 1924-1950
Box
5 0994-001
Books
General Notes: The Cowherd and the Sky Maiden and Paul Bunyan
1924, 1950

Accession No. 0994-002: Shephard Esther papers, 1852-1972 (bulk 1920-1960)Return to Top

13 linear feet

Scope and Content: Correspondence, literary manuscripts, music, notes, miscellany, subject files.

Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.

Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Acquisition Info: Donated by Kathryn Shephard Cushman 24 Aug 1977 and 2 Sept 1977.

Container(s) Description Dates
Series 1: Biographical Features
Box/Folder Accession
1/1 0994-002
Bigraphical features
 1915-1975
Series 2: General Correspondence
Box/Folder Accession
1/2-3 0994-002
American Literature
 1942-1957
1/4 0994-002
The Atlantic Monthly
 1924-1958
1/5 0994-002
A Miscellaneous
General Notes: Allen, Gay W.
1919-1959
1/6 0994-002
Backus, Joyce F.
 1944-1963
1/7 0994-002
Barry, Raymond W.
 1939-1946
1/8 0994-002
Benton, Pauline
 1948-1953
1/9 0994-002
Botkin, Benjamin A.
 1932-1934
1/10 0994-002
Browne, Ellen Van Volkenburg
 1928-1932
1/11 0994-002
Browne, Maurice
 1927-1930
1/12-13 0994-002
B Miscellaneous
 1922-1961
1/14 0994-002
California State College, San Francisco
 1938-1939
1/15 0994-002
The Chinese World
General Notes: Newspaper, San Francisco
1950-1958
1/16 0994-002
Chittick, Victor L.O.
 1923-1958
1/17-21 0994-002
Conway, John Ashby
 1949-1958
1/22 0994-002
Cornish, Nellie C.
 1930-1934
1/23 0994-002
Cushman, Kathryn Shephard
 1931-1952
1/24-25 0994-002
C Miscellaneous
 1918-1960
1/26 0994-002
The Dumbook
 1925
1/27 0994-002
D Miscellaneous
 1929-1957
1/28 0994-002
Edens, Olive
 1922-1930
1/29 0994-002
Ernst, Alice H.
 1925-1936
1/30 0994-002
Feinberg, Charles E.
 1960-1962
1/31 0994-002
Finkel, William L.
 1954-1955
2/1 0994-002
French, Samuel
 1924-1949
2/2 0994-002
Furness, Clifton J.
 1937-1945
2/3 0994-002
E-F Miscellaneous
 1927-1960
2/4 0994-002
Gilliam, Olive K.
 1921-1962
2/5-7 0994-002
Goodale, David
 1938-1963
2/8 0994-002
Goodale, H.L. (Mrs.)
 circa 1950-1952
2/9 0994-002
Grier, Edward F.
 1961
2/10 0994-002
Griffith, Dudley D.
 1930-1952
2/11 0994-002
Guild Photographers
 1937-1948
2/12 0994-002
Gunderson, Regina
 1938-1952
2/13 0994-002
G Miscellaneous
 1919-1960
2/14-18 0994-002
Harcourt, Brace and Co.
General Notes: See also: Folder 3/33
1925-1960
2/19 0994-002
Harcourt, Brace and World
 1961-1962
2/20 0994-002
Hartshorn, Mellor
 1934
2/21 0994-002
Harvard University Library
 1937-1955
2/22 0994-002
Hillyer, Robert S.
 1939-1953
2/23 0994-002
Hirakawa, Joseph T.
 1957-1958
2/24 0994-002
Hopkins, Arthur
 1936-1944
2/25 0994-002
Hosey, Anne
 1948
2/26 0994-002
Houghton Mifflin Co.
 1925-1950
2/27 0994-002
Hughes, Glenn A.
 1921-1956
2/28-29 0994-002
H Miscellaneous
 1921-1960
3/1 0994-002
I-J Miscellaneous
 1852, 1932-1960
3/2 0994-002
Kelly, Lulu Shephard
 circa 1936-1939
3/3 0994-002
Kent, Rockwell
 1941-1942
3/4 0994-002
K Miscellaneous
 1923-1961
3/5 0994-002
Laughead, W.B.
 1923-1955
3/6 0994-002
Lawson, James R.
 1944-1954
3/7 0994-002
Lewin, E.P.S. (Literary Agent)
 1947-1948
3/8-12 0994-002
Lofstrand Family
 1910-1939
3/13 0994-002
Longmans, Green and Co.
 1927-1931
3/14 0994-002
L Miscellaneous
 1921-1960
3/15 0994-002
McKinlay, Florence
 1937-1955
3/16 0994-002
McPharlin, Paul
 1931-1932
3/17 0994-002
MacQuarrie, Thomas W.
 1939-1953
3/18 0994-002
Merriam, H.G.
 1929-1932
3/19 0994-002
Merrick, Florence
 1951-1952
3/20-21 0994-002
Modern Language Association of America
 1950-1956
3/22 0994-002
Modern Language Quarterly
 1952-1955
3/23 0994-002
Molecey, George
 1960-1962
3/24 0994-002
Music Library Recordings
 1951-1952
3/25-26 0994-002
M Miscellaneous
 1925-1961
3/27 0994-002
New York University
 1955
3/28 0994-002
The New Yorker
 1944-1955
3/29 0994-002
N Miscellaneous
 1923-1955
3/30 0994-002
O'Connor, William Douglas
 1882
3/31 0994-002
O Miscellaneous
 1921-1962
3/32 0994-002
Pack, Alice
 1937-1962
3/33 0994-002
Pearce, Charles A.
General Notes: See also: Folders 2/14-16
1939-1955
3/34 0994-002
Pfeffer (Max) Literary Agency
 1945-1947
3/35 0994-002
Pinker (James B.) and Son
 1928-1929
3/36 0994-002
Pound, Louise
 1944-1945
4/1 0994-002
P Miscellaneous
 1927-1953
4/2 0994-002
Reed College
 1921-1939
4/3 0994-002
Resnick, Nathan
 1948
4/4 0994-002
Romig, Edna D.
 1944-1948
4/5 0994-002
Row, Peterson and Co.
 1931-1933
4/6 0994-002
Russell, Diarmuid
 1945
4/7 0994-002
R Miscellaneous
 1925-1958
4/8 0994-002
Saterbo, Bernt
 1918-1919
4/9-5/5 0994-002
Shephard, C. Ellis
 1920-1937
5/6 0994-002
Shephard, Richard J.
 1934-1951
5/7-11 0994-002
Sickels, Eleanor M.
 1925-1960
5/12 0994-002
Stanford University
 1939
5/13-14 0994-002
S Miscellaneous
 1920-1959
5/15 0994-002
Thomas, Maud M.
 1936-1952
5/16 0994-002
Ting, Chi-han
 1959-1962
5/17-18 0994-002
Turner, Marjory Shephard
 1924-1951
5/19 0994-002
T Miscellaneous
 1925-1961
5/20-23 0994-002
U.S. Library of Congress
 1936-1961
5/24 0994-002
University Travel Service
 1950-1951
5/25-26 0994-002
Verrall, John and Polly
 1950-1955
5/27 0994-002
U-V Miscellaneous
 1918-1951
6/1 0994-002
Wakano, Hiroshi
 1958-1959
6/2 0994-002
Walter, Caroline C.
 1926-1955
6/3 0994-002
Wang, Shih-chung
 1957-1960
6/4 0994-002
Warner Brothers Pictures
 1932-1933
6/5 0994-002
Washington - County Extension Service, Snohomish County
 1936
6/6 0994-002
Washington State Library
 1938
6/7 0994-002
Washington. University
1919-1945
6/8 0994-002
Wood, James
 1950-1962
6/9-10 0994-002
W Miscellaneous
 1917-1961
6/11 0994-002
Y-Z Miscellaneous
 1904-1957
6/12 0994-002
Unidentified
 1902-1962
6/13 0994-002
"Dorothy"
 1946-1958
6/14 0994-002
"Elizabeth"
 1941-1952
Series 3: Literary Manuscripts
item
Subseries 1
Fiction
Box/Folder Accession
7/1-6 0994-002
Out of Many Chances [novel]
 1945
7/7 0994-002
Paul Bunyan
 1924
7/8 0994-002
Paul Bunyan Reviews [McNeil Press edition]
 1924-1925
7/9-10 0994-002
Paul Bunyan Reviews [Harcourt edition]
 1941-1942
7/11-9/7 0994-002
Paul Bunyan Typescript
 undated
VF:oversize
OSVF 190 0994-002
Paul Bunyan Frontspiece photograph and letter
 undated
Box/Folder
9/8 0994-002
Revisions
 circa 1925
9/9-14 0994-002
Fragments
 undated
9/15 0994-002
Notes
 undated
9/16 0994-002
"Paul Bunyan As Big As Life and Bigger: New Stories of Paul Bunyan and Some Old Tales Retold"
 undated
9/17 0994-002
"The Paul Bunyan Humor"
 1941
Subseries 2
Short Stories
Box/Folder Accession
9/18 0994-002
"The Engineer's Story"
 undated
Box/Folder Accession
9/19 0994-002
"Five Times; or, the Way of a Maid with a Man"
 undated
9/20 0994-002
"The Justice of Chosroes"
 undated
9/21 0994-002
"Pamoshnitsa"
 undated
10/1 0994-002
"The Road"
 undated
10/2 0994-002
"You Sheep"
 undated
10/3-5 0994-002
Miscellaneous
 undated
Subseries 3
Plays
Box/Folder Accession
10/6-9 0994-002
The Angel Annabel
 undated
10/10 0994-002
The Baby's Brother
 undated
10/11-13 0994-002
Bad Times at the Punches'
 undated
10/14-11/2 0994-002
Brother Kings
 undated
11/3 0994-002
Cabbage or Chicken?
 undated
11/4 0994-002
Cactus Cat
 circa 1931
11/5-11/11 0994-002
La China Poblana [opera]
 1951
11/12 0994-002
Comejack, Too
 undated
12/1 0994-002
Davy Crockett
 undated
12/2-4 0994-002
Dimmesdale
 undated
12/5 0994-002
Fern Fairies
 circa 1930
12/6 0994-002
Five Years
 undated
12/7-17 0994-002
The Gift of Signy
 circa 1928
12/18 0994-002
In Those Dear Old College Daze
 1928
12/19 0994-002
Jet
 undated
13/1-2 0994-002
Merchant Marouf (A Tartar Tale)
 undated
13/3 0994-002
The Merger
 undated
13/4-5 0994-002
One Lover Less
 circa 1932
13/6 0994-002
Page Mr. Allen
 undated
13/7 0994-002
The Picnic
 undated
13/8-10 0994-002
Pierrette's Heart
 1924
13/11 0994-002
Poor Adam
 undated
13/12-14 0994-002
Saul
 undated
13/15 0994-002
The Summer Monsoon (A Pageant of India)
General Notes: with Marie C. Hone and Hazel E. Roberts
undated
13/16 0994-002
That's Funny
 undated
13/17 0994-002
Tin Wedding
 undated
13/18 0994-002
Towzer's in the Milkpan
 undated
13/19-22 0994-002
A Venetian Hour
 undated
14/1 0994-002
What Every Man Knows
 undated
14/2 0994-002
The Wife
 1925
14/3-13 0994-002
The Wife of Jonak
 1930
14/14 0994-002
Willie in Trouble
 undated
14/15 0994-002
Yes, Tomorrow
 undated
14/16 0994-002
Fragments, Drafts, Untitled
 undated
Subseries 4
Poetry
Box/Folder Accession
15/1 0994-002
"At Home"
 undated
15/2 0994-002
"Chinese Landscape Painting"
 undated
15/3-11 0994-002
The Cowherd and the Sky Maiden
 1950
15/12 0994-002
The Cowherd and the Sky Maiden [operatic adaptation]
 1952
15/13 0994-002
"Nineteenth-Century Painting"
 1945-1946
15/14-15 0994-002
Poems
 1938
15/16 0994-002
"Wedding of Spring"
 1943
15/17-18 0994-002
"Wind Tales"
 undated
15/19 0994-002
"Wisdom"
 1925
15/20 0994-002
"Woods in August"
 undated
16/1-18 0994-002
Miscellaneous, Untitled, Drafts
 undated
Subseries 5
Literary Criticism
Box/Folder Accession
16/19 0994-002
"A Correction for Mabbott and Silver's Article, "Walt Whitman's "'Tis But Ten Years Since'""; "An Error of Omission in Mabbott and Silver's "Walt Whitman's ''Tis But Ten Years Since'""
 circa 1943
16/20-27 0994-002
For a Revaluation of Whitman's Poetry
17/1-5 0994-002
Frontier Literature
 1921
17/6 0994-002
"An Inquiry into Whitman's Method of Turning Prose Into Poetry"
 1953
17/7 0994-002
"The Inside Front and Back Covers of Whitman's Earliest Known Notebook: Some Observations on Photocopy and Verbal Descriptions"
 1972
17/8-10 0994-002
"Life on the Mississippi"
 undated
17/11 0994-002
"A Note on the Photoduplicates of Whitman's Cardboard Butterfly"
 circa 1955
17/12 0994-002
"On Walt Whitman's Poetry"
 undated
17/13 0994-002
"Possible Sources of Some of Whitman's Ideas and Symbols in 'Hermes Mercurius Trismegistus' and Other Works"
 1953
18/1-9 0994-002
A Study of the Coined Words in "Leaves of Grass"
 undated
18/10 0994-002
"The Coined Words in Whitman's Leaves of Grass"
 undated
18/11 0994-002
"The Tall Tale in American Literature"
 1921
18/12-13 0994-002
The Thread of Ariadne: Walt Whitman As Poet (The Record of a Search)
 1936
18/14 0994-002
"Two Early Whitman Notebooks"
 undated
18/15 0994-002
"Walt Whitman's 'Consuelo' - Three Volumes of the Story Proper, Two of its Sequel, The Countess of Rudolstadt - Is Still in Existence"
 undated
19/1 0994-002
Walt Whitman's Pose: Excerpt
 1962
19/2-4 0994-002
Walt Whitman's Pose: Reviews
 1938-1939
19/5 0994-002
Walt Whitman's Pose: Galley Proof
 undated
19/6-21/11 0994-002
Walt Whitman's Pose: Typescript
 undated
21/12 0994-002
"Walt Whitman's Whereabouts in the Winter of 1842-1843"
 1957
Subseries 6
Reviews, Essays, Speeches, and Miscellaneous by Esther Shephard
Box/Folder Accession
21/13 0994-002
Review: Allen, Gay W. - The Solitary Singer
 1955
21/14 0994-002
Review: Miscellaneous
 circa 1926-1943
Essays
Box/Folder Accession
21/15 0994-002
"Homilies and Beasts"
 undated
Box/Folder Accession
21/16 0994-002
Speeches
 circa 1926
22/1-2 0994-002
Miscellaneous and Unidentified
 1921, 1955, undated
Series 4: Speeches and Writings by Other Authors
Box/Folder Accession
22/3 0994-002
Goodale, David
 1938-1962
22/4 0994-002
Hatch, Charlton
 circa 1932
22/5 0994-002
Sickels, Eleanor M.
 1923-1943
22/6-7 0994-002
Miscellaneous
 1923-1955
Series 5: Financial Records
Box/Folder Accession
22/10 0994-002
Royalty Statements
 1927-1949
Series 6: Subject Series
Box/Folder Accession
25/5-6 0994-002
Bunyan, Paul
 1925-1954
25/7 0994-002
European Trip
 1951
25/8 0994-002
Far East Trip
 1957
25/9 0994-002
Hillaire, Joseph R.
 circa 1966
25/10 0994-002
James, John R.
 circa 1928
25/11-12 0994-002
Mexican Trip
 1952
26/1 0994-002
Programs: Concerts
 circa 1911-1939
26/2 0994-002
Programs: Dance
 1939-1940
26/3-4 0994-002
Programs: Drama/Operetta/Cinema
 1897-1952
26/5 0994-002
Programs: Washington. University
1919-1958
26/6 0994-002
Puget Sound Savings and Loan Association
 1934-1938
26/7 0994-002
Seattle Writers' Club
 1935-1936
26/8 0994-002
Shephard, C. Ellis
 1938
26/9 0994-002
Student (Esther Shephard) Memorabilia - Cambridge (Minnesota). Public Schools
 1905-1909
26/10-11 0994-002
Student (Esther Shephard) Memorabilia - Washington. University
 1918-1934
26/12 0994-002
Teaching Files: Belgrade (Montana). Public Schools
 1917-1918
26/13-14 0994-002
Teaching Files: Reed College
 1921-1922
26/15-16 0994-002
Teaching Files: Washington. University. Dramatic Art Department
 1929-1930
26/17 0994-002
Teaching Files: Washington. Lower Columbia Junior College
 1934-1935
27/1 0994-002
Teaching Files: California. State College. San Jose
 1947-1959
Series 7: McNeil Press
Box/Folder Accession
27/2-5 0994-002
General Correspondence
General Notes: Correspondents include: Blegen, Theodore C. and Tully, Jim
1924-1928
27/6 0994-002
Financial Records
 1925-1935
Series 8: Other records
Box/Folder Accession
22/8 0994-002
Music
 1939-1955, undated
22/9 0994-002
Legal Documents
 1909-1938
22/11-12 0994-002
Conferences and Conventions
 1910-1955
22/11-12 0994-002
Conferences and Conventions
 1910-1955
22/13 0994-002
Clippings
 1927-1955
Box
23, 24 0994-002
Notes [primarily for Shephard's Whitman writings]
 undated
Box/Folder
25/1-2 0994-002
Photographs
 1920-1957, undated
25/3-4 0994-002
Miscellany
 1906-1938

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • American literature--History and criticism
  • Authors and publishers--United States
  • Folklore--United States
  • Literature--Research--Washington (State)
  • Literature--Study and teaching
  • Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)
  • Publishers and publishing--United States
  • State universities and colleges--California
  • Tall tales--United States
  • Universities and colleges--California

Personal Names

  • Bunyan, Paul (Legendary character)
  • Gunther, Erna, 1896-1982--Correspondence
  • Hillaire, Joseph R
  • James, John R
  • Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr. (Arthur Meier), 1917-2007--Correspondence
  • Shephard, Esther--Archives
  • Steichen, Lilian, 1883-1977--Correspondence
  • Whitman, Walt, 1819-1892

Corporate Names

  • Alfred A. Knopf, Inc
  • Harcourt Brace & Company
  • McNeil Press (Seattle, Wash
  • Puget Sound Savings and Loan Association
  • San Jose State College--Faculty--Archives
  • Seattle Writers' Club

Occupations

  • Authors, American--California
  • Women college teachers--California

Other Creators

  • Personal Names
    • Browne, Maurice, 1881-1955 (creator)
    • Chittick, V. L. O. (Victor Lovitt Oakes), 1882-1972 (creator)
    • Conway, John Ashby, 1905- (creator)
    • Goodale, David (creator)
    • Hughes, Glenn, 1894-1964 (creator)
    • Kent, Rockwell, 1882-1971 (creator)
    • Russell, Diarmuid, -1973 (creator)
    • Shephard, C. Ellis (creator)
    • Sickels, Eleanor Maria, 1894- (creator)
    • Verrall, John, 1908-2001 (creator)
    Corporate Names
    • Library of Congress (creator)
    • McNeil Press (Seattle, Wash.) (creator)


2007 (Last modified: 1/31/2020)

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