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Robert Pirsig Books and Memorabilia collection, 1953-1967
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Pirsig, Robert M.; DeWeese, Robert, 1920-1990
- Title
- Robert Pirsig Books and Memorabilia collection
- Dates
- 1953-1967 (inclusive)19531967
- Quantity
- 3.25 linear feet, (in 3 record cartons, 1 half manuscript box, and 1 oversize folder)
- Collection Number
- 2663
- Summary
- The Robert Pirsig Book and Memorabilia collection contains books and personal items owned by writer and former Montana State College (MSC) English professor, Robert Pirsig. Items in this collection are loosely related to his years teaching at MSC, including items created by friends and acquaintances he met at the university, and select items from his teaching career. Robert Pirsig was an American writer and philosopher. He worked as instructor of English for Montana State College (MSC) from September 1959 to June 1961 and is most famous for his 1974 philosophical novel Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values.
- 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: 4069944242
Fax: 4069942851
- Access Restrictions
-
Robert Pirsig's gradebook is restricted.
- Languages
Historical NoteReturn to Top
Robert Pirsig (1928-2017) was an American writer and philosopher. He worked as instructor of English for Montana State College (MSC) from September 1959 to June 1961. Montana State College became Montana State University in 1965, a few years after Pirsig left the school. Pirsig taught at MSC for a short period of time, but his experience at the college and faculty he met while working at MSC are featured in his novels. He published two philosophical novels, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values (1974) and Lila: An Inquiry into Morals (1991), both of which explore the nature of quality. Pirsig's most celebrated book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is a fictional account of his motorcycle trip from Minnesota to California with his son and coming to terms with his nervous breakdown. It features references to Pirsig's teaching career at MSC and includes Montana State University art professor Robert DeWeese and his wife Gennie DeWeese as characters. Likewise, Pirsig's book Lila features reflections on fellow MSC English instructor Verne Dusenberry.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
This collection contains books and personal items owned by writer and former Montana State College (MSC) English professor, Robert Pirsig. The collection does not contain Pirsig's complete papers, but rather features items that are loosely related to his years teaching at MSC, including drawings created by friend Robert DeWeese who he met at the college, and select items from his teaching career. Books from Pirsig's personal library feature topic on sailing, philosophy, mathematics, and writing, which were areas of interest to Pirsig and themes that are reflected in his writing. They also include two signed early editions of novels written by Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: in Inquiry into Values and Lila: An Inquiry into Morals.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
Copyright is held by Wendy Pirsig.
Preferred Citation
[Creator Name], [Date of Creation], [Brief Description of Object], Folder [#], Box [#], [Collection Name], [Collection #], Montana State University (MSU) Library, Bozeman, MT
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Acquisition Information
Donated by Wendy Pirsig in 2020.
Related Materials
The main body of Robert Pirsig's papers (MS Am 3359) are held at Harvard University's Houghton Library.
Separated Materials
The Gennie DeWeese painting "Black Bird Hangout," originally included with this collection, was transferred to the College of Art & Architecture's art collection in July 2024.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
1: BooksReturn to Top
This series contains 55 books from Pirsig's personal library, the majority of which relate to boats and sailing. Others relate to topics on philosophy, mathematics, and writing. They also contain signed early editions of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and Lila: An Inquiry into Morals.
| Container(s) | Description |
|---|---|
| Box | |
| 1 | Bass, Thomas A. The Eudaemonic Pie
|
| 1 | Blewitt, Mary. Celestial Navigation for Yachtsmen
|
| 1 | Bréhier, Émile. The Philosophy of Plotinus
|
| 1 | Bowditch, Nathaniel. American Practical Navigator: Volume 1
|
| 2 | Bowditch, Nathaniel. American Practical Navigator: Volume 2
|
| 1 | Brown, Ernest B. Radar Navigation Manual: Second Edition 1975
|
| 1 | Capra, Fritjof. The Tao of Physics: Third Edition
|
| 2 | Cederblom, Jerry and David W. Paulsen. Critical Reasoning: Second Edition
|
| 1 | Das, Jibanananda. Banalata Sen
|
| 1 | Defense Mapping Agency, Hydrographic Center. Sailing Directions (Enroute) for the English Channel: First Edition 1974
|
| 2 | Defense Mapping Agency, Hydrographic Center. Sailing Directions (Planning Guide) for the North Atlantic Ocean: First Edition 1976 (Yellow Binder)
|
| 2 | Delmar-Morgan E. North Sea Harbours and Pilotage: Calais to Den Helder
|
| 3 | Downing, Michael. Shoes Outside the Door: Desire, Devotion, and Excess at San Francisco Zen Center
|
| 1 | Dunlap, G. D. & H.H Shufeldt. The Book of the Sextant
|
| 3 | Durant, Will. The Story of Civilization Part V: The Renaissance
|
| 3 | Durant, Will. The Story of Philosophy
|
| 3 | Espenshade, Edward B (Ed). Goode's World Atlas: Twelfth Edition Revised
|
| 2 | Etheridge, Harry. Yachtsman's Guide to the Bahamas
|
| 3 | Fine, Arthur. The Shaky Game Einstein Realism and the Quantum Theory
|
| 3 | Gage, Norman J. My English Book
|
| 1 | Goldberg, Natalie. The Great Failure: A Bartender, A Monk, and My Unlikely Path to Truth
|
| 3 | Harris, Jeannette and Donald H. Cunningham. The Simon & Schuster Guide to Writing: Second Edition
|
| 3 | Hastrom Company Inc. Hagstrom's Atlas and Official Postal Zone Guide of the City of New York: Five Boroughs
|
| 1 | Heisenberg, Werner. The Physical Principles of The Quantum Theory
|
| 1 | Herrigel, Eugen. Zen in the Art of Archery
|
| 3 | Hoebel, E. Adamson. Anthropology: The Study of Man Fourth Edition
|
| 1 | Hydrographer of the Navy. Ocean Passages for the World: Third Edition 1973
|
| 3 | John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Directory of Fellows 1925-1974
|
| 1 | Lévi-Strauss, Claude. Structural Anthropology
|
| 3 | Litzinger, Boyd. The Heath Reader
|
| 1 | Lomax, John A. Cowboy songs and Other Frontier Ballads
|
| 1 | Moore, Donald R. Coffee With Plato
|
| 2 | Moorings Ltd. Virgin Anchorages: A Photographic Guide to the Most Popular Anchorages in the Virgin Islands
|
| 1 | Nielsen, Kaj L. College Mathematics
|
| 1 | Percy, Walker. The Message in the Bottle
|
| 2 | Pirsig, Robert. Lila: An Inquiry Into Morals (signed early edition) |
| 2 | Pirsig, Robert. Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (signed early edition) |
| 3 | Quine, Willard Van Orman. Word & Object
|
| 1 | Rigg, J. Linton. Bahama Islands: A Boatman's Guide to the Land and the Water
|
| 3 | Runes, Dagobert D. Pictorial History of Philosophy
|
| 1 | Royal Yachting Association (RYA). International Regulations for Preventing Collision at Sea 1972
|
| 1 | Simsonsen, Svend T. Simonsen's Navigation: Coastwise and Blue Water Navigation
|
| 1 | Sites, George L. Boater's Guide to Biscayne Bay: Miami to Jewfish Creek
|
| 1 | Smart, W. M. Textbook on Spherical Astronomy: Sixth Edition
|
| 2 | Smith, H. Wendell. The Belmont Reader: Essays for Writers
|
| 2 | Street, Donald M. A Cruising Guide to The Lesser Antilles
|
| 1 | Tate, Allen (Ed). Six American Poets from Emily Dickinson to the Present: An Introduction
|
| 1 | United States Department of the Navy. Worldwide Marine Weather Broadcasts 1981
|
| 1 | United States Naval Observatory. The Nautical Almanac: For the Year 1978
|
| 3 | Vygodsky, M. Mathematical Handbook: Elementary Mathematics
|
| 3 | Vygodsky, M. Mathematical Handbook: Higher Mathematics
|
| 3 | Warriner, Kinneavy. Elements of Writing: Third Course Revised Edition
|
| 1 | Whalen, Philip. Scenes of Life at the Capital
|
| 2 | Wilber, Ken. A Brief History of Everything
|
| 1 | Wolf, Fred Alan. Taking the Quantum Leap: The New Physis for Nonscientists
|
2: MemorabiliaReturn to Top
This series contains several of Pirsig's personal items including his leather briefcase, slide rule, mechanical calculator, 1960 gradebook, a United State Geological Survey (USGS) topographical map of Gallatin National Forest, a letter written to English Professor Edith Buchanan on the concept of quality, and two drawings by Robert DeWeese of Pirsig and Pirsig's first wife Nancy (James). The gradebook is from the English courses Pirsig taught at Montana State College (MSC) durng the Winter and Spring of 1960, which he references in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. His briefcase likewise dates from his years teaching at MSC, and can be seen in photograph of Prisig standing in front of Montana Hall.
Also included among Pirsig's memorabilia are pamphlets on the town of Falmouth, England, a copy of the Hindu spiritual text the Bhagavad Gita, and a small book of poetry by Indian writer Rabindranath Tagore titled Tagore's Last Poems.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | ||
| 5 | 1 | Bhagavad Gita
Includes the inscription: "Presented to Bob Pirsig with best wishes and regards - [name unclear]. Nep. Jan 24, 1953."
|
1953 |
| 5 | 2 | Booklets on Falmouth, England |
|
| 4 | Briefcase |
||
| Folder | |||
| 5 | 3 | Gradebook - Montana State College
Restricted
|
1960 |
| 5 | 4 | Mechanical Calculator |
|
| Folder | |||
| 1 | Robert DeWeese Drawings of Robert and Nancy Pirsig |
||
| Box | Folder | ||
| 5 | 5 | Robert Pirsig Letter to Dr. Edith Buchanan |
|
| 5 | 6 | Slide Rule |
|
| 5 | 7 |
Tagore's Last Poems by Rabindranath Tagore, translated from the Bengali by Shyamasree Devi and P. Lal
Includes the personal inscription: "To Nancy and Robert Pirsig with warm regards - Kisha. Calcutta, 31 July 1974."
|
1972, 1974 |
| Folder | |||
| 1 | USGS Topographical Map: Gallatin National Forest |
||
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Authors, American--20th century
- College teachers
- English teachers--Montana--Bozeman
- Philosophers
Personal Names
- Pirsig, Robert M.
Corporate Names
- Montana State College--Faculty
Form or Genre Terms
- Books
- Literary works
- Memorabilia
- Records (Documents)
Heather Mulliner
2022
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
