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Kurt Werth was born September 21, 1896 in Leipzig, Germany. He entered the State Academy for the Graphic Arts in Leipzig in 1913 and studied there for two years before being drafted into the army. When not in action, he filled sketchbooks with scenes of the life around him and illustrated a copy of Rilke's
After the war he returned for two more years of study at the State Academy, leaving in 1921 for Munich where he began illustrating limited edition books which included Shakespeare's
In 1924, Werth began drawing satirical cartoons for the Munich magazine,
With Hitler's increasing power, the magazines folded, and Margaret Werth, who was Jewish, was not allowed to work. In the 1939 the Werths emigrated to the United States where Werth found employment illustrating a Sunday column in the
When the United States became involved in World War II, Werth began drawing cartoons for a number of the new magazines that had appeared on the political scene:
The bulk of these publications disappeared with the war's conclusion, so Werth returned to book publishing, illustrating textbooks for Oxford University Press and other publishing houses. One of his first attempts at illustrating a picture book for children, Rosalys Hall's
Kurt Werth died in New York City on August 25, 1983.
The Kurt Werth papers represent a major portion of Werth's body of work produced as an illustrator and author of American children's literature. The collection is comprised of original children's book illustrations and manuscripts, other artwork and manuscripts, personal papers, artifacts, personal and professional correspondence, and papers of his wife, Margaret Werth.
The children's book illustrations and manuscripts series primarily includes original artwork created by Werth for children's and juvenile books between the 1950s-1970s. The artwork represents a variety of stages in the illustration process and includes preliminary sketches, dummies, cover art, press-ready color-separated artwork, and proofs. It also includes typed and handwritten manuscript drafts for children's books written by Werth, as well as manuscripts written by other children's literature authors that Werth collaborated with including Rosalys Hall, Sid Fleischman, Millicent Selsam, and Lilian Moore.
The other artwork and manuscripts series primarily represents Werth's early works and includes artwork and writings for non-children's literature created between the 1920s-1940s. Materials include original and printed political cartoons published in American and German periodicals including
The personal papers and artifacts series includes biographical information, notes, clippings, memorabilia, artist's tools, relief printing blocks, and a family scrapbook from Europe dated 1926-1938.
The correspondence series contains personal and professional correspondence, including two large files of correspondence with children's literature archives at the University of Minnesota and University of Southern Mississippi. The Margaret Werth papers series includes personal notebooks, literary manuscripts, and poetry created by Margaret Werth.