Oregon State University Libraries, Special Collections & Archives Research Center
Special Collections & University Archives Research Center
121 The Valley Library
Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR 97331-4501
Phone: 541-737-2075
Email: scarc@oregonstate.edu
Web: http://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu
MSS HarrisC
Harris, Celeste Liston.
Celeste Liston Harris Scrapbooks on Ben Hur Lampman
1926-1951
0.45 cubic feet, including 3 photographs
2 oversize boxes
The Celeste Liston Harris Scrapbooks on Ben Hur Lampman are comprised of four volumes of newsclippings, photographs, and other ephemera documenting the life and work of poet, essayist, and Oregonian columnist Ben Hur Lampman between 1926 and 1951.
Materials in English.
Biographical Note:
Celeste Liston Harris was a Portland, Oregon resident, editor for the official publication of the Women's Advertising Club of Portland, and founding member and Vice President of the Women's Realty Board of Portland.
Ben Hur Lampman was an essayist, short story writer, and poet who gained notoriety in his role as a columnnist at the Oregonian during the first half of the 20th century. Lampman was born in
Barron, Wisconsin in 1886 and raised in North Dakota. In 1912, he moved to Gold Hill, Oregon, where he worked as an editor for Gold Hill News. In 1916, he relocated to Portland, Oregon and became
a reporter for the Oregonian. There, Lampman established himself as a highly respected writer known for his short essays derived from everyday experiences. Lampman was an avid fisherman and
nature enthusiast--themes that appeared frequently in his writings. In addition to the Oregonian, Lampman's work appeared in national publications including The
Atlantic and The Saturday Evening Post. He also published several collections of his writings including How Could I Be Forgetting? (1933), At the End of the Car Line (1942), and The Wild Swan (1947), and a novel titled Here Comes Somebody (1935). Lampman received the O. Henry
Award in 1943 for his short story "Blinker Was a Good Dog," and the 1951 Freedoms Foundation Certificate of Merit. June 6, 1947 was declared Ben Hur Lampman Day in Gold Hill and a Ben Hur Lampman Club was formed at
Portland's Lincoln High School. In 1951, Lampman was named Poet Laureate of Oregon, a title he held until his death in 1954.
The Celeste Liston Harris Scrapbooks on Ben Hur Lampman are comprised of four volumes of newsclippings documenting the professional career of Oregonian columnist and editor Ben Hur Lampman betweem
1926 and 1951. The collection is composed predominately of hundreds of clippings from the Oregonian featuring Lampman's writings, arranged in chronological order. Also included are news articles
about Ben Hur Lampman Day, his role as Oregon Poet Laureate, receipt of awards and recognitions, public speaking engagements, and reviews of his published books. Volume I includes the front pages of ten Sunday Oregonian issues featuring articles by Lampman (1939-1946); a loose scrapbook page with obituaries and ephemera memorializing Herb Lampman, Ben Hur's son; and an autographed reprint of "Them Two Guys is
Nuts!". Also included is a reprint of "She Sails With the Tide" (volume I), photographs of Lampman (volumes I and II), and a reprint of "Shelter from the Storm" (volume III), all featuring inscriptions from Lampman to
Celeste Harris. Volume IV contains "The Wardens of the Green Land," a brochure Lampman authored for the Keep Oregon Green Association.
All scrapbooks are arranged chronologically by volume (I. 1926-1945, II. 1945-1947, III. 1948-1949, IV. 1950-1951) and include minor annotations from Celeste Harris. All volumes include inscriptions indicating the
scrapbooks were gifts from Celeste to her son, Claude E. Harris.
The collection is open for research.
Celeste Liston Harris Scrapbooks on Ben Hur Lampman (MSS HarrisC), Oregon State University Libraries Special Collections & Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.
The Celeste Liston Harris Scrapbooks on Ben Hur Lampman were donated to Oregon State University by Nancy Lee Owen in memory of Harris. They now reside in the Special Collectionis & Archives Research Center.
Related Materials
Volumes published by Ben Hur Lampman can be found in the Pacific Northwest Rare Book Collection. Other collections featuring the work of Oregonian staffers include the George P. Griffis Portfolio and Scrapbook (MSS Griffis), the Hope Chamberlin Newspaper Columns (MSS Chamberlin), and the Oregon State University Journalism Department Records (RG 091).
Other materials related to Ben Hur Lampman can be found in the Ben Hur Lampman Collection at Lewis
& Clark College, the Ben Hur Lampman Papers at the Oregon Historical Society, and the Ben Hur Lampman Papers at the University of Oregon.
Lampman, Ben Hur, 1886-1954.
Oregonian (Firm)
Essayists--Oregon.
Newspapers--Sections, columns, etc.
Poets laureate--Oregon.
Poets, American--Oregon.
Scrapbooks.
Photographs.
Journalism
Oregon
Photographs
Scrapbooks