Photographs of Theodore Roethke and family, approximately 1908-1997
Table of Contents
Overview of the Collection
- Title
- Photographs of Theodore Roethke and family
- Dates
- approximately 1908-1997 (inclusive)19081997
- Quantity
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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
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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
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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 Note
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 Description
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 Collection
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 Information
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 Collection
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Otto Roethke and Helen Huebner
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.
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Dates: between 1892 and 1902?Container: Box/Folder 1/1, Item 1
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Description: Otto Roethke facing to the leftBeckmann, Saginaw, Michigan (photographer)Dates: between 1890 and 1897?Container: Box/Folder 1/1, Item 2
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Description: Otto Roethke facing to the rightBeckmann Bros Saginaw, Michigan (photographer)Dates: between 1898 and 1917?Container: Box/Folder 1/1, Item 3
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Description: Portrait of Otto Roethke in a hat, suit and bowtieDates: between 1910 and 1915?Container: Box/Folder 1/1, Item 4
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Description: Otto Roethke and man, possibly Charles Roethke
At some point, Karl changed his name to Charles--possibly to Anglicize his name.
Dates: between 1900 and 1909?Container: Box/Folder 1/1, Item 5 -
Description: Portrait of Helen HuebnerDates: between 1900 and 1906?Container: Box/Folder 1/1, Item 6
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Description: Portrait of Helen Huebner and OteliaDrago (photographer)
Otelia was Theodore Roethke's Aunt Tillie.
Dates: beween 1900 and 1906?Container: Box/Folder 1/1, Item 7 -
Description: Grandmother Huebner, Great Grandmother Wuest, Norman Kromau, Laraine and Aunt Gustie in a bedroomBeckmann Bros., Saginaw, Michigan (photographer)Dates: between 1898 and 1917Container: Box/Folder 1/1, Item 8a
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Description: Portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Huebner, Theodore and June Roethke's grandparentsDates: 1870s?Container: Box:oversize XC2, Item 8b
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Theodore and June Roethke
Theodore was born in 1908, June in 1913.
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Dates: 1909?Container: Box/Folder 1/2, Item 9
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Description: June and Theodore Roethke outside a houseDates: 1917?Container: Box/Folder 1/2, Item 10
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Description: Theodore Roethke in front of a postDates: 1917?Container: Box/Folder 1/2, Item 11
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Dates: between 1923 and 1925?Container: Box/Folder 1/2, Item 12
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Description: Helen Roethke standing among flowers.
Written on verso: Mother--flowers she raised in backyard.
Dates: between 1919-1921?Container: Box/Folder 1/2, Item 13 -
Dates: 1920?Container: Box/Folder 1/2, Item 14
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Description: Theodore Roethke in the greenhouseDates: between 1920 and 1923Container: Box/Folder 1/2, Item 15a
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Description: The Roethke GreenhouseDates: between 1890 and 1923Container: Box:oversize XC2, Item 15b
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Dates: 1932Container: Box/Folder 1/2, Item 16
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Beatrice Roethke Lushington
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.
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Description: Studio portrait of Beatrice Roethke, Winchester VirginiaTurgeon, Washington DC (photographer)Dates: Spring 1943Container: Box/Folder 1/3, Item 17
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Description: Beatrice Roethke on cobblestone street, New YorkDates: 1952Container: Box/Folder 1/3, Item 18
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Description: Portrait of Bea Roethke LushingtonImogen 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.
Dates: 1972?Container: Box/Folder 1/3, Item 19
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Portraits
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Description: June RoethkeDates: before 1945?Container: Box/Folder 1/4, Item 20a-20c
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Description: Theodore Roethke with Penn State tennis playersDates: between 1936 and 1947?Container: Box/Folder 1/4, Item 21
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Dates: April 30, 1952Container: Box/Folder 1/4, Item 22a-22b
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Dates: April 30, 1952Container: Box:oversize XC2, Item 22c
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Dates: April 30, 1952Container: Box/Folder 1/4, Item 23a-23b
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Dates: between 1955 and 1963Container: Box/Folder 1/4, Item 24-25
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Dates: January 14, 1959Container: Box/Folder 1/4, Item 26-27
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Photographs of Theodore Roethke by Imogen Cunningham, 1959?
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.
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Description: Theodore Roethke looking into the camera with arms foldedImogen Cunningham, San Francisco (photographer)Dates: 1959?Container: Box/Folder 1/5, Item 28
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Description: Theodore Roethke looking into the cameraImogen Cunningham, San Francisco (photographer)Dates: 1959?Container: Box/Folder 1/5, Item 29
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Dates: 1959?Container: Box/Folder 1/5, Item 30
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Description: Theodore Roethke looking at the camera with mouth openImogen Cunningham, San Francisco (photographer)Dates: 1959?Container: Box/Folder 1/5, Item 31
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Description: Theodore Roethke looking into the cameraImogen Cunningham, San Francisco (photographer)Dates: 1959?Container: Box/Folder 1/5, Item 32
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Description: Theodore Roethke seen at slight angle with eyes closedImogen Cunningham, San Francisco (photographer)Dates: 1959?Container: Box/Folder 1/5, Item 33
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Photographs of Roethke by Duncombe, March 7, 1962
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.
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Dates: March 7, 1962Container: Box/Folder 1/6, Item 34-42
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Dates: March 7, 1962Container: Box/Folder 1/6, Item 43-45
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Dates: March 7, 1962Container: Box/Folder 1/6, Item 46-53
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Roethke home and graves in Michigan
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Description: Headstones of Helen, Otto and June RoethkeDates: 1997?Container: Box/Folder 1/7, Item 54
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Dates: 1997?Container: Box/Folder 1/7, Item 55
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Description: Roethke family home in MichiganDates: 1997?Container: Box/Folder 1/7, Item 56-59
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Katherine M. Stokes
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Description: Portrait of Katherine M. StokesJohn Wanamaker, New York, NY (photographer)
Kathy Stokes was a close friend of Theodore's and a lifelong correspondent.
Dates: 1935?Container: Box/Folder 1/7, Item 60
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