banner for department blog

New finding aids for the week of 9/18/06: “Miss Moonlight”, Mexico Documents

Finding Aids, Hispanic Collections, Houston & Texas History

 

Once again, the collections represented in this week’s crop of of new finding aids represent some far-reaching aspects of the history of Houston, Texas, and beyond.  

 Maxine Mesinger Papers, 1965-2001

Special Collections holds the papers of the late great Houston society columnist Maxine Mesinger. Mesinger, also known as "Miss Moonlight", wrote the "Big City Beat" column for the Houston Chronicle. At her memorial service, Liz Carpenter eulogized "She was the last of the dot dot dot girls". Our holdings include the entire run of the "Big City Beat" column, Mesinger’s personal photo collection and an audio tribute from Joan Rivers!

Mexico Documents Collection, 1570 – 1898

Moving right along, I’ve put up the finding aid for this collection, which is really just a broad assortment of historical materials from Mexico. Translations are available for many of the documents. If you are a UH Faculty member, student, or any other community member with an interest in historic documents from the US-Mexico border region, get in touch with me. We have an even larger collection of materials, and they’re very underresearched.

More items unearthed from our unprocessed Manuscripts: 

Paul Alexander Bartlett Letter, 1933

A letter from writer and artist Paul Alexander Bartlett asking for educational support from philanthropist Anita McCormick Blane. The Benson holds a collection of Bartlett’s photos.

D. Enoch Bacon Letter, 1848

This document details a skilled worker’s entry to Cuba.

Marcel Breuer Letter, 1971

Letter from the modernist architect and designer Marcel Breuer, written from New York City to University of Houston Professor of Architecture Howard Barnstone. October 12, 1971. Regards letter from Barnstone asking for support in Hugo V. Neuhaus Jr.’s nomination to the AIA College of Fellows.

Photo: Maxine Mesinger with Judy Garland. Photo dated Dec. 15, 1965. Houston Chronicle File Photo

Guest Blog: Summer Intern LeyAnne Ward

Department News, Hispanic Collections

In the second installment of our intern guest blogs, LeyAnne Ward describes her experiences working with University Archives. We’re very pleased to have Alison and LeyAnne here for the fall semester as well.

I have always found libraries and, therefore, research to be fascinating, and was quite thrilled when I was given the opportunity to enroll in the English 4390: Professional Internship course, and secure a position at the M.D. Anderson Library where my main responsibility was to organize and compile a preliminary inventory of the Arte Público (a Hispanic press located at the University of Houston) Collection. My internship proved to be an extremely rewarding experience that I will cherish for years to come.

I eagerly began my first day as an intern in the Special Collections Department. From the beginning, I was graciously welcomed by librarian Julie Grob , who after a brief orientation, took me on a tour of the stack room, which houses all archival materials: historical documents, paintings, and ancient writings. Another facet to the stack room that I found interesting was the shelving. I had worked at a library before, but had never heard of nor seen mechanical shelves. Mrs. Grob allowed me to operate them, and I was amazed at how each shelf moved with the simple push of a button.

As mentioned earlier, my main responsibility was to organize the Arte Público collection and put together a preliminary inventory, a list of contents created upon receipt of a collection to provide a basic physical and intellectual description of the materials to aid researchers in their work. As a student intern, my other duties included learning about the founding of Arte Público Press and receiving instruction about the inventory as a step in the archival process. Most of the materials I dealt with were published drafts and manuscripts of works ranging from many categories and genres such as adult fiction, picture books, juvenile fiction, and much more.

My project supervisor Dick Dickerson (University Archivist) explained the process of how a Special Collections inventory is developed, including the various revisions it must undergo before it is complete. Mr. Dickerson then directed me to the Arte Público Press’ website. It proved to be beneficial avenue to learning about the press and I was very impressed with their goals and achievements.

After browsing through Arte Público’s online biographical page, I decided to research some of the titles I had come across in the stack room and read the synopsis for each one. About half of the titles belonged to Piñata Press, a branch of Arte Público, which publishes children’s and young adult novels. Most of the stories serve as character building tools that both educate and entertain young readers of Hispanic heritage.

Judging the entire scope of the internship, I would say that it has been a positive experience for me. Working in Special Collections was quite a treat, and I was able to see how an archival department was run, as well as the role that each staff member plays in the successful functioning of a library. As my internship came to a close, I realized that I had gained much satisfaction from the work I was doing and I decided that if the opportunity should arise, I would again intern in Special Collections as it would give me great pleasure to see the Arte Público project to its completion, and learn more about archival processing.

Literary, Women’s Archives Collections Finding Aids

Carey C. Shuart Women's Archive and Research Collection, Contemporary Literature, Finding Aids

New finding aids up on TARO this week:

John Lehmann : An Inventory of his Collection

Called "the greatest British literary editor of his time" by New York Times Book Review, UH holds a small collection of Lehmann’s papers, including three manuscripts, drafts of book reviews, and other writings. Princeton University’s Rare Books and Special Collections holds the Lehmann Family Papers.

Peggy Hall NOW Collection, 1970-1996

This Women’s Archives collection contains materials concerning the activities of the Houston chapter of National Organization for Women and other items of interest related to women’s issues and other chapters from the 1970s to 1990s.

 

In addition, these finding aids have been updated to reflect new additions to the collections: 

Women in the Visual and Literary Arts (WIVLA) Records, 1994-2001

Women’s Fund for Health, Education and Research (HER) Records, 1979-2000

 

USS Houston Scholarship Open to UH Students

Collections, USS Houston & Military History

The USS Houston Survivors Association and the Next Generation welcome applicants from the University of Houston student body for their Scholarship Program. The scholarship is open to any university undergraduate with a keen interest in the story of the USS Houston (CA-30). The scholarship amount typically ranges from $1000.00 to $1500.00.

The USS Houston (CA-30), a heavy cruiser named for the city of Houston, was both the favorite ship of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the flagship of the Asiatic Fleet during World War II. Following the Houston’s sinking by the Japanese in 1942, her surviving crew members became prisoners-of-war. For more details, see the USS Houston (CA-30) Exhibit on the second floor of the library, the online Cruiser Houston exhibit, or the archival Cruiser Houston Collection available for use in Special Collections at M.D. Anderson Library.

Those eligible to apply include students entering the final year of high school with anticipation of going to college, as well as all college and university undergraduates up through the final year of study. Previous applicants and winners may reapply. Applicants are required to present grades and evidence of other personal attributes, and to write an essay about the crew of the USS Houston.

Applications are accepted beginning June 1 with the deadline for submission extending to November 1.  Applications and specific information about applying may be obtained any time by mailing a request to:

John Keith Schwarz

2500 Clarendon Blvd  Apt 121

Arlington, VA 22201