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Robert and Doris Kurth Cather Collection

Title: Robert and Doris Kurth Cather Collection

Collector: Kurth, Robert

Collector: Kurth, Doris

Dates: 1897-1975, bulk 1927-1950

Quantity: 1 box (0.2 linear feet)

Collection Number: MS 0076

Language: English

Restrictions: None

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Historical Records Statement: Please see our statement on historical records and materials.

Preferred Citation: Robert and Doris Kurth Cather Collection (MS 0076). Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries.

Alternative Format: None

Biography:

Robert Kurth grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska. He received his undergraduate degree in 1950 and his M.D. degree in 1953 from the University of Nebraska College of Medicine. He and his wife Doris became interested in the life and works of Willa Cather in 1975 and spent nearly twenty-five years acquiring Catheriana.

Scope and Content:

The Kurth collection contains correspondence to and about Willa Cather, including letters from Anna Pavelka, after whom Cather modeled the protagonist of My Antonia. The Pavelka letters describe farm life in rural Nebraska. The collection includes Cather's article "Victoria's Ancestors: The House of Hanover" as it appeared in Home Monthly, photographs of Willa Cather and places in New Mexico, and typescripts about Willa Cather written by George N. Kates and E. H. Brewster. The list of renewals for Cather's stories and poetry include title of Cather's work, the title of the magazine the work was published in, the original publication date, and the date for application for renewal. The majority of postcards in the collection are of places in New Mexico. A postcard of Van Gogh's "La Chambre A Arles" includes the comment "so lovely" written in Cather's hand and on another postcard, captioned "Haute-Savoie - Combloux et le Mont-Blanc," Edith Lewis noted that Cather stayed there.

Subjects:

Kurth, Robert H.

Kurth, Doris

Cather, Willa, 1873-1947

Pavelka, Anna Sadilek, 869-1955

Kates, George N. (George Norbert), 1895-

Brewster, E. H

Seymour, Gabriel, 1958-

Lewis, Edith

De Ville, John B

Lin, Yutang, 1895-1976

Farm life -- Nebraska

Container List: Box 1. Folder 1. Correspondence, 1927-1967, undated Box 1. Folder 2. Cather, "Victoria's Ancestors...," The Home Monthly, Vol. VI, No. II 1897, June Box 1. Folder 3. Renewal lists, Willa Cather stories, 1931, 1934 Box 1. Folder 4. Typescript, George N. Kates,"Willa Cather in Europe..." Box 1. Folder 5. Edited typescript, Brewster, E. H.,"For Willa Cather - Living" Box 1. Folder 6. Exhibit catalog, Seymour, Gabriel,"Willa Cather's Red Cloud...,"Jefferson Market Courthouse, 1975 Box 1. Folder 7. Typescript, Yutang, Lin,"My Country and My People," 1956, April 10 Box 1. Folder 8. Poetry manuscripts,"Venetian Boat Mans Song,""Step" Box 1. Folder 9. Menus from cruise ships, 1930 Box 1. Folder 10. Photographs, postcards, John B. de Ville Box 1. Folder 11. Postcards, New Mexico and other locations Box 1. Folder 12. Photographs, Willa Cather, New Mexico Box 1. Folder 12. Newpaper clippings, 1986-1987
Related Material and Resources: The Robert and Doris Kurth collection of unique, limited, and first edition Cather novels is also located in the Archives & Special Collections of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries. These books can be located through the University Libraries on-line catalog.



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