COLLECTION OF EARLY KANSAS DRAWINGS

Finding Aid

Size: 0.25 linear feet

Literary rights:
Literary rights were not granted to Wichita State University. When permission is granted to examine the manuscripts, it is not an authorization to publish them. Manuscripts cannot be used for publication without regard for common law literary rights, copyright laws and the laws of libel. It is the responsibility of the researcher and his/her publisher to obtain permission to publish. Scholars and students who eventually plan to have their work published are urged to make inquiry regarding overall restrictions on publication before initial research.

Restrictions: None

Content note:
The collection contains drawings of life in Kansas during the 1860s and 1870s in addition to including several sketches of life in Indiana drawn during the 1870s. Contained within the collection is a satirical essay written during the period with corresponding drawings related to the text.

Not much is known about the artist(s) in the collection. A definite drawing style can be tied to the essay as well as numerous "Scenes from my Window" pages with life in early Kansas depicted.

A later, much more mature and precise style of drawing is seen in both the Indiana series and an undated collection of landscape drawings. The later contains both pencil and watercolor sketches.

The majority of work in the collection was done with pencil on a variety of types of paper, ranging in size and texture from lined notebook paper to a drawing on the back of a Baker University membership card of the Athenian Literary Society.

No artist's name is attributed to the collection. However, the name E. E. or A. A. Brewster or Emma appears infrequently on several pieces in the collection. The female artist in the early Kansas essay appears to be the same artist in the series of drawings titled "Scenes from My Window. " She traveled and might have moved to Indiana as several sketches demonstrate the collection and boiling of maple sugar in Indiana. Another series of drawings are based on a view at the Modesto Mine.

The collection provides insight into early Kansas life and the settlement of certain parts of the state. The drawings provide commentaries on politics and human relations. They present a great deal of background on the character and stamina of these "pioneering" Kansans in day-to-day situations.

An attempt has been made to arrange the collection chronologically.

Acquisition: Purchased from Riba Auction

Processed by: JLT, 9-16-1992; JEF, 11-3-1998