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B134 Memorial Library
728 State Street
Madison, WI 53706-1494
Phone (608) 262-5629
FAX (608) 265-2754
E-mail the University Archives
© 1996-2003 by the Regents of the
University of Wisconsin.
Last updated:
August 8, 2002
Originally published:
October 2002
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Robert E. Gard Papers
Scope and Content
This valuable collection includes not only plays, novels, manuscripts
and an extensive collection of the correspondence of the late Robert Gard,
but also a wide variety of material on theatres, arts councils, local
arts organizations, and Wisconsin regional and university history.
Of primary interest is Gard's correspondence, the majority of which
is located in Boxes 5 through 26. Notable individuals with whom Gard corresponded
include John Charles Cooper, August Derleth, Warren Knowles, and David
Stevens. Greatly benefiting the researcher is the large amount of correspondence
to which Gard's replies have been stapled. Some additional correspondence
can be found throughout the collection, organized by subject. For correspondence
relating to a Gard work, see the alphabetical folders of Gard works, and
for correspondence relating to an arts organization, see the organization's
files. Substantial correspondence apart from the main collection exists
in particular for the Rhinelander School for the Arts and the Wisconsin
Rural Writers Association.
Gard's plays, novels, manuscripts, background information and notes
can be found in Boxes 27 through 32. The collection of plays (Boxes 27
- 28) includes The Border Incident, Cordelia, The Devil Red, The Error
of Sexton Jones, Wisconsin Showtime, along with numerous others. The collection
of manuscripts (Boxes 28 - 29) include a variety of articles, talks, untitled
works on theatre and the arts, as well as complete books such as Grassroots
Theatre and Theatre in America. Scripts for the radio production This
Land, This Heritage, This People take up most of a box (Box 30), and an
additional full box (Box 31) is devoted to information used by Gard in
the preparation of his book University Madison U.S.A. Several folders
in this box contain an extremely valuable collection of university-related
folklore. Researchers interested in Gard's work should also check the
contents of a box devoted to oversize works (Box 32), the contents of
which duplicate works and subjects in the preceding boxes.
The General Subject Files (Boxes 33 - 44) contain a wide variety of
material on topics such as national arts associations such as the National
Theatre Conference as well as local arts programs and workshops with which
Gard was involved. These include the Arts in the Uplands summer arts program
in Spring Green, the annual Holiday Folk Fair, the construction of the
Park and Playhouse Historique in Portage, workshops given by Lee Strasberg,
and numerous others. Additional organizations with extensive coverage
include the Council for Wisconsin Writers, the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences,
Arts & Letters, the Wisconsin American Revolution Bicentennial Committee,
and the Wisconsin Arts Foundation and Council.
Major Subjects are filed separately from the General Subject Files.
Of particular interest to the researcher of Wisconsin history will be
four boxes devoted to his vast collection of clippings on Wisconsonites
and the history and folklore of Wisconsin towns (Boxes 45 through 48).
Materials relating to Gard's work in Community Arts Development can be
found both in the Community Arts Development folders (Boxes 49 through
52) as well as in the University of Wisconsin Extension Arts Administration
folders (Boxes 56 through 59). Considerable materials in particular exist
on the Smaller Community and Rural Area Arts Development program and the
Arts and the Small Community Conference, both conducted in the late 1960s.
Additional Major Subjects include the Rhinelander School for the Arts,
the Wisconsin Idea Theatre, and the Wisconsin Rural Writers Association.
Note that an extremely large collection of materials relating to the Wisconsin
Idea Theatre can be found in Series 9/4/16-1 through 9/4/16-5.
Gard's papers also include many plays and manuscripts by other authors
(Boxes 66 through 69). As his correspondence attests, Gard generously
helped many amateur writers in Wisconsin by offering them advice on their
writing and by helping them to publish their works. These boxes also include
several folders of student work that may be useful to researchers with
an interest in amateur writing in Wisconsin.
Use the following links to view the inventory for each major series in
the Gard collection. A PDF version of the complete Inventory is available
at http://www.library.wisc.edu/libraries/Archives/collect/GardInventory.pdf
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