Signature History--Celebrity Manuscripts from the Kies Collection
The items in this collection are held in Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections in WSU's Terrell Library.
View the guide to Cage 308: The Paul Philemon Kies Autograph Collection, 1553-1970.
Paul Philemon Kies Autograph Collection
These selections from the Kies autograph collection are original manuscripts, primarily letters, of prominent American and European writers, monarchs, statesmen, military figures, and performers. Most of the items are autograph letters (written in the hand of the sender), some with transcriptions and translations.
Paul Philemon Kies (1891-1971) was a professor of English at Washington State University (1924-1956). He was a discerning and devoted collector of autograph manuscripts, eventually accumulating over 400 items. WSU acquired his collection in 1971, along with a large body of supporting documentation (Kies' research notes, transcriptions, translations, articles, exhibit lists, and illustrations). A guide to this collection is available here: Cage 308: The Paul Philemon Kies Autograph Collection, 1553-1970.
Searching the Database:
Entering search terms in the "Search The Collection" box located at the top of the page will search across all of the database fields. The "Browse This Collection" link will display all exhibition items. Search results are displayed as a series of thumbnail images that may be browsed, both forward and backward. To view an item description, double click on the thumbnail or the textual link. Any highlighted text in the description below each full-size image is searchable; just click. Options to return to this Collection Home or to the WSU Digital Collections are provided along the top banner.
Creating the Database:
This digital collection was created in 2012 in conjunction with an exhibit, "Signature History: celebrity autographs from the Kies collection", in Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections. The exhibit featured 29 items from the Kies Autograph Collection (Cage 308).
Cheryl Gunselman, Manuscripts Librarian, and Greg Matthews, Metadata Librarian, curated the exhibition. Jeff Kuure created the graphics. The digital collection was created by Doug Lambeth, Digital Projects Production Coordinator.