The papers of engraver and illustrator Alice Barber Stephens measure 0.3 linear feet and date from 1884 to 1986. The collection includes letters, photographs, printed material, and miscellaneous items.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of engraver and illustrator Alice Barber Stephens measure 0.3 linear feet and date from 1884 to 1986. The collection includes letters, photographs, printed material, and miscellaneous items.
Letters are from publishers discussing projects and fees, and by writers complimenting her work. Correspondents include Edward Bok, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Hamlin Garland, Ella Higginson, Herbert Hoover, Thornton Oakley, Howard Pyle, and Jessie Willcox Smith.
Photographs contain pictures of Stephens, her husband, and their house Thunderbird Lodge in Rose Valley, Pennsylvania. There are also photographs of amateur theatrical productions and of the dedication ceremony for Albert Laessle's monument "The Beaver."
Printed material consists of clippings concerning Stephens' work and her husband's collection of Native American artifacts, reproductions of Stephens' illustrations, exhibition catalogs, and a booklet about Stephens.
Miscellaneous items includes a manuscript "The Artist's Masque" by Charles H. Stephens, various notes, an inventory of furniture, Library of Congress receipts for works of art, and award certificates.
Arrangement:
Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
Biographical / Historical:
Alice Barber Stephens (1858-1931) was an engraver and illustrator active in the arts and crafts community established by William Price in 1901. She studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts under Thomas Eakins, the Drexel Academy under Howard Pyle, the Pennsylvania Academy of Design for Women, and at the Julian and Colarossi Academies in Paris. Stephens is primarily known for her illustrations in Harper's, Century, and Scribner's magazines. She was married to the illustrator Charles H. Stephens and lived in a barn remodeled by William Price in Rose Valley, Pennsylvania.
Provenance:
The Alice Barber Stephens papers were donated in 1988 by Stephen's granddaughter and her husband, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Starr.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Occupation:
Illustrators -- Pennsylvania -- Rose Valley Search this