Charles Price Collection of John DePol
About the Collection
Through John DePol's association with Charles Price, professor of art, Connecticut College acquired a collection of sketches, proofs, prints, and broadsides starting in 1991. There is also a substantial book collection withexamples of DePol's work. The collection comprises about a linear foot of archival material and 75 books.
In addition to a linear foot of archival collections, the collection contains seventy-five books published between 1951 and 2004 featuring engravings by John DePol. The book collection includes exhibition catalogs, reference works, and illustrations for narrative texts. The largest portion of the collection is the Benjamin Franklin keepsakes, short limited edition publications commemorating Franklin's writings and activities. The collection holds 22 keepsakes published between 1953 and 1983 from the series of books produced annually in honor of Franklin's birthday. The remaining books showcase DePol's collaboration with a number of private presses, especially the Yellow Barn Press and the Stone House Press. Other publishers represented include the Barbarian, Appletree Alley, Hammer Creek, Pickering, Legacy, Bullnettle and Geryon Presses.
All of the books may be searched in the library's catalog.
Dates
- 1935 - 2000
Creator
- DePol, John, 1913-2004 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
About John DePol
John DePol (1913-2004) is remembered as one of the foremost American practitioners of wood engraving. He left school early to support his family, becoming a stock runner on Wall Street just a few weeks short of the 1929 crash. While continuing to work in the depleted finance industry, he first taught himself etching from manuals borrowed from the New York Public Library and later enrolled in night classes at the New York Art Students League. DePol initially drew his subject matter from the buildings and street scenes of New York in the 1930s. Stationed in Northern Ireland with the US Army Air Corps during the Second World War, DePol briefly enrolled in art classes at the Belfast School of Technology.
After the war, DePol worked with various commercial publishers and collaborated with independent printers on fine press projects. He produced etchings while moving increasingly toward wood engraving as a medium. He continued to use New York as a source of subject matter, while also drawing from sketches he made from his service in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, as well as from American landmarks, college campuses, and portraits.
Extent
1 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Prints, proofs, sketches, broadsides and other documents donated by John DePol to Connecticut College between 1991 and 2003.
Arrangement
The collection is primarily arrangd topically and by format.
- Art, American
- Art, Modern -- 21st century
- Broadsides
- Cliffside Park (N.J.)
- Illustration of books -- 21st century
- Illustrators -- United States
- Juniata College (Huntingdon, Pa.)
- Lycoming College
- New York (N.Y.)
- Printers -- United States
- Printmakers -- United States
- Stone House Press (Roslyn, N.Y.)
- Wood-engraving
- Wood-engraving, American -- 20th century
- Yellow Barn Press
Creator
- DePol, John, 1913-2004 (Person)
- Price, Charles (Person)
- Title
- Guide to the Charles Price Collection of John DePol
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Ben Panciera. Migrated into ArchivesSpace in January 2020 by Javian Astacio and Rose Oliveira.
- Date
- c.2009
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Linda Lear Center for Special Collections and Archives Repository
Connecticut College
270 Mohegan Ave
New London CT 06320 United States
860-439-2686
learcenter@conncoll.edu