Guide to the Walter and Martha Leuba Papers, 1735-1988 SC.1988.01

Arrangement

Repository
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Title
Walter and Martha Leuba Papers
Creator
Leuba, Martha
Creator
Leuba, Walter
Collection Number
SC.1988.01
Extent
30 Linear Feet (63 boxes, 1 oversize box)
Date
1735-1988
Date
1902-1988
Abstract
Walter and Martha Leuba collected books, woodblock prints, and signed letters of writers, artists, and other notable figures. Walter Leuba was a prolific writer of poetry and prose, with a focus on literature and music. The papers in this collection document the Leubas' collecting activities, Walter's writing projects, and the Leubas' lives.
Language
English .
Author
Nancy Cushing and Alice Doolittle.
Publisher
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Address
University of Pittsburgh Library System
Archives & Special Collections
Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist
URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections

Copyright

The University of Pittsburgh holds the property rights to the material in this collection, but the copyright may still be held by the original creator/author. Researchers are therefore advised to follow the regulations set forth in the U.S. Copyright Code when publishing, quoting, or reproducing material from this collection without the consent of the creator/author or that go beyond what is allowed by fair use.

Processing Information

Preliminary efforts in processing this collection was by Charles Aston and Ashley Brandolph. Revised and completed in 2011 by Nancy Cushing and Alice Doolittle.

Previous Citation

Walter and Martha Leuba Papers, 1735-1988, SC.1988.01, Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh

Preferred Citation

Walter and Martha Leuba Papers, 1735-1988, SC.1988.01, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Access Restrictions

No restrictions.

Related Material

Walter and Martha Leuba Book and Print Collection. See Special Collections for inventory of prints. All monographs are cataloged in PittCat, the library's online catalog.

Biography

Walter Leuba (1902-1983) and Martha Leuba (nee Dryburgh) (1909-1988) collected books, wood block prints, other art, and signed letters by writers, artists, and other notable figures. They were married in 1938 and lived for much of their lives at 516 Jacksonia Street on Pittsburgh's North Side. Walter's collecting activities began in the 1920's, around the time that he met his first wife, Mildred Wallach (1908-1932).

Walter Leuba spent his early life in New York, Rhode Island, and Pittsburgh. After high school, Leuba attended Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University), where he studied fine art, English, and history. Through Porter Garnett, founder of the Laboratory Press at C.I.T., Leuba developed his love of finely printed and illustrated books.

Leuba left C.I.T. in 1923 for financial reasons and moved to New York. While there, he wrote poetry under the name Paul Sandoz and published his first book of verse,Legend, in 1925. After a year in Europe, Leuba returned to Pittsburgh in 1926. He married Mildred Wallach in 1927. Their son, Julian Christopher Leuba, nicknamed "Beppo," was born in 1929. In 1932, Leuba was laid off and the family lived on Mildred's wages until her death in December 1932, following a brief and sudden illness. In early 1933, Leuba left his son in the care of his paternal aunts in California. When Leuba brought his son back to Pittsburgh two years later, a succession of friends, relatives, and a children's home cared for Christopher until Leuba married Martha Dryburgh. In 1934, Leuba began working as a caseworker at the Allegheny County Board of Assistance. He earned a B.A. and an M.A. in social work from the University of Pittsburgh in 1947.

Leuba was a prolific writer of poetry and prose. He wrote frequent letters to the editors of theTimes Literary Supplement and Pittsburgh newspapers, and contributed to literary journals andThe Pittsburgh Point. In 1947, Macmillan published Leuba'sPoems out of a Hat. In 1967 hisGeorge Saintsbury was published in the Twayne Men of Letters series. His books of poetryNo Other Mirror and Quips and Cranks, the prose-poemCrusade, andTwo Essays on Bach were privately printed. Leuba also produced a number of books through collaborative efforts. In 1947, his correspondence with Ernest Nevin Dilworth about modern education was published by Macmillan asSmith Unbound and received considerable critical notice. Leuba and Dilworth collaborated again onTwo Dialogues: Norman Douglas and George Santayana in 1974. With Robert McCullough, Leuba wrote and took photos forThe Pennsylvania Main Line Canal (1973). In addition, Leuba contributed poems to a collection of Norton Peterson woodcuts and text to a George Nama portfolio,Monument Studies.

Beginning in the 1970s, the Leubas began donating books and prints from their collection to the University Library System (ULS) of the University of Pittsburgh. After Martha Leuba's death in 1988, their remaining prints, books, and papers were transferred to the ULS Special Collections Department.

For a more detailed biography of Walter Leuba, please contact the ULS Special Collections Department at the University of Pittsburgh. Additional biographical material is collected in Series V, Personal Papers: Subseries 2, Biography and Genealogy.

Scope and Content Notes

The Walter and Martha Leuba Papers contain materials related to the Leubas' collecting and writing pursuits, including manuscripts, research notes, clippings, the Leuba's collection of autograph and typescript signed letters, catalogs and indexes of their collections, and wood blocks. They reflect the Leubas' interests in books, art, literature, and music. In addition, the collection contains materials related to the Leubas' lives, family, friends, and other interests; these include correspondence, photographs, scrapbooks, diaries, and personal papers.

The bulk of the material in the collection dates from within the Leubas' lifetimes, 1902 to 1988. Material from before 1902 is primarily from their collection of signed letters (Series III, ALS and TLS) and family records (Series V, Personal Papers). Some of the material, particularly in Series V, Personal Papers, pertains to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where the Leubas spent most of their adult lives; a small portion pertains to New York City, where Walter Leuba lived briefly.

Arrangement

This collection is organized into nine series:

Series I. Manuscripts

Series II. Correspondence

Series III. ALS and TLS

Series IV. Inventories and Notes

Series V. Personal Papers

Series VI. Photographs

Series VII. Scrapbooks

Series VIII. Ephemera

Series IX. Woodblocks

Subjects

    Personal Names

    • Dilworth, Ernest
    • Leuba, Martha
    • Leuba, Walter

    Geographic Names

    • Pittsburgh (Pa.)

    Genres

    • Manuscripts (Document genre)
    • Scrapbooks
    • Wood blocks (Printing blocks)
    • Ephemera
    • Photographs
    • Correspondence
    • Personal papers

    Other Subjects

    • Private presses
    • Private press books
    • Fine books

Container List