Howard Pyle 1853-1911 Series, bulk: circa 1880 - 2000, circa 1820 - 2010
Scope and Contents
This series contains primary, secondary, and some tertiary source materials and covers a wide array of Pyle-related subjects. Noted coverage includes Howard Pyle’s career, family, genealogy, history, lives of his students, teaching methods, artistic influences; and extensive coverage of his correspondence, periodical publications, records of art and book sales, exhibitions and retrospectives, fakes and forgeries, collectors and dealers, and materials on the production and publication of Davis’s book Howard Pyle: His Life – His Work.
Other related subjects include the Delaware Art Museum and its predecessor, the Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts; woodblock printing, the Dupont Powder Wagon, the history of Scribner’s, Harper’s, and St. Nicholas magazines, as well as the history of Delaware and its clubs and organizations.
Other notable individuals documented within the series include: Howard Pyle’s mother Margaret Churchman Pyle, grandson Howard Pyle Brokaw; students Thornton Oakley, Angel De Cora (Dietz), Frank E. Schoonover, Henry J. Peck, John Wolcott Adams, and N.C. Wyeth; longtime secretary and biographer Gertrude Brincklé; dealer Helen L. Card; modern illustrator and Pyle scholar Ian Schoenherr; and President Theodore Roosevelt.
The final accession, number 50076, processed as series 35, contains material not included in Davis’s book. The contents cover similar subjects found in previous subseries, such as bookplates, murals, exhibitions, Pyle’s students, his residences, Pyle art for sale, Pyle art owners, fakes and forgeries, publications, and the Delaware Art Museum.
Dates
- Creation: Majority of material found within circa 1880 - 2000
- Creation: circa 1820 - 2010
Creator
- Davis, Paul Preston, 1931-2021 (Person)
- Pyle, Howard, 1853-1911 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for researchers by appointment only. Please contact the Research Center for information on access and research.
Howard Pyle (1853-1911)
Howard Pyle (1853-1911) was a renowned artist of America’s “Golden Age of Illustration” and is a legend among American illustration artists, book aficionados, and collectors. Over his 35-year career, he created an astounding 3,000+ images for books and magazines, including nearly 200 stories he authored. His paintings and drawings of American Colonial and Revolutionary War history, medieval legends, pirate lore, folk and fairy tales, are widely considered classic works within the field of illustration.
Pyle was an inspiring teacher who attracted students from across the nation to study with him at Drexel Institute for Science, Art and Industry in Philadelphia, and at his own Howard Pyle School of Art in Wilmington, Delaware. His engaging personality, pragmatic approach, and insight into a student’s potential launched the successful careers of many artists, such as Harvey Dunn, Elizabeth Shippen Green, Frank Schoonover, Jessie Willcox Smith, Thornton Oakley, Violet Oakley, and N. C. Wyeth.
In 1993, Paul Preston Davis had a conversation with Bob Fleck, owner and publisher of Oak Knoll Books in New Castle, Delaware, that led to the research and publication of Howard Pyle—His Work, His Life. Fleck knew that Davis retained extensive knowledge of the illustrator and encouraged Davis to write his own book on Pyle. The sole Howard Pyle bibliography in existence at the time was Howard Pyle: A Record of His Illustrations and Writings by Willard S. Morse and Pyle’s longtime secretary, Gertrude Brincklé. The book was published in 1921 by the Wilmington Society of Fine Arts, the Predecessor of the Delaware Art Museum, and was unfortunately full of errors. Davis was encouraged and assisted by many besides Fleck. Notable figures include Howard Pyle Brokaw and his wife Dede, Roland Elzea, former Chief Curator of the Delaware Art Museum, Pyle enthusiast and author Ian Schoenherr, and Helen Farr Sloan, widow of painter John Sloan, to whom the book is dedicated.
Howard Pyle: His Life – His Work was published by Oak Knoll Books in 2004. It is not a traditional catalog raisonné, but what Davis called a “stretched bibliography,” or a complete Howard Pyle record. The first volume chronicles the bibliographical records of Pyle’s works in publications, both authored and illustrated, where the second volume contains full-color thumbnail images of his work. Not all of the materials Davis collected on Pyle could be included in the publication, and so subjects such as biographical materials, copies from Pyle’s sketchbooks, and conceptual drawings were not included in the final publication.
Extent
From the Collection: 10.07 Linear Feet (11 boxes (processed material))
From the Collection: xxx Linear Feet (unprocessed material)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Howard Pyle series consists of research materials accumulated by Paul Preston Davis for the writing and publication of his book Howard Pyle: His Life – His Work (2004), a compilation of all known Howard Pyle artwork and illustrations published. It is an expansive re-evaluation, correction, and update of Willard S. Morse and Gertrude Brincklé’s record of Pyle’s work, Howard Pyle: A Record of His Illustrations and Writings (1921).
The series also includes extensive biographical and historical research materials related to Pyle, his family, his milieu, his students and associates, and the books, periodicals, organizations, and museums that have featured or exhibited his work.
Arrangement
The series originally arrived in 50 prearranged subjects across 164 document boxes, 31 binders, and additional unboxed material. This was processed in 2021 into 35 subseries that streamlined Davis’s arrangement system and condensed the materials to a new total of 143 boxes, 29 binders, and a shelf of loose materials (88.125 linear feet). The donor’s original binders contained photocopies of Pyle’s work published in periodicals, as well as photocopies of known Pyle correspondence. Processing completed in 2022 included subject divisions that mirrored the box-level description established by the creator (Davis), with a few imposed by Research Center staff that further clarified contents of each subseries. Accruals were amended as subseries were added to the end of the series’ arrangement. Oversized documents and books, as well as framed works, were distributed within both the Research Center and fine arts collections.
The 35-subseries arrangement completed before 2025’s reprocessing project included box-level subject descriptions. These thematic subject descriptions had clarified the research value of the materials per the arranger; however, it was decided to discard these subject descriptions.
During the 2024-2025 reprocessing project, the contents of the series were further condensed [number of boxes, linear feet]. Upon the discovery of documentation of the arrangement of the collection as it was received, the subseries arrangement was decided to follow this earliest description of organization to best reflect the donor’s original order. Some naming conventions from this arrangement document were altered for clarity, and several redundant subseries were combined where appropriate. Subseries were also added to the end of the collection as there were several accruals made during the 2019-2021 processing of the collection, as well as movement of unlabeled boxes between the initial receipt and the processing of the series.
Further subseries clarifications:
Subseries 1, Family, genealogy, residences, business and photographs, through to subseries 43, McClure’s, reflects the arrangement of the series as it was received.
Subseries 44, mixed ephemera and clippings, are part of the first accession 49098. These materials were placed in offsite storage and integrated later to the inventory of this series. These materials were documented as unlabeled, inventoried, labeled, and placed within the vault with other contents of this series. This subseries was not added to the finding aid as of 2022 but has been integrated as part of the 2025 reprocessing project.
Subseries 43 through 48 reflect an intellectual arrangement of the materials based on when the materials were received, as well as how they were organized by the first processors of this donation. Subseries 47, Mixed accruals, contains 2009 and 2020 donations. The final box of contents in this subseries has a vague provenance. One part was donated in 2009 alongside periodicals, accession 39001, by Davis, the second part in 2020 was a late accrual, accession 51063. One yellow mailer envelope contained materials relevant to the DuPont Powder Wagon subseries, with a note attached in the donor’s handwriting to include his notes and research on those materials with the contents. This was completed per the donor’s request. Other materials within the 2020 accrual did not explicitly state that they were to be interfiled, and they remain within series 47.
The subseries are listed as follows:
- Subseries 1: Family, genealogy, residences, business and photographs
- Subseries 2: Childhood, education
- Subseries 3: Dissertations, Theses and mixed writings pertaining to Pyle. [Subseries 3 contains a mix of published and unpublished material that is about Pyle’s work, mention Pyle’s work, or media created by Pyle.]
- Subseries 4: Jigsaw puzzles
- Subseries 5: Awards and honors
- Subseries 6: Directories
- Subseries 7: Correspondence
- Subseries 8: Pyle’s school of art
- Subseries 9: Pyle’s studio
- Subseries 10: Pyle’s students
- Subseries 11: Women Students
- Subseries 12: Recognition of Pyle
- Subseries 13: Pyle in teaching guides
- Subseries 14: Paintings for the Bibliophile society
- Subseries 15: Owners of Pyle works
- Subseries 16: Pyle similarities
- Subseries 17: Fakes and forgeries
- Subseries 18: Sales of art and books
- Subseries 19: Murals
- Subseries 20: Exhibition history
- Subseries 21: Expositions
- Subseries 22: Prints and reproductions
- Subseries 23: Newspapers and bound volumes
- Subseries 24: Pamphlets, ads, ephemera
- Subseries 25: Magazines
- Subseries 26: Clubs and organizations
- Subseries 27: Christmas seal
- Subseries 28: Bookplates
- Subseries 29: Battleship Delaware
- Subseries 30: Theatrical designs
- Subseries 31: Unique ephemera
- Subseries 32: Audiovisual
- Subseries 33: Pyle Collectors, Dealers, and Scholars
- Subseries 34: Howard Pyle: His Life, His Work research materials
- Subseries 35: Ian Schoenherr
- Subseries 36: Brandywine Museum of Art
- Subseries 37: Delaware Art Museum
- Subseries 38: State of Delaware
- Subseries 39: Delaware Historical Society
- Subseries 40: Board of Park Commissioners, Wilmington, DE
- Subseries 41: Kelly Collection of American Art
- Subseries 42: McClure’s
- Subseries 43: Flat boxes
- Subseries 44: Mixed ephemera and clippings
- Subseries 45: Correspondence [currently in binders]
- Subseries 46: Clippings [currently in binders, stored with periodicals]
- Subseries 47: Mixed Accruals
- Subseries 48: Flat Files. Subseries additionally contains materials that have been stored on top of the flat file system [inventory to be conducted for contents on top of map case
1 – Family and childhood
2 - Other Writings About Pyle and Unpublished Material
3 - Awards and Honors
4 - Directories
5 - Pyle Association Correspondence
6 - Pyle’s Schools of Art
7 - Pyle’s Teaching and Students
8 - The Bibliophile Society
9 - Pyle Art Owners
10 - Similar to Pyle – Other Artists and Fakes/Forgeries
11 - Pyle’s Art and Books for Sale
12 - Murals and Exhibitions
13 - Printing and Publishing
14 - Newspapers
15 - Miscellaneous Printed Materials
16 - Magazines and Periodicals
17 - Clubs and Organizations
18 - Christmas Seal
19 - Bookplates
20 - Battleship Delaware Silver Service
21 - Theatrical
22 - Unique Ephemera
23 - Audiovisual
24 - People
25 - Howard Pyle: His Life, His Work
26 - Ian Schoenherr
27 - Brandywine River and Delaware Art Museums
28 - Delaware
29 - Kelly Collection of American Art
30 - McClure’s
31 - Flat Boxes
32 - Correspondence Binders
33 - Tear sheets
34 - Oversized Original Art and Printer Proofs
35 - Collection Addition of 8/2020
36 - Original Art transferred to the Art Collection
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Paul Preston Davis, 2019, 2020, and 2021. Accession number: 49098, 50076, 51049, 51063
Accruals
Initial donation agreement signed in 2019; first accrual made in 2020, accession 50076; Final two accruals donated in 2020 but approved in 2021, accessions 51049 and 51063. No further accruals expected.
Sources
Englehart, Lora Bilton. (2005 June) A Life’s Work. Delaware Today, 17, 33-36.
O’Hara, Virginia. (2021). A Passion for Pyle: The Paul Preston Davis Collection online exhibition. Retrieved from https://brandywineathome.org/Davis/
Series Author
Original finding aid for this series created by Eileen Fay, 2019, Virginia O’Hara, 2022. Updates, reprocessing, and edits by Bri Cronin, 2025.
Processing Information
This collection was first processed from 2019 to 2021, funded by the Starrett Foundation. Most of the materials arrived within flip-top document boxes following an alphanumeric system the donor created. During the first arrangement of the collection, some boxes were consolidated, with some books and periodicals removed and housed within Special Collections. Some intellectual arrangement was applied at the time that restructured the donor's original order. Overall, the initial processing of this collection followed a More Product, Less Process (MPLP) standard that maintained the original order and housing of the materials.
During a reassessment project that began in 2024 of the Paul Preston Davis donations, the Howard Pyle series materials were reassessed and reprocessed to make the objects within the collection easier to discover, as well as best reflect the creator’s original order. Through this process, the materials were further condensed with all identified books and bound periodicals removed and placed within Special Collections. This was done to increase access to bound materials and implement best preservation practices for bound materials. Additionally, current Research Center identifiers were added to the folders, as well as the boxes, with subseries dividers placed to mark the original donor-created divisions. During the reprocessing project, materials kept within vinyl folders, portfolios, and plastic binders were documented, photographed, removed, and placed within acid-free archival folders, maintaining their original arrangement. When identified, paper clips were removed and replaced with sheets of interleaving paper to maintain grouping arrangement. It was decided that the first label and numbering system on the folders were to be left as is with current identifiers added. However, there were several instances where either contents of folders had to be relocated from either a letter to a legal sized folder, or else to reflect updates made to the subseries organization. These updates reflect documentation that captures the earliest account of the donor’s original order and therefore, the provenance of the materials.
Artwork that was donated alongside the archival materials of this series were assessed and are included within the museum’s fine art collection as well as the Research Center.
The August 2020 accrual, accession 50076, contained materials overlooked by the donor. The majority of this was first processed as Series 35. Materials that were reflected in previously established subjects, such as Angel De Cora and the U.S.S. Delaware silver service, were interfiled in the original collection during the first processing of this series. This arrangement was documented within the finding aid as well as on the physical folders. Both notes were kept as they were documented. During the 2024-2025 reprocessing of the series, the final accrual was decided to be kept as the final subseries to maintain the order of accessions and no other folders from the accrual were interfiled.
Additional accruals were made during the 2019-2021 processing of the collection. Some materials were integrated, including those that were designated by the donor to be integrated within a particular subseries. Not all of these materials were processed fully by the 2025 reprocessing project. Many of the materials that were not completely integrated and processed as part of this collection were amended at the end of the processed materials as additional series. See arrangement note for more details.
Materials identified as irrelevant to the collection scope of the Research Center were returned to the family in 2021 by staff.
Subject
- Collier's (Magazine) (Organization)
- Bibliophile Society (Boston, Mass.) (Organization)
- Arthurs, Stanley Massey, 1877-1950 (Person)
- Ashley, Clifford W. (Clifford Warren), 1881-1947 (Person)
- Bates, Bertha Corson Day, 1875-1968 (Person)
- Chambers, Jay, 1877-1929 (Person)
- Duer, Douglas (Person)
- Dunn, Harvey, 1884-1952 (Person)
- Elliott, Elizabeth Shippen Green (Person)
- Foster, William Harnden, 1886-1941 (Person)
- Harding, Charlotte, 1873-1951 (Person)
- Henook-Makhewe-Kelenaka (Person)
- Koerner, W. H. D. (William Henry Dethlef), 1878-1938 (Person)
- Leach, Ethel Pennewill Brown (Person)
- Masters, F. B. (Frank B.), 1873-1955 (Person)
- Oakley, Thornton, 1881-1952 (Person)
- Oakley, Violet, 1874-1961 (Person)
- Oliver, Ellis A. (Ellis Augustus), 1872-1937 (Person)
- Peck, Henry J. (Henry Jarvis), 1880-1964 (Person)
- Pyle, M. C. (Margaret Churchman), 1825-1885 (Person)
- Pyle, Katharine, 1863-1938 (Person)
- Rush, Olive, 1873-1966 (Person)
- Schoonover, Frank E., 1877-1972 (Person)
- Schoenherr, Ian (Person)
- Smith, Jessie Willcox, 1863-1935 (Person)
- Stephens, Alice Barber, 1858-1932 (Person)
- True, Allen Tupper, 1881-1955 (Person)
- Wyeth, N.C. (Newell Convers), 1882-1945 (Person)
Repository Details
Part of the Walter & Leonore Annenberg Research Center - Archives & Special Collections Repository
1 Hoffman's Mill Road
PO Box 141
Chadds Ford PA 19317 United States
610-388-8310
research@brandywine.org