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The Kenneth S. Davis Papers (1886; 1912-2000) documents Davis’s career as a prominent historian and writer. Davis’s Estate holds the copyright to his literary works. The majority of the collection is related to his writings.
The Writings/Journals Series (1919; 1935-1967) consist of one box and includes some of Davis’s early writing efforts when he was seven years old. Davis kept journals for the years 1935, 1937, 1941, 1953 through 1955, 1961, and 1966 through 1967. In 1958, Davis began keeping a journal with is his wife Florence (Flo) Olenhouse Davis and they continued writing in the same journal through 1959. This series also includes some of Flo’s writing efforts. While she was never published, Flo was a highly skilled and diverse writer who wrote about topics that interested her such as trains, souvenirs from Chicago, and relatives.

Contained in 12 boxes the Correspondence Series (1934-1999) includes letters between Davis and his agents and publishers and editors and other correspondence. The agent's letters are arranged chronologically in one box while the publishers/editors are arranged alphabetically and stored in three boxes. Other correspondence is arranged alphabetically, consists of eight boxes, and includes letters from historians David McCullough, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., and William Shirer. Some other correspondence of interest includes letters from Kansas individuals such as Dave Kendall host of the PBS show Sunflower Journeys, Bill Koch, Karl Menninger of the Menninger Foundation, and Richard Seaton of The Manhattan Mercury newspaper. Davis received letters from K-State individuals such as Betty Bailey, Earle, and Kay Davis, George Kren, Don Mrozek, Homer Socolofsky, Ralph Titus, President Jon Wefald, and Dent Wilcoxon.

The Awards/Certificates Series (1935-2000) is housed in one box and includes the Friends of American Writers Award that Davis won in 1943 for his fiction novel In the Forests of the Night, the 1960 Thormod Monsen Award for The Hero, Charles A. Lindbergh, and the American Dream, and the 1973 Francis Parkman Prize for FDR: The Beckoning of Destiny, 1882-1928. In 1963 Davis received the Centennial Award for Distinguished Service at K-State, he received an Honorary Doctorate degree from Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1968, and in 1975 he became a member of Phi Beta Kappa at K-State. Between 1967 and 2000, Davis was often listed in the Marquis Who’s Who in America.

Housed in one box, the Organizations/Clubs Series (1952-1999) includes Davis’s membership in the Society of American Historians, Bohemians, Inc., Century Club, and Dickens Fellowship and some other documents related to the organizations. Of interest in the Society of American Historians is correspondence from Kenneth T. Jackson announcing in 1973 that Davis won the Francis Parkman Prize and had been elected to membership in the society. Davis presented programs to the Bohemians including “What’s Wrong With The Press,” “The Problem of a Biographer,” and “Puritan Kansas: New England Influence” and gave a speech about remembering Clarence Daigneau. Adlai E. Stevenson proposed Davis as a member of the Century Club in New York City and William Shirer also played an instrumental role in Davis’s election into the club. Davis and his wife, Flo, were active in the Dickens Society in Worcester, Massachusetts and this section includes newspaper clippings about the Society’s Christmas dinners.

The Fellowship and Grants Series (1953-1982) is contained in one box that includes documents on Guggenheim Fellowships, National Endowment for the Humanities grants, the Stern Family Fund, and the Woodrow Wilson Scholar. In 1961, Davis applied for a Guggenheim Fellowship, however, it was not granted, and in 1974, he received a $12,000 grant. In 1980, Davis applied for a National Endowment for the Humanities grant, but he did not the grant.

Contained in four boxes, the Speeches Series (1942-1998), includes Davis’s 1943 acceptance speech for the Friends of Americans Writer Award he received for his novel In The Forests Of The Night. Other speeches of interest in this series include Davis’s 1947 speech for the Topeka Chapter of the League of Women Voters titled “UNESCO-Its Nature and Function,” his 1971 speech for Assumption College titled, “Thinking About FDR: Some Problems Of A Biographer,” his 1975 speech at the Kansas State Historical Society Dinner titled, “Portrait of a Changing Kansas,” and his 1994 Lou Douglas Lecture at K-State titled, “Mass Communication and the American Democracy.” Davis and his wife, Flo, were actively involved in the Dickens Society and speeches of interest to this group include the 1962 “Of Dickens and ‘Bleak House’” and the 1968 “Edwin Drood Concluded, Again,” speeches.

Literary Works (1934-2000) is comprised of 51 boxes containing Davis’s works of published and unpublished articles, manuscripts, book reviews, essays, poems, and short stories. The series is chronological within each section, except for the published books, which are in alphabetical order. The most notable of the literary works is Davis’s Franklin D. Roosevelt manuscripts, which includes his research for the series of books, working drafts, and manuscript chapters. A sub-category of the FDR manuscripts is the 1997 FDR Symposium at K-State that includes the book from the symposium, correspondence, invitation, programs, and the speech Davis gave at the Symposium. Those who participated in the symposium with Davis were Nancy Kassebaum Baker, James MacGregor Burns, Doris Kearns Goodwin, William E. Leuchténburg, and Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. Other subjects Davis wrote about that are of interest include Kansas history, Clarence Darrow, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Robert H. Goddard, James Lane, Charles A. Lindbergh, Adlai E. Stevenson, Eli Thayer and topics such as the birth control pill, fire departments, Kansas history, social security, stone walls, and UNESCO.

The Subjects Series (1942-1971) is housed in five (5) boxes and consist of information pertaining to Milton Stover Eisenhower (K-State President and his work with UNESCO, Alexander Meiklejohn who was a professor of Davis’s at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Adlai E. Stevenson, who lost by landslides in two races for president against Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 and 1962. The files contain correspondence between Davis and each of the individuals, speeches that Davis wrote for Eisenhower and Stevenson, other correspondence, newspaper clippings, and programs.

Death and Memorial Series (1999) is stored in two boxes and consists of Davis’s death certificate, eulogies, funeral papers, memorial service, obituaries, and sympathy cards.

Davis Family Series (1907-1999) is comprised of nine (9) boxes. Two (2) boxes are made up of family documents, three (3) boxes contain French souvenir postcards that Charles Davis collected during World War I, and four (4) boxes contain family correspondence. Correspondence of interest is the letters between Charles and Lydia Davis while Charles was stationed in France during World War I.

The Photographs Series (circa 1912-1999) is stored in two (2) boxes and arranged alphabetically. The majority of photographs are of family members.

The Media Series (circa 1972-1999) is comprised of three (3) boxes. Included are 3 ½ inch disks and 5 ¼ inch disks, and the files that were able to be retrieved from these disks. Documents retrieved from the disk include correspondence and manuscripts that are not found anywhere else in the collection. Items of interest are correspondence between Davis and his last editor Robert Loomis of Random House and some drafts of Davis’ first FDR books.

There are three (3) Scrapbooks in the collection: In The Forests Of The Night, 1942, Soldier of Democracy, 1945, and A Prophet In His Own Country, 1957. Because of their fragile conditions, the scrapbooks were taken apart and photocopied. Each scrapbook includes book reviews and correspondence.

The Oversize Items (1927-1997) are stored in one box. The Oversize Items include Davis’s 1927 Junior High School Diploma, his 1930 High School Diploma, and his 1934 Kansas Agricultural College Diploma. It also includes the 1973 Francis Parkman Prize certificate, the 1994 Lou Douglas Lecture Poster (Davis was the speaker), 1996 Presidential prints of President Bill Clinton and Vice-President Al Gore, and two posters from the 1997 FDR symposium.

The Map Series (1919-1985) is stored with the Oversize Items and includes National Geographic Society magazine maps and a few maps from France dated 1919.

The Artifact and Art Series (1955-1997) is housed in (1) box and includes two caricatures of Davis, one by his first wife, Flo, and one by F. Mason, and a watercolor sketch. Other items include award plaques, badges, a guest book, and jewelry.

Printed Material is made up of four (4) boxes, one being a flat box for oversize documents, and consists of journals, leaflets, newspapers, pamphlets, and the Davis Family Bible dated 188 that is in the Swedish language.

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station publications; list of numbers assigned contributions & titles
Box 1, A83412143153 –Contains a slip inside that describes the contents as “KS Agricultural Experiment STA Editor Manuscript Contribution,” and is full of loose papers relating to records on Agricultural Engineering, as well as Biology, Foods and Nutrition, Botany, Bacteriology, Horticulture, Chemical Engineering, Plant Pathology, Zoology and other categories related to Agriculture. The papers are documenting Dates, Titles, Author and Content/Department numbers, and are records of various research projects, papers and experiments. Dates range from the 1920’s to the 2000’s.
Box 2, A83412143145 – Contains a slip inside that describes the contents as “KS Agricultural Experiment STA Editor Manuscript Contribution,” and is full of loose papers relating to records on Agricultural Engineering, as well as Biology, Botany, Bacteriology, Horticulture, Chemical Engineering, Plant Pathology, and Zoology. The papers are documenting Dates, Titles, Author and Content/Department numbers, and are records of various research projects, papers and experiments. Dates range from mid-1940’s to the 1980’s.

Records contained in this accession include early agriculture experiment station press reports and bulletins.
- Folder 1: Agriculture Experiment Station: Press Reports 1898-1900
- Folder 2: Press Bulletins 159-178
- Folder 3: Press Bulletins 1-115
- Folder 4: Press Bulletins 1-34
- Folder 5: Press Bulletins 35-70
- Folder 6: Press Bulletins 71-124
- Folder 7: Press Reports 125-158

The Loren W. Elliott papers consist of documents pertaining to the Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity, Alpha Kappa Psi Fraternity, and Phi Kappa Phi, during the time Elliott was a student at Kansas State Agricultural College in the late 1920s and 1930s. Included are Laboratory Outlines and Elliott's class notes for General Botany I, General Botany II, and Laboratory Experiments of Elementary Organic Chemistry. Elliott was also a member of the President's Club (1981-1982 and 1987). A vinyl record (33 1/2 rpm) titled "Purple Pride 1971-72" is included in the collection.

Records relating to the history of Cooperative Extension work in Sedgwick County Kansas and focusing particularly on the Prairie Gem unit of which Lou Herndon and her mother, Ruth Wilkins, were charter/lifetime members.

The Louis Zukofsky Papers (1923-1969) chronicle his relationship with a number of his contemporaries, particularly Rene Taupin, as well as describing what life was like for a poet in the 1930's. The papers contain correspondence, printed material and typescripts.
They are housed in two document boxes. The papers are divided into four series: 1) Correspondence (1928-1969), 2) Literary works (1931, n.d.), 3) Printed material (1930-1933) and 4) Miscellaneous. The most significant part of this collection is the correspondence. It is divided into four sub-series: a) Louis Zukofsky to Rene Taupin (1930-1941), b) Louis Zukofsky to various others (1942-1969), c) various individuals to Rene Taupin (1923-1946) and d) other correspondence (1927-1940).
The correspondece in each sub-series is arranged in chronological order. The correspondence from Zukofsky to Taupin is the largest and most significant part of the collection (70 items) containing references to works in progress and contemporaries, such as Ezra Pound, William Carlos Williams, Harriet Monroe, George Oppen, Basil Bunting, Jesse Loewenthal, Tibor Serly and Robinson Morton. Other comments offer insight into the economy and social atmosphere of 1930's America. The second sub-series of correspondence (22 items, 7 correspondents) focuses primarily on Zukofsky's literary career: responses to inquiries to reprint his poetry, notification of new works and mention of reviews. His family and contemporaries are mentioned in a number of letters. Primary correspondents are: Clayton Hoagland and Tom Pickard. The third sub-series of correspondence (60 items, 47 correspondents), various individuals to Rene Taupin, focuses primarily on the creation of La France en Liberte (13 items) and responses to a questionnaire concerning France's survival under German occupation (8 items). A significant portion of these letters (29 items) is in French and has not been translated. Notable correspondents include: Ivan Goll, Sommerville Story, Germaine Sinclair, Warre Bradley Wells, Carl Van Doren, Patrick Braybrooke, Dorothy Canfield Fischer, A. E. Bacon, Charles A. Beard, Charles M. Stern and Tibor Serly. The fourth sub-series of correspondence is primarily in French and has not been translated.
The correspondence in English contains comments on Taupin's abilities and promotional information about La France en Liberte. Correspondents include: Jean de Gourmont, Raymond Arne and Fernand Baldensperger. The literary works series includes typescript reviews by Zukofsky of Hidden Flame by Bunichi Kagawa and Redimiculum Matellarum by Basil Bunting. Also included is an essay in French on Andre Salmon by Rene Taupin. The printed material series contains a review of Zukofsky's Objectivists' Anthology, an essay on Ezra Pound by Zukofsky, a review of Maldorer by Taupin and reviews of Taupin's L'Influence du symbolisme Francais sur la poesie Americaine (de 1910 a/ 1920) The final series contains a prescription sheet, a bibliographical sketch of Taupin (1923-1930) and the first page of an essay entitled Profession of Faith. The Special Collections unit of the Kansas State University Libraries' contains a collection of publications written by Louis Zukofsky.

The Manuscript Cookbook collection includes 125 cookbooks with culinary recipes and home remedies dating from the early 16th century to the late 20th century. The cookbooks originate from various countries, such as Austria (1), Denmark (1), England (25), France (1), Germany (7), Ireland (3), Mexico (5), Palestine (1), Slovakia (1), Switzerland (2), and the United States (42). The books vary in size and shape and are almost exclusively handwritten. Although most are written in English, other languages include German (10), French (2), Danish (1), and Hebrew (1).

The Marjorie L. Honstead Feldhausen Papers (1942-1946/ 1920-2006) contain personal correspondence, service records, printed material, photographs, and a scrapbook of memorabilia dealing with her service in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps.
The Correspondence series contains letters written by Marjorie Feldhausen to her parents, Fred C. and Nellie Honstead spanning from August 5, 1943, to August 30, 1945. These letters chronicle her service stationed at the following locations: 1.) Schick General Hospital, Clinton, Iowa; 2.) 316th Station Hospital, Camp Stover, Newton Abbot, England; 3.) 316th Holding Hospital, Cowglen Hospital, Glasgow, Scotland; 4.) Staging Area, Marseille, France; and 5.) Boston, after traveling from Europe aboard the U.S. Army Transport Fredrick Lykes. While many of the details of her service are absent due to censorship bans, the letters provide a thorough account of her daily experiences, her travels, life at the hospital, social gatherings, and reflection on major events of the war. This series is contained in 2 flat document boxes within 3-ring binders.
The Service Records series (1942-1946) contains Feldhausen’s official documents from the U.S. Army Nurse Corps, consisting of 9 folders of material, including her appointment, service records, and Certificate of Service.
Printed Material (1943-1946) includes newsletters, magazines, annuals, calendars, and booklets, consisting of 9 folders of material housed in one document box.
Financial Documents and Foreign Currency (1943-1944) contains bank statements from the National Bank of Topeka, canceled checks, and an assortment of European bills and coins. Feldhausen’s parents, Fred C. and Nellie Honstead were given power of attorney over her affairs and managed her financial accounts while she was abroad.
Housed in one flat box for oversized documents, the Photographs series (1943-1945) is comprised of a photo album, containing photos of the station hospitals, nurses’ quarters, fellow nurses, servicemen, and travels. The Scrapbook series is housed in one flat oversized document box and contains memorabilia collected from Feldhausen’s service in Iowa, England, Scotland, France, and aboard the U.S. Army Transport Fredrick Lykes.

The collection includes annual reports, club and secretary reports, and operational documentation.

McPherson collection includes a multitude of documents pertaining the McPherson extension office as well as the 4-H program. Documents range from executive files such as financial records, meeting minutes, membership lists, and construction plans to documents such as photographs, slides, and program guides.