Libraries
Identity area
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Authorized form of name
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Other form(s) of name
- Mrs. P.T. Hering
- Mrs. Preston T. Hering
- Nora Hering
- Wilhelmina Leonora Crutchett
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History
Leonora C. "Nora" Hering (1898-1983) collected poultry art, artifacts, and publications. The scarcity of fresh eggs during the Second World War prompted Hering to begin breeding poultry. She voraciously read books and articles on the topic, frequently contacting land grant university librarians in order to track down elusive publications. She subscribed to poultry journals and amassed a sizable collection of books on the subject. Her acquisitions included books from the estate of Cornish poultry breeder Godfrey Trevelyan Williams. She also collected taxidermy specimens and depictions of poultry in art and on postage stamps.
By 1950, she had become an authority on the topic of poultry. James W Gwin, poultry marketing specialist at the University of Maryland, lauded her as the "poultry historian." Hering expressed a commitment to donating her various poultry-related collections to Kansas State College and coordinated her efforts with Department of Poultry Husbandry chairperson Loyal F. Payne.
In January 1953, Stanford University's Main Library displayed some of her books, drawings, and prints. In August 1955, she presented on the topic, "The Chicken in Art and Literature" at the 44th annual meeting of the National Poultry Science Association at Michigan State University in East Lansing, and later published an article of the same name in Cackle and Crow. She spoke to the Grolier Society on the topic of the Araucana breed in May 1959, and later developed an article on the topic for Poultry Press.
Over a twenty-five year period, Hering accumulated a collection of nearly 1000 poultry publications. Her international contacts included poultry specialists in New Zealand and Japan, and she was frequently recommended to those who sought historical information about the poultry trade, the origins of poultry breeding in the San Francisco Bay region, and other related topics.
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Language(s)
- English
Script(s)
- Latin
Sources
Ancestry.com; donor files
"'Chicken in Art, Literature' Discussed at Poultry Meet: Book Collector Cites Examples from Greek, Other Early Writings." <emph render='italic'>Lansing State Journal</emph> 11 August 1955.
"'Chicken in Art' Title of Lecture." <emph render='italic'>Lansing State Journal</emph> 6 August 1955.
Hering, Leonora. "The Araucana Is Different." <emph render='italic'>Poultry Press </emph>53:10 (1967).
____. "The Chicken in Art and Literature." Chap. 9: "Chickens in American Art." <emph render='italic'>Cackle and Crow</emph> January 1956, pp. 14-15.
____. <emph render='italic'>The Lost Dutch Colony</emph>. Campbell, CA: Phoenix Press, 1979.
Hering, Leonora and Warren Lewis. <emph render='italic'>But Never the Rooster: Memories of My French Hens and Some Others</emph>. Fremont, CA: Mill Creek Press, 1976.
James W. Gwin Poultry Collection, Special Collections, National Agricultural Library.
The Leonora Hering Memorial Poultry Collection, Richard L. D. and Marjorie J. Morse Department of Special Collections, Kansas State University Libraries. The books bear ex libris commemorating Hering’s mentor, champion breeder and former Kansas resident, Rose F. Hurdle (1877-1948).
"Library Displays Books on Fowl." <emph render='italic'>The Stanford Daily</emph> 13 January 1953.
Maintenance notes
Creator Source: Local Authority File
Biographical/Historical Note Author: K. Rylance