sept06c.indd


Ann­Christe Galloway G r a n t s  a n d  A c q u i s i t i o n s  

California State University-Northridge’s 
Oviatt Library has received a grant of $39,000 
to digitize the Clarence Easley Collection of 
classical guitar scores. Easley was the former 
director of the Guitar Department at the 
San Francisco Conservatory. He joined the 
American Guitar Society in 1930 and began 
long­time correspondence with Vahdah 
Olcott­Bickford, founder of the society. The 
Easley collection of musical scores, along 
with his correspondence, is a major archival 
resource for research on guitar history in the 
United States from 1930 to 1956. The collec­
tion contains about 2,000 editions of guitar 
scores, including many early arrangements 
by Segovia. Over time, Easley’s collection of 
scores was dispersed. Fortunately, he made 
a microfilm copy of his collection, which was 
held at Saint Mary’s College of California until 
two years ago when CSU made arrangements 
to receive the microfilm. There are 43 reels 
of microfilm and 3,300 index cards. 

Acquisitions 

The Will Eisner Comic Industr y Awards 
Archives have become part of the Comic Arts 
Collection at the Virginia Commonwealth Uni­
versity. The archives consist of books, comics, 
and other materials that have been nominated 
for or have won Eisner Awards, given every 
July at Comic­Con International in San Diego, 
since 1992. The collection consists of a wide 
range of more than 100,000 items, including 
more than 30,000 traditional comic books 
along with graphic novels, memorabilia, col­
lectors’ items, comic journals, fanzines, and a 
broad array of reference materials to support 
the entire collection. The Comic Arts Collec­
tion began in the 1970s with the donation of 

Ed. note: Send your news to: Grants & Acquisitions, 
C&RL News, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611-2795; 
e-mail: agalloway@ala.org. 

a large comic book collection and the papers 
of noted editorial cartoonists Fred Seibel and 
Bill Sykes. 

The papers of Joseph E. Persico, author 
of Roosevelt’s Secret War; Edward R. Murrow: 
An American Original, The Imperial Rockefell­
er; The Eleventh Month, Eleventh Day, Eleventh 
Hour: Armistice Day, 1918, World War I and 
its Violent Climax; Nuremberg: Infamy on 
Trial, and coauthor of former Secretary of State 
Colin Powell’s autobiography My American 
Journey, as well as other acclaimed works of 
history and biography, have been acquired 
by the University at Albany, State University 
of New York. Persico, who earned his degree 
from Albany in 1952, is also known for his 
accomplishments as chief speechwriter for 
New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller. He 
remained Rockefeller’s primary speechwriter 
when the governor assumed the office of the 
vice presidency of the United States (1975–77). 
In what he refers to as one of his proudest 
moments, Persico served on the commission 
that oversaw the design of the new National 
World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., 
and penned two inscriptions for the memorial, 
including, “Here we mark the price of free­
dom” inscribed on the Field of Gold Stars. 

The Hilton Kramer Papers at Bowdoin College 
have recently been opened for research. 
The collection (28 linear feet; 1950–2002) 
documents the life and writings of Hilton 
Kramer, chief art critic for the New York Times 
(1973­1982) and cofounder of New Crite­
rion magazine. Kramer traveled extensively 
throughout the United States and abroad in 
his career, and he commented critically on 
a number of the most important art exhibits 
and artists of the time. His writings appeared 
in numerous important exhibition catalogs, 
journals, and newspapers, and his fi les refl ect 
that professional engagement in social and 
cultural matters, especially in the realm of 
20th­century art. 

C&RL News September 2006  520 

mailto:agalloway@ala.org