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Laura Knipe collection of cartoons

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Held at: Bryn Mawr College [Contact Us]Bryn Mawr College Library, 101 N. Merion Avenue, Bryn Mawr 19010

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Bryn Mawr College. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

Call Number:
M83
Repository:
Bryn Mawr College
Extent:
1 boxes
Language:
English
Preferred Citation:
Cite as: Laura Knipe collection of cartoons, Special Collections Department, Bryn Mawr College Library.
Date:
1949-1953 (inclusive)
Creator:
Knipe, Laura E.
Abstract:
Laura Elizabeth Knipe (1932-2010) was a graduate of Bryn Mawr College (Class of 1953). Throughout her time as an undergraduate she produced numerous cartoon drawings based on her and her friends' experiences as Bryn Mawr students. Many of her witty cartoons good naturedly mock their own study habits, life in the Rockefeller Dorm, academics, particularly the Anthropology and Geology departments, and their social antics and misadventures. This collection, donated to Bryn Mawr College by one of Knipe's closest Bryn Mawr friends, Eula Wulfjen Harmon Hoff (Class of 1952), is comprised of over 100 of Knipe's drawings, including drafts and copies. Hoff has also provided commentary on the categorically organized drawings.

Laura Elizabeth Knipe was a Bryn Mawr College graduate (Class of 1953) remembered for the witty cartoon drawings she produced throughout her time as an undergraduate. Knipe was born in Norwalk, Connecticut in 1932 and attended Bryn Mawr between the years 1949 and 1953. She was a skilled and avid cartoonist whose work was appreciated by friends and peers alike, as she was known for her Bryn Mawr themed cartoons comically revolving around the life of a student. Knipe's drawings were shared amongst her friends and occasionally published in Bryn Mawr's College News.

Knipe earned her degree in Geology and spent the years following her graduation in Colorado, which she was drawn to for her love of the outdoors. She did not pursue art any further after she left Bryn Mawr with the exception of the final installment of cartoons in the collection, which describe her experiences on a field project in Arizona the summer after her graduation.

Knipe eventually settled in Texas with her family, where she remained until her death on September 15, 2010.

This collection is organized into three series.

Series 1, Book One, is organized into three sections. The first, "In the Throes of Creative Genius, or How to Write a Term Paper", consists of comical drawings expressing the academic woes of Knipe and her friends, particularly within the Geology department. The second, "The Influence of Anthropology or 'Lo the Noble Savage'," contains a letter from Bryn Mawr Anthropology professor Frederica De Laguna to Eula Hoff, the donor of this collection and a close friend of Laura Knipe. The letter concerns copies of Knipe's drawings that Hoff sent to De Laguna in 1977. Also included are drawings revolving around Knipe's and her friends' experience with the Anthropology department. The final section, "Other Departments We Became Entangled With", consists of cartoons relating to Knipe and her friends' experience with other departments at Bryn Mawr including Foreign Languages, English, Psychology, and Chemistry.

Series 2, Book Two, is organized into three sections. "Bryn Mawr, The Environment" consists of cartoons based on the lifestyle of a Bryn Mawr student residing on campus. "Rockefeller Dorm" consists of cartoons that describe particularities of living in Reckefeller Dorm with friends. The last of the three," Extracurricular Activities" takes into account many of the non-academic antics of Knipe and her friends. Also present is a photocopied letter to Eula about Knipe's drawings.

Series 3, Book Three, is organized into four sections. The first, "The Angoon Adventure", consist of drawings about an archeological trip to Angoon that Knipe and her friends wanted to take but were not selected for. The second, "Freedom at Last…Into the Workaday World…Summers on the Dig", consist of drawings about the end of a semester. The final two, "The Trek to Colorado" and "Arizona Field Project" contain cartoons revolving around Knipe's archaeological trips during summer vacations.

Eula Hoff has provided commentary throughout the collection, including prefaces and backgrounds for specific cartoons.

This collection is the gift of Eula Wulfjen Harmon Hoff.

People
Organization
Subject

Publisher
Bryn Mawr College
Finding Aid Author
Celeste Ledesma
Finding Aid Date
2014 July 21
Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

the Laura Knipe collection of cartoons are the physical property of the Special Collections Department, Bryn Mawr College Library. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns.

Collection Inventory

Archival Resource Key. 1. The Inmates "Bright Lives".
Box 1 Folder 1
Archival Resource Key. 2. "But there was some site with lots of pottery that was typical that was all around.
Box 1 Folder 2
Archival Resource Key. 3. No Caption (house of index cards) .
Box 1 Folder 2
Archival Resource Key. 4. "What does sex relations go under?" & "But there was some site with lots of pottery that was typical that was all around----" (Same as 2.) .
Box 1 Folder 2
Archival Resource Key. 5. "'I want that Quote I couldn't find last night.' 'Here. Have one of mine, they're very mild.'" .
Box 1 Folder 2
Archival Resource Key. 6. "Take a card, any card.
Box 1 Folder 3
Archival Resource Key. 7. (Original of 5.) .
Box 1 Folder 3
Archival Resource Key. 8. "Bibliography Wild?" .
Box 1 Folder 3
Archival Resource Key. 9. "And the words flow like magic from the pen" & "The lady Delaguna presenteth the solution.
Box 1 Folder 4
Archival Resource Key. 10. "'I'll get this thing!' 'Spur him down the shoulders!" .
Box 1 Folder 4
Archival Resource Key. 11. "Where's my erasor?!".
Box 1 Folder 4
Archival Resource Key. 12. No Caption (typing on a record) .
Box 1 Folder 5
Archival Resource Key. 13. "Encouragement: Your paper is only 20 pp. long, And—Just be glad you didn't join the navy. Remember the Alamo!".
Box 1 Folder 5
Archival Resource Key. 14. " To be taken together" (Record & Paper) .
Box 1 Folder 5
Archival Resource Key. 15. "The way to write a paper." (two pages).
Box 1 Folder 6
Archival Resource Key. 16. "Cornflakes, by Gad!!!" .
Box 1 Folder 6
Archival Resource Key. 17. No Caption (Paper creating machine) .
Box 1 Folder 6
Archival Resource Key. 18. "Further Adventures on the Rock Pile" (two pages).
Box 1 Folder 7
Archival Resource Key. 19. "Your Move" .
Box 1 Folder 7
Archival Resource Key. 20. "I dreamed I went contour mapping in my made-in-form bra" .
Box 1 Folder 7
Archival Resource Key. 21. "Some Hazards of Surveying in remoter parts of the Bryn Mawr campus." ("On Faculty Row" and "Down by the stream").
Box 1 Folder 8
Archival Resource Key. 22. No Caption (Dragon in crate addressed to the geology department).
Box 1 Folder 8
Archival Resource Key. 23. "There was an inscription up at the top alright, but all this stuff he thinks is footnotes is graphic granite.".
Box 1 Folder 8
Archival Resource Key. 24. "Excuse Me" .
Box 1 Folder 9
Archival Resource Key. 25. "Now that you've located yourselves—o.k. back to the bus." .
Box 1 Folder 9
Archival Resource Key. 26. No Caption (Students clinging to cliff as train approaches) .
Box 1 Folder 9
Archival Resource Key. 27. "The Fossil" (2 Pages).
Box 1 Folder 10
Archival Resource Key. Letter to Eula from Freddy.
Box 1 Folder 10
Archival Resource Key. 28. "The fatal attraction of the other fellow's kitchen midden: while the archaeologists do their digging, the current inhabitants are busy with their own salvaging:".
Box 1 Folder 10
Archival Resource Key. 29. "It's Margaret Meade, but I don't think she's making much progress." .
Box 1 Folder 10
Archival Resource Key. 30. "The real meaning behind petroglyphs".
Box 1 Folder 11
Archival Resource Key. 31. "Reindeer with snowshoe coming over on 1st wave." (two versions).
Box 1 Folder 11
Archival Resource Key. 32. "That's a member of one of those Anthropological cults." .
Box 1 Folder 11
Archival Resource Key. 33. "There will be no more knitting of complicated patterns in class." .
Box 1 Folder 12
Archival Resource Key. 34. "The Kula Exchange" .
Box 1 Folder 12
Archival Resource Key. 35. "All it needs is 400 rabbits" .
Box 1 Folder 12
Archival Resource Key. 36. "Wake up. Conference is over. You can go home now." .
Box 1 Folder 13
Archival Resource Key. 37. No Caption (Mayan Cartouches) (color).
Box 1 Folder 13
Archival Resource Key. 38. "When the orals were oral--- sprechen Sie Deutsch? Sprechen Sie Deutsch! Sprechen—Sprechen!!!" .
Box 1 Folder 13
Archival Resource Key. 39. "The self is friendly with the drives.".
Box 1 Folder 14
Archival Resource Key. 40. "Have you got any spirits of energy + ambition?" .
Box 1 Folder 14
Archival Resource Key. 41. "No! No! That end's for the peanut butter!" .
Box 1 Folder 14
Archival Resource Key. 42. "Somebody up in Taylor wants to know if they should call the fire department.".
Box 1 Folder 15
Archival Resource Key. 43. "Sure I can cook. Where's a Bunsen burner?".
Box 1 Folder 15
Archival Resource Key. 44. "Finis" (copy).
Box 1 Folder 15

Archival Resource Key. 45. "Bats coming out at dusk." .
Box 1 Folder 16
Archival Resource Key. 46. "Come to the stable" .
Box 1 Folder 16
Archival Resource Key. 47. "A world of magic all my own" .
Box 1 Folder 16
Archival Resource Key. 48. No Caption (Reserve room with Archaeology, Sociology and Dedrochronology) .
Box 1 Folder 17
Archival Resource Key. 50. "The Thermostat" .
Box 1 Folder 17
Archival Resource Key. 51. "Chinese Water Torture" .
Box 1 Folder 18
Archival Resource Key. 52. No Caption "Hey Frenchie do you know the constellations?" (color).
Box 1 Folder 18
Archival Resource Key. 53. "Working on the roof can be a problem when the wind comes up! Especially when one paper is on geology and another English!" .
Box 1 Folder 18
Archival Resource Key. 54. "The Morning Pilgrimage to Class" (Three pages).
Box 1 Folder 19
Archival Resource Key. 55. "The Insect Pit-BMC" .
Box 1 Folder 19
Archival Resource Key. 56. "No-doze Because----".
Box 1 Folder 19
Archival Resource Key. 57. "Midnight" .
Box 1 Folder 20
Archival Resource Key. 58. "Statue of Misery" .
Box 1 Folder 20
Archival Resource Key. 59. "The Bryn Mawr Owls" .
Box 1 Folder 20
Archival Resource Key. 60. "Oh Quick!-Give Knipee her ashtray!" .
Box 1 Folder 21
Archival Resource Key. 61. "It's a time lock-I'm on a diet" .
Box 1 Folder 21
Archival Resource Key. 62. "Quick energy" .
Box 1 Folder 21
Archival Resource Key. 63. "And then these two old biddies- yaw haw haw **-these two old biddies came up to Dr. Shirley and said-haw!!-Hiyah Frankie!!" .
Box 1 Folder 22
Archival Resource Key. 64. "She committed suicide with a can opener." .
Box 1 Folder 22
Archival Resource Key. 65. No Caption (Student strangling self with a strange contraption) .
Box 1 Folder 22
Archival Resource Key. 66. "The Blind Date" (color, two pages) .
Box 1 Folder 23
Archival Resource Key. 67. "The Blind Date- The Sprite + The Overgrown Oaf" .
Box 1 Folder 23
Archival Resource Key. 68. "For General Harmon on his birthday!" .
Box 1 Folder 23
Archival Resource Key. 69. "We'll be thru in a minute!" .
Box 1 Folder 24
Archival Resource Key. 70. "The Robbery of the Paoli local- Dismal River Rides Again" .
Box 1 Folder 24
Archival Resource Key. 71. No Caption (Frazzled Writer) .
Box 1 Folder 24
Archival Resource Key. 72. No Caption (two bandits on a horse (study for the Robbery of the Paoli Local?)) .
Box 1 Folder 24
General

reverse 71

Archival Resource Key. 73. "Preparing our own meals- The Chili Feast" .
Box 1 Folder 25
Archival Resource Key. 74. "The Looney Bin".
Box 1 Folder 25
Archival Resource Key. Photocopy of letter to Eula about the cartoons .
Box 1 Folder 25

Archival Resource Key. 75. "It's Freddie from Chicago—She says are we sure she didn't tell any of us about leaving this morning at 5:00 o'clock" .
Box 1 Folder 26
Archival Resource Key. 76. "Our Lodgings" .
Box 1 Folder 26
Archival Resource Key. 77. "You wouldn't have to feed us much." .
Box 1 Folder 26
Archival Resource Key. 78. "It's cheaper too! Go Ahead! Say Something!" .
Box 1 Folder 27
Archival Resource Key. 79. "Oh it's wiskey rye whiskey" .
Box 1 Folder 27
Archival Resource Key. 80. No Caption (taking photos in front of a totem pole) .
Box 1 Folder 27
Archival Resource Key. 81. No Caption (Road trip day dream).
Box 1 Folder 28
Archival Resource Key. 82. "The Last Roundup" .
Box 1 Folder 28
Archival Resource Key. 83. "Imaginings: the way we would like to live!".
Box 1 Folder 28
Archival Resource Key. 84. "Laura's Green Van: Pueblo Verde".
Box 1 Folder 29
Archival Resource Key. 85. "The Dismal River Rocket—Latest Prairie Schooner" .
Box 1 Folder 29
Archival Resource Key. 86. "Go West…" .
Box 1 Folder 29
Archival Resource Key. 87. "Who put all my mystery stories in the trunk!??" .
Box 1 Folder 30
Archival Resource Key. 88. "Wednesday morning and you have to give Ginny the car keys!" (copy).
Box 1 Folder 30
Archival Resource Key. 89. "Wake the driver up again. We've got to stop for gas." .
Box 1 Folder 30
Archival Resource Key. 90. "They got in at 5:00 and nobody's stopped since." (copy).
Box 1 Folder 31
Archival Resource Key. 91. No Caption (crash at Grand Junction) (copy).
Box 1 Folder 31
Archival Resource Key. 92. "When you hollered 'Right!' back there were you trying to say 'turn left,' or did you mean 'correct'?" .
Box 1 Folder 31
Archival Resource Key. 93. Another of 91 (copy).
Box 1 Folder 32
Archival Resource Key. 94. Another of 87. (copy).
Box 1 Folder 32
Archival Resource Key. 95. "M Wormington's Crossroads Concession" .
Box 1 Folder 32
Archival Resource Key. 96. No Caption (Archaeological Dig) .
Box 1 Folder 33
Archival Resource Key. 97. "Profile of Taylor 3, showing artifacts, Marvin + pack rat".
Box 1 Folder 33
Archival Resource Key. 98. "Our fellow cabinmates:---".
Box 1 Folder 33
Archival Resource Key. 99. No Caption ("No Gary!") (copy).
Box 1 Folder 34
Archival Resource Key. 100. "Yes or No???" .
Box 1 Folder 34
Archival Resource Key. 101. "Why the Plague or Revenge" .
Box 1 Folder 34
Archival Resource Key. 102. "Poaching in the Game Preserves" .
Box 1 Folder 35
Archival Resource Key. 103. "Say, who's foot am I washing?!".
Box 1 Folder 35
Archival Resource Key. 104. Another 99 (original).
Box 1 Folder 35
Archival Resource Key. 105. "My god the water level's risen" .
Box 1 Folder 36
Archival Resource Key. 106. "The Bluff Trip—camping out on the Navajo Indian Reservation" (Two pages).
Box 1 Folder 36
Archival Resource Key. 107. No Caption (Reader adds more and more blankets and falls asleep) .
Box 1 Folder 36
Archival Resource Key. 108. "Once more, kids this is the last creek we'll hit for a while now." .
Box 1 Folder 37
Archival Resource Key. 109. "Arizona Field Project Summer of '53".
Box 1 Folder 37
Archival Resource Key. 110. "If your back still itches there's another tree up ahead" .
Box 1 Folder 37
Archival Resource Key. 111. "Your specific gravity's wrong because you took it in the soup" .
Box 1 Folder 37
Archival Resource Key. 112. No Caption (Assorted figures) .
Box 1 Folder 37

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