Jan Wahl papers

The manuscripts of more than eighty-five drafts of approximately forty of Jan Wahl's books form the nucleus of the Wahl Collection. Related items include galley proofs, illustrations, publishers' mock-ups and research materials used by the author. All manuscripts are typed, some in the original and others copies, but many have holograph corrections and notes by both Mr. Wahl and his various editors.

Integrally connected with the manuscripts is a fascinating collection of correspondence from Wahl's editors, publishers and illustrators dealing almost exclusively with editorial questions. While potentially very useful to researchers studying the pre- publication process, the letters do not give the reader more than a fleeting glimpse of the author's personal relationships. Several of Wahl's speeches, news articles, photographs and memorabilia from Bowling Green State University's Jan Wahl Day in 1980 and the March 1996 awarding of his honorary degree complete the collection.

Researchers interested in children's literature and in book publishing in general should find considerable material of interest in this collection.

LITERARY CORRESPONDENCE; 1964-2002, undated; Arranged chronologically. Includes letters to Jan Wahl from his publishers, editors and illustrators concerning his works in progress.

JAN WAHL DAY (BGSU) CORRESPONDENCE; 1980. Letter to Dwight Burlingame from Floyd C. Dickman, the State Library of Ohio.

BGSU HONORARY DEGREE CORRESPONDENCE; 1996. Correspondence with Ralph Wolfe and BGSU, from Jan Wahl.

RESEARCH MATERIALS; 1974-1976, undated; Arranged chronologically. Photocopies of articles dealing with deafness in children, used in preparation of Jamie's Tiger. Also included is "The Woman with the Eggs; a Fable in Verse" by Hans Christian Andersen.

MANUSCRIPTS (LITERARY); 1957, 1963-1980, 1999-2000; Arranged alphabetically by title. Typed manuscripts, many with holograph corrections by author and editors of approximately forty of Wahl's books (many in several versions). This series includes many galley proofs, paper mock- ups, art work and other related items. Some items are shelved with oversize materials.

SPEECHES; May 1, 1980, March 15, 1996. Photocopies of two speeches delivered by Jan Wahl at Bowling Green State University on Jan Wahl Day, May 1, 1980, and carbon typescripts of two speeches delivered by Jan Wahl at the degree award ceremony on March 15, 1996.

FLAP COPY; 1974. Carbon typescript of Wahl's autobiographical notes written for the publication of Jeremiah Knucklebones.

CLIPPINGS; 1980, 1985, 1990, 1994, 1996. Articles about Jan Wahl from the Toledo Blade, Toledo Magazine, The Sylvania Herald, and the Bowling Green Sentinel Tribune; also publisher's catalog announcements for Once When the World Was Green and How the Children Stopped the Wars. Articles by Wahl from Montage.

PRINTS; 1970. Framing print from The Animal's Peace Day (distributed by Crown Publishers at the American Library Association annual meeting, July 1970).

PROGRAMS, POSTERS; 1980, 1996. Program/Invitation to Jan Wahl Day, BGSU, May 1, 1980 sponsored by the Friends of the University Libraries and copy of BGSU's World Wide Web page with degree award announced, as well as copies of the award ceremony program for March 15, 1996. Also included is a program and advertising posters (one signed by Wahl) for a concert and book signing presented at the Field Museum February 21, 1999.

PERIODICALS; Autumn 1980, 1994. Article by Wahl called "Confessions of Somebody Who Believes Animals Do Talk; or Why I Write for Children" in Ohioana Quarterly. In Montage from late 1994, articles by Wahl on film and comic art.

POSITIVE PRINTS; May 1, 1980. Photographs taken during various activities on Jan Wahl Day, BGSU.

POSITIVE PRINTS; March 15, 1996. Photographs taken at ceremony awarding Wahl honorary degree Doctor of Letters at BGSU, and exhibit cases at Jerome Library with Wahl's publications.

SOUND RECORDINGS; 1999. Cassette tape of an adaptation of Wahl's I Met a Dinosaur.