Preliminary Inventory of the Irvin Family Papers, [ca. 1890s]-2003
[top]Descriptive Summary
TitleIrvin Family Papers,
[ca. 1890s]-2003
Creator
Irvin family
Extent
9.9 Linear Feet
5150 Items
Repository
5150 Items
Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special
Collections Library, Duke University
Language
English.
[top]
Administrative Information
Access RestrictionsCollection is open for research.
However, patrons must sign the Acknowledgment of Legal Responsibility and Privacy Rights form before using this collection.
Also, all or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. Consequently, there may be a 24-hour delay in obtaining these materials.
Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library to use this collection.
Use Restrictions
The copyright interests in this collection have
not been transferred to Duke University. For more
information, consult the copyright section of the
Regulations and Procedures of the Rare Book, Manuscript,
and Special Collections Library.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Irvin Family Papers,
Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library,
Duke University.
Provenance
The Irvin Family Papers were received by the
Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library as a
gift in 2003.
Processing Information
Processed by Stacey Clarke
Completed October 15, 2003
Encoded by Stacey Clarke, Elizabeth Arnold
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
This collection is unprocessed: materials may not have been ordered and described beyond their original condition.
[top]
Biographical Note
Dona Irvin (b. 1917) is the author of The Unsung Heart of Black America, I Hope I Look That Good When I'm That Old, and other works. Frank Irvin was a chemist and worked for many years for the Chemistry Department of the University of California at Berkeley. The Irvins are the parents of historian Nell Irvin Painter, whose papers are also in the RBMSCL.
[top]Collection Overview
Collection consists largely of correspondence
between Nell Irvin Painter and her parents (1969-2003),
documenting various stages of their lives, travels, and
Painter's scholarly career. Also includes writings by or
about Nell Painter, including reviews of her work;
materials, including photographs and tintypes ([ca.
1890s-1910s]) of African Americans in Victoria, Texas, kept
by Frank and Dona Irvin relating to their early life near
Houston, and documenting aspects of African American
history in that area; copies and reviews of Dona Irvin's
writings; documents related to Frank and Dona's education
and careers; assorted family photographs; and other items.
Acquired as part of the John Hope Franklin Collection of
African and African American Documentation.
[top]
Subject Headings
These are searchable subject entries for this collection. Performing a search on these subjects in the Duke University Libraries online catalog will bring up other related research materials.
- Irvin family.
- Irvin, Dona L., 1917-.
- Irvin, Frank.
- Painter, Nell Irvin.
- African Americans--History--19th century.
- African Americans--Professional education.
- African Americans--Employment.
- African Americans--Correspondence.
- African American families.
- African American families--History--20th century.
- College teachers--Correspondence.
- Scholars--Correspondence.
- Victoria (Tex.)--History.
- African Americans--Texas--History.
- African Americans--Photographs.
- Black-and-white photographs.
- Color photographs.
- Tintypes.
- John Hope Franklin Collection of African and African American Documentation.
Related Material
For more information, see the Nell Irvin Painter
Papers, 1959-2002 and undated, in the Duke University Rare
Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library.
 | List of Series in Collection | |||||||
 |  | Accession 2003-0185 | ||||||
Preliminary Description of Unprocessed Collection
Accession 2003-0185
Irvin Family
Contents of Box 1:
[Technical Services staff may need to
reformat newsprint and brittle paper before use.]
Awards
Frank's Plaques and Certificates.
Correspondence,
[1983-2001]
Box 2
Contents of Box 2:
[Attention: Contains pictorial
material.]
Family Photographs
Legal Papers
Real Estate and Title Documents,
[1960-1988]
Box 3
Contents of Box 3:
[Technical Services needs to process
material in envelopes before use.]
Correspondence,
[1977-1989]
Includes letters to Dona from Frank.
Happily Ever
After: Couples Talk About Lasting Love
Featuring interview with Frank and Dona
Irvin.
Dona's College
Records
Includes records from Prairie View
College, Houston College for Negroes (now Texas Southern),
and UCB.
Black Women
Stirring the Waters, reviews and
excerpts
Box 4
Contents of Box 4:
Correspondence,
[1995-1996]
Books Written by Dona
Irvin
Black Women
Stirring the Waters
The Unsung Heart
of Black America: A Middleclass Church at
Midcentury
I Hope I Look
That Good When I'm That Old: An Older African-American
Woman Speaks to All Women in All of
America
Box 5
Contents of Box 5:
[Technical Services staff may need to
reformat newsprint.]
[Technical Services staff may need to
process materials in envelopes before use.]
[Attention: contains pictorial
materials.]
Newspaper Clippings,
1984-1993
Photos of Ewart and Charles E.
McGruder
Prairie View: A
Study in Public Conscience
The narrative by George Ruble Woolfolk
is the story of the only state-supported Negro college in
Texas between 1878 and 1946.
Nell Irvin Painter
Contents of Box 6-12:
[Technical Services staff need to
process materials in envelopes in boxes 6-12 before
use.]
Correspondence,
1969-2003
Includes letters from Nell Irvin Painter
to her parents.
Box 13
Contents of Box 13:
[Technical Services staff may need to
reformat newsprint and brittle paper before use.]
Commencement
Programs
Yale University
2003
Dartmouth College
1997
Wesleyan University
1996
Princeton University
1996
Articles and Reviews by and
About Nell Irvin Painter,
1968-2001
Includes articles and publicity about
Sojourner Truth, a
Life, a Symbol
Writing by Nell Irvin Painter
1970
"Jim Crow at Harvard,
1923"
Box 14
Contents of Box 14:
[Technical Services staff may need to
reformat newsprint and brittle paper.]
[Attention: Contains pictorial
material.]
[Technical Services needs to reformat
for use copies of film and video materials before use.]
Videos
MacNeil/Lehrer News with Nell
Irvin Painter
1991 Mar. 13
C-SPAN
Nell Irvin Painter talks about her
book
Sojourner Truth: A
Life, A Symbol
Book Notes from
Sojourner Truth:
A Life, A Symbol1996 Dec. 8
C-SPAN Organization of
American Historians.
"The Art of
Writing"
2002 Mar. 13
Assorted Photographs
Includes photographs from Nell and
Glenn's wedding and the OBU rally at Harvard.
Box 15
Contents of Box 15:
[Attention: Contains pictorial
materials.]
[Needs conservation treatment before
use.]
Nell's Home in North
Carolina
Assorted Photographs and
Postcards
Includes Nell Irvin Painter's high
school photographs, photographs from trip to Quebec City,
2001, and portraits and
tintypes taken in Victoria, Texas,
ca. 1890s-1900s.
Box 16
Contents of Box 16:
[Technical Services staff may need to
reformat brittle paper.]
[Attention: contains pictorial
material.]
Family Photographs
Includes black-and-white photos,
[1930s]-[1980s]
Correspondence,
1995-2003
Includes e-mail messages from Nell Irvin
Painter to her parents.
Box 17
Contents of Box 17:
[Technical Services staff may need to
reformat newsprint and brittle paper before use.]
[Attention: Contains rusty
fasteners.]
High School Diploma and
Graduation Ceremony,
1959
Pelican Magazine UCB,
1959
Harvard Union Commencement
Program,
1974
Correspondence,
1962
Includes Nell Irvin Painter's letters to
her parents.
Box 18
Contents of Box 18:
[Attention: contains pictorial
materials.]
[Needs conservation treatment before
use.]
Photographs
Includes pictures from Crossroads Africa
summer in Nigeria.
Legal Papers,
1945
Documents Regarding Nell Irvin
Painter's Education
Education Abroad Program,
Boreaux, France,
1962
B.A. from UCB,
1964
M.A. from UCLA,
1967
CA Junior College Teaching
Credential, Life.
1968
Nell Irvin Painter curriculum
vitae.
1984
