MenuPreliminary Inventory of the Barbara Shor Papers, 1953-2000 and undated (bulk [1970's]-1998)
Collection Overview
Oracles and books on divination (01-045)(28 items, 1.8 linear feet; dated ca. 1970s-1990s and undated), including 17 decks of tarot and other cards, many enclosed in fabric or leather. Shore designed two of the decks, The Earth Alliance Deck and The Earthrise Deck. Also includes sets of runes and I Ching coins, a pendulum, an edition of the I CHING, a rune book edited by Ralph Blum, and other printed material regarding the I CHING and tarot cards.
The addition (01-248) (5131 items, 19.2 linear feet; dated 1953-2000, bulk 1970s-ca. 1998) documents Shor's work on dreams. Includes 41 volumes of meditation and dream journals by Shore (1974-1999); other journals and dream documentation and interpretation by Shor and others; correspondence; and dream-related periodicals, including Dream Network Bulletin. There are also drafts of Shor's poems, short stories, essays, and dream handbooks (ca. 1953-2000), including Unexpected Gifts,Open Channel,Dreaming with Angels,Shared Dreaming,Dream Tool Kit: How to Remember and Encode Your Own Dreams,Small Gifts, and The Swan; records from the Dreamgate Shared Dreaming Project; notes on or from other dream-related workshops; 11 black-and-white and 3 color photographs; and 197 computer disks containing circa 9800 electronic documents.
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Barbara Shor Papers, 1953-2000and undated (bulk [1970's]-1998)
- Creator
- Shor, Barbara
- Extent
- 21 Linear Feet, 5159 Items
- Repository
- David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University
- Location
- For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
- Language
- English.
Administrative Information
Collections are on the move for the renovation of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Contact Rubenstein Library staff before visiting. Read More »
Access Restrictions
Collection is restricted.
In addition, some of the materials in this collection are not immediately accessible, because they require further processing before use.
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 David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript 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 David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
Contents of the Collection
Browse List of Series
Collapse All
Expand AllSome of the materials in this accession are not immediately accessible because they require further processing before use. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the Rubenstein Library to use this collection. Includes rusty fasteners throughout.
Each of Shor's 3-ring binders containing her dream journals have been removed and their contents refoldered. Shor's arrangement of her journals into consecutive volumes has been kept and has been reproduced on each folder label. Materials from the front and back pockets of each binder/volume can be found in the front of the first folder for that binder and the back of the last folder for that binder. The journals can be found in boxes 16-32.
Scope and content notes regarding Shor's oracles (divination tools) and books on divination in boxes 1-3 are taken from a letter to RBMSCL by Andrew Ramer.
Much of Shor's work is contained in electronic documents. Disks 001-197 have been removed from this accession (they were found loose in boxes), and their contents migrated to the electronic records server. Disk separation sheets can be found in box 32. A disk directories log exists. Contact a Reference Archivist.
Users must obtain the donor's permission before quoting from any part of the materials in boxes 4-32. In addition, boxes 4-16 may contain sensitive information, including personal details of the lives and dreams of Shor's family members, clients, friends, and participants in dream projects. This sensitive material restriction is in force for 50 years after the date of the latest document in the accession, and patrons must agree to keep photocopies of these documents for their personal use only. Patrons must sign a waiver concerning these restrictions on publication, on revealing private information, and on conveying photocopies to anyone else. Contact Research Services.
[Includes notes made by Shor, 1972.]
[The book includes notes by Shor. The actual runes can be found in the larger of the two leather pouches in box 2.]
[The deck used by Shor when she did readings is inside a blue silk bag with silver dragons on it. The silk came from a friend's trip to Asia. The bead may come from Crete. Andrew Ramer sewed the bag. The Earth Alliance Deck, created by Shor, is wrapped in turquoise silk. A friend produced the computer images. See box 13 for further Earth Alliance material. The Earthrise Deck, also created by Shor, is wrapped in red silk inside a leather pouch. The pouch may be of deer hide and may have been given to her by Joseph Real. She created the Earthrise Deck because of her frustration with the limitations of the tarot and from her own experiences. She often used the Earthrise Deck in conjunction with the tarot cards in her readings. A further description of the cards in this deck compiled by Andrew Ramer can be found in the inventory drawers in Rubenstein Library. A blue pouch contains The Angel Oracle, described in the book Ask Your Angels that was coauthored by Andrew Ramer and edited in part by Shor.]
[One, in blue denim, is based on the Semitic alphabet and sometimes called Hebe Runes. The other is a tribal oracle written on 3x5 cards.]
[Composed of 8 handmade tiles in a blue pouch. Also includes Shor's descriptions of the tiles.]
[Used in conjunction with the The Book of Runes, Ralph Blum edition in box 1.
Technical Services staff need to process material in envelopes before use.
Technical Services staff need to process material in envelopes before use.
Technical Services staff need to process materials in envelopes before use.
Technical Services staff need to process materials in envelopes before use.
Contains graphic materials.
Technical Services staff need to process materials in envelopes before use.
[See box 2 for The Earth Alliance deck of cards.]
Technical Services staff need to process materials in envelopes before use.
Attention: Contains graphic materials.
Technical Services staff need to process materials in envelopes before use.
Historical Note
Writer, dream workshop leader, and director of Dreamgates Communities in New York, N.Y. Shor died in 2001.
Subject Headings
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Barbara Shor Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
Provenance
The Barbara Shor Papers was received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library as a gift in 2001.
Processing Information
Processed by Jessica Lancia; Danielle McGregor
Completed February 1, 2002
Encoded by Ruth E. Bryan
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
This collection is unprocessed: materials may not have been ordered and described beyond their original condition.