Collections : [University of Michigan Special Collections Research Center]

The Lee Walp Family Juvenile Book Collection is the collection of the late Russell Lee Walp (1906-2003), an avid book-collector and Professor of Botany at Marietta College (Marietta, Ohio). Mr Walp, along with his wife, Esther "Sparkie" Walp, collected materials related to the best in 20th century children's literature, with an emphasis on well-known illustrators and their illustrations. He corresponded with many illustrators and authors, whose letters, manuscripts, and original artwork may be found in the collection. Ed Emberley and Robert Andrew Parker are the most well-represented, but Roger Duvoisin, Hardie Gramatky, Robert Lawson, and Shimin Symeon, as well as scores of other luminaries in the world of children's literature are also represented. Included in the collection are notes, bibliographies, and catalogues documenting how Mr. Walp built and used his collection to educate the public are included, along with a small amount of material related to the study and teaching of botany.

The Lee Walp Family Juvenile Book Collection contains two types of materials: information about the Walps and their collecting, and information about the illustrators and authors. Material related to Mr. Walp's collecting may be found in the following series: Personal, Book Collecting, Walp Library Catalog Cards, and Articles, Exhibits, and Lectures by the Walps. Information about the illustrators and authors is concentrated in the series Illustrators and Authors and Art, and also in Articles and Clippings, Audiovisual, Posters, and Realia. The approximately 5,000 books in the Walp Collection include a complete set of first editions of the Caldecott Medal Books, and first editions of all but three Newbery Medal-winning books. These books are cataloged separately.

The Walp Collection has material by or about over 250 children's book illustrators and authors. The two most well-represented are Ed Emberley and Robert Andrew Parker. There is also a significant amount on Roger Duvoisin, Hardie Gramatky, Robert Lawson, and Symeon Shimin.