Preliminary Inventory of the Richard Gaither Walser Papers, 1937-1982

Descriptive Summary

Repository: North Carolina State University Libraries, Special Collections Research Center
Creator: Walser, Richard Gaither, 1908-
Title: Richard Gaither Walser Papers, 1937-1982
Call Number: MC 111
Extent: 1.0 linear feet, 2 archival boxes
Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Special Collections Research Center Reference Staff.
Language of Material: English

Information for Users

Restrictions to Access: This collection is open for research; access requires at least 24 hours advance notice.
Acquisitions Information: Gift of Richard Gaither Walser, 1978-1991.
Preferred Citation: [Identification of item], Richard Gaither Walser Papers, MC 111, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC
Copyright Notice: The nature of the NCSU Libraries' Special Collections means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The NCSU Libraries claims only physical ownership of most Special Collections materials.

The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.
Proccessing Information: Processed by Special Collections Staff

Encoded by Linda Sellars, 2006 March

Biographical Note

Richard Gaither Walser (1908-1988) was born in Lexington, North Carolina, in 1908, the son of state Attorney General Zeb Vance Walser and Estelle Adderton Walser. He attended Davidson College for one year, and then transferred to the University of North Carolina, from which he was graduated in 1929. He received an M.A. from the University in 1933.

Walser taught English in Linwood, Lexington, Durham, and Greenville, North Carolina, high schools until 1942, when he enlisted in the United States Navy. Returning from service with the United States Naval Reserve, he taught briefly at the University of North Carolina before joining the English faculty at North Carolina State University in 1946. He retired from teaching in 1970. He died in 1988.

During his teaching career and continuing after retirement, Walser was a strong advocate for North Carolina culture, with particular emphasis on the state's literary heritage. Tom Wicker called Walser "the evangelist of North Carolina writing" (Winston- Salem Journal, 19565 August 5) and W. C. Burton dubbed him North Carolina's "anthologist laureate" (Greensboro Daily News, 1978 March 12. Walser wrote or edited more than 30 books during his career, most of them collections of works relating to various aspects of North Carolina life and literature. He also explored the work of several North Carolina writers more intensely, however, producing major works on Thomas Wolfe, George Moses Horton, and William Hill Brown.

Walser was interested in folklore studies and was an active member of the North Carolina Folklore Society. He also held active membership in many organizations dedicated to teaching, writing, and history, among them the North Carolina English Teachers Society, North Carolina Writers Conference, the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association, the Watauga Club of Raleigh, and the Historical Society of North Carolina. Walser received numerous fellowships and awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1957 and the North Carolina Award for Literature in 1976.

Scope and Content Note

Personal papers, manuscripts, correspondence, publications, Watauga Club minutes, news clippings of Richard Gaither Walser. The collection chiefly reflects Walser's work as an authority on North Carolina literature and a scholar of Thomas Wolfe. Included are personal items, such as passports, articles on and some writing by Zeb Vance Walser (his father), alumni-related items from Davidson College and the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, and items relating to Walser's retirement from North Carolina State University. There are also publications and reviews by and about Richard Walser. The Thomas Wolfe material contains reviews of Walser's books on Wolfe, correspondence pertaining to the writing of these books, and an issue of The Thomas Wolfe Review honoring Richard Walser (Vol. 6, No. 2, Fall 1982). Correspondence and speeches span the years from 1970 to 1981. Brief biographies of significant North Carolina authors, including Lodwick Hartley and Guy Owen are also included. The Watauga Club material includes a manuscript for the history of the club and some sources for this history, as well as minutes, reports, financial records, a constitution and membership lists.

Organization of the Collection

Unprocessed.

Online Catalog Terms

The following terms have been used to index the guide to the collection in the NCSU Library's online catalog.

Individuals

Walser, Richard Gaither, 1908-
Walser, Zeb Vance, 1863-1940.

Corporate Entities

North Carolina State University--Faculty--History.
Watauga Club.

Related Material

Richard Gaither Walser Papers (#4168), Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Detailed Description of the Collection

Personal items: Robert Welfare Will [MC 111 Series Box 1 ]
Personal items: Passports, 1936, 1959-1973 [MC 111 Series Box 1 ]
Personal items: Articles on Zeb Vance Walser (his father) and "Flashes of Wit and Humor of the North Carolina Bench and Bar," by Z. V. Walser, [MC 111 Series Box 1 ]
Personal items: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Davidson College alumni information [MC 111 Series Box 1 ]
Personal items: Retirement [MC 111 Series Box 1 ]
Poetry, author unknown, 1905-1906 [MC 111 Series Box 1 ]
Publications: North Carolina Folklore, Vol. XIX, No. 3 & 4, 1971 [MC 111 Series Box 1 ]
Publications: Publications by Richard Walser and order forms, 1941-1982 [MC 111 Series Box 1 ]
Publications: Reviews by Richard Walser, 1973-1978 [MC 111 Series Box 1 ]
Publications: Reviews of Richard Walser's books, 1948-1982 [MC 111 Series Box 1 ]
Articles about Richard Walser [MC 111 Series Box 1 ]
Articles by Richard Walser [MC 111 Series Box 1 ]
Thomas Wolfe: Review and order form for Walser books on Wolfe, [MC 111 Series Box 1 ]
Thomas Wolfe: Correspondence with Mr. Duffy including references to research on a book about Thomas Wolfe at UNC-Chapel Hill, 1971-1972 [MC 111 Series Box 1 ]
Thomas Wolfe: The Thomas Wolfe Review, Vol. 6, No. 2 (issue honoring Richard Walser), Fall 1982 [MC 111 Series Box 1 ]
Thomas Wolfe: Correspondence and speeches, 1970-1981 [MC 111 Series Box 1 ]
Awards: Bronze Star Medal (citation & newsclipping), 1945 [MC 111 Series Box 1 ]
Awards: Guggenheim Fellowship (newsclipping 25 years later), 1957 [MC 111 Series Box 1 ]
Awards: Twenty five year certificate from NCSU, 1970 [MC 111 Series Box 1 ]
Awards: North Carolina Award, 1976 [MC 111 Series Box 1 ]
Awards: Letter re Joe Clark contribution in honor of Walser, 1982 [MC 111 Series Box 1 ]
Awards: Certificate from the Historical Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1982 [MC 111 Series Box 1 ]
Other writers: Zafar Hassan, 1958-1960 [MC 111 Series Box 1 ]
Other writers: Phillip Horne, 1982 [MC 111 Series Box 1 ]
Other writers: Lodwick Hartley, 1979 [MC 111 Series Box 1 ]
Other writers: Guy Owen, 1979-1982 [MC 111 Series Box 1 ]
Watauga Club: Early history includes sources for history, [MC 111 Series Box 2 ]
Watauga Club: Joseph William Peel, [MC 111 Series Box 2 ]
Watauga Club: Manuscript for history of the Watauga Club, 1920-1955 [MC 111 Series Box 2 ]
Watauga Club: "Recent Years,"1956-1980 [MC 111 Series Box 2 ]
Watauga Club: Minutes, 1897-1899, 1902, 1956-1979 [MC 111 Series Box 2 ]
Watauga Club: Reports, financial records, constitution, 100th anniversary, [MC 111 Series Box 2 ]
Watauga Club: Membership Lists [MC 111 Series Box 2 ]