Laura Knipe collection of cartoons
Scope and Contents
This collection is organized into three series.
Series 1, Book One, is organized into three sections. The first, "In the Throes of Creative Genius, or How to Write a Term Paper", consists of comical drawings expressing the academic woes of Knipe and her friends, particularly within the Geology department. The second, "The Influence of Anthropology or ‘Lo the Noble Savage'," contains a letter from Bryn Mawr Anthropology professor Frederica De Laguna to Eula Hoff, the donor of this collection and a close friend of Laura Knipe. The letter concerns copies of Knipe’s drawings that Hoff sent to De Laguna in 1977. Also included are drawings revolving around Knipe’s and her friends’ experience with the Anthropology department. The final section, "Other Departments We Became Entangled With", consists of cartoons relating to Knipe and her friends’ experience with other departments at Bryn Mawr including Foreign Languages, English, Psychology, and Chemistry.
Series 2, Book Two, is organized into three sections. "Bryn Mawr, The Environment" consists of cartoons based on the lifestyle of a Bryn Mawr student residing on campus. "Rockefeller Dorm" consists of cartoons that describe particularities of living in Reckefeller Dorm with friends. The last of the three," Extracurricular Activities" takes into account many of the non-academic antics of Knipe and her friends. Also present is a photocopied letter to Eula about Knipe’s drawings.
Series 3, Book Three, is organized into four sections. The first, "The Angoon Adventure", consist of drawings about an archeological trip to Angoon that Knipe and her friends wanted to take but were not selected for. The second, "Freedom at Last…Into the Workaday World…Summers on the Dig", consist of drawings about the end of a semester. The final two, "The Trek to Colorado" and "Arizona Field Project" contain cartoons revolving around Knipe’s archaeological trips during summer vacations.
Eula Hoff has provided commentary throughout the collection, including prefaces and backgrounds for specific cartoons.
Dates
- Creation: 1949 - 1953
Creator
- Knipe, Laura E. (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
the Laura Knipe collection of cartoons are the physical property of the Special Collections Department, Bryn Mawr College Library. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns.
Biographical / Historical
Laura Elizabeth Knipe was a Bryn Mawr College graduate (Class of 1953) remembered for the witty cartoon drawings she produced throughout her time as an undergraduate. Knipe was born in Norwalk, Connecticut in 1932 and attended Bryn Mawr between the years 1949 and 1953. She was a skilled and avid cartoonist whose work was appreciated by friends and peers alike, as she was known for her Bryn Mawr themed cartoons comically revolving around the life of a student. Knipe’s drawings were shared amongst her friends and occasionally published in Bryn Mawr’s College News.
Knipe earned her degree in Geology and spent the years following her graduation in Colorado, which she was drawn to for her love of the outdoors. She did not pursue art any further after she left Bryn Mawr with the exception of the final installment of cartoons in the collection, which describe her experiences on a field project in Arizona the summer after her graduation.
Knipe eventually settled in Texas with her family, where she remained until her death on September 15, 2010.
Extent
1 boxes
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Laura Elizabeth Knipe (1932-2010) was a graduate of Bryn Mawr College (Class of 1953). Throughout her time as an undergraduate she produced numerous cartoon drawings based on her and her friends’ experiences as Bryn Mawr students. Many of her witty cartoons good naturedly mock their own study habits, life in the Rockefeller Dorm, academics, particularly the Anthropology and Geology departments, and their social antics and misadventures. This collection, donated to Bryn Mawr College by one of Knipe’s closest Bryn Mawr friends, Eula Wulfjen Harmon Hoff (Class of 1952), is comprised of over 100 of Knipe’s drawings, including drafts and copies. Hoff has also provided commentary on the categorically organized drawings.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This collection is the gift of Eula Wulfjen Harmon Hoff.
Subject
- Bryn Mawr College (Organization)
- De Laguna, Frederica (Person)
- Knipe, Laura E. (Person)
Source
- Hoff, Eula Wulfjen Harmon (Person)
- Title
- Laura Knipe collection of cartoons
- Status
- In Progress
- Author
- Celeste Ledesma
- Date
- 2014 July 21
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Find It at the Library
Most of the materials in this catalog are not digitized and can only be accessed in person. Please see our website for more information about visiting or requesting repoductions from Bryn Mawr College Library
Bryn Mawr College Library
101 N. Merion Avenue
Bryn Mawr 19010 USA US
610-526-6576
SpecColl@brynmawr.edu
