Walter Alden Dyer (AC 1900) Papers, 1862-1944 (bulk 1910-1944)
General International Standard for Archival Description
Amherst College Archives and Special Collections
Finding aid encoded using Perl scripts and edited in XMetal 2.0. Encoded by Sarah Sorscher AC 2005. 2003-06-24
Encoded Archival Description
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
Walter Alden Dyer (AC 1900) Papers
Creation of Walter Alden Dyer (AC 1900) Papers
Time of Creation of Walter Alden Dyer (AC 1900) Papers
Dyer, Walter A. (Walter Alden), 1878-1943
Biographical History for: Walter Alden Dyer (AC 1900) Papers
Biographical Note Walter Dyer, a prolific author, was a member of the Amherst College Class of 1900. From 1900 to 1901 he was on the staff of The Springfield Union and The Criterion (New York), and from 1901 to 1905, he was on the editorial staff of Clifford and Lawton, publishers of trade journals in New York. From 1905 to 1914 he worked on the staff of the magazine Country Life in America, serving as editor from 1907 to 1914. From 1914 until his death in 1943, he was an independent author, publishing many books and magazine articles on antiques, animals (particularly dogs), country life, and short fiction. He was editor of The Amherst Graduates' Quarterly for more than ten years (from 1932 to 1943) and became the director of Amherst College Press in 1933. In 1903 Dyer married Ethelind Thorp Childs, who died in 1904. In 1907 he married her sister Muriel Worthington Childs. Dyer died in Pelham, Mass. on June 20, 1943. Dyer was the author of the following books: 1910The Lure of the Antique1911The River Life1915Pierrot, Dog of Belgium1915Early American Craftsmen1916Gulliver the Great and Other Dog Stories1916The Humble Annals of a Back Yard1917Creators of Decorative Styles1917The Five Babbits of Bonny-Acres1918The Dogs of Boytown1918Handbook of Furniture Styles1919Ben, the Battle Horse1919With the Help of God and a Few Marines (co-author)1920Sons of Liberty1924Many Dogs There Be1926 All Around Robin Hood's Barn1927The Breakwater1927Country Cousins1928Chronicles of a Country Man1928The Rocking Chair (co-author)1931Sprigs of Hemlock
Biographical Note 1910The Lure of the Antique1911The River Life1915Early American Craftsmen1916The Humble Annals of a Back Yard1917The Five Babbits of Bonny-Acres1918Handbook of Furniture Styles1919With the Help of God and a Few Marines (co-author)1920Sons of Liberty1924Many Dogs There Be1926 All Around Robin Hood's Barn1927Country Cousins1928The Rocking Chair (co-author)1931Sprigs of Hemlock
Scope and Contents of the Collection The bulk of the papers consist of Dyer's many articles and stories. These published works are from the following magazines: Household, The Art World, Country Life in America, the Country Gentleman, The Antiquarian, The Fine Arts, Yankee, Antiques, Our Dumb Animals, Colliers, Holland's Magazine, Top Notch, The Woman's Magazine, The American Magazine, Own Your Own Home, The Bookman, The Adult Bible Class Magazine, Home Magazine, House Beautiful. The papers also include many book reviews of Dyer's works. In addition, the collection also includes 21 photographic prints of Civil War scenes from Georgia and South Carolina taken by H. P. Moore in 1862-63.
Authors, American--20th century--Biography--Sources.
lcsh
Dyer, Walter A. (Walter Alden), 1878-1943.
lcnaf
Amherst College--Students.
Amherst College. Class of 1900. Dyer.
series
Series 1: MAGAZINE ARTICLES ON ANTIQUES
Household Magazine,
"Old Chairs" n.d.
"Styles in Old-Time Bedrooms" 1931 Apr
"Old Chinaware" 1934 Mar
The Art World, 1917-1918
Articles about antique furniture
Country Life, 1919-1923
"Answers to Queries about Antiques" series
The Country Gentleman, 1925-1929
Articles about antiques
Articles about antique chairs 1915-1936
Country Life, 1917
Article about Hitchcock chairs; correspondence about Hitchcock chairs
Country Life, 1915-1924
Country Life, 1917-1919
The Antiquarian, "An Outline of American Furniture" 1931
The Fine Arts, Yankee, The Antiquarian, Antiques,Articles 1928-1937
Articles about antique mirrors 1917-1926
Articles about gate-leg tables 1916
Article about Duncan Phyfe furniture 1921-1933
Newspaper article on American iron, brass, and copper 1930 Mar 29
Articles about historic styles in furniture 1929-1931
"Speaking of Antiques," manuscript [1933]
Miscellaneous articles about furniture 1919-1924
Newspaper articles about antiques 1910-1933
Articles about antiques 1916-1917
Articles about antiques 1916-1932
Photographs of American antique furniture n.d.
Series 2: STORIES AND ARTICLES ABOUT DOGS AND OTHER ANIMALS
Country Life, Articles about dogs 1915-1922
Top Notch Magazine, Two dog stories n.d.
Dog stories 1917-1923
Dog stories 1916-1928
"Prayer for Pup" and related correspondence 1911
Our Dumb Animals, stories 1929-1936
"Country Cousins", series printed in Country Life 1926
Country Life, Two animal stories 1915, 1917
Series 3: STORIES - GENERAL SUBJECTS
"Annabel's Goose" 1917
"Annabel's Baby" 1920
Stories from various publications 1920-1929
Stories from various publications 1917-1929
"A narrative of the capitalization and restauration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson" [1931]
Series 4: MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES
"Their Adventures in Homemaking" - series of articles from Own Your Own Home n.d.
"From a Country Window" - series of short articles by Dyer and Alfred F. Loomis n.d.
Editorials from American Home n.d.
Miscellaneous articles from The Bookman n.d.
Articles from The Adult Bible Class, and Home n.d.
"Chronicles of a Countryman" - articles from Country Life n.d.
Essays on country life - illustrated by W. K. Stone n.d.
Articles from Collier's n.d.
Articles from Christian Science Monitor n.d.
Newspaper pieces on miscellaneous subjects n.d.
"Millenium Seekers" - typed article on Communism n.d.
Articles on mountains n.d.
Essays n.d.
Miscellaneous short articles n.d.
Miscellaneous articles n.d.
Series 5: BOOK REVIEWS BY DYER
Reviews from House Beautiful n.d.
Series 6: CLIPPINGS AND REVIEWS OF DYER'S BOOKS
Early American Craftsmen n.d.
The Rocking Chair n.d.
Chronicles of a Countryman n.d.
The Richer Life n.d.
Pierrot, Dog of Belgium n.d.
Sons of Liberty n.d.
The Lure of the Antique n.d.
Handbook of Furniture Styles n.d.
Sprigs of Hemlock n.d.
Many Dogs There Be n.d.
The Breakwater: A Story of Cape Cod n.d.
Country Cousins n.d.
All Around Robin Hood's Barn n.d.
The Humble Annals of a Backyard n.d.
Dogs of Boytown n.d.
Creators of Decorative Styles n.d.
The Five Babbitts at Bonnyacres n.d.
With the Help of God and a Few Marines by Brig. Gen. A.W. Catlin in collaboration with Dyer n.d.
Ben, the Battle Horse n.d.
Gulliver the Great n.d.
Miscellaneous reviews n.d.
Reviews of articles in World Book magazine n.d.
Clippings from Hempstead Sentinel about Dyer n.d.
Series 7: CORRESPONDENCE - GENERAL
Correspondence on Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Series 8: PHOTOGRAPHS
Civil War photographs in connection with the work of E. Porter Dyer Jr. (Dyer's father) at Beaufort. Scenes of South Carolina and Georgia, some photographed by H.P. Moore, Concord, NH. Also two poems by E. P. Dyer written for his children ca. 1861-1865
Series 9: PAMPHLETS AND ARTICLES BY DYER
Material on the Shakers and an article on Shaker furniture n.d.
"Ten Years of Chapter History" (Phi Kappa Psi) n.d.
Chapel talks at Amherst College (typescripts) n.d.
"Garman of Amherst" - pamphlet and typescript; reprint from Sewanee Review, April 1935 1935
Material on Prof. Genung and typescripts of "Literary and Miscellaneous Essays" by John Franklin Genung, edited and compiled by Dyer n.d.
"A Humanized Public Library" - article about the Jones Library, Amherst, Mass., from House Beautiful n.d.
"Embattled Farmers" - pamphlet and background material on Shay's Rebellion n.d.
"The Escape of Jonathan Wells": [a true story] about King Philips War, Deerfield and Hadley n.d.
"Wilkins of Oberlin" - article in Delta Kappa Epsilon Quarterly 1938 Dec
"Ode to Virgil" - for Bimillenium of Virgil at Massachusetts Agricultural College 1930 Dec
"The Vision of Anton" - Chicago, Brothers of the Book 1914
"Enjoy Your Museum - Via: American Furniture of the 18th Century" - Esto Publishing Co., Pasadena, Calif. 1934
"David Grayson: Adventurer" - reprint from The Mentor 1925 Oct
Series 10: CORRESPONDENCE - PERSONAL
Letter from Princess of Belgium concerning Pierrot, Dog of Belgium, and medal given to Dyer from Belgium 1916
Correspondence n.d.
Christmas cards sent by Dyer 1923-1944
Letters of condolence to Mrs. Dyer on Dyer's death 1943
Series 11. Civil War Photographs by H. P. Moore(1862-1863)
Henry P. Moore, 21 mounted photographic prints of Civil War scenes. Moore (1835-1911) was a native of New Hampshire who accompanied the 3rd New Hampshire Regiment on their deployment to Hilton Head, S.C. in 1862-1863. (Moore was also active as a professional photographer in Concord, N.H. and Worcester, Mass.) Scenes include slave families, Union officers, Fort Pulaski, Ga., and various ships. The relation between these photographs and Walter Dyer’s life and writings is unknown. 1862-1863