The James Thurber Papers
at the OSU Library Rare Books and Manuscripts
A few shelves of Thurber’s work housed in the Rare Books and Manuscripts Library.
The James Thurber Papers contains original manuscripts, copies, tearsheets, and reviews of Thurber's published and unpublished written work. The collection also contains Thurber's original drawings, both published and unpublished, as well as copies, prints, photographs, tearsheets, clippings, slides, and negatives of drawings, including the original attic walls from his vacation home in Newtown, Connecticut with his drawings on them. Transcripts and recordings of interviews and speeches given by Thurber, documents from his time spent at the United States embassy in Paris, and correspondence with family, friends, colleagues, and publishers are also included. In addition, the collection contains materials from Thurber's elementary and high schools, photographs and clippings from his time at Ohio State University, photographs of Thurber and his family and friends, clippings and recordings of his honorary degrees from Kenyon College and Ohio State University, and other personal materials. Materials in the collection are dated from circa 1896-1996.
Here is the online finding aid for OSU’s James Thurber Papers. Here are all the materials and manuscripts at Ohio State University Library's Rare Books and Manuscripts.
The archives include some 83 other collections that are Thurber-related including including the papers of biographers Harrison Kinney and Charles Holmes.
A few of the advertisements that Thurber created during the 1930s for Bug-a-Book insecticide. The poems, while certainly in Thurber's wheelhouse, aren't credited to anyone in particular.
Other Key Sites with Interesting Thurber Content
Contemporary Literary Criticism, Volume 5 / A critical overview of Thurber's work.
encyclopedia.com / A general overview of James Thurber
Ohio Reading Road Trip / A visit to Thurber House and related site.
Pathway’s Thurber reference site / An outline of resources on Thurber available on the Web
The Alistair Cooke “Omnibus” interview of 22 minutes / One of the few video recordings of Thurber in conversation.
The Unicorn in the Garden animation / The best-known of Thurber's fables made it a charming animals. The vintage of "Fractured Fairy Tales," from the early 1960s.
“My World and Welcome to It” episodes 1 and 2 / YouTube has partial and whole episodes of this innovated comedy that integrated live action (William Windom in the starring role) with animated cartoons based on Thurber's work.
Cartoon Collections. A site of New Yorker cartoons hosted by longtime editor Bob Mankoff. Several Thurber prints are offered.
InkSpill / A fantastic site about all things New Yorker-cartoonist-related hosted by the remarkable Michael Maslin.
Sites that Offer Study Guides for Younger Thurber Readers