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The Clore Collection Vardis Fisher
Boise State University Return to Special Collections Home Page
Vardis Fisher (1895-1968) was one of Idaho's most prolific authors. Best known for his historical novels, Fisher wrote or edited 37 books, including a volume of poetry, a collection of short stories, and the highly-praised Idaho state guide (1937). He also wrote more than 50 short stories and essays for magazines as diverse as Scribner's, Esquire, and Rocky Mountain Review, as well as numerous articles for Idaho newspapers. He was still an active writer at the time of his death. The Clore collection of Vardis Fisher materials in Boise State University Library constitutes an important resource for the study of Vardis Fisher and his writings. Included in the collection are first editions of Fisher's books, periodicals containing his writings, articles about him, bibliographies, advertisements, reviews, clippings, and other material collected over more than forty years by Mabel S. Clore of Caldwell, Idaho. The Clore collection forms part of the University's Idaho Writers Archive and helps keep alive the memory of the author who has been called "the first man of Idaho letters."
Return to top of page Vardis Fisher was born on March 31, 1895, in Annis, Idaho, to a family of Mormon pioneers. He was the first child of a man who preferred the wilderness and a woman who desired civilization. In 1901 Fisher's family moved to a remote river basin home in Southeastern Idaho. The Antelope Hills were totally isolated, and for the next five years (until he was sent to school) Fisher was 'imprisoned by the wilderness" (according to biographer Wayne Chatterton). After graduating from Rigby High School in 1915, Fisher attended the University of Utah, where he married his childhood sweetheart, Leona McMurtrey. At the outset of World War I, Fisher enlisted as an officer candidate in the Air Force, resigned, and was then drafted, serving two years in the Army. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Utah in 1920. With his wife and two sons, he moved to Illinois to pursue graduate work in English Literature at the University of Chicago. Fisher's writing skills were highly acclaimed by both universities. He received his masters degree in 1922 with a thesis on Daniel Defoe and London low life. His academic accomplishments, however, were overshadowed during this period by the suicide of his wife in 1924. Fisher completed his PhD, magna cum laude, in 1925 and returned with his sons to Salt Lake City, Utah, to assume a teaching career at the University of Utah. Stifled by religious and academic pressures for conventionality and conformity, Fisher resigned in 1928. In search of intellectual freedom, he accepted a position as assistant professor at New York University. Prior to leaving Utah, he wrote Sonnets to an Imaginary Madonna (1927), a reflection of his first marriage. While in New York, he married Margaret Trusler, a fellow student from the University of Chicago, the same year that his first novel, Toilers of the Hills, was published (1928). During his years in New York City, he developed a close friendship with fellow teacher and author Thomas Wolfe that would eventually be documented in Fisher's essay "Thomas Wolfe As I Knew Him' (1963). Fisher made a commitment to a writing career and returned to Idaho to live in 1931. His second novel, Dark Bridwell, was published that same year. His next novels have been referred to as the "Vridar Hunter" tetralogy: In Tragic Life (1932), Passions Spin the Plot (1934), We Are Betrayed (1935), and No Villain Need Be (1936). The titles of these works were taken from a sonnet by George Meredith, the English poet, who influenced Fisher's writings and was the subject of his doctoral dissertation at Chicago. The tetralogy, considered by critics as being autobiographical, reflects his memories of the rigid, hard childhood he experienced in the Antelope Hills. Ironically, during this same period Fisher chose to homestead in the remote river bottom country of the Snake River's Hagerman Valley. During the Depression, Fisher accepted the position as the Idaho Director of the WPA writers Project (1935-1939). Under his editorship, the project produced the Idaho guide (1937), The Idaho Encyclopedia (1938), and Idaho Lore (1939). After the publication of April: A Fable of Love (1937) and Forgive Us Our Virtues: A Comedy of Evasions (1938), Fisher wrote his most famous novel, Children of God, which won the Harper Prize for fiction in 1939. The book is a three-part novel concerning the early history of the Mormon church. Fisher attempted to portray the church impartially even though he had rejected its teachings in his late teens. Following this success, he wrote five other historical novels: City of Illusion (1941), The Mothers (1943), Pemmican: A Novel of the Hudson's Bay Company (1956), Tale of Valor: A Novel of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1958), and Mountain Man (1965). Fisher and his second wife were divored in 1939 and the following year he married Opal Laurel Holmes. In 1940, he began to write a series of novels exploring "the evolution of man's soul from beginning to the present day" (Contemporary Authors). The twelve volumes of the Testament of Man series (1943-1960) were philosophical and psychological rather than strictly historical in nature. Fisher's non-fictional writings include regional works: The Caxton Printers in Idaho (1944) and Gold Rushes and Mining Camps of the Early American West (1968), which he co-authored with his wife, Opal. He wrote Suicide or Murder? (1962), a biography of Meriwether Lewis, and God or Caesar (1953) containing advice for the beginning writer, as well as numerous essays and articles. The 1930s and early 1940s were Fisher's most prolific years for short stories and periodical articles, though he continued to write occasional articles through the 1960s. These shorter works appeared in such diverse journals as Esquire, Coronet, Rocky Mountain Review, and Western Folklore. After being away from teaching for three decades Fisher was selected as the author in residence at the College of Idaho in 1968. Fisher died at the age of 73 on July 9, 1968, leaving two works in progress, his autobiography and a volume to be called The Western United States, The World's Greatest Physical Wonderland. In 1972 his novel Mountain Man was made into the motion picture Jeremiah Johnson. Directed by Sydney Pollock and starring Robert Redford, it was chosen to represent the United States at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival. Joseph M. Flora wrote prior to Fisher's death, 'He writes in the morning and does hard labor on the farm in the afternoons .... His inspiration comes from the scholarly books with which he surrounds himself and the wilds of the nature around him. The Idaho terrain and Rocky Mountains have nourished Fisher's art from the first to last.' Sources:
Contemporary Authors. Detroit, Mich.: Gale Research, 1969. v. 5-8. p. 383-385. Flora, Joseph. Vardis Fisher. New York : Twayne, 1965. (Twayne's United States Authors Series, number 76) Return to top of page The Clore collection of Vardis Fisher materials was donated to Boise State University Library in 1972 by Mabel S. Clore of Caldwell, Idaho, a friend of Vardis Fisher. Mrs. Clore was, for many years, secretary of Caxton Printers in Caldwell, publisher of many of Vardis Fisher's books. Her husband, Russell Clore, served as the firm's vice president and treasurer. The donation constitutes their personal collection of Vardis Fisher materials. The Clore collection consists of early editions of Vardis Fisher's books (autographed and inscribed to the Clores), paperback editions, periodicals containing articles by and about Fisher, and bibliographies, clippings, book reviews, and advertisements collected by Mrs. Clore from the 1920s to 1970s. The collection also contains duplicate galley proofs (uncorrected) of Fisher's novel The Mothers, the story of the Donner Party. There are no manuscripts in the collection that might properly be considered Vardis Fisher's own. The largest collection of his own papers (chiefly correspondence and drafts of novels) was deposited in the Beinecke Library at Yale University. A copy of Yale's catalog of their Vardis Fisher collection has been added to the Clore collection. The Clore collection at Boise State University contains most, but not all, of Vardis Fisher's novels, short stories, poems, non-fiction works, and essays. The most comprehensive bibliography of Vardis Fisher's writings to date was prepared by George Kellogg and published in Western American Literature (volume 5), Spring 1970 issue. That bibliography lists 45 short stories and essays by Fisher and 37 books written or edited by him. The Clore collection contains 43 of these stories and essays and 36 of the books. The collection also contains several periodical articles and anthologized works not listed in Kellogg's bibliography; they are listed, with the others, in the bibliography that begins on page 13 of this finding aid. There are a number of periodical articles about Vardis Fisher in the Clore collection, but only a small percentage of those listed Kellogg's bibliography. The collection's strength lies writings by Fisher, not about him. Mrs. Clore donated original periodical issues, many which are in fragile condition. For that reason, the Library asks researchers to use photocopies instead. The original issues have been retained for reference use, if necessary. A few of the periodical articles contained within the Clore collection were obtained by the Library from other sources. They were added to the collection for the convenience of the researcher. The Clore collection is not the only source of Vardis Fisher material in the BSU Library. Researchers should consult the Library's general catalog for other books by and about Fisher in the circulating and special collections. All books located in the Clore Collection are listed in Catalyst, the Library's computerized catalog. At the log-in prompt type: catalyst (in lower case). If this does not work for you, please consult the instructions on the Library's homepage. The Special Collections Department also holds two other small Fisher collections: 6 folders of newspaper clippings about Vardis Fisher contained within the Idaho Authors File (MSS 88) and a collection of 15 books by Fisher autographed and inscribed to Judge James P. and Elsie Gossett.
Collection size: 87 volumes 56 periodical issue Collection number: MSS 2 Processed by: Mary Carter and Alan Virta, 1988. Assisted by RaeAnn Herker The Clore collection is open for research by appointment to faculty, graduate students, advanced under graduates, and other qualified researchers. For more information, contact Special Collections at:
Special Collections Department call us at (208) 426-3958, or email us at: avirta@boisestate.edu
Alan Virta, Head of Special Collections
Return to top of page The Clore Collection of Vardis Fisher Material,, 1927-1972 Series I: Biographical Material
Folder 2: Fisher of the Antelope Hills (Crandall, 1949) Folder 3: Miscellaneous Series II: Bibliographies
Folder 5: Kellogg (1961) Folder 6: Clore Folder 7: Idaho Falls Public Library (1946) (1) Folder 8: Idaho Falls Public Library (1946) (2) Series III: Book Reviews
Folder 10: Darkness and the Deep Folder 11: Mountain Man (Jeremiah Johnson) Folder 12: Miscellaneous Series IV: Writing about Vardis Fisher
Folder 14: Caxton Printers (1939) Folder 15: Doig (1978) Folder 16: Duncan (1965) Folder 17: Flora (1963) Folder 18: Flora (1969) Folder 19: Foote (1963) Folder 20: Holmes (1963) Folder 21: "Idaho Individualist" (1961) Folder 22: Margarick (1963) Folder 23: North (1947) Folder 24: Reiter (1963) Folder 25: Stegner (1939) Folder 26: Swallow (1959) Folder 27: Taber, Idaho Yesterdays (1968) Folder 28: Taber, Pacific Northwest Quarterly (1968) Folder 46: Kellogg (1967) Series V: Catalogs and advertisements
Folder 30: Casanova Press Folder 31: Caxton Printers Folder 32: Pocket Books Folder 33: Scallawagiana Book Folder 34: Alan Swallow Folder 35: Harry W. Schwartz Folder 36: Miscellaneous Series VI: miscellaneous
Folder 38: Galley proofs: The Mothers 1943 (I) Folder 39: Galley proofs: The Mothers 1943 (II) Folder 40: Galley proofs: The Mothers 1943 (III) Folder 41: Galley proofs: The Mothers 1943 (IV) Folder 42: General Folder 43: This Book Collecting Racket (Harry Schwartz, 1943) Folder 44: Fisher collection at Yale: Catalog Folder 45: Fisher collection at WSU: Finding aid Folder 46: See Series IV Series VII: Writings by Vardis Fisher in Periodicals
Folder 2: Antelope People: The North Family (1929) (Poems) Folder 3: Antelope People: Slim Scott... (1928) (Poems) Folder 4: As Death is Lonely (1959) Folder 5: Authors' Field Day (1934) Folder 6: Books and I (1936) Folder 7: Caxton Printers in Idaho (1945) Folder 8: Charivari (1939) Folder 9: Children of God, abridged (1940) Folder 10: Children of God, abridged (1940) Folder 11: Comment on Vietnam (1966) Folder 12: Creative Historical Research... (1940) Folder 13: Crime and the Great Society (1967) Folder 14: Darkness and the Deep, abridged (1943) Folder 15: An Essay for Men (1936) Folder 16: Fifteen Against Death (1943) Folder 17: Hometown Revisited... (1949) Folder 18: Idaho Primitive (1937) Folder 19: Joe Burt's Wife (1934) Folder 20: Laughter (1936) Folder 21: A Legend of Red Hair (1935) Folder 22: The Lingering Frontier (1966) Folder 23: Mr. Graham Takes a Bath (1945) Folder 24: The Mormons (1944) Folder 25: The Mother (1933) Folder 26: The Mothers, abridged (1943) Folder 27: My Experiences with Thomas Wolfe (1951) Folder 28: Myths about Authors (1933) Folder 29: Novel Writing is My Trade (1950) Folder 30: The Novelist and his Background (1953) Folder 31: The Novelist and his Characters (1963) Folder 32: Old Timers (1937) Folder 33: Overalls or Tails? (1938) Folder 34: Overalls or Tails? (1938) : Reaction Folder 35: A Parable for Librarians... (1939) Folder 36: A Pinch of Advice (1940) Folder 37: Portrait of Towser (1936) Folder 38: Profanity (1929) Folder 39: The Scarecrow (1934) Folder 40: Sonnets to an Imaginary Madonna I-X (1927) (Poems) Folder 41: The Storm (1947) Folder 42: Thomas Wolfe and Maxwell Perkins (1951) Folder 43: Thousand Springs Valley (1952) Folder 44: A Trivial Excursion in Modesty (1942) Folder 45: Vardis Fisher Comments... (1963) Folder 46: The Western Novel (1964) Folder 47: The Western Writer and the Eastern Establishment (1967) Folder 48: A Word About Censors (1937) Series VIII: Writings by Vardis Fisher in Newspapers
Folder 50: Why Should Anyone Leave Idaho...? (1938) Folder 51: Newspaper Columns (1943-1950)
Return to top of page Books by Vardis Fisher in the Clore and Gossett collections Special Collections Department The department holds at least one edition of every book written or edited by Vardis Fisher. The library completed its sent with the acquisition of The Caxton Printers In Idaho (1944), purchased from Rosalie Sorrels in 1995. The dates in the left column represent, as well as can be determined, the publication date of the edition described. When enclosed in parentheses, publication dates were derived from sources other than the book itself (chiefly George Kellogg's bibliography in Western American Literature, 1970). The identification of first editions is sometimes difficult. If the book is explicity labelled as a first edition, it is so noted in this list. The words (First edition) in parentheses indicate volumes which, in the judgment of the department, appear to be first editons, based on knowledge of the particular publishers' printing practices. The names (Clore) and (Gossett) indicate with which collection the particular volume was received; those books not so marked were purchased by the library at other times.
Adam and the Serpent
1947 Vanguard. (First edition). Dust jacket. (Clore) 1961 Pyramid Books. Paperback. (Clore)
April, a Fable of Love
1937 Caxton and Doubleday, Doran. First edition. Autographed and inscribed. Caxton dust jacket. (Gossett) The Caxton Printers in Idaho: A Short History 1944 Society of Bibliographers.
Children of God
1939 Harper & Bros. First edition. "Zane Grey" embossed on flyleaf. Dust jacket. 1948 Gods eigen Kinderen (Dutch). Uitgeversmaatschappij Elsevier. Autographed and inscribed. Dust jacket. 1949 Les faux anges (French). Editions de la Paix. Paperback. Autographed and inscribed. Dust jacket 1958 Il Cielo si Chiude (Italian). Rizioli. Autographed. Dust jacket. (Clore)
City of Illusion
1941 Caxton. First edition. No. 170 of 1000. Dust jacket. (Clore) 1941 Caxton. First edition, deluxe edition. An extra of 100. Autographed and inscribed. (Clore) 1951 La ciudad de la ilusion (Spanish). Luis de Caralt. Autographed. Dust jacket.
Dark Bridwell
1952 The Wild Ones. Pyramid Books. Paperback. (Clore)
Darkness and the Deep
1960 Pyramid Books. Paperback. (Clore)
The Divine Passion
1959 Pyramid Books. Paperback. (Clore)
Forgive Us Our Virtues
A Goat for Azazel
1956 Alan Swallow. First edition, special subscription printing. No. 39 of 200, autographed. Dust jacket. (Clore) 1962 Pyramid Books. Paperback. (Clore)
God or Caesar: The Writing of Fiction for Beginners
1953 Caxton. (First edition). Autographed and inscribed. Dust jacket. (Gossett) 1953 Caxton. (First edition). Autographed and inscribed. Dust jacket. (Clore)
Gold Rushes and Mining Camps of the Early American West (by Vardis Fisher and Opal Laurel Holmes)
1968 Caxton. (First edition). Dust jacket. (Clore)
The Golden Rooms
1944 Vanguard. (First edition). Dust jacket. (Clore) 1960 Pyramid Books. Paperback. (Clore)
Idaho: A Guide in Word and Picture (Federal Writers Project). 1937 Caxton. Library edition.
The Idaho Encyclopedia (Federal Writers Project)
1938 Caxton. (First edition). Dust jacket. (Clore)
Idaho Lore (Federal Writers Project)
In Tragic Life
1944 Ensomhedens angst (Danish). Chr. Erichsens Forlag. Paperback. 1951 Pocket Books. Paperback. (Clore)
Intimations of Eve
1961 Pyramid Books. Paperback. (Clore)
The Island of the Innocent
1952 Abelard Press. First edition. Autographed and inscribed. (Clore) 1952 Abelard Press. First edition. Dust jacket. (Clore) 1952 Caxton. First edition, deluxe edition. No. ? of 100, autographed. (Clore) (1960) Swallow Paperbook of Abelard first edition, 1952. Paperback. (Clore) 1961 Pyramid Books. Paperback. (Clore)
Jesus Came Again
1956 Alan Swallow. First edition, special subscription printing. No. 39 of 200, autographed. (Clore) (1960) Swallow Paperbook of Alan Swallow, 1956. Paperback. (Clore) 1962 Pyramid Books. Paperback. (Clore)
Love and Death: The Complete Stories of Vardis Fisher
1952 Doubleday. Autographed and inscribed. (Clore)
The Mothers
1943 Vanguard Press. Autographed and inscribed. Dust jacket. (Clore) 1943 Caxton and Vanguard. Deluxe edition. No. 3 of 100, autographed. (Clore) 1960 Pyramid Books. Paperback. (Clore)
Mountain Man
1965 William Morrow. (First edition). Dust jacket. (Clore) 1967 Pocket Books. Paperback (7th printing, 1973). (Clore) 1972 Opal Laurel Holmes. Fourth printing. Dust jacket.
My Holy Satan
1958 Alan Swallow. First edition, special subscription printing. No. 79 of 200, autographed. (Gossett) 1960 Pyramid Books. Paperback. (Clore)
The Neurotic Nightingale
No villain Need Be
1936 Caxton and Doubleday, Doran. First edition. Dust jacket. (Clore) 1955 Pocket Books. Paperback. (Clore)
Odyssey of a Hero
Orphans in Gethsemane
1960 Alan Swallow. First edition, special subscription printing. No. 79 of 200, autographed. (Gossett) 1962 For Passion, For Heaven (Vol. 1 of Orphans in Gethsemane). Pyramid Books. Paperback. (Clore) 1962 The Great Confession (Vol. 2 of Orphans in Gethsemane). Pyramid Books. Paperback. (Clore)
Passions Spin the Plot
1935 Boriswood (British). Dust jacket. (Clore) 1952 Pocket Books. Paperback. (Clore)
Peace like a River
1957 Alan Swallow. First edition, special subscription edition. No. 39 of 200, autographed. (Clore) 1960 The Passion Within. Pyramid Books.
Pemmican
1956 Doubleday. Dust jacket. (Clore) 1957 Pocket Books. Paperback. (Clore) 1957 Kanadas guld (Danish). Chr. Erichsens Forlag. Paperback. (1958) Pemmican (German). Forum Verlag . Autographed and inscribed. Dust jacket. (Clore)
Sonnets to an Imaginary Madonna
1927 Harold Vinal. Autographed. Dust jacket. (Clore)
Suicide or Murdei? The Strange Death of Governor Meriwether Lewis
Tale of Valor
1958 Doubleday. Dust jacket. (Clore) 1960 Pocket Books. Paperback. (Clore)
Thomas Wolfe As I Knew Him and Other Essays
Toilers of the Hills
1945 Caxton. Dust jacket. (Clore)
The Valley of Vision
(1960) Alan Swallow. Swallow Paperbook. (Clore) 1961 Pyramid Books. Paperback. (Clore)
We Are Betrayed
1936 Boriswood (British). Dust jacket. (Clore) 1953 Pocket Books. Paperback. (Clore)
Return to top of page The Vardis Fisher Papers at Yale University The largest collection of Vardis Fisher manuscripts is held by the Beinecke Library at Yale University, New Haven, Conn. The collection consists principally of correspondence (2 file drawers) and typescripts of novels (21 boxes). Principal correspondents (by volume) include:
Novels and other book-length works represented by typescripts include:
A copy of Yale University's cataloging with fuller information has been added to the Clore collection.
Return to top of page The Vardis Fisher Papers at Washington State University Washington State University Library in Pullman, Wash., holds two collections of papers relating to Vardis Fisher: (1) Inez Puckett McEwen collection (1949-1962), consisting of approximately 200 postcards and letters exchanged between McEwen (an Idaho author and journalist), Richard J. Pead, and Vardis Fisher; and diary fragments by McEwen relating to Fisher. (2) Ronald W. Taber collection, consisting of approximately 115 letters (1965-1970) from Vardis and Opal Fisher to Taber and other correspondence, notes, interviews, and publications relating to Fisher, particularly his role in Federal Writers Project. A copy of the finding aid to the Vardis Fisher papers at Washington State University has been added to the Clore collection.
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