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Fife American Collection, 1940-1976

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Fife, Austin E.; Fife, Alta (Alta Stevens), 1912-1996.
Title
Fife American Collection
Dates
1940-1976 (inclusive)
Quantity
3 linear feet, (48 bound volumes)
Collection Number
UUS_FOLK COLL 4 No. 2
Summary
Tapes, transcriptions of interviews, and musical notations of western songs, ballads, and poetry. Also includes bound typescripts of extracts concerning western folksongs from other collections: John Lomax papers (originals housed at the Texas Historical Society); Gordon Oregon collection (originals housed at the Library of Congress and Univ. of Oregon); Stella M. Hendren collection of western folksongs clipped from periodicals; Edwin Ford Piper collection (originals housed at University Archives, State University of Iowa); collection of folksongs from the Old Songs column of the Idaho Farmer, published by Pacific Northwest Farm Quad; and a typescript of three published works: Songs of the cowboys by N. Howard Thorp; The Song Companion of a Lone Star cowboy by Chas. A. Siringo; and Songs of the hills and mesas by Laurence White.
Repository
Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives Division
Special Collections & Archives
Merrill-Cazier Library
Utah State University
Logan, UT
84322-3000
Telephone: 4357978248
Fax: 4357972880
scweb@usu.edu
Access Restrictions

Open to public research. To access the collection a patron must have the following information: collection number, box number, folder number and item number. The materials do not circulate and are available in USU's Special Collections and Archives.

Languages
Material in English
Sponsor
Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant, 2007-2008
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Historical Note

The Austin E. and Alta S. Fife collection on American folklore is comprised of the original fieldwork (acetate discs, reel-to-reel field recordings and field notes) and slides gathered/taken by the Fife's between the 1940s and late 1970s. Using summer vacations and weekends, the Fifes traveled all over the west–most intensively in their native Utah–with a camping trailer, recording equipment, camera and stenographic materials to collect the folklife of the American West, including cowboy songs, Mormon folklore and slides of vernacular architecture. On their fieldtrips, typically, one of them would interview someone while the other took notes or operated a recording device. They also visited libraries throughout the west, taking notes and making copies of songs and stories housed in regional and archival collections. Austin Fife took the slide images.

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Content Description

These materials form part of the Austin and Alta Fife fieldwork collection. Included are tapes, transcriptions of interviews, and musical notations of western songs, ballads, and poetry (volumes 1-28). Also includes bound typescripts of extracts concerning western folksongs from other collections: John Lomax papers (originals housed at the Texas Historical Society); Gordon Oregon collection (originals housed at the Library of Congress and Univ. of Oregon); Stella M. Hendren collection of western folksongs clipped from periodicals; Edwin Ford Piper collection (originals housed at University Archives, State University of Iowa); collection of folksongs from the Old Songs column of the Idaho Farmer, published by Pacific Northwest Farm Quad; and a typescript of three published works: Songs of the cowboys by N. Howard Thorp; The Song Companion of a Lone Star cowboy by Chas. A. Siringo; and Songs of the hills and mesas by Laurence White.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record, the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Utah State University Libraries, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of copyright.

Permission to publish material from the Austin E. and Alta S. Fife collection on American folklore must be obtained from the Curator of the Fife Folklore Archives and/or the Special Collections Department Head.

Preferred Citation

Austin E. and Alta S. Fife collection on American folklore, 1940-1976. (FOLK COLL 4, no. 2, series, vol., no.). Utah State University. Special Collections and Archives Department.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

  • I. Transcriptions of oral sources;
  • II. Transcriptions of manuscript sources;
  • III. Transcriptions of printed sources;
  • IV. Extracts from other collections.

Processing Note

Originally processed by Alta Fife and Barbara [Garrett] [Walker] Lloyd and updated by Randy Williams. Finding aid created by Randy Williams and Susan Gross, April 2004; updated by Randy Williams, March 2012.

Acquisition Information

In 1966, the Fife's deposited their extensive fieldwork collections at Utah State University Library. In 1972, the Library established the Fife Library of Western Folklore (later renamed the Fife Folklore Archives) under the administration of the Special Collections Department.

Related Materials

Austin E. and Alta S. Fife collection on Mormon folkloreFOLK COLL 4 No. 1

Fife Slide Collection of Western U.S. Vernacular Architecture FOLK COLL 4 No. 3

Austin and Alta Fife photograph collection P0141

Austin E. and Alta S. Fife papers COLL MSS 281

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Ballads, English--West (U.S.)--Texts.
  • Cowboys' writings, American--History--Sources.
  • Cowboys--West (U.S.)--Folklore.
  • Cowboys--West (U.S.)--Poetry.
  • Cowboys--West (U.S.)--Songs and music--Texts.
  • Folk songs, English--West (U.S.)--History--Sources.
  • Folklore--West (U.S.)
  • Songs--West (U.S.)--Folklore.

Geographical Names

  • West (U.S.)--Poetry.
  • West (U.S.)--Social life and customs.

Other Creators

  • Personal Names

    • Gordon, Robert Winslow. (contributor)
    • Hendren, Stella M. (contributor)
    • Lomax, John Avery, 1867-1948. (contributor)
    • Piper, Edwin Ford, 1871-1939. (contributor)
    • Siringo, Charles A., 1855-1928. Song companion of a Lone Star cowboy. (contributor)
    • Thorp, N. Howard (Nathan Howard), 1867-1940. Songs of the cowboys. (contributor)
    • White, Laurence R., 1908- Songs of the hills and mesas. (contributor)

    Corporate Names

    • Pacific Northwest Farm Quad. (contributor)

Finding aid created by Randy Williams and Susan Gross, April 2004.
2008

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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