Materials received from Rutherford Montgomery between 1966 and 1985.
Non-circulating; available for research.
This collection is protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U. S. Code). Reproductions can be made only if they are to be used for "private study, scholarship, or research." It is the user's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and to obtain all necessary permissions prior to the reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion of these materials, other than that noted above.
Rutherford George Montgomery who also writes under the names of A.A. Avery, Al Avery, Art Elder, E.P. Marshall, and Everitt Proctor, was born on April 12, 1894 in North Dakota. He studied for three years at Western State College of Colorado, and served in the United States Air Corps from 1917 to 1918. He worked in Gunnison County, Colorado as a judge from 1932 to 1937, and became a free-lance writer in 1938. Montgomery died on July 3, 1985.
As a young boy, Montgomery studied the wild animals that lived around his family's farm. He began writing about animals in high school, and his first story published by a national magazine was written as an assignment for sophomore English. As an adult, he continued to draw on personal experiences as inspiration for books about airplanes, and the landscapes, people, and animals of the American west.
Montgomery was the recipient of various awards for his writing. His Kildee House (1949) was named Newbery Award Honor Book in 1950. In 1952, Wapiti the Elk (1952) received the Commonwealth Club of California Juvenile Silver Medal. Beaver Water, (1956) received the New York Herald Tribune Children's Spring Book Festival Award in 1956, and the Boy's Clubs of America Junior Book Award in 1957. Montgomery received the 1966 Western Writers of America Golden Spur Award for The Stubborn One (1965).
Sources:
The collection contains material related to two books by Montgomery, Amikuk and The Living Wilderness. These were published between 1955 and 1964. The material is arranged alphabetically by title; for each title the material is arranged in the probable order in which it was created.
Amikuk (1955) is the story of a young sea otter's life and his struggle for survival. The collection contains an incomplete, edited typescript, and a set of corrected galleys.
The Living Wilderness (1964) describes the characteristics and activities of various wild animals. Included in the collection are two photographs which were featured in the book, and a proof of three illustrations which were used as chapter headings. A copy of the proof, and the published ad document the process of creating an advertisement for this title.
Box/Folder
A. Autobiographical Material
1/1 Memorial service card.
B. Books
AMIKUK by Rutherford Montgomery, illustrated by Marie Nonnast
(New York: World Publishing, 1955)
1/1 Typescript, copy edited, front matter 11 pp. and text pp. 2-74.
Typescript, copy edited, incomplete, pp. 75- 148.
1/2 Galleys, corrected, 66 pp.
THE LIVING WILDERNESS by Rutherford Montgomery, illustrated
by Campbell Grant (New York: Torquil, 1964)
1/3 Photographs, used to illustrate, 2 items.
Proof, illustrations used as chapter headings, 1 pp.
Proof, for journal advertisement.
Published copy of advertisement.
Article, The Denver Post, 19 September 1964.
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