de Grummond Collection

McCain Library and Archives
University Libraries
University of Southern Mississippi



ERIKA WEIHS PAPERS

Collection Number
Collection Dates
Collection Volume
DG1145
1973-1990
1.2 cu.ft. (3 boxes)

Biographical Sketch | Scope & Content | Related Collections | Series & Subseries | Box Inventory

Provenance

Donated by Erika Weihs in 1995

Restrictions

Noncirculating; available for research.

Copyright

The 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.

Biographical Sketch

Erika Weihs (nee Fischl) was born November 4, 1917 in Vienna, Austria. She attended Graphische Lehr und Versuchsanstalt in Vienna, from 1934 to 1937. After the Nazi takeover of Austria in 1938, she moved to England, from whence she emigrated to the United States in 1940. Aside from a few years in Canada, Weihs has lived in the U.S. since 1940, mostly in New York City. In 1942, she married Kurt Weihs, an artist and illustrator, with whom she's had two children.

Since 1942, Weihs has been a free-lance painter and illustrator, with numerous one-woman and group exhibitions in New York and the surrounding area. She primarily illustrates books written by other authors. Frequently, these books deal with Jewish religion and culture. She describes her style as "flat, two dimensional," and claims that her influences include Kathe Kollwitz, Ben Shahn and Egyptian Art.

Sources:


Scope and Content

Most of the titles in this collection are nonfiction works dealing with Jewish religion and culture. Books in this category include: Hanukkah; Menorahs, Mezuzas and Other Jewish Symbols; Sound the Shofar; and When a Jew Prays. The other books in this collection are also nonfiction. They concern days of the week (Blue Monday and Friday the Thirteenth, superstition Don't Sing Before Breakfast, Don't Sleep in the Moonlight), genealogy (The Great Ancestor Hunt, and ancient Egypt Mummies, Tombs and Treasures.

The collection contains scratchboard illustrations for the following titles: Blue Monday and Friday the Thirteenth; Don't Sing Before Breakfast, Don't Sleep in the Moonlight; Menorahs, Mezuzas and Other Jewish Symbols; Mummies, Tombs and Treasures; and Sound the Shofar. There are pencil illustrations for The Great Ancestor Hunt. The collection contains watercolor illustrations for Hanukkah, and When a Jew Prays. There are color separations for When a Jew Prays.




Series and Subseries

A. Books (1973-1990)


Box Inventory


  Box/Folder 

A. Books (1973-1990)

BLUE MONDAY AND FRIDAY THE THIRTEENTH by Lila Perl, illustrated by Erika Weihs (New York: Clarion, 1986) 1/1 Illustrations, scratchboard, pp. 6, 8-9, 38, 48, 50, 63, 65, 70, 76, 78, 83; 11 items. 1/2 Color separation, 1 item. DON'T SING BEFORE BREAKFAST, DON'T SLEEP IN THE MOONLIGHT by Lila Perl, illustrated by Erika Weihs (New York: Clarion Books, 1988). 1/3 Illustrations, scratchboard, pp. 3, 10, 17, 20, 23, 25, 27, 30, 32, 36, 38, 41, 44, 46-47, 48, 52, 59, 71, 80; 19 items. 1/4 Color separation, p. 80. THE GREAT ANCESTOR HUNT by Lila Perl, with photographs and drawings by Erika Weihs (New York: Clarion Books, 1989). 1/5 Illustrations, pencil, pp. 18, 22-23, 27, 28, 84; 5 items. "Hanukkah" by Adam Fisher (unpublished). 1/6 Illustrations, watercolor, book jacket, pp. 1, 3, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14-15; 13 items. MENORAHS, MEZUZAS AND OTHER JEWISH SYMBOLS by Miriam Chaikin, illustrated by Erika Weihs (New York: Clarion Books, 1990). 1/7 Illustrations, scratchboard, pp. 16, 20, 27, 47, 49, 51, 55, 62, 70, 72, 79, 80, 81, 82, 14 items. MUMMIES, TOMBS AND TREASURES by Lila Perl, illustrated by Erika Weihs (New York: Clarion Books, 1987). 1/8 Illustrations, scratchboard, pp. 12, 25, 31, 3 items. SOUND THE SHOFAR by Miriam Chaikin, illustrated by Erika Weihs (New York: Clarion Books, 1986). 1/9 Illustrations, scratchboard, book jacket, "facing p. 1," pp. 7, 16, 18, 21, 23, 26, 33, 39, 46, 47, 54, 54, 60, 69, 72, 85; 18 items. 1/10 Color separation, book jacket, 2 items. WHEN A JEW PRAYS by Seymour Rossel, illustrated by Erika Weihs (New York: Behrman House, 1973). 1/11-2/2 Illustrations, watercolor, pp. 12-13, 16, 21, 24-25, 28, 32, 36-37, 40, 45, 49, 52-53, 56-57, 60-61, 64, 65, 68, 73, 76, 83-84, 88, 89, 97, 101, 112, 116-117, 120-121, 140-141, 152, 153, 156, 161, 165, 168, 172, 177, 180-181, 184-185, unnumbered; 27 items. 1/11 pp. 12-13. pp. 16. pp. 21. pp. 24-25, 36-37. pp. 28, 116-117. 1/12 pp. 32. pp. 40, 45, 64. pp. 49. pp. 52-53, 56-57. pp. 60-61. pp. 65, 84-85. pp. 68, 76. 2/1 pp. 73, 97. pp. 88, 101. pp. 89. pp. 112, 132, 153, 156 pp. 120-121. pp. 140-141. 2/2 pp. 152. pp. 161, 184-185. pp. 165. pp. 168. pp. 172. pp. 177. pp. 180-181. Unnumbered, 2 items. 2/3-3/3 Color separations, colored pencil, 2/3 pp. 10, 11, 14, 15, 19, 27, 30 (included with p. 11), 31. 2/4 pp. 34, 35, 38, 43, 47, 58-59, 62, 67, 70. 2/5 pp. 67, 70, 82, 83, 87, 91, 95, 98-99. 3/1 pp. 102, 103, 106, 14-115, 118 (included with pp. 58-59), 122, 123, 126. 3/2 pp. 131, 135, 139, 146, 151, 159, 162, 166, 167 (included with p. 162). 3/3 pp. 171, 175, 178, 182 (included with p. 171), 183, 187.


Processed: November 10, 1997
Revised: July 2001

Biographical Sketch | Scope & Content | Related Collections | Series & Subseries | Box Inventory
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The de Grummond Children's Literature Collection

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