Collection ID: C552
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Collection context

Summary

Creator:
Bulliet, C. J. (Clarence Joseph), 1883-1952
Abstract:
Clarence Joseph Bulliet (later Bulleit) was born March 16, 1883 and died October 20, 1952. An American author, art critic and poet, this small collection consists entirely of correspondence sent to his fiancee Katherine Adams during his time as a student at Indiana University, 1902-1904.
Extent:
0.2 cubic feet (1 box)
Language:
Materials are in English .
Preferred citation:

[Item], Clarence Bulliet letters to Katherine Adams, Collection C552, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.

Background

Biographical / Historical:

Clarence Joseph Bulleit (later Bulliet) was born on March 16, 1883. During World War I he changed the spelling of his last name to Bulliet to avoid any connection to Germany. He grew up in Corydon, Indiana, and went on to study at Indiana University. While at the University, he was a writer for the Daily Student and became editor in chief in 1904. He often wrote poems that were published in the paper. After graduating in 1904, he pursued a career in journalism in Indianapolis, Indiana. Eventually he became a press agent for Robert Mantell, who was the Head of the Shakespearean Touring Theater Company. This job involved touring the United States and Canada, which he did for a period of nine years. One year was spent as a regional "advance man," or publicist, which involved traveling ahead of the company to promote the silent film, The Birth of a Nation, released in 1915. He briefly returned to his career in journalism in Louisville, Kentucky, until relocating shortly after to Chicago, Illinois, to work as an editor of the Magazine of the Art World, a weekly journal published by the Chicago Evening Post (later The Chicago Daily News in 1932).

Bulliet played a key role in popularizing modern art in the Midwestern United States and over the course of his career he published six books on the subject. Bulliet married his first wife, artist Katherine Adams, on October 22, 1905. They had one son named Leander Jackson. After Katherine's death in 1946, Bulliet remarried but died shortly thereafter, in 1952.

Scope and Content:

The collection consists entirely of letters written by Bulliet to fiancee Katherine Adams while he was a student at Indiana University. The letters span the period from October of 1902 through December of 1904. Many of the letters include clippings of Bulliet's poems that were published in the Daily Student, the IU student newspaper, as well as other items such as a ribbon (or badge) from a "Mock Democratic Election," and a card from a men's clothing company. Much of what Bulliet wrote was about everyday life and life at the University.

Besides coursework, campus visitors and events, Bulliet wrote of his experiences with different student elections, noting that certain fraternities on campus, as well as the sophomore class at the time he was a freshmen, tried to sabotage elections. In one of his letters, he wrote about his apprehension in running for Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Student, saying that he was nominated and did not want to run. Campus sporting events and pranks were other topics about which Bulliet wrote. He noted the brutality of football games and writes regularly about the strife and scraps between the freshmen and sophomore classes, including "The Big Freshmen/Sophomore Scrap" that took place February 23, 1904, in which the freshmen president was kidnapped by sophomores.

Acquisition information:
Accession 2014/021
Custodial history:

Donated to the Archives in 2014 by grandson Richard Bulliet.

Processing information:

Processed by Cara Vukusich.

Completed in 2014

Arrangement:

Collection is organized in a single series of Correspondence arranged chronologically.

Online content

Access

RESTRICTIONS:

Collection is open for research. Advance notice required.

TERMS OF ACCESS:

The donor(s) of this collection have transferred their copyrights for the materials to the Trustees of Indiana University through a Deed of Gift. For more information, please contact the Indiana University Archives staff.

The Indiana University Archives respects the intellectual property rights of others and does not claim any copyrights for non-university records, materials in the public domain, or materials for which we do not hold a Deed of Gift. Responsibility for the determination of the copyright status of these materials rests with those persons wishing to reuse the materials. Researchers are responsible for securing permission from copyright owners and any other rights holders for any reuse of these materials that extends beyond fair use or other statutory limitations.

Digital reproductions of archival materials from the Indiana University Archives are made available for noncommercial educational and research purposes only. If you are the copyright holder for any of the digitized materials and have questions about its inclusion on our site, please contact the Indiana University Archivist.

PREFERRED CITATION:

[Item], Clarence Bulliet letters to Katherine Adams, Collection C552, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.

CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
Herman B Wells Library E460
1320 East Tenth Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47405-7000, United States
CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
CONTACT:
812-855-1127
archives@indiana.edu