mss0602.xml Finding aid for Frank W. Tober papers 1791-1995(bulk dates 1945-1995) University of Delaware Library, Special Collections University of Delaware Library
Newark, Delaware 19717-5267 Phone: 302-831-2229 Fax: 302-831-6003 URL: http://www.lib.udel.edu/ud/spec/
Date encoded (2009 November 05) Finding aid encoded 2009 November 05 English Frank W. Tober papers1791-1995(bulk dates 1945-1995) Special Collections Department, University of Delaware Library
Newark, Delaware 19717-5267 Phone: 302-831-2229 Fax: 302-831-6003 URL: http://www.lib.udel.edu/ud/spec/
 Tober, Frank W., 1919-1995. Frank W. Tober papers1791-1995 1945-1995 MSS 602 4 linear feet and one oversize box (7 boxes) The Frank W. Tober papers comprise letters, postcards, photographs, pamphlets, magazines, newspaper clippings, newsletters, printing ephemera, invoices, notebooks, woodblocks, prints, coins, sculpture, and other realia. A major portion of the papers relate to Tober's collections and collecting activities. Tober was a chemical engineer with a substantial personal interest in the study of rare books, printing, Napoleon and the French Revolution, and, in particular, literary forgery. Materials in English. University of Delaware Library - Special Collections Source

Gift of Frank W. Tober estate, 1995.

 Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

 Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Use of materials from this collection beyond the exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S. Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. Please contact Special Collections Department, University of Delaware Library, http://www.lib.udel.edu/cgi-bin/askspec.cgi

 Citation

MSS 602, Frank W. Tober papers, Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, Newark, Delaware.

 Shelving Summary Boxes 1-3: Shelved in SPEC MSS record center cartons Box 4: Shelved in SPEC MSS shoeboxesBox 5-6: Shelved in SPEC MSS manuscript boxesBox 7: Shelved in SPEC MSS oversize boxes (20 inches) Processing

Processed and encoded by Teresa K. Nevins, November 2009.

 Biographical Note

Frank W. Tober (1919-1995) was a chemical engineer with a substantial personal interest in the study of rare books, printing, Napoleon and the French Revolution, and, in particular, literary forgery.

Frank W. Tober was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1919. As a youth, he was an avid reader who enjoyed history and literature, but he was particularly interested in the sciences. Following his graduation from high school in 1937, he enrolled at Michigan Technological University where he earned his bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1941. He subsequently received a master's degree in chemical engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1941 and a doctorate in physical chemistry from Yale University in 1948. Tober went on to have a long, successful career with the Du Pont Company.

Dr. Tober maintained a wide range of book collecting interests, including the history of printing and publishing, the history of papermaking and the manufacture of paper, the era of Napoleon and the French Revolution, and contemporary fine printing and book arts. However, the cornerstone of Dr. Tober's personal library was his collection on literary forgery, which includes examples of forgeries from all periods.

Dr. Tober bequeathed his collection to the University of Delaware Library following his death on June 24, 1995. The Frank W. Tober collection comprises nearly four thousand books and periodicals, hundreds of manuscripts and papers, and a variety of other materials, including artwork and ephemera.

 Scope and Content Note

The Frank W. Tober papers comprises letters, postcards, photographs, pamphlets, magazines, newspaper clippings, newsletters, printing ephemera, invoices, notebooks, woodblocks, prints, coins, sculpture, and other realia. A major portion of the papers relate to Tober's collections and collecting activities.

Series I. Personal papers. This series is composed of materials from Frank Tober's personal and professional life, including many photographs of Frank, his wife Ellen, his parents, his friends, and his Du Pont coworkers. Notable among his correspondence is a series of postcards sent by Tober between 1945 and 1947 to his future wife, Ellen, to whom he wrote several times a week while in graduate school at Yale. Tober retained copies of his yearbook from Southwestern High School in Detroit, The Prospector, as well as his college yearbook, Keweenawan, from the Michigan College of Mining and Technology. Included in subseries I.C. Writings, is a copy of Tober's 1948 doctoral dissertation from Yale, as well as his short essay on collecting the Wise-Forman forgeries and a personal notebook recording poems, quotations, extracts, and other items that interested him.

Series II. Collections and collecting comprises a major part of the Tober papers, and includes both documentation of his collecting activities and objects he collected. The numerous invoices and letters Tober kept are related primarily to his book collection. The records are arranged chronologically, reflecting Tober's own system, and include Tober's handwritten inventories and periodic estimates of the value of his book collection. The vast majority of these records relate to Oak Knoll Books and its proprietor, Robert Fleck, with whom Tober maintained a decades-long friendship. Tober was also a long time member of the Delaware Bibliophiles, whose newsletters, announcements, and meeting information from 1991 through 1993 are also included. Notable among the items related to Tober's collecting activities are five finely-made custom slipcases (F57-F61) removed from Wise forgeries when the books were cataloged for the print collection in Special Collections.

Another area of collecting interest for Tober is subseries II.B. Napoleon and the French Revolution, which is composed of a small group of items. These include two French Revolutionary assignats (F62), engraved portraits of major French Revolution-era historical figures, depictions of important subjects and events from that period, and portraits of Napoleon in several different media (Box 6). Tober also acquired a boxed set of Napoleon medals created circa 1810 by Bertrand Andrieu (Box 5), and sixteen (16) French Revolution-era and Napoleonic-era coins dating from 1791 to 1815 (F24).

Series III. Pucca Press contains the output and records for the small personal press founded by Frank Tober, and also includes records pertaining to his interest in book repair and preservation. Tober printed his annual Christmas cards under the imprint of Pucca Press from 1964 through 1981, and he retained examples of the final versions of the cards, arranged by year. He also preserved the trial sheets, paste-ups, sketches, and even eight original woodblocks used at Pucca Press. Notable in this series is Tober's record book, which includes detailed notes about his printing methods, as well as various recipes related to book repair and preservation (F69).

Arrangement

I. Personal papers, 1920-1991I.A. Family documents and photos, 1920-1991I.B. Yearbooks, diplomas, and organizations, 1933-1948 I.C. Writings, 1948-1969, undatedII. Collections and collecting, 1791-1995II.A. Collecting activities, 1791-1995II.B. Napoleon and the French Revolution, 1793-1965III. Pucca Press, 1963-1985

 Selected Search Terms Personal Names Tober, Frank W., 1919-1995. Tober, Ellen Brady.Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1769-1821. Corporate Names Oak Knoll Books (Firm) Pucca Press--Delaware--20th century. Topical Terms Collectors and collecting--20th century.Book collectors--20th century.France--History--Revolution, 1789-1799. Form/Genre Terms Correspondence.Postcards. Black-and-white photographs. Color photographs.Christmas cards.Medals.Woodcut (process)Woodcuts (prints)Slipcases. Occupation Collectors. Chemists (scientists) Personal Contributors Tober, Ellen Brady.Fleck, Robert. Corporate Contributors Oak Knoll Books (Firm) Related Materials in this Repository

MSS 473, Frank W. Tober French revolutionary-era song sheets and pamphlets

MSS 474, Frank W. Tober manuscript and early printed leaf collection

MSS 600, Frank W. Tober papermaking and paper samples collection

 Publication Note

University of Delaware. Library. Forging a Collection : The Frank W. Tober Collection on Literary Forgery : catalog of an exhibition, August 19, 1999-December 15, 1999Newark, Del. : Special Collections, Hugh M. Morris Library, University of Delaware Library, 1999.

 Detailed Contents List Series I. Personal papers 1920-1991 Subseries I.A. Family documents and photos 1920-1991 1 F1 Tober-Brady postcards (1 of 2) 1945-1946

Postcards sent to Ellen Brady by Frank Tober.

 1 F2 Tober-Brady postcards (2 of 2) 1946-1947

Postcards sent to Ellen Brady by Frank Tober.

 1 F3 Personal correspondence 1976-1992

Includes several letters regarding the estate of Ellen Tober, a few postcards, and several photocopies of newspaper articles. Also includes one letter from Ellen to Frank.

 1 F4 DuPont correspondence and documents 1970-1989

Includes pamphlets, booklets, and newsletters from Du Pont. Also includes an original patent for permeation separation membranes invented by Tober, and related correspondence. Jackson Laboratory Quarter-Century Club certificate removed to oversize.

 1 F5 Family photographs 1920-1990

Includes photographs of Frank Tober's parents and his wife Ellen. Also includes pictures of Frank as a baby, child, and youth.

 1 F6 Photographs of Frank Tober 1944-1967

Includes portraits and individual photos of Frank Tober, as well as Tober in group pictures. Also includes photographs of Tober with DuPont coworkers.

 1 F7 Two matted photographs of Frank Tober circa 1960-1991

Two matted photographs of Frank Tober.

 1 F8 Passports and notebook circa 1945-1964

Includes two sets of passports, issued in 1948 and 1964, and a small notebook belonging to Ellen Brady Tober.

 1 F9 Other personal documents 1936-1970

Includes Frank Tober's 1936 summer school grade card, a war ration book, death certificate for his mother, and birth certificate for Ellen Brady. A group of rabbit-related illustrations, including a Harvey coloring book, two large hand-made cards, and several newspaper clippings, removed to oversize.

 Subseries I.B. Yearbooks, diplomas, and organizations 1933-1948 1 F10 Correspondence 1939-1948

Includes B.S. diploma from Michigan College of Mining and Technology, Yale letter informing Tober of Ph.D. approval, and University of Buffalo award letter for fellowship.

 The Prospector 1933-1938

Yearbook from Southwestern High School in Detroit, which Tober attended from 1933-1937.

 1 F11 1933 3 items

Issue from January 1933, and two issues from May 1933.

 1 F12 1934 2 items

Issues from January and May 1934.

 1 F13 1935 1 item

Issue from May 1935.

 1 F14 1936 5 items

Three issues from January 1936, and two issues from June 1936.

 1 F15 1937-1938 2 items

Issue from June 1937, and Issue from January 1938.

 Keweenawan 1938-1940

Yearbook for Michigan College of Mining and Technology, which Tober attended from 1938-1940

 1 F16 1938 1 item 1 F17 1939 1 item 1 F18 1940 1 item Subseries I.C. Writings 1948-1969, undated 1 F19 Conductivities of Dilute Aqueous Solutions of Sodium Chloride and Lithium Chloride from 5° to 55° C 1948 1 item

Bound copy of Tober's doctoral dissertation submitted to Yale University.

 1 F20 "Concentration and Purification of Uranium, Plutonium, and Neptunium by Ion Exchange in Nuclearly Safe Equipment" 1958 1 typescript copy of paper with brown paperboard binder

Article prepared when Tober was working at Du Pont's Savannah River Laboratory in South Carolina.

Tober paper published in Processing Irradiated Fuels and Radioactive Materials, volume 17 of the Proceedings of the Second United Nations Conference on Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy: held in Geneva, September 1958.

 1 F21 "An Essay on the Word" 1969 December 29 1 unbound handwritten draft on notebook paper

Paper written by Tober for course at University of Delaware, PHL 6005 taught by Prof. W. F. Bussee.

 1 F22 Tober essay on collecting Wise-Forman forgeries undated 3 items

Three copies of an undated one-page typescript Tober essay describing his interest in collecting Wise/Buxton-Forman forgeries

 1 F23 Personal notebook undated 1 item

Includes handwritten copies of poems, short quotations from various writers, extracts from books, excerpts of newspaper columns, sayings, and other items of interest to Tober.

 4 Pins, tokens, and other realia undated

Includes three Du Pont pins, an Army-Navy award pin, Columbia University bronze plaque, a box of Tober's personal book plates, and numerous assorted tokens (sales tax, luxury tax, and public transportation) from Alabama and Connecticut.

 Series II. Collections and collecting 1791-1995 Subseries II.A. Collecting activities 1791-1995 1 F24 French coins 1791-1815 16 coins

Tober's collection of French Revolution-era and Napoleonic-era coins of various denominations and sizes.

 1 F25 Other coins undated 23 coins and 1 locket part

Assorted coins from around the world. Includes a pair of 1929 puffins, and a commemorative medallion of Canadian geologist William Logan. Also includes one half of a locket with picture of unidentified child.

 2 F26 Correspondence with booksellers 1974-1995

The majority of the letters are from Bob Fleck at Oak Knoll Books.

 2 F27 Delaware Collects 1991

Includes loan agreements and catalog for the exhibition, Delaware Collects.

 2 F28 Delaware Bibliophiles 1991-1993

Includes notices, newsletters, and meeting announcements for the Delaware Bibliophiles.

 2 F29 Newsletters, catalogs, and other documents 1969-1991

Includes newsletters from booksellers, including The Book Press and Oak Knoll Books, notices for events and publications, catalogs, newspaper clippings, and other ephemera associated with books and book collecting.

 2 F30 Collecting ephemera 1928-1989

Includes one 1929 Kalendarium Gregorianum from Dauber & Pine Bookshops, and a reprint of A Visit from Saint Nicholas. Also includes tickets to events, bookmarks, postcards, stamps, newspaper clippings, and other ephemera related to books and book collecting. Keepsake from 13th annual conference of American Printing History Association removed to oversize.

 Collection records 1958-1995

Tober maintained records of his collecting activities, expenditures, and valuation. These records include invoices and letters, as well as handwritten lists of yearly expenditures, estimated value of collection, and amounts owed to book dealers.

 2 F31 1958-1959

Includes invoices and letters related to Tober's collecting activities.

 2 F32 1966

Includes invoices and letters.

 2 F33 1968

Includes invoices and letters.

 2 F34 1971

Includes invoices and letters.

 2 F35 1972-1973

Includes invoices and letters.

 2 F36 1974

Includes invoices, letters, and other documents related to Tober's collecting activities.

 2 F37 1976

Includes invoices related to Tober's collecting activities.

 2 F38 1977

Includes invoices, letters, notes, handwritten inventories, and other documents related to Tober's collecting activities.

 2 F39 1978

Includes numerous invoices from Oak Knoll Books.

 2 F40 1979

Includes numerous invoices from Oak Knoll Books.

 2 F41 1980

Includes many invoices from Oak Knoll Books, one letter, and a handwritten list of purchases for 1979-1980.

 2 F42 1981

Includes numerous invoices from Oak Knoll Books.

 2 F43 1982

Includes invoices and handwritten estimates of collection value.

 2 F44 1983

Includes invoices and letters.

 2 F45 1984

Includes invoices, letters, and valuation of collection.

 2 F46 1985

Includes invoices, letters, and handwritten list of purchases for 1985.

 2 F47 1986

Includes invoices, letters, handwritten list of purchases in 1986, and handwritten asset valuation.

 2 F48 1987

Includes invoices, letters, and handwritten list of purchases in 1987.

 2 F49 1988

Includes invoices, letter from John Collins to Bob Fleck dated September 13, 1988, and handwritten list of purchases for 1988.

 2 F50 1989

Includes invoices, letters, and handwritten list of purchases for 1989.

 2 F51 1990

Includes invoices and handwritten list of purchases for 1990.

 2 F52 1991

Includes invoices.

 2 F53 1992

Includes invoices and letters.

 2 F54 1993

Includes numerous invoices from Oak Knoll Books.

 2 F55 1994

Includes invoices.

 2 F56 1995

Includes invoices from Oak Knoll Books.

 2 F57 Custom slipcase for The Cup undated

Removed from Wise forgery when book was catalogued as Spec. Coll. Z1024 .W57 Todd 399f

 2 F58 Custom slipcase for The Falcon undated

Removed from Wise forgery when book was catalogued as Spec. Coll. Z1024 .W57 Todd397f

 2 F59 Custom slipcase for Sister Helen: A Ballad undated

Removed from Wise forgery when book was catalogued as Spec. Coll. Z1024 .W57 Todd 192f

 2 F60 Custom slipcase for Ticonderoga undated

Removed from Wise forgery when book was catalogued as Spec. Coll. Z1024 .W57 Todd284i

 2 F61 Custom slipcase for Verses undated

Removed from Wise forgery when book was catalogued as Spec. Coll. Z1024 .W57 Todd193p

 Subseries II.B. Napoleon and the French Revolution 1793-1965

Tober also collected many books about this topic, which have been removed for cataloging.

 3 F62 French Revolutionary assignats 1793

Includes one valued at five livres (issued October 31, 1793), and one valued at 50 sols (issued May 23, 1793).

 3 F63 French Revolution-era portraits undated 26 plates from books

Includes engraved portraits of Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, Danton, Robespierre, Talleyrand, Napoleon, and others. One reproduction on board of Jacques-Louis David portrait of Napoleon removed to oversize.

 3 F64 French Revolution-era subjects undated 21 plates from books

Includes engraved images depicting various historical events in 1791-1795. Also includes images of the tomb of Napoleon.

 3 F65 Scribner's (two issues) 1887

Vol. I, no. 6. Contains Part I of an article about Napoleon by John C. Ropes. Vol. II, no. 1 contains Part II.

 3 F66 Life 1965 June 11

Vol. 58, no. 23. Contains article on Battle of Waterloo by Thomas N. Carmichael. Issue removed to oversize.

 5 Boxed set of Napoleon medals circa 1810 Wooden box shaped like gilt-edged book (27 x 35 cm)

Set of ten medals contained in wooden, green velvet-lined box, in two trays with fitted recesses for the medals. The artist is Bertrand Andrieu. Subjects include the Siege of the Bastille, the Arrival of the King in Paris, the Battle of Marengo, and the Passage of the Great St. Bernard, as well as portraits of Napoleon, Josephine, and Marie Louise.

 6 Napoleon realia undated 6 objects

Includes six different depictions of Napoleon: a small wooden bust (9 cm), a pair of bookends (each is 14.5 x 11 x 8 cm), a painted ceramic standing figure (23 cm), a small painted cast metal figure (8.5 cm), and a painted wooden caricature (17.5 cm).

 Series III. Pucca Press and book repair 1963-1985

Tober founded a small personal press used to print annual Christmas cards, small pamphlets, and announcements. He also did repair and binding work for his church.

 3 F67 Tober sketches 1964 4 items

Four unfinished still life sketches by Frank Tober.

 3 F68 Manuscript & Proof 1943 1 book

Book written by John Benbow, published by Oxford University Press; was owned by Ellen Brady Tober.

 3 F69 Record book for printing and repair activities 1963-1985 1 book

Account book used by Tober to record his book repair and preservation work. Also records various recipes related to repairs and preservations. Tober also recorded his printing projects with Pucca Press from 1967-1982. Includes letters, notices, invoices, and other material inserted into the account book by Tober.

 Final versions 1964-1981

Examples of the final version of Christmas cards and other items produced by Pucca Press, founded in 1964.

 3 F70 1964 9 items

Includes Christmas cards and Tober's calling card with collecting interests.

 3 F71 1965 3 items

Christmas cards.

 3 F72 1966 3 items

Christmas cards.

 3 F73 1967 5 items

Christmas cards.

 3 F74 1968 4 items

Christmas cards.

 3 F75 1969 6 items

Christmas cards.

 3 F76 1970 5 items

Christmas cards.

 3 F77 1971 6 items

Christmas cards.

 3 F78 1972 4 items

Christmas cards.

 3 F79 1973 4 items

Christmas cards. Tober began recording the year of Pucca Press on his cards (1973 was the 10th year)

 3 F80 1974 4 items

Christmas cards.

 3 F81 1975 4 items

Christmas cards.

 3 F82 1976 6 items

Christmas cards.

 3 F83 1977 4 items

Christmas cards.

 3 F84 1978 5 items

Christmas cards.

 3 F85 1980 4 items

Christmas cards.

 3 F86 1981 4 items

Christmas cards.

 Trial sheets 1965-1981

Includes trial sheets for Tober's annual Christmas cards, as well as paste-ups, sources for images and text, and handwritten notes. Also includes some trial sheets for other projects.

 3 F87 1965 1 item

Trial sheet for Christmas card image.

 3 F88 1966 1 item

Notecard with sentiment for Christmas card.

 3 F89 1968 1 item

Trial sheet for poem for Christmas card.

 3 F90 1970 7 items

Trial sheets for Christmas card.

 3 F91 1971

Numerous trial sheets for Christmas card. Includes paste-ups, sketches, and envelopes.

 3 F92 1972

Numerous trial sheets for Christmas card. Includes paste-ups, sketches, notes, and mark-ups.

 3 F93 1973 9 items

Trial sheets for Christmas card.

 3 F94 1974

Numerous trial sheets for Christmas card, some on verso of 1972 card. Includes tracings and paste-up.

 3 F95 1975

Numerous trial sheets for Christmas card, and several different paste-ups.

 3 F96 1976 12 items

Trial sheets, paste-ups, and notes for Christmas card.

 3 F97 1977

Numerous trial sheets for Christmas card. Also includes paste-up.

 3 F98 1978

Numerous trial sheets for Christmas card. Also includes paste-up.

 3 F99 1980 6 items

Trial sheets for Christmas card. Also includes paste-up.

 3 F100 1981 11 items

Trial sheets for Christmas card. Also includes paste-up.

 3 F101 Other Pucca Press ephemera undated

Includes cards, notices, letterhead for Pucca Press, and other items produced by Pucca Press. Also includes woodcut print of owl with its visual source.

 3 F102 Source file for Pucca Press undated

Large collection of keepsakes, pamphlets, newsletters, clippings, cards, brochures, and other items for use as possible models.

 3 F103 Three woodcut blocks undated

Three woodcuts made by Tober for Christmas cards, of which two are dated "12/5/71" in pencil on the back.

 3 F104 Two woodcut blocks undated

Two woodcuts made by Tober for Christmas cards, of which one is dated "11/24/67" in pencil on the back.

 3 F105 Three woodcut blocks undated

Two woodcuts made by Tober for Christmas cards, both undated, and a woodcut of an owl, also undated.

 7 Tober oversize undated