William Spratling Collection
Scope and Contents
Collection contains a great deal of published biographical material about Spratling, information related to the 1947 movie "Silver Bill," correspondence, information about the Spratling bibliography project at RBD Library (Auburn University), information about his 1962 honorary doctorate, photographs,garments, various writings, Mexican visa documents, obituary notices, a 1991 taped interview with W. Kelly Mosley about Spratling, and a 2000 taped lecture on Spratling by Dr. Taylor Littleton.
Dates
- 1890 - 2000
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Biographical / Historical
Spratling (1900-1967) studied architecture at Alabama Polytechnic Institute (now Auburn University), from 1917 to 1921. He designed the university seal that, with minor changes, is still in use. He also taught drafting at API. Spratling moved to New Orleans where he taught at Tulane University and shared an apartment with novelist William Faulkner. Soon after, Spratling moved to Taxco, Mexico, reviving that town's silver industry. He authored many articles about architecture as well as a critically-acclaimed book, Little Mexico. He became famous as a silversmith. In 1962, Auburn University presented him with an honorary doctorate. He died in 1967.
Extent
3.60 Cubic Feet (2 records center boxes, 2 @ 1/2 letter document boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
This finding aid is organized by accessions. Each accession represents an addition to the collection. Each accession also represents a transfer of physical and legal custody of archival materials from the donor(s) to Auburn University Special Collections and Archives.
Processing Information
Accession 76-0709 processed by DWA; 90-29 by C. Register; 91-81 by unknown; 92-80 by Debbie Fletcher; 94-78 by Kenny B. Moore; 97-071 by MTO; 00-072 by Anthony Donaldson; 01-001 by Javan Frazier; 08-017 by Michael Law. Collection entered in ArchivesSpace by Lisa Glasscock 2020-07-20.Accessopm 24-018 processed by Jacob Kachelhofer, Novermber 15th, 2024.
- Title
- Guide to the William Spratling Collection
- Subtitle
- Record Group 0102
- Status
- Under Revision
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Auburn University Special Collections and Archives Repository
Auburn University
Ralph Brown Draughon Library
231 Mell Street
Auburn Alabama 36849
334-844-1732
archives@auburn.edu
