George Heinold Papers
Scope and Content
This collection chronicles the literary and photographic career of George W. Heinold, a native of Madison, Connecticut and writer of popular stories about outdoor life, fishing, and hunting. The papers cover the years from Heinold's birth in 1916 until his 1982 death. The bulk of the collection spans the fifteen-year period from 1965 until 1980 when Heinold enjoyed the peak of his fame and apparently produced his largest volume of output. The papers encompass his personal correspondence, including letters and related materials on his Madison property which the State commandeered for highway development in the 1950s and financial records, in addition to the published articles, unpublished manuscripts, and photographs-plus negatives thereof-that constitutes the main part of the papers. As well, the collection includes two newspaper articles written about Heinold, which appear at the end of Series III.
As a whole, the papers afford insights into the social history of the Connecticut shoreline between 1920 and 1982 from the perspective of the writer, who incorporated firsthand experiences into his prose and accompanying photographs. Beyond this attribute, the collection illustrates important aspects of male gender that constitute the persona of the American outdoor-and-sportsman of the mid-twentieth century. Heinold constructs a rugged version of masculinity that appealed to popular audiences throughout America. His accounts of his own experiences reveal the biases and decidedly male homosociability which collectively defined outdoor sports and leisure in the United States during the twentieth century.
Dates
- undated, 1916-1982
Access
The collection is open and available for research.
Restrictions on Use
Permission to publish from these Papers must be obtained in writing from both the University of Connecticut Libraries and the owner(s) of the copyright.
Biography
A lifelong resident of Madison, Connecticut, George W. Heinold (1916-1982) ranked as a leading writer of outdoor articles about animals, fishing, and hunting. Heinold served his community as a full time policeman. He also built a literary career by infusing his work with personal anecdotes, almost all of which occurred in the shoreline area of Madison, Clinton, and Killingworth before suburbanization changed the character of this region. In so doing, Heinold captured moments in the social history of the Connecticut shoreline for posterity. Moreover, he supported his articles with many photographs that he himself took and which also offer glimpses into life along the shore during Heinold's lifetime. As a professional writer, he won public recognition first in 1944 when voted as author of one of the year's best stories. He thereafter published many stories in Readers' Digest and anthologies that RD produced. He contributed regularly to such popular outdoor sports journals as Outdoor Life, Field and Stream, Sports Afield, True, and Ford (Motor Company) Times. In Outdoor Life, Heinold had his own department entitled "Salt Water" which appeared monthly.
Extent
7.25 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
George W. Heinold, lifelong resident of Madison, Connecticut, was an author on outdoor life and fishing who wrote extensively on his experiences primarily along the Connecticut shoreline. He published regularly in such periodicals as Outdoor Life, Field and Stream, and Readers' Digest.
Organization
Series I: Correspondence (1955-1981) includes all correspondence that did not accompany the articles and manuscripts of Series II. (This latter body can be found with Series II contents). In addition, the series contains letters and related materials on Heinold's Madison (Ct.) property which he lost to highway development during the mid-1950s. The loss of this land-claimed as eminent domain by the State of Connecticut-weighed on Heinold's mind until the end of the life. In the 1970s, he wrote an unpublished account of his battle with the state over this property entitled "Auf Wiedersehen, Little Walden." This manuscript appears in Series III in File 114.
Series II: Financial Materials (1916-1971) unites the few sparse financial materials that the collection contains. The series includes information on Heinold's savings account, sample tax returns, and bills that Heinold incurred on an assignment for Popular Science.
Series III: Articles and Manuscripts (1942-1982) comprises articles and manuscripts that constitute the main body of the collection, including any correspondence regarding submission or editing. Mostly typescript materials-although published versions are included, the series breaks down into several subseries. Subseries A: Dated articles and manuscripts; Subseries B: Undated materials in alphabetical order; Subseries C: Pieces written for "Salt Water" and Heinold's regular department in the periodical Outdoor Life; and, Subseries D: Articles written about Heinold. Each article/manuscript is listed by formal title if in quotes. If no formal title exists, the piece bears the subject title as identified by Heinold himself. In the absence of either a formal or subject title, the piece has a designation of "Untitled."
Dates for Subseries A reflect a variety of sources. If published, the article appears with the corresponding date of publication. In manuscript form, respective pieces bear either the date when Heinold sent out the item for consideration, or the last date appearing in any related correspondence. Those materials with a "circa" designation reflect undated items that appeared amid other manuscripts, all of which conclusively bore a similar date that now follows the "circa." All other manuscripts and articles are listed as undated in Subseries B.
The researcher should treat the first two subseries as intermingled. Heinold often wrote multiple drafts of articles under the same title, sometimes over the space of months and years, resubmitting them for publication accordingly. When dated, these manuscripts and articles appear in the first subseries, in the second if not. Therefore, the researcher should consult both subseries to insure a comprehensive history of any one piece. Similarly, the researcher should not necessarily treat any one dated article as a single occurrence in Subseries A. Rather, the researcher should look for successive or previous versions of the article or manuscript in question throughout the subseries to see the possible evolution of that piece.
The researcher should also be sure to check Series IV, which contains photographs for articles as well as subject and dated photographs that can relate to specific topics about which Heinold writes.
Series IV: Photographs (ca. 1955-1979) encompasses all photographs and negatives in the collection. Arrangement is again in subseries. Subseries A: Heinold family photographs; Subseries B: Dated photographs; Subseries C: Subject photographs; Subseries D: Printed, or published, photographs; Subseries E: Press photographs not by Heinold; and, Subseries F: Negatives for the Heinold-generated photographs of Subseries A-D. Negative arrangement corresponds exactly these subdivisions. However, not all photographs had accompanying negatives, and vice versa as well. Of special note are subject files for bluefish and stripers. In unprocessed form, Heinold's photographs of these fishes constituted roughly one-half of all pictures, with bluefish as the overwhelming majority. The two groups of photographs thus impeded proper and logical processing, which aimed for a proportionate representation. Therefore, the processor included only a sample of this material in the finalized collection. He first separated the photographs from the larger body of materials and then removed duplicate or similar images, reducing the mass to their present form and in proper proportion to one another.
Acquisition Information
Heinold's son, Henry Robert Heinold, donated the papers to the University of Connecticut in the summer of 1982.
Separated Material
Marsh, Irving T. and Edward Ehre. Best Short Stories of 1944, New York, 1944.
Outdoor Life. Bound. January-June 1975.
. Marvels & Mysteries of Our Anima Word: A Family Guide to the Fascinating Creatures of the Earth, Sea, and Sky. New York: Reader's Digest, 1964.
Bibliography
- Authors Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Connecticut (state) Subject Source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
- Correspondence Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Editors Subject Source: Fast
- Financial records Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Fishing Subject Source: Fast
- Journalism Subject Source: Fast
- Madison (Conn.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Outdoor Life (Periodical). Subject Source: Local sources
- Photocopies Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Photographs Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Press releases Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Publications (documents) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Recreation Subject Source: Fast
- Sports Subject Source: Fast
- Typescripts Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- United States (nation) Subject Source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
- manuscripts (document genre) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Title
- George Heinold Papers
- Status
- Published
- Author
- Archives & Special Collections staff
- Date
- 2002 November
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Archives and Special Collections, University of Connecticut Library Repository
University of Connecticut Library
405 Babbidge Road Unit 1205
Storrs Connecticut 06269-1205 USA US
860-486-2524
archives@uconn.edu