Scope and Content of Collection

The Myra Dickman Orth research papers document Orth's education and research from her student years until the last months before her death in November 2002. They are a testament to the extent of Orth's research interests and her prominent role in French Renaissance studies, and reveal a scholar's working methods before the widespread use of the Internet and digitization. Very few documents are related to Orth's personal life.

The archive is arranged in four series. Series I relates to Orth's education and consists of her art history course notebooks dating from her Cornell and Institute of Fine Arts periods, and copies of her theses for the MA and the PhD.

Series II forms the bulk of the archive and consists of notes, drawings, bibliography, publications and documentation that reflect Orth's working methods, her interests and research topics. This portion of the archive documents her research on French Renaissance manuscripts, printed books, humanism and other topics. Included are files related to Orth's publications, lectures, and research tools, such as slides, offprints, photographs, negatives, index cards and microfilms.

Series III consists of teaching materials, including Orth's preparation notes for courses taught at the American College in Paris, the University of Virginia and UCLA. Series IV consists of Orth's correspondence with scholars and researchers, including François Avril, Colin Eisler, and Patricia Stirnemann.

Arrangement

Arranged in four series:
Series I. Education, 1952-1995;
Series II. Publications and research, 1970-2003;
Series III. Teaching files, 1963-2002;
Series IV. Correspondence, 1966-2002.