R. C. Sneed's Joel Chandler Harris Uncle Remus Collection
-
No requestable containers
Scope and Contents
The collection contains books, collectibles, and other items related to Joel Chandler Harris's Uncle Remus character and stories, especially as they were adapted into the 1946 Disney film Song of the South or the Disneyland ride Splash Mountain.
The collection is divided into three series: PUBLISHED MATERIAL; MEMORABILIA; and MISCELLANEOUS MATERIALS. The Published Material series is divided into five subseries: Original Publications; Walt Disney Adaptations (Books); Other Adaptations (Books and Sheet Music); Comic Books; and Audiovisual Materials.
In the PUBLISHED MATERIAL series, the subseries Original Publications includes a copy of of the 1934 edition of Uncle Remus stories which was edited by Harris's wife Edith LaRose Harris, and three full-page Uncle Remus cartoons published in the Nashville Banner in 1906.
The Walt Disney Adaptations (Books) subseries contains a variety of the Walt Disney editions of the Uncle Remus stories, for an assortment of ages and reading abilities.
The Other Adaptations (Books and Sheet Music) subseries has books using the Uncle Remus (mainly Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, and Brer Bear) by other authors and illustrators. These are primarily retellings, but a few are new stories using the same characters and characteristics. There is also the sheet music for Zip-a-dee-doo-dah.
The Comic Books are all Walt Disney publications featuring the Uncle Remus characters. These are mainly cartoon retelling of the original stories.
The Audiovisual Materials includes three LP records, one videocassette, and two DVDs. There are also several homemade audiovisual items (three videocassettes and seven DVDs) of various quality.
THe MEMORABILIA series includes a variety of items from promotional posters for the Walt Disney movie, glass, plastic, and plush toy figurines of Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, Brer Bear, and the Tar-Baby, some of which were used in the promotion of the Splash Mountain log flume ride at Disneyland and Disney World theme parks. There is also a large wood and pewter diorama featuring Uncle Remus sitting on the porch talking to the little boy at his feet about all "de critters," including Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, Brer Bear, the Tar-Baby, Mr. Turtle, Mr. Possum, and Mr. Raccoon.
The MISCELLANEOUS MATERIALS series is comprised of a wide variety of materials of which only a few pertain to Joel Chandler Harris and the Uncle Remus stories. There are two short stories by Harris that were published in The Century Magazine in 1906, but the bulk of this series pertains to mid-twentieth century science fiction comic books.
Dates
- Creation: 1906-2010
Creator
- Walt Disney Productions (Organization)
- Harris, Joel Chandler (Person)
Biographical / Historical
Joel Chandler Harris was born in Eatonton, Georgia, in 1845. His mother, Mary Ann Harris, was an Irish immigrant, but his father's identity is unknown. With help from a local patron, Harris was able to attend Eatonton Academy, where he proved himself to be a keen reader and writer. As a teenager in the 1860s, Harris worked on the plantation of Joseph Addison Turner as a printer. He also listened to the stories of the slaves, often trickster tales derived from African folklore. In 1873, Harris married Esther LaRose, a French-Canadian. They had nine children, six of whom survived into adulthood. Harris died in 1908.
Though he had a long career as a typesetter and editor, notably at the Savannah Morning News and the Atlanta Constitution, he made his name as a writer. Aside from his journalistic work, he is best known for creating the popular character Uncle Remus, an African-American plantation storyteller featured in various collections, including Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings (1880), Nights with Uncle Remus (1883), The Tar Baby and Other Rhymes of Uncle Remus (1904), and Uncle Remus and Brer Rabbit (1907). These stories were the basis of the Disney movie Song of the South (1946), which in turn inspired the Disneyland ride Splash Mountain, which opened in 1989.
Extent
5 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Books, collectibles, and other items related to Joel Chandler Harris's Uncle Remus character and stories, especially as they were adapted into the 1946 Disney film Song of the South or the Disneyland ride Splash Mountain
Provenance
gift of Raphael Sneed, 2013
General
To provide faster access to our materials, this finding aid was published without formal and final review. Email us at archives@ua.edu if you find mistakes or have suggestions to make this finding aid more useful for your research.
Processed by
Martha Bace, 2016
Source
- Sneed, R. C. (Donor, Person)
- Title
- Guide to the R. C. Sneed's Joel Chandler Harris "Uncle Remus" Collection
- Status
- Completed
- Date
- February 2016
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the The University of Alabama Libraries Special Collections Repository