Skip to Main Content

College of Southern Idaho Special Collections and Archives: Vardis Fisher Collection, 1928-1989

CSISCA provides consistent opportunities for strengthened community connection, lifelong learning, and continued education to College of Southern Idaho faculty, staff, students, and community members.

CSISCA Header

Collection Finding Aid

Vardis Fisher Collection, 1928-1989

College of Southern Idaho

August 8, 2023

315 Falls Avenue, Twin Falls, ID 83301

 

 

Table of Contents

 

Administrative/Biographical History Note

Scope and Content Note

Restrictions

People

Administrative Information

Associated Information

   
 
Repository: College of Southern Idaho. Special Collections and Archives.
Address: 315 Falls Avenue, Twin Falls, ID 83301
Creator: Fisher, Vardis, 1895-1968.
Title: Vardis Fisher Collection, 1928-1989
Dates: 1928-1989.
Extent: 118 books occupying 24 cubic feet
Identification: COLL_MSS 003
Language: English

Administrative/Biographical History Note

Vardis Fisher was born on March 31, 1895 in Annis, Idaho (present-day Rigby, Idaho). He died in July 9, 1968 in Hagerman, Idaho. He devoted his life to writing historical fiction works that analyzed, criticized, and explored social and religious norms in his local area. He also worked as an English professor and writer at the University of Utah and New York University. He also worked as a writer at various local institutions.

Scope and Content Note

This collection comprises the largest collection of Vardis Fisher's works in existence. There are around 118 books in this collection. Books by Vardis Fisher include fiction works and nonfiction works, including several treatises on religion, writing, and Idaho. In addition to Fisher's works there are several biographies on his life.

Items in this collection do not circulate and may be used in-house only.

Copyright Statement: The copyright of this collection is held by the authors of the works, unless they are in the public domain. Thus, most of the works in this collection are in the copyright of Vardis Fisher.

Copyright Restrictions: It is the researcher’s responsibility to conform to all legal literary and copyright provisions attached to the materials used. The Special Collections Department will not be responsible for the infringement of any such laws. Patrons assume all responsibility for reproduction requests and will not assign blame in any way to the College of Southern Idaho over the reproduction of material at the request of patrons. For more information please visit Title 17 of the Copyright Law.

People

Fisher, Vardis, 1895-1968.

Subjects

Christianity.
Mormonism.
Theology.

Form

Biographies.
Creative Nonfiction.
Informational Works.
Novels.

Provenance

This collection of books was collected by the person who wrote most of them, Vardis Fisher. He also collected several biographies of his life. After his death, his friend Robert Lloyd Jensen gathered up his books and added a few more biographies. Then, he donated the entire corpus to the College of Southern Idaho on September 28, 2008.

Processing Information:

These records were organized and cataloged in 2023 by Reed C. Hepler.

Preferred Bibliographic Citation

Fisher, Vardis, "Vardis Fisher Collection" (CSI_MSS 003). College of Southern Idaho Special Collections and Archives, Twin Falls, Idaho. Accessed on [[date]]
CSI_MSS 003-01: Biographies, 1988-1989.
  2 bookx occupying .25 cubic feet.
  This series shows the biographical elements of Vardis Fisher's life. It also explores how these issues impacted his writings and relations with various religious and political institutions. Of particular interest are his relations with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which were prominent influences on his writings.
COLL_MSS 003-02: Works of Vardis Fisher, 1928-1968.
  116 books occupying 23.5 cubic feet.
  This series holds all of the published works of Vardis Fisher, including several copies of some of his most influential works. By researching the entire body of work in this series, one can view the changes in his perspective and how he communicated his thoughts about prominent institutions through creative fictional writing. His informational nonfiction works are also present in this series, including works created as a member of the Idaho section of the Federal Works Program.

Acknowledgments

The College of Southern Idaho Special Collections and Archives would like to thank the Idaho State Historical Records Advisory Board and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), whose financial and advisory support have facilitated the creation of these pages and records. For more information on the NHPRC, visit archives.gov/nhprc.