Atha Tehon papers - Philadelphia Area Archives (2024)

Call Number:

Ms. Coll. 1260

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

11.5 linear feet (30 boxes and 8 oversized folders)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Atha Tehon papers, 1929-2012 (bulk: 1970-2012), Ms. Coll. 1260, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1929-2012 (inclusive) and 1970-2012 (bulk)

Creator:

Tehon, Atha

Form:

Book jackets, Mock-ups, Page proofs, Memorabilia, Machine-readable artifacts, Audiovisual materials, Awards, Correspondence, Sketchbooks, Sketches, Drawings (visual works), Clippings (information artifacts), and Calendars

Abstract:

Atha Tehon (1926-2012) was a children's book designer and art director at Dial Books for Young Readers for thirty years and a freelance designer. This collection documents Tehon's life and career in the field of children's book publishing through correspondence, professional papers, project files on children's books, artwork, and awards.

Atha Tehon was born on January 22, 1926, the daughter of Dr. Leo Roy and Mary Tehon. Her father worked as a botanist for the Illinois State Natural History Survey and her mother worked as a teacher at the Urbana High School and at the University of Wisconsin. She had a brother, Stephen, with whom she remained close throughout their lives.

From the time she was eleven, Tehon knew that a career in art was what she wanted. According to "Going on Twelve," a school paper written by Tehon, "ever since [she] could hold a pencil, [she] loved to draw and paint" and she thought she would "be an artist of some kind," (Box 2, Folder 10). In preparing for her career, she attended the Jerry Farnsworth School in North Truro, Massachusetts, graduated from the University of Indiana with a degree in Painting and Illustration, studied painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Design with a Masters in Fine Arts in 1949. She continued her education with a Tiffany Award for study in Europe in 1951 and through evening courses in New York. She married Stephen Thiras (1922-2005), a sales representative in the book publishing field, in 1960.

Tehon worked for several publishing companies, including T.Y. Crowell, McGraw Hill Book Company, and Random House. For ten years, Tehon served as art director of children's books at Alfred A. Knopf. From 1969 to 2001, Tehon worked at Dial Books for Young Readers as book designer and art director. In addition, she worked as a freelance designer for a number of other publishers; notably Farrar, Strauss & Giroux, working with the children's book editor Michael di Capua on books by Nancy Ekholm Burkert, Richard Egielski, Randall Jarrell, Maurice Sendak, William Steig, and Harve and Margot Zemach, among others. Two of the books she designed, Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears and Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions, both illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon, won the Caldecott Medal in 1976 and 1977. In addition to her skills as designer and director, she was well known for attention to detail, her commitment to quality, and her mentorship of young artists and designers. Her widespread influence on emerging designers and artists was affectionately known as the "School of Atha." According to Jerry Pinkney, Tehon's "well honed sensibilities shepherded artists from sketches to preparing final images. She had the rare gift of a critical eye as well as an uncanny ability to gently support, nurture, and inspire illustrators to create their best works," (box 2, folder 10). In an email Tehon wrote to Jeanne Juster in 2006 (box 2, folder 10), she stated that "probably the most important book [she] worked on is White Ships/Black Cargo by Tom Feelings, and the most enjoyable The Old African by Julius Lester and Jerry Pinkney." Letters written in her memory immediately following her death indicate she was known and loved for "Athaisms," in particular a measurement known as "the cat's whisker" (between a hairline and a 1/2 point space).

After her retirement, Tehon and her husband moved to Syracuse where she continued to work on designing the art for children's books. Tehon died on February 15, 2012 at the age of 86. In addition to her career in publishing, Tehon was an accomplished flutist, pianist, painter, and photographer.

People

• Sendak, Maurice
• Steig, William
• Pinkney, Jerry

Organization

• HarperCollins (Firm)
• Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
• Dial Books for Young Readers

Subject

• Artists
• Publishers and publishing
• Children's literature
• Women in the book industries and trade
• Artists -- United States
• Women artists
• Book industries and trade
• Illustrators

Publisher

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Finding Aid Author

Holly Mengel

Finding Aid Date

2017 March 7

Access Restrictions

The bulk of this collection is open for research use. However, personally identifiable information located in box 3 folder 11 and original items in Series VIII. Audio, video, and computer files located in boxes 21-22 are restricted from use. The Kislak Center will provide access to the information on these materials from duplicate master files. If the original does not already have a copy, it will be sent to an outside vendor for copying. Patrons are financially responsible for the cost. The turnaround time from request to delivery of digital items is about two weeks for up to five items and three to seven weeks for more than five items. Please contact Reprographic Services (reprogr@upenn.edu) for cost estimates and ordering. Once digital items are received, researchers will have access to the files on a dedicated computer in the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center. Researchers should be aware of specifics of copyright law and act accordingly.

Use Restrictions

Copyright restrictions may exist. For most library holdings, the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania do not hold copyright. It is the responsibility of the requester to seek permission from the holder of the copyright to reproduce material from the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts.