HAROLD KITTLESON:

John Harold Kittleson was born in 1905 and spent most of his life in south Minneapolis. After graduating from the city's South High School in 1922, he took a job in shipping and receiving at Dayton's Department Store. A book lover and collector since childhood, Kittleson took a particular interest in helping out with the receiving of books. He volunteered to help in the book department during the holiday rush period and was soon hired on permanently. After a brief stint as manager of the Minneapolis branch of Mabel Ulrich's book store in 1930, Kittleson took a position in the prestigious book section of Powers Department Store, then under the leadership of Leonard H. Wells. When Wells passed away in 1933, Kittleson succeeded him as manager. In 1945, Kittleson resigned his position at Powers to work as a travelling sales representative for Random House. He retired in 1969 but remained very involved in the book world through involvement with the Friends of the Minneapolis Library, the Ampersand Club (a Minneapolis bibliophile group), and other book-related activities. Kittleson died September 27, 2002.

Return to top

Correspondence, news clippings, photographs, catalogs, and other papers created and accumulated by Minneapolis bookseller Harold Kittleson, primarily relating to his work for the Powers Department Store Book Section and to the book trade in the Twin Cities area.

The letters discuss some personal matters, but primarily discuss book promotions and sales. Correspondents include Margaret Culkin Banning, Sigurd and Elizabeth Olson, Glanville Smith, and Bertram Rota. Other correspondents include book collector and/or editor Richard Burton, book collector and writer John H. Daniels (1976, 1986-2000), photographer and writer Leslie and his wife Frances Blacklock (1986-1998), and Elmer L. Andersen (1982-1999), former governor of Minnesota and President of HB Fuller Company. There is also a group of letters from O. E. Rolvaag to Florence Winding, manager of Dayton's book department (where Kittleson worked for a during the late 1920s) and Leonard Wells, founder and manager of the Powers book department from 1895 until his death in 1933.

Also included are several manuscripts and research papers by John H. Daniels (1985-1990). They discuss sporting books, Henry Thomas Alken, and literary hoaxes.

Return to top

Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. J. Harold Kittleson Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 14,669; 15,623; 15,969; 17,626

Processing Information:

Processed by: Lara D. Friedman~Shedlov, August 2001 and Alex Kent, September 2009

Catalog ID number: 990017229710104294

A portion of this collection was formerly cataloged as P1934

Return to top

Celebrating the First Ninety Years in the Life of John Harold Kittleson: That Enduring Gentleman of Books, a compilation of interviews by Betty Bridgman and Patty Baker, is separately cataloged in the Minnesota Historical Society book collection.

An interview with Harold Kittleson, done in 1996 by Metronet as part of its Northern Lights series, is separately cataloged in the Minnesota Historical Society sound and visual collection.

Return to top

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Booksellers and bookselling -- Minnesota -- Twin Cities Metropolitan Area.

Bookstores -- Minnesota -- Twin Cities Metropolitan Area.

Places:

Minnesota -- Authors.

Persons:

Andersen, Elmer L., 1909-2004.

Blacklock, Les.

Banning, Margaret Culkin, 1891-.

Burton, Richard.

Daniels, John H.

Olson, Sigurd F., 1899-.

Rolvaag, O. E. (Ole Edvart), 1876-1931.

Smith, Glanville.

Wells, Leonard H., 1868-1933.

Organizations:

Dayton Company.

Powers Department Store (Minneapolis, Minn.). Book Section.

South High School (Minneapolis, Minn.).

Types of Documents:

Photographs.

Occupations:

Book collectors -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Return to top