Edwin Tunis (1897-1973) was born in Cold Springs Harbor, New York, the son of an itinerant electrical engineer. His early career included stints as a graphic designer, radio announcer, and stage designer, but he excelled most at drawing accurate renditions of architecture, furniture, and historical objects. In 1943, he was commissioned by McCormick and Company to paint a 145-foot mural depicting the history of spices, a project which took him over two years to complete. While researching the subject, he realized that no one had ever told the story of ship-building in a way that would interest young people. Within a week, he sold a dummy of Oars, Sail, and Steam to a literary agent. This began his long career of writing and illustrating educational children’s books on diverse subjects of historical interest, from colonial life to frontier living to wheels and weapons.

Although he was frequently lauded for melding “historical accuracy” with art, a closer look at his work reveals the need for a deeper interrogation of the ideas and narratives he was promoting. For example, in his award-winning Colonial Craftsman (1965), we are provided with detailed drawings of every element of colonial life, from firearms to horse-drawn vehicles. More problematically, we see images depicting slavery and indentured servitude, with drawings such as “A Planter and His Overseer,” identified in the banal, non-critical language of everyday speech. Children are not presented with the punishing reality and immorality of slavery, but instead are given a white-washed and cleansed version of American history. This is also apparent in titles such as Frontier Living (1962) and Indians (1959), which fail to accurately represent the realities of Westward expansion on Native cultures and populations. Nevertheless, Tunis’ work is entirely in keeping with the popular narratives of American history being taught at the time, and his books are important representations of how Americans wanted children to see and understand their history.

The Edwin Tunis collection comprises the manuscripts of all of his titles, as well illustrations, book maquettes, galley proofs, and layouts for the bulk of his work.