Robert J. Waller Papers
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of documents and objects by and about writer and UNI business professor Robert James Waller. Materials include newspaper clippings, print magazine articles, VHS tapes, correspondence, essays, books, photographs, and signed photograph mats. The collection primarily reflects Waller's creative work rather than his UNI career. The collection is arranged into five series.
Series 1, Articles & Clippings, dates from 1979-2002; 2014, and is arranged chronologically. It consists of assorted local, regional, and national magazine and newspaper articles, as well as UNI news releases and College of Business memos by and about Waller. The bulk of the series focuses on the publication and commercial success of The Bridges of Madison County and includes subsequent profiles about Waller. It also includes many clippings about the book's movie adaptation as well as a handful about the 1993 Oprah Winfrey Show episode filmed in Iowa and featuring the book. Earlier clippings related to Waller's role at the University of Northern Iowa, notably as the dean of the College of Business. Also included are reviews of Waller's book, Slow Waltz in Cedar Bend. Additionally, there are two New York Times reviews and two playbills from the Broadway musical adaptation of The Bridges of Madison County, both dated 2014.
The second series, Writings, contains four of Waller's essays and manuscripts, three of which are unpublished. The four documents are: "Going Soft Upon the Land and Down Along the Rivers" (1986); "The Synthesis of Hierarchical Structures: Techniques and Application" (c. 1976); "Interpretive Structural Modeling: An Informal Introduction to a Useful Idea"; and "Interpretive Structural Modeling: An Introduction to the Foundations, Method, and Applications of a Useful Idea." The second series also includes the 1990 manuscript draft of Waller's novel, The Bridges of Madison County. Some of the chapters contains handwritten annotations and edits. Please note that the manuscript is located in Box 2.
Series 3, Teaching Career, concerns Waller's career at the University of Northern Iowa. Included in this series is correspondence and Waller's resumes and C/Vs. The correspondence is arranged chronologically and dates from 1967-1969, with one letter from 1990, and largely relates to Waller's hiring at the university and subsequent duties. Correspondents include Waller and UNI President J.W. Maucker, among others.
The fourth series in the collection, Books, is comprised of various editions and translations of Waller’s books. Included are three different editions of Die Brücken am Fluß, the German translation of The Bridges of Madison County, published in 1993; Hiljaiset Sillat, the Finnish translation of The Bridges of Madison County; English and German translations of Puerto Vallarta Squeeze; and the German translation of Slow Waltz in Cedar Bend, Die Liebenden Von Cedar Bend.
Series 5, Media, contains assorted types of media ranging from audiovisual recordings to photographs. Included are two VHS recordings of interviews with Waller, c. 1993 and a cassette recording of "The Ballads of Madison County." Additionally, there are eight 16x11 photographs taken by Waller and nine signed photograph mats. The two photographs from 2023 are titled, "Irish Boat" and "High Summer in the Colorado Dunes, 4 P.M.". Waller originally sent the 2023 acquisiton photographs to Kurt Ulrich of Maquoketa, Iowa, upon Ulrich's request for copies. Letters discussing the sending and acquisition of the photos, from Waller to Ulrich, are included in the collection control file. Please see the collection inventory for a full list.
Dates
- c. 1963-2002
Creator
- Waller, Robert James, 1939-2017 (Person)
Language of Materials
Records in English and copies of The Bridges of Madison County, Slow Waltz in Cedar Bend, and Puerto Vallarta Squeeze in German and Dutch.
Conditions Governing Access
Most materials are open for research. Materials related to the confidentiality of personnel, student, medical, and other legally protected records are CLOSED to researchers for 70 years from the date of creation. Materials in Box 2, Folders 1-10, cannot be photocopied or digitized under any circumstances without direct written permission from Waller's estate. Please consult the archivist with any questions or concernts.
Technical Access
The collection contains VHS tapes and cassette tapes requiring special playback equipment for access and use.
Physical Access
Photographs in boxes 6 and 7 are fragile and researchers must wear gloves when handling.
General Use, Reproduction, and Copyright Policies
Many items housed in the Rod Library Special Collections & University Archives, including unpublished images and manuscripts, may be protected by copyright, publication rights, trademarks, or model release rights which the library does not own and for which the library cannot grant permission or licensing. Materials currently under copyright are usually still available for research and limited reproduction under Fair Use laws. However, it is the sole responsibility of the patron to determine whether or not their use of a given material falls within Fair Use guidelines and to obtain permission for said use from the rightful copyright owner.
Sensitive Materials Statement
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy or similar laws, and the Iowa Open Records Law (see Iowa Code § 22.7). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of Northern Iowa assumes no responsibility.
Biographical / Historical
Robert James Waller was born on August 1st, 1939, in Rockford, Iowa. He graduated from the State College of Iowa (SCI, now the University of Northern Iowa) in 1962 with a bachelor’s degree in business education and again with his master’s degree in education in 1964. He received his doctorate in business from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University Bloomington in 1968. He joined the faculty at UNI in 1968 and taught economics and decision theory between 1968 and 1989. He also served as the first dean of the School of Business from 1980 to 1986.
Dr. Waller also produced a substantial body of creative work in literature, music, and photography. His most famous book, The Bridges of Madison County, has sold more than 50 million copies worldwide and is published in 40 languages. It spent more than three years on the New York Times best-sellers list. In addition to Bridges, he wrote a number of fiction and non-fiction books as well as a collection of personal essays, including Slow Waltz at Cedar Bend, Border Music, Puerto Vallarta Squeeze, A Thousand County Roads — An Epilogue to The Bridges of Madison County, and High Plains Tango. Dr. Waller was also a photographer. Several of his signed photographs and mats were donated to Special Collections & University Archives by the UNI College of Business Administration in March 2018. In 2015, Waller donated the original typescript of The Bridges of Madison County to SC&UA. In 2012, Waller made a seven-figure gift to his alma mater. Part of the donation was used to fund College of Business awards, including the annual Robert James Waller Scholarship in Economics, a full tuition and fees scholarship awarded to an economics major; the Charles T. Leavitt Scholarship in Economics; the Robert James Waller Professorship in Economics; and the Robert James Waller College of Business Faculty Enrichment fund. Waller’s gift also provided support for jazz scholarships and the Honors Program, with the Rod Library receiving royalties from his books. He died on March 10, 2017.
Extent
7 Linear Feet (8 boxes)
Arrangement
- Series 1: Articles & Clippings
- Series 2: Writings
- Series 3: Teaching Career
- Series 4: Books
- Series 5: Media
Custodial History
The photographs acquired in February 2023 were originally given to Kurt Ulrich of Maquoketa, Iowa, who had requested copies from Robert Waller. Ulrich sent the photographs to the UNI College of Business.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Some materials were donated by Waller himself, while some were collected and donated by others.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The photographs acquired in 2023 were donated by Leslie Wilson, Dean of the UNI College of Business Administration.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Library Associate Dave Hoing, September 2017. Updated by Keegan Little, April 2018 and Tessa Wakefield, June 2019.
- Title
- Robert J. Waller Papers
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script