George Fuermann "Texas and Houston" Collection

Collection

Identifier: 1970-001

Staff Only

George Fuermann, 1918-2001, collected several types of materials relating to Houston and Texas history, including clippings and other printed materials; legal, financial, and government documents; photographs and negatives; historic maps; works of art; artifacts; and research files. The items in the collection range in date from 1836 to 1988.

The collection is arranged in eight series: Printed Materials, Documents, Photographic Material, Creative Works, Maps, Works of Art, Artifacts, and Research Files. The collection is housed in 39 boxes and 12 oversize boxes.

Dates

1836-1988

Creator

Fuermann, George, 1918-2001 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access:

Open for research.

Conditions Governing Use:

Special Collections owns the physical items in our collections, but copyright normally belongs to the creator of the materials or their heirs. The researcher has full responsibility for determining copyright status, obtaining permission to publish from copyright holders, and abiding by current copyright laws when publishing or displaying copies of Special Collections material in print or electronic form. For more information, consult the appropriate librarian. Reproduction decisions will be made by Special Collections staff on a case-by-case basis.

Extent

17.00 Linear Feet

Additional Description

Biographical Information:

Born in Buffalo, New York on August 25, 1918, George Fuermann moved to Texas with his family in 1923. He died in Houston, at the age of 82, on January 20, 2001. He earned a journalism degree in 1941 from Texas A & M College, where he edited the student journal, “The Battalion.” Captain Fuermann received a Bronze Star during World War II, while serving the U.S. Army as a correspondent in the European Theater.

Mr. Fuermann’s “Houston Post” career spanned 49 years. He began in 1946 as a general assignment reporter. His popular daily column, based on snippets of local history, “Post Card,” ran from 1950 to 1971. He continued as Editorial Page editor from 1971 to 1983 and as “Wine Talk” columnist from 1984 to 1995, when the “Houston Post” closed its doors. From 1996 to 1999, George Fuermann wrote a wine column for a publication of the Rice Epicurean Markets.

George Fuermann authored approximately ten volumes. Additionally, he wrote numerous articles, forewards and other contributing texts. Among his best known books are Houston: Land of the Big Rich, 1951; Reluctant Empire, 1957; The Face of Houston, 1963; and Houston: The Once and Future City, 1971. For a complete list of his published volumes and other works to which he made a contribution, see sub-group II, box 1, folder 1.

In addition to his writing, Mr. Fuermann served the community as chair of the Municipal Arts Commission in 1965-66 and as a member until 1971. He also served as chair of the Houston Committee on Foreign Relations in 1977-78 and was a member of the American Bicentennial Commission. He founded two dining/social clubs, the “Seventh of April” in 1964 and “Cheap and Hungry” in 1985.

Acquisition Information:

Donated to the University of Houston by George Fuermann, in lots, from 1970 through 1983. Mr. Fuermann's family gave additional materials to the university, at the time of his death, in 2001.