Kemp Battle Nye Papers, 1930s-2000s

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Summary

Creator:
Nye, Kemp Battle, 1916-
Abstract:

Kemp Battle Nye (1915-1994) was a white University of North Carolina alumnus, a U.S. Marine in the detachment guarding the U.S. emabassy in Peking (now Beijing) in the 1930s, a record store owner in Chapel Hill, N.C., and a writer. Papers of Kemp Battle Nye chiefly document his time at the University of North Carolina as a student; his record store, "Kemp's"; and life in Chapel Hill, N.C. Materials include clippings, photographs, scrapbooks, writings, an account ledger for the store, and subject files. The Addition of December 2019 consists of Nye's writings on his experiences in China during the 1930s and on North Carolina and copies of The Horse Marines of Peking, in which Nye is the narrator, and Triangle Almanac.

Extent:
1800 items (9.0 linear feet)
Language:
Materials in English
Library Catalog Link:
View UNC library catalog record for this item

Background

Biographical / historical:

Kemp Battle Nye (1915-1994) was a white University of North Carolina alumnus, a U.S. Marine in the detachment guarding the U.S. emabassy in Peking (now Beijing) in the 1930s, record store owner in Chapel Hill, N.C., and writer. During the 1930s, he served with the Marines that guarded the U.S. embassy in Peking, China. From 1955 to 1977, Nye owned a record store, "Kemp's," on Franklin Street that was popular with students for decades. After retiring from the music business, he turned his attention to writing. Kemp Battle Nye died in 1994.

Scope and content:

Kemp Battle Nye (1915-1994) was a white University of North Carolina alumnus, a U.S. Marine in the detachment guarding the U.S. emabassy in Peking (now Beijing) in the 1930s, a record store owner in Chapel Hill, N.C., and a writer. Papers of Kemp Battle Nye chiefly document his time at the University of North Carolina as a student; his record store, "Kemp's"; and life in Chapel Hill, N.C. The original deposit consists of clippings, photographs, scrapbooks, drafts of "The Great Swarth" and Ripshin, an account ledger for the store, and subject files.

The Addition of December 2019 consists of Nye's writings on his experiences in China during the 1930s and on North Carolina, related correspondence, and other materials documenting his efforts to have them published. Also included are videotapes of The Horse Marines of Peking, in which Nye is the narrator, and Triangle Almanac.

Acquisition information:

Received from Nancy Nye in September 2019 (Acc. 103711) and December 2019 (Acc. 103763).

Processing information:

Processed by: Nancy Kaiser and Gillian McCuistion, September 2019

Encoded by: Nancy Kaiser, September 2019

Updated by: Anne Wells and Andrew Crook, October 2019; Nancy Kaiser, February 2020

In 2017, we began using "white" as an ethnic and racial identity for individual and families, in addition to "Black," "African American," "Jewish," and other familiar identity terms that we have used for decades in collection descriptions. We use this identity term so that whiteness is no longer the presumed default of the people represented in our collections. To determine identity, we rely on self-identification; other information supplied to the repository by collection creators or sources; public records, press accounts, and secondary sources; and contextual information in the collection materials. Omissions of ethnic and racial identities in finding aids created or updated after August 2017 are an indication of insufficient information to make an educated guess or an individual's preference for identity information to be excluded from description. When we have misidentified, please let us know at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu.

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 laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). 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 North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

Access and use

Restrictions to access:

Use of audio materials may require production of listening or viewing copies.

Restrictions to use:

No usage restrictions.

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], in the Kemp Battle Nye Papers #05801, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Location of this collection:
Louis Round Wilson Library
200 South Road
Chapel Hill, NC 27515
Contact:
(919) 962-3765
wilsonlibrary@unc.edu