Amber Dean papers

Collection

Identifier: D.128

Staff Only

Biographical/Historical note

Amber Dean Getzin was born in Depew, New York, on December 12, 1902, of Canadian parentage. In the 1930's, she moved to Rochester with her husband Norman "Dutch" Getzin (d. 1976). Between 1944 and 1973 she wrote seventeen mystery novels under the pen name Amber Dean. In writing her novels, Mrs. Getzin drew from incidents in her personal life, background, and regional locality, most of her books being set in upstate New York.

Throughout her approximately thirty-year career as a writer, Amber Dean gave many lectures on writing mysteries to clubs, organizations, and libraries. Another of her concerns was Operation Morale, a volunteer organization that sent care packages to men serving in Vietnam during the war. She wrote numerous letters on behalf of Operation Morale to corporations and prominent individuals asking for donations. She was also involved in garden clubs, particularly the Federated Garden Clubs of New York State. She took horticultural classes and eventually became a judge for flower shows.

In 1979, Amber Dean began writing her memoirs, to be called Ten Miles East of Buffalo. A couple of the chapters were published in a condensed form in Upstate magazine in 1981. She also revised There's A Man In My Cistern, an unpublished manuscript, re-naming it Mrs. Neoga Is Late Again. She died on June 3, 1985 after a short illness.

MYSTERY NOVELS BY AMBER DEAN. The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections also has a collection of Amber Dean's novels. For more information, check the local catalog.

Dead Man's Float. Garden City, New York, Doubleday, Doran and company, 1944.

Chanticleer's Muffled Crow. Garden City, New York, Doubleday, Doran and company, 1945.

Call Me Pandora. Garden City, New York, Doubleday and company, 1946.

Wrap It Up. Garden City, New York, Doubleday and company, 1946.

Foggy Foggy Dew. Garden City, New York, Doubleday, 1947.

No Traveler Returns. Garden City, New York, Doubleday, 1948.

Snipe Hunt. Garden City, New York, Doubleday, 1949.

Ticket to Buffalo. Garden City, New York, Doubleday, 1951.

August Incident. Garden City, New York, Doubleday, 1951.

Collector's Item. Garden Clty, New York, Doubleday, 1953.

The Devil Threw Dice. Garden City, New York, Doubleday, 1954.

Something For The Birds. Garden City, New York, Doubleday, 1959.

Bullet Proof. Garden City, New York, Doubleday, 1960.

Encounter With Evil. Garden City, New York, Doubleday, 1961.

Deadly Contact. Garden City, New York, Doubleday, 1963.

The Dower Chest. New York, Putnam, 1970.

Be Home By Eleven. New York, Putnam, 1973.

Scope and Contents

The collection contains: typescripts, chiefly of unpublished novels, short stories and a few poems; correspondence between herself and James Brown of James Brown Associates (her agent), publishing companies, book clubs, friends, and on behalf of Operation Morale; magazine and newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, desk diaries, and miscellaneous pictures.

Creator

Dean, Amber (Person)

Dates

Creation: 1903-1985

Language of Materials

English

Extent

12 box(es) (12 boxes and 3 packages)

Access

The Amber Dean Papers is open for research use. Researchers are advised to contact the Rare Books Special Collections & Preservation Department prior to visiting. Upon arrival, researchers will also be asked to fill out a registration form and provide photo identification.

Use

In consultation with a curator, reproductions may be made upon request. Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from a curator. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions.