RIAMCO

Rhode Island Archival and Manuscript Collections Online

For Participating Institutions

Margaret Wise Brown papers (MWB01)

Westerly Public Library

Local History and Special Collections
44 Broad Street
Westerly, RI 02891
Tel: 401-596-2877
E-mail: nwright@westerlylibrary.org

Arrangement

The Margaret Wise Brown Collection consists of seven series: published works, unpublished works, correspondence, miscellaneous papers, illustrations, materials about Margaret Wise Brown, and photographs.

  • Series 1. Published Works contains published stories, poems, and songs, both handwritten and typed, often with Margaret Wise Brown's notes. The collection also has book dummies for some of her works. These items are arranged alphabetically by title and housed in Boxes 1-12.
  • Series 2. Unpublished Works contains poems and songs, essays and stories, ideas for records, plays, radio and television programs, musical scores with words by Margaret Wise Brown, music by Elizabeth Randolph or Dorothy Cadzow, and composition books with ideas for stories, notes, and thoughts in them. These items are grouped by format, and arranged alphabetically within format. They are housed in boxes 13-18.
  • Series 3. Correspondence contains letters to and from Margaret Wise Brown, separated into two files. Correspondence is in box 19.
  • Series 4. Miscellaneous Papers contains Margaret Wise Brown’s college papers and creative stories, her notes from writing workshops she participated in, including notes about how children reacted to her stories, and book reviews and articles on her work that she clipped from newspapers. Series IV is in box 20.
  • Series 5. Illustrations contains illustrations, generally in storyboard form, for a few of Margaret Wise Brown’s published books. One box holds the complete storyboard for the story The Little Brass Band. The second box has assorted illustrations from several of Margaret Wise Brown’s books including The Little Fir Tree. The collection contains work by Barbara Cooney and Clement Hurd and is housed in boxes 21 and 22.
  • Series 6. Materials about Margaret Wise Brown contains articles, theses, and manuscripts about her, grouped by format. It is contained in box 23.
  • Series 7. Photographs contains black and white photographs of Margaret Wise Brown, from her childhood until shortly before her death. Also included are photographs of her homes in Maine and New York City. Photographs are in box 24.