Guide to the Margaret Wise Brown papers , 1929-1952


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

Published in 2009

Collection Overview

Title: Margaret Wise Brown papers
Date range: 1929-1952
Creator: Brown, Margaret Wise, 1910-1952
Extent: 24 box(es)
Abstract: The Margaret Wise Brown papers contains correspondence, photographs, manuscripts, poems, songs, stories and essays, books, and many ideas for records, television and radio programs.
Language of materials: English
Repository: Westerly Public Library
Collection number: MWB01

Scope & content

The published works portion of the collection contains many of Margaret Wise Brown's handwritten or typed stories and ideas, which ultimately evolved into published books. There are often several different versions of a story, with ideas or changes scribbled in the margins. There are also book dummies with her notes for revisions. The collection includes two first editions of The Little Fur Family, covered in actual rabbit fur, and two records for children. The published works component of the collection is by far the largest, consisting of 12 boxes, most containing 10-30 folders. Series 2, the unpublished works part of the collection, contains several hundred poems or songs, stories and essays, both for children and adults, and many ideas for records, television and radio programs, and books.

In addition to her writings, the collection includes correspondence between Margaret Wise Brown and friends or collaborators, papers she wrote while in college for creative writing classes, articles and book reviews about her work, black and white photographs of Margaret Wise Brown and illustrations for some of her books. The illustrations were done by Clement Hurd (for The Little Brass Band) and Barbara Cooney (for The Little Fir Tree), and include complete storyboards for these two books. Lastly, the collection contains articles and theses written about Margaret Wise Brown.

Access Points

Subject Topics

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The Margaret Wise Brown Collection consists of seven series: published works, unpublished works, correspondence, miscellaneous papers, illustrations, materials about Margaret Wise Brown, and photographs.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

Biographical note

Margaret Wise Brown was born May 23, 1910 in Brooklyn, New York, and raised with an older brother and younger sister on Long Island. Her father, Robert Brown, worked for the American Manufacturing Company and her mother, Maude Johnson Brown, was a homemaker. She described her childhood as difficult and lonely. Her parents' marriage was not happy, and she spent a lot of time alone, exploring the beaches and woods of Long Island, and caring for her numerous pets.

Margaret left home at age 13 to attend boarding school in Switzerland, returning two years later to complete her high school education at Dana Hall in Massachusetts. In 1932 she received her B.A. from Hollins College in Virginia, her mother's alma mater. She then moved to New York City to intern at the Bank Street School, an experimental school for child-development study and teacher training, with intentions of becoming a teacher. While Margaret decided not to pursue a teaching career, the Writers Laboratory at the school inspired her. Margaret became a children's book editor at the William R. Scott publishing company, while also working at Bank Street and freelance writing. The books she wrote and edited were approved or revised based on responses to the story by groups of children enrolled at Bank Street. She published her first children's book, When the Wind Blows, in 1937. Over the next 14 years she published over 100 books for children, including the well known classics, Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny.

Margaret Wise Brown entertained friends at her two homes, Manhattan's Cobble Court and The Only House on Vinalhaven Island in Maine. Animals were always a big part of her life. At one point she shared her small Manhattan home with a cat, a dog, a flying squirrel, and a goat. She had a long and difficult relationship with Blanche Oelrichs, a poet who wrote under the pen name "Michael Strange". Oelrichs had also been married to John Barrymore, the actor. Margaret eventually became engaged to a younger man, James Stillman ("Pebbles") Rockefeller, Jr. She was on a pre-honeymoon trip to Europe when she fell ill. She died in France of an embolism on November 13, 1952, two days after appendectomy surgery.

Access & Use

Access to the collection: There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested.
Use of the materials: Researchers are advised that express written permission to reproduce, quote, or otherwise publish any portion or extract from this collection must be obtained from the Westerly Public Library. Although Westerly Public Library has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. It is up to the researcher to determine the owners of the literary rights and to obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Preferred citation: Margaret Wise Brown papers, MWB 01, Westerly Public Library.
Contact information: Westerly Public Library
Local History and Special Collections
44 Broad Street
Westerly, RI 02891
Tel: 401-596-2877
E-mail: nwright@westerlylibrary.org

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION  
Acquisition: The Margaret Wise Brown Collection was donated to the Westerly Public Library by Jessica Gamble Dunham. Mrs. Dunham was the personnel director at the Bank Street School and a close friend of Ms. Brown. In 1946, Jessica and Gilbert Dunham moved to Stonington, Connecticut on the border of Westerly, Rhode Island. Margaret Wise Brown visited her friends in Stonington often and had great affection for the area.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID  
Author: Finding aid prepared by Westerly Public Library staff.
Encoding: Finding aid encoded by Daniel Mejia 2009 September 03
Descriptive rules: Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Inventory


Series 1. Published Works
Contains the manuscripts, notes, book dummies, and revisions for many of Margaret Wise Brown’s published books and articles.

Container Description Date
Box 1, Folder 1 All the Bright Colors, from the Mouse of My Heart Collection
undated
Box 1, Folder 2 Animals in the Snow
undated
Box 1, Folder 3 Another Important Book
undated
Box 1, Folder 4 Baby Animals, Random House
1941
Box 1, Folder 5 Bad Little Duck Hunter, Scott
1947
Box 1, Folder 6 The Barnyard Song, Heath
1939
Box 1, Folder 7 Big and Little, Scott
1938
Box 1, Folder 8 Big Bunny--Little Bunny
undated
Box 1, Folder 9 Big Dog Little Dog, Doubleday
1943
Box 1, Folder 10 Big Fast Farmer
undated
Box 1, Folder 11 Big Red Barn, Scott
1956
Box 1, Folder 12 The Big Steamshovel, or, The Big Digger
undated
Box 1, Folder 13 The Big Warm Barn
undated
Box 1, Folder 14 Birthdays in the Woods
undated
Box 1, Folder 15 Stories to be Sung and Songs to be Told, article in the Book of Knowledge Annual
1952
Box 1, Folder 16 The Bunny's Birthday
undated
Box 1, Folder 17 The Bunny's Noisy Book
undated
Box 1, Folder 18 Funny Bunny; The Glorious Death of a Mouse; The Glorious Flight of a Bunny; The Little Fat Bunny; The Little Rabbit Who Was Learning How to Jump
undated
Box 1, Folder 19 The Cardboard Egg
undated
Box 1, Folder 20 The Little Indian, Simon & Schuster
1954
Box 1, Folder 21 A Child's Good Morning, Scott
1943
Box 1, Folder 22 A Child's Good-Night Book, Scott
1943
Box 1, Folder 23 Christmas in the Barn, Crowell
1952
Box 1, Folder 24 The Color Bunnies
undated
Box 1, Folder 25 The Color Kittens, Simon & Schuster
1949
Box 1, Folder 26 The Dark Wood of the Golden Birds, Harper
1950
Box 1, Folder 27 The Dark Wood of the Golden Birds, Harper
1950
Box 2, Folder 1 Dirty Mary
undated
Box 2, Folder 2 Doctor Squash, The Doll Doctor, Simon & Schuster
1952
Box 2, Folder 3 Dog Abroad, or, Dogeral: Memories of an Irish Dog in France
undated
Box 2, Folder 4 The Dream Book, Random House
1950
Box 2, Folder 5 The Dreaming Bunny, or, The Story of Bunny No Good, in The Golden Sleepy Book, Simon & Schuster
1948
Box 2, Folder 6 The Earth Will Hold Us (play)
undated
Box 2, Folder 7 Every Little Clown or Chercher Le Clown
1952
Box 2, Folder 8 The Fabulous Fish
undated
Box 2, Folder 9 Humpty Together Again, or, The Fall and Rise of Humpty Dumpty, a story in music by MWB, music by Elizabeth Randolph
1950
Box 2, Folder 10 The Fast Farmer
undated
Box 2, Folder 11 Fire Fire Fire in the Fall of the Year, in The Golden Bunny
1953
Box 2, Folder 12 The First Story, Harper
1947
Box 2, Folder 13 The First Story, Harper
1947
Box 2, Folder 14 The First Story, Harper
1947
Box 2, Folder 15 The Fish With the Deep Sea Smile Collection; E.P. Dutton composition book with early versions of many stories in this collection and in Another Here and Now Story Book collection
1938
Box 2, Folder 16 The Fishing Cat
undated
Box 2, Folder 17 Five Little Firemen
1946
Box 2, Folder 18 Four Little Fishermen; Fish Eyes Under the Sea
1948
Box 2, Folder 19 A Friend for Easter
undated
Box 2, Folder 20 The Friendly Book, or, The Boy Who Loved the Whole World
undated
Box 2, Folder 21 Funny Bunny
undated
Box 3, Folder 1 The Gentle Tigerrr, or, The Polite Tiger
undated
Box 3, Folder 2 The Golden Bunny
1950
Box 3, Folder 3 The Golden Bunny
undated
Box 3, Folder 4 The Golden Bunny
undated
Box 3, Folder 5 The Golden Bunny
undated
Box 3, Folder 6 The Golden Bunny
undated
Box 3, Folder 7 The Golden Bunny, note: much of this material was not included in the final book and can be found in The Green Wind or The Golden Sleepy Book
undated
Box 3, Folder 8 The Golden Bunny, Here Comes a Baby, or, Whose Baby Bunny, Birthdays in the Woods (A Singing Story), Funny Bunny, The Rabbit Doctor, The Mouse and the Mouse Doctor, The Rabbit Who Lived on a Ranch, The Little Rabbit Who Stayed Up All Night, The Smart Little Bunny
undated
Box 3, Folder 9 The Golden Bunny
undated
Box 3, Folder 10 The Golden Dog and his Two Blue Kittens
undated
Box 3, Folder 11 The Golden Lion
undated
Box 3, Folder 12 The Golden Story Book
undated
Box 3, Folder 13 The Golden Story Book
undated
Box 4, Folder 1 Good Housekeeping, poem on p.86: Pusscatkin and the Pumpkin. Other items published in Good Housekeeping: Daisy Clover Pussywillow Brown; The Grey Rabbit's Dream; The Kitten at the Keyhole; Little Brown Tug; The Magic Car; One Eye Open; Pigwilliam Pumpkin, Where Have You Been?; Pussywillows; Scarecrow School; Three Pigeons Go To School and others.
1948-1949
Box 4, Folder 2 The Good Little Bad Little Bunny
undated
Box 4, Folder 3 The Good Little Bad Little Pig
undated
Box 4, Folder 4 The Good Little Bad Little Raccoon
undated
Box 4, Folder 5 Early versions of Goodnight Moon, titled Goodnight, Room and Chlild's Goodnight, Harper (note states see also Series II: Unpublished Works, academic work from Bank St.)
1947
Box 4, Folder 6 The Green Wind (book dummy), also Song of the Silverfish, from The Green Wind, published in Nibble Nibble
undated
Box 4, Folder 7 Happy the Hot Dog Man
undated
Box 4, Folder 8 He Heard Seashells by the Seashore
undated
Box 4, Folder 9 Hedgehog Ball or The Hedgehog Who Rolled Away
undated
Box 4, Folder 10 Here Comes the Sun, A Weather Book (book dummy), The Seven Weathers Out the Window
undated
Box 4, Folder 11 The Hidden House, Henry Holt
1953
Box 4, Folder 12 Home for a Bunny, Simon & Schuster
1956
Box 4, Folder 13 Homes in the Wilderness, Scott
1939
Box 4, Folder 14 A Horse Of Course (book dummy)
undated
Box 4, Folder 15 The Horse of Course, the Youngest Horse Anthology
undated
Box 4, Folder 16 How the Animals Took a Bath, first published in Jack and Jill Magazine (1939), reprinted in Wonderful Story Book, Simon & Schuster (1950)
1939, 1950
Box 5, Folder 1 How the Bunny Learned to Wash His Face
undated
Box 5, Folder 2 How to Live in a House
undated
Box 5, Folder 3 How to Raise a Rabbit and Comfort a Bunny
undated
Box 5, Folder 4 The Hungry ABC
undated
Box 5, Folder 5 The Little Boat
undated
Box 5, Folder 6 The Little Book
undated
Box 5, Folder 7 The Little Brass Band
undated
Box 5, Folder 8 The Little Cat Who Found a Place in the World, or, The Cat
undated
Box 5, Folder 9 The Little Cat Who Liked to Purr to People
undated
Box 5, Folder 10 Little Chicken, Harper
1943
Box 5, Folder 11 The Little Cowboy
1948
Box 5, Folder 13 The Little Fir Tree; Christmas Song (several verses used in The Little Fir Tree), T.Y. Cromwell
1954
Box 5, Folder 14 The Little Fisherman, a Fish Story, W.R. Scott
1945
Box 5, Folder 15 The Little Flat Flounder in the Depths of the Sea, shorter version published in The Wonderful Story Book, Simon & Schuster
1948
Box 5, Folder 16 The Little Frightened Tiger
undated
Box 5, Folder 17 The Little Fur Family, Harper & Row
1946
Box 5, Folder 18 The Little Girl's Medicine
undated
Box 5, Folder 19 One Two Three in a Family (part of The Little Golden Family Book)
undated
Box 5, Folder 20 The Little Golden Tugboat Book, The Whole Tug Family or The Annie Moran, That Old Tug at my Heart
undated
Box 5, Folder 21 The Little Golden Younger and Younger Book
undated
Box 5, Folder 22 The Little Iceberg
undated
Box 5, Folder 23 The Little Indian, Simon & Schuster
1954
Box 5, Folder 24 The Little Island
undated
Box 5, Folder 25 The Little Rabbit Who Was Learning How to Jump
undated
Box 5, Folder 26 The Little River
undated
Box 5, Folder 27 The Little Scarecrow Boy, in the anthology Fun and Frolic, D.C. Heath & Co.
1942
Box 6, Folder 1 The Little Toy Train
undated
Box 6, Folder 2 A Little Weather Story, in the anthology, Read Me Another Story, Crowell
1949
Box 6, Folder 3 The Little White Rabbit Who Chased the Wind
undated
Box 6, Folder 4 The Little Wind
undated
Box 6, Folder 5 The Magic Numbers Book
undated
Box 6, Folder 6 The Magic Numbers Song
undated
Box 6, Folder 7 The Manners Kittens
undated
Box 6, Folder 8 Missy's Christmas Shopping
undated
Box 6, Folder 9 The Monkey Man and his Monkey
undated
Box 6, Folder 10 The Mouse Doctor
undated
Box 6, Folder 11 The Mouse Hole Book and Mouse Book
undated
Box 6, Folder 12 Night and Day, or, Things that Love the Night, Harper
1942
Box 6, Folder 13 The Four Year Old Book, NO, or, The Cat with No Whiskers
undated
Box 6, Folder 14 The Noon Balloon, from The Noisy Balloon Book
undated
Box 7, Folder 1 North, East, South, West: A Story in Four Directions; Cricket Song (words by MWB, music by Dorothy Cadzow)
undated
Box 7, Folder 2 Nothing But Bunnies
undated
Box 7, Folder 3 Number Kittens
undated
Box 7, Folder 4 The Number Bears
undated
Box 7, Folder 5 The Numbers Book
undated
Box 7, Folder 6 Oceans of Air: A story of the flight of blue geese from North to South, also The Unknown World in the Air, to be included in Oceans of Air
undated
Box 7, Folder 7 Odds and Ends; The Poodle and the Sheep (title changed later to Cat and Mouse)
undated
Box 7, Folder 8 One, Two, Three, A Magic Numbers Book
undated
Box 7, Folder 9 The Peppermints and the Postman, or Seven Little Postmen Carry the Mail
undated
Box 7, Folder 10 Pictures and Stories magazine: published The Shining Stones; The Birthday Present; A Surprise
1942
Box 7, Folder 11 Quiet in the Wilderness, published in Once Upon A Time In a Pigpen, Addison Wesley
undated
Box 8, Folder 12 The Puppy's English
undated
Box 7, Folder 13 A Pussycat's Christmas, Crowell--original title: Pigwilliam's Christmas Book
1949
Box 8, Folder 1 Pussy Willow
undated
Box 8, Folder 2 Pussywillow, includes illustrations by Leonard Weisgard
1952
Box 8, Folder 3 The Quiet Noisy Book--untitled story used in the book, The Ridiculous Noisy Book
undated
Box 8, Folder 4 The Quiet Noisy Book stories: The Wonderful Day, The Rabbit's Garden, Sound of the New Day Breaking
undated
Box 8, Folder 5 The Rabbit Doctor, and The Mouse and the Mouse Doctor
undated
Box 8, Folder 6 The Rabbit Who Lived On A Ranch
undated
Box 8, Folder 7 Red Light--Green Light, Pig Jig, Sailor Boy Jig
undated
Box 8, Folder 8 Robin's House
undated
Box 8, Folder 9 Song of the Runaway Bunny, score for Magali, to which the song is set
undated
Box 8, Folder 10 The Sad Little Squirrel, or, The Little Squirrel Who Wouldn't Grow Up
undated
Box 8, Folder 11 The Sea Shore Noisy Book
undated
Box 8, Folder 12 Seven Little Postmen, Simon & Schuster
1952
Box 8, Folder 13 Shoot Straight the Boy with the Gun, or, A Straight Shooter
undated
Box 8, Folder 14 The Sleepy ABC, Lathrop, Lee, and Shepard
1953
Box 8, Folder 15 Sleepy Animals
undated
Box 8, Folder 16 A Sleepy Story, A Sleepy Book, or, Little Fur Beds
1952
Box 8, Folder 17 The Sleepy Little Rabbit
undated
Box 8, Folder 18 The Sleepy Mend; A Big Little Sleepy Story (A book for a father to read in bed to his son)
undated
Box 8, Folder 19 The Sleepy Rabbit Record, Three Times To Sleep, Put Yourself To Sleep
undated
Box 5, Folder 20 20 Sneakers Finds the Sea; Sneakers, That Rapscallion Cat; Sneakers Comes to Town; The Sky Follows Sneakers To Town; Sneakers and the Easter Flowers; The Easter Surprise; Sneakers and the Easter Bunnies; The Country Happens to Sneakers Again
undated
Box 5, Folder 21 Snowball and Sunshine, from the collection Mouse of My Heart
undated
Box 8, Folder 22 Spurs, The Fighting Cock
undated
Box 8, Folder 23 The Steam Roller (A Fantasy) part of The Fish with the Deep Sea Smile
undated
Box 8, Folder 24 The Three Snowmen from Mouse of My Heart Collection
undated
Box 9, Folder 1 The Teeny Tiny Woman
undated
Box 9, Folder 2 The Terrific Terrible Pumpkin, from Fun and Frolic, D.C. Heath
undated
Box 9, Folder 3 That Admiral
undated
Box 9, Folder 4 There Was An Old Lady Who Lived In A House
undated
Box 9, Folder 5 They Could All Smell It
undated
Box 9, Folder 6 Three Little Animals, or The Little Fur Animals, or A Little Warm Animal World
undated
Box 9, Folder 7 Town and Country
undated
Box 9, Folder 8 The Train to Timbucktoo (Timbuktu), song score called Kalamazoo and Timbuctoo (Timbuktu)
undated
Box 9, Folder 9 Two Little Canaballs (Cannibals)
undated
Box 9, Folder 10 Two Little Trains
undated
Box 9, Folder 11 Two Little Trains, musical dramatization
undated
Box 9, Folder 12 The Unimportant Book
undated
Box 9, Folder 13 The Very Rich Rabbit, The Little White Rabbit Who Chased the Wind, The Little Rabbit Who Stayed Up All Night, The Rabbit Who Lived On a Ranch
undated
Box 9, Folder 14 The Very Rich Rabbit
undated
Box 9, Folder 15 The Weather Book
undated
Box 9, Folder 16 What A Little Man!
undated
Box 9, Folder 17 Wheels On the Chimney
undated
Box 9, Folder 18 When the Sun Came Up
undated
Box 9, Folder 19 Where Have You Been? Some of these verses were in Another Here and Now Story book
undated
Box 9, Folder 20 Where Have You Been?
undated
Box 9, Folder 21 Whistle For the Train
undated
Box 9, Folder 22 Will You Come For a Walk With Me? and The Love Song of the Little Bear
undated
Box 9, Folder 23 Willie's Animals, in Willie's Adventures, W.R. Scott
1954
Box 9, Folder 24 Willie's Pockets, or Peter's Pockets
undated
Box 9, Folder 25 Willie the Whistling Giraffe, A Musical Ballad, music by Ruth Cleary Patterson
undated
Box 9, Folder 26 Willie The Whistling Giraffe
1952
Box 10, Folder 1 Whistling Giraffe
undated
Box 10, Folder 2 The Wonderful House, Simon & Schuster
1950
Box 10, Folder 3 The Wonderful Story Book collection; The Little Toy Train, Out of the Rabbit, Pansies, The Race, A Remarkable Rabbit, Said A Fish to A Fish, They Could All Smell It, But What Was It? (some of these were in The Golden Sleepy Book)
undated
Box 10, Folder 4 The World That Jack Built
undated
Box 10, Folder 5 Writing for Children, in Hollins Alumnae Magazine
1949
Box 10, Folder 6 The Yellow Tug or The Teeny Tiny Tugboat
undated
Box 10, Folder 7 You Be Little and I'll Be Big
undated
Box 10, Folder 8 Young Kangaroo
undated
Box 11, Folder 1 The Little Fur Family--two special editions, bound in real rabbit fur, one with the original box
1946
Box 12, Folder 1 Wait Til the Moon is Full record, story by MWB, music by Richard Mohaupt, described as a "musical story"
undated
Box 12, Folder 2 Whoa! Little Horses Lie Down record, story by MWB, music by Herbert Haufrecht, described as an "activity record"
undated

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.

Container Description Date
Box 13, Folder 1 Poems/songs, A-B
undated
Box 13, Folder 2 Poems/songs, C-D
undated
Box 13, Folder 3 Poems/songs, E-F
undated
Box 13, Folder 4 Poems/songs, G
undated
Box 13, Folder 5 Poems/songs, H-K
undated
Box 13, Folder 6 Poems/songs, L
undated
Box 13, Folder 7 Poems/songs, M-N
undated
Box 13, Folder 8 Poems/songs, O-Q
undated
Box 13, Folder 9 Poems/songs, R
undated
Box 14, Folder 1 Poems/songs, S
undated
Box 14, Folder 2 Poems/songs, T
undated
Box 14, Folder 3 Poems/songs, U-Z
undated
Box 14, Folder 4 Stories/essays, A-C
undated
Box 14, Folder 5 Stories/essays, D-F
undated
Box 14, Folder 6 Stories/essays, G-I
undated
Box 14, Folder 7 Stories/essays, J-L
undated
Box 14, Folder 8 Stories/essays, M
undated
Box 14, Folder 9 Stories/essays, N-P
undated
Box 15, Folder 1 Stories/essays, R
undated
Box 15, Folder 2 Stories/essays, S
undated
Box 15, Folder 3 Stories/essays, T-Z
undated
Box 15, Folder 4 Book dummy, The Color Book
1948
Box 15, Folder 5 Book dummy, Dances and Jigs
undated
Box 15, Folder 6 Book dummies (two) and detailed notes for book titled The Little Golden Good Bad Book of Manners or The Concrete Manners Book or The Good-Bad Book
undated
Box 15, Folder 7 Book dummy, Material to Draw On: A Color Book
undated
Box 15, Folder 8 Ideas for plays, records, television and radio
undated
Box 15, Folder 9 Ideas for plays, records, television and radio
undated
Box 15, Folder 10 Ideas for plays, records, television and radio
undated
Box 15, Folder 11 Ideas for plays, records, television and radio
undated
Box 16, Folder 1 Ideas for plays, records, television and radio
undated
Box 16, Folder 2 Ideas for plays, records, television and radio
undated
Box 16, Folder 3 Ideas for plays, records, television and radio
undated
Box 16, Folder 4 Music/scores
undated
Box 16, Folder 5 Composition book
undated
Box 16, Folder 6 Composition book
undated
Box 16, Folder 7 Composition book
undated
Box 17, Folder 1 Composition book
undated
Box 17, Folder 2 Composition book
undated
Box 17, Folder 3 Composition book
undated
Box 17, Folder 4 Composition book
undated
Box 18, Folder 1 Composition Book
1937
Box 18, Folder 2 Composition book
1941
Box 18, Folder 3 Composition book
1946

Series 3. Correspondence
Includes letters from Margaret Wise Brown to others, and letters received by Margaret Wise Brown, separated into two files. There are also several files that contain a series of correspondence between MWB and someone else. These are each in a separate folder.

Container Description Date
Box 19, Folder 1 Correspondence from Margaret Wise Brown
undated
Box 19, Folder 2 Correspondence to Margaret Wise Brown
undated
Box 19, Folder 3 Correspondence with John regarding The Good Night Book
undated
Box 19, Folder 4 Letter from Burl Ives to MWB, includes her proposal to him for a book/record titled Bonnie Prince Charlie or The Black Prince
undated
Box 19, Folder 5 Correspondence with Katharine Colie of the Grolier Society
undated

Series 4. Miscellaneous Papers
Contains some of Margaret Wise Brown’s academic work (papers and stories she wrote while in college), papers/notes from her participation in writing workshops, including notes about how children reacted to her stories, and book reviews and articles about her work that she clipped from newspapers.

Container Description Date
Box 20, Folder 1 Academic work
undated
Box 20, Folder 2 Writing workshop notes
undated
Box 20, Folder 3 Writing workshop notes
undated
Box 20, Folder 4 Writing workshop notes
undated
Box 20, Folder 4 Writing workshop notes
undated
Box 20, Folder 5 Writing workshop notes
undated
Box 20, Folder 6 Writing workshop notes
undated
Box 20, Folder 7 Writing workshop notes, the Baby Institute
1943
Box 20, Folder 8 Writing workshop notes
undated
Box 20, Folder 9 Writing workshop notes
undated
Box 20, Folder 10 Notes for a talk in Richmond
undated
Box 20, Folder 11 Printer's proof for Who's Who in New England entry on Golden MacDonald (MWB pseudonym)
undated
Box 20, Folder 12 Notes by MWB on what to include in all publishing contracts
undated
Box 20, Folder 13 Book reviews
undated
Box 20, Folder 14 Book reviews
undated
Box 20, Folder 15 Articles clipped by MWB (two) on her work
1949,1952
Box 20, Folder 16 Diary from MWB's time at Dana Hall boarding school
1929

Series 5. Illustrations
Contains many illustrations and/or storyboards for several of Margaret Wise Brown’s books. Illustrations are by Barbara Cooney and Clement Hurd.

Container Description Date
Box 21 Complete Storyboard for The Little Brass Band, pictures by Clement Hurd
undated
Box 22 Numerous illustrations for various books, complete storyboard for The Little Fir Tree, pictures by Barbara Cooney
undated

Series 6. Materials about Margaret Wise Brown
Contains items written about her, grouped by format. Magazines containing articles about her include The Horn Book, Vanity Fair, and LIFE.

Container Description Date
Box 23, Folder 1 Articles about Margaret Wise Brown
1946
Box 23, Folder 2 Articles about Margaret Wise Brown
1954
Box 23, Folder 3 Articles about Margaret Wise Brown
1947-1949
Box 23, Folder 4 Articles about Margaret Wise Brown
1958, 1983
Box 23, Folder 5 Articles about Margaret Wise Brown
undated
Box 23, Folder 6 Articles about Margaret Wise Brown
2000
Box 23, Folder 7 Thesis on MWB written by Eugene M. Scheel
1969

Series 7. Photographs

MWB 5: portrait of MWB as a child (2 copies)
Box 24, Folder 1

Container Description Date
Box 24, Folder 2 MWB and sister Roberta as girls with their pets
undated
Box 24, Folder 3 MWB with dogs (two collies)
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Box 24, Folder 4 MWB leaning; MWB with pup, others from same photo shoot (18 photos)
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Box 24, Folder 5 MWB with kerry (kerry blue terrier)
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Box 24, Folder 6 MWB headshot
1945
Box 24, Folder 7 vinyl2; vinyl haven; other shots of Vinalhaven, Maine (6 photos)
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Box 24, Folder 8 Works (MWB headshot with collage of her books)
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Box 24, Folder 9 MWB in blazer on rocks (three photos)
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Box 24, Folder 10 MWB in light coat with kerry blue terrier (2 photos)
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Box 24, Folder 11 MWB in black dress, with book open
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Box 24, Folder 12 Newspaper photo of Cobble Court in New York City
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Box 24, Folder 13 Portrait of Michael Strange
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