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Betsy Beinecke Shirley collection of American children's literature, 1640-2001

Abstract Or Scope

Collection consists of manuscripts (correspondence and drafts of writings), illustration material (drawings in all media, photographs, book dummies, and printing blocks and plates), and publication proofs by various authors and artists including Louisa May Alcott, Alexander Anderson, Louis-Maurice Boutet de Monvel, Gelett Burgess, Harrison Cady, Palmer Cox, F. O. C. Darley, W. W. Denslow, Jo Mora, Peter Newell, and Symeon Shimin, as well as work produced for the McLoughlin Brothers publishing house. Also present are penmanship exercise books, samplers, and other school work produced by American children including John Hancock and his brother Ebenezer, letters of advice written to children by prominent figures such as Samuel Clemens, Charles Dodgson, Benjamin Franklin, and George Washington, and writings created by and for Native American children. The collection also includes Shirley's own collection files which document how she created her collection.

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