Children's Literature Research Collection
113 Elmer L. Andersen Library
University of Minnesota
222 21st Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Children's Literature
Research Collection
113 Elmer L. Andersen Library
University of Minnesota
222 21st Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Summary Information
Collection Number: CLRC-113
Collection Size: Ca. 1.7 linear ft. (4 boxes of manuscript material and one audiocassette)
Abstract/Notes: Natalie Savage Carlson's papers focus on her work as an author of children's and young adult books. The collection contains production material for fifteen titles published between 1952 and 1986 and there is a small amount of correspondence. The collection also includes an audiocassette for one book Alphonse, the Bearded One and some manuscript material and correspondence from children for an unpublished story Sylvie's Nounou. There are also notes and a photograph for the title The Tomahawk Family.
Part of this collection was originally given to Dr. Irvin Kerlan who in turn donated his collection to the University of Minnesota. Additional materials were given by Natalie Savage Carlson to the University of Minnesota from 1972 through 1986 with more added in 1996.
Collection is non-circulating, in-house use only.
This collection is protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Titles 17, U.S. Code). It is the user's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and to obtain all the necessary permissions prior to the reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion of these materials.
Prepared by Christina Cowan, January 1999.
This collection was processed with financial assistance from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Biographical/Historical Notes
Natalie Savage Carlson was born October 3, 1906 in Kernstown, Virginia. Her mother was French-Canadian and she would later use some of the family stories and French-Canadian folktales she heard as a child in some of her books, in particular The Talking Cat and Other Stories of French Canada (1952). Natalie Savage Carlson would also draw on her experiences as a boarder in a Catholic convent school in writing Luvvy and the Girls (1971). During the 1920s, she worked as a reporter for the Long Beach Morning Star in Long Beach California, and as the wife of a navy officer, spent much time moving around the United States and later lived in Paris. She published her first book, The Talking Cat and Other Stories of French Canada in 1952 and throughout her long and prolific career, has been lauded by critics for her "ability to capture the unique settings, lifestyles, and traditions of the various people of which she wrote." Natalie Savage Carlson set some of her best-known works in France, including The Family Under the Bridge (1958), the story of a tramp in Paris and the children who take him in. The book was a Newbery Honor book in 1959 and like many of her stories was praised for it warmth and humor as well as ambience. Paris was also the setting of her "Orpheline" series that told of a group of French orphans and their happy existence. Natalie Savage Carlson also tackled social problems in some of her later works such as The Empty Schoolhouse (1965), a story that dealt with segregation in the deep South. In the 1980s, she wrote several picture books about "Spooky" a black cat that critics hailed for their "suspenseful" but "non-frightening" quality.
Scope and Content Notes
The collection contains production material for fifteen titles published between 1952 and 1986 and includes a holograph (manuscript), corrected typescripts, front matter, notes, research notes, layouts, galley and page proofs, a dummy, miscellaneous material, clippings, photographs, photocopies of illustrations, and some correspondence. The collection also includes an audiocassette for one book Alphonse, the Bearded One and some manuscript material and correspondence from children for an unpublished story Sylvie's Nounou. There are also notes and a photograph for one title The Tomahawk Family. The material is arranged by title with folder and box level control.
See inventory for box and folder contents.
Collection Inventory
Alphonse, the Bearded One, 1954
-1 audiocassette (A8)
Ann Aurelia and Dorothy, 1968
-Typescript, corrected,
114 p.
(M.F. 189, folders 1-2)
-Galley proof, corrected,
50 p.
(M.F. 189, folder 3)
A Brother for the Orphelines, 1959
-Typescript, corrected,
72 p.
(M.F. 190, folders 1-2)
-Front matter,
5 p.
(M.F. 190, folder 2)
-Notes,
1 p.
(M.F. 190, folder 2)
-Pencil layout for title,
1 p.
(M.F. 190, folder 2)
The Family Under the Bridge, 1958
-Typescript, corrected,
77 p.
(M.F. 190, folders 1-2)
-Research notes: 5 notebooks (M.F. 190, folder 3)
The Ghost in the Lagoon, 1984
-Typescript, corrected, "rough draft,"
2 p.
(M.F. 1117, folder 1)
-Typescript, corrected,
4 p.
(M.F. 1117, folder 1)
-Typescript, corrected,
5 p.
(M.F. 1117, folder 1)
-Typescript, corrected,
6 p.
(M.F. 1117, folder 1)
-Typescript, corrected, "new version,"
6 p.
(M.F. 1117, folder 1)
-Typescript, corrected,
6 p.
(M.F. 1117, folder 1)
-Typescript, corrected, "final manuscript,"
7 p.
(M.F. 1117, folder 1)
-Typescript, carbon, corrected,
7 p.
(M.F. 1117, folder 1)
-Miscellaneous: 2 pictures, note, and jacket for book (M.F. 1117, folder 1)
A Grandmother for the Orphelines, 1980
-Typescript, corrected, 63 p. with front matter, 4 p. (M.F. 190, folder 1)
-Dummy,
96 p.
(M.F. 190, folder 2)
-Galley proof,
35 p.
(M.F. 190, folder 3)
-Page proof,
47 p.
(M.F. 190, folder 4)
-Page proof,
49 p.
(M.F. 190, folder 5)
Jean-Claude's Island, 1963
-Holograph [1 notebook],
47 p.
(M.F. 190, folder 1)
-Typescript, corrected,
110 p.
(M.F. 190, folders 2-3)
-Correspondence,
2 p.
(M.F. 190, folder 4)
-Clippings,
3 p.
(M.F. 190, folder 4)
-Photographs, miscellaneous,
3 p.
(M.F. 190, folder 4)
-1 postcard [no writing] (M.F. 190, folder 4)
The Letter on the Tree, 1964
-Typescript, corrected,
76 p.
(M.F. 191, folder 1)
-Galley proof, corrected,
33 p.
(M.F. 191, folder 2)
-Galley proof, corrected,
59 p.
(M.F. 191, folder 3)
Marchers for the Dream, 1969
-Typescript, corrected,
111 p.
(M.F. 191, folders 1-2)
Marie Louise and Christophe, 1974
-Typescript, corrected,
10 p.
(M.F. 191, folder 1)
-Typescript, corrected,
9 p.
(M.F. 191, folder 1)
-Typescript, corrected,
8 p.
(M.F. 191, folder 1)
-Typescript, corrected,
8 p.
(M.F. 191, folder 1)
-Typescript, corrected photocopy,
12 p.
(M.F. 191, folder 1)
-Typescript, corrected photocopy,
8 p.
(M.F. 191, folder 1)
A Pet for the Orphelines, 1962
-Typescript, corrected,
60 p.
(M.F. 191, folders 1-2)
-Front matter,
4 p.
(M.F. 191, folder 1)
-Pencil layouts for title page,
6 p.
(M.F. 191, folder 1)
Spooky and the Wizard's Bats, 1986
-Typescript,
6 p.
(M.F. 189, folder 1)
-Typescript, corrected,
10 p.
(M.F. 189, folder 1)
-Galley proof,
16 p.
(M.F. 189, folder 1)
-Galley proof, corrected,
12 p.
(M.F. 189, folder 1)
-Correspondence,
2 p.
(M.F. 189, folder 1)
-Note,
1 p.
(M.F. 189, folder 1)
Spooky Night, 1982
-Typescript, corrected,
7 p.
(M.F. 191, folder 1)
-Typescript, corrected,
9 p.
(M.F. 191, folder 1)
-Galley proof, corrected,
5 p.
(M.F. 191, folder 1)
-Photocopied illustration,
1 p.
(M.F. 191, folder 1)
-Jacket,
1 sheet
(M.F. 191, folder 1)
Surprise in the Mountains, 1983
-Typescript,
1 p.
(M.F. 191, folder 1)
-Typescript,
6 p.
(M.F. 191, folder 1)
-Photocopies of illustrations,
13 p.
(M.F. 191, folder 1)
-Correspondence,
2 p.
(M.F. 191, folder 1)
-Typescript, corrected, 7 p. with front matter, 10 p. (M.F. 1117, folder 3)
-Galley proof, corrected,
6 p.
(M.F. 191, folder 2)
Sylvie's Nounou [not verified as published]
-Correspondence from children
23 p.
(M.F. 1117, folder 1)
-Typescript, corrected,
27 p.
(M.F. 1117, folder 1)
-Typescript, corrected,
31 p.
(M.F. 1117, folder 2)
The Talking Cat and Other Stories of French Canada, 1952
-Typescript, corrected,
84 p.
(M.F. 191, folders 1-2)
-Correspondence,
3 p.
(M.F. 191, folder 2)
Time for the White Egret, 1978
-Typescript, corrected,
7 p.
(M.F. 191, folder 1)
-Typescript, corrected,
6 p.
(M.F. 191, folder 1)
-Research material: clippings,
2 p.
(M.F. 191, folder 1)
The Tomahawk Family, 1960
-Notes,
35 p.
(M.F. 191, folder 1)
-1 photograph (M.C. 191, folder 1)
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