CLRC-35 Berta and Elmer Hader Papers 1930-1948 Felicity Hanson University of Minnesota Libraries March 1995; October 2003

University of Minnesota Libraries Minneapolis, MN 55455

EAD 2002 Validated Finding Aid generated with the aid of a custom FileMaker Pro database developed by the staff of the Children's Literature Research Collections, University of Minnesota Libraries. Many thanks to all the staff and volunteers. March 1995 Description is in English Summary Information University of Minnesota Libraries Children's Literature Research Collections [clrc] Hader, Berta and Elmer Berta and Elmer Hader Papers 1930-1948 CLRC-35 Berta and Elmer Hader's papers focus on their work as illustrators of children's picture books. The collection includes production materials for nine titles published between 1930 and 1948, and contains illustrator's dummies, studies, illustrations in watercolor, tempera, and ink, and proofs. 2.0 cu ft. See Detailed Descriptions for Each Title Item for Box Locations English Important Information for Users of the Collections Access and Use:

Collection is open for researchers with no restrictions. Registration with the collection is required.

This collection is protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code). It is the user's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and to obtain all necessary permissions prior to the reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion of these materials.

Processing Information

This collection was processed with financial assistance from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Biographical Sketch

Berta Hader, nee Hoerner, was born in 1891 in San Pedro, Coahuila, Mexico. She attended the University of Washington, and the California School of Design from 1915 to 1918. In 1919, she married Elmer Hader, born Pajaro, California, on September 7, 1889. Elmer Hader also attended the California School of Design. The Haders began jointly illustrating children's books in the 1920s. In 1929, they published Two Funny Clowns, the first children's book they both wrote and illustrated. For the next four and a half decades the Haders co-authored and illustrated dozens of books for children, and continued to occasionally illustrate other authors' works. The Haders were noted for their "careful coordination of text and pictures," and the love of animals and nature that permeated so many of their works. Unlike many of their contemporaries, they did not anthropomorphize their animal characters but presented them in their natural environments behaving realistically. In 1949, the Haders won the Caldecott Award for The Big Snow, an animal story set during a hard winter that movingly delineated and illustrated their deep appreciation of nature and love of animals. The Hader's works also show the changes that have occurred in children's literature in the past few decades: changes in style, topic, and depth. Their stories became stronger as times called for more plot, and their interest in conservation, nature, and animals became more appreciated. Elmer Hader on September 7, 1973. Berta Hader died February 6, 1976.

Source: Something About the Author, v.16. Detroit: Gale Research, 1979.

Scope and Content

The collection contains production material for ten books published between 1930 and 1948. The collection contains illustrative material only, and includes ink & watercolor, ink, watercolor, and tempera illustrations, ink illustrations with lettering, watercolor studies, jacket proofs, and illustrator's dummies.

Indexing Terms

The collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the University of Minnesota Libraries. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Hader, Berta and Elmer Accession Information:

Part of this collection was originally donated to Dr. Irvin Kerlan, who in turn donated his collection to the University of Minnesota. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Haders added more material. The collection is non-circulating, in-house use only.

Gift of: Hader, Berta and Elmer

Arrangement

Baby Bear, 1930

Big Snow, 1948

Cat and the Kitten, 1940

Cock-A-Doodle-Doo : The Story of a Little Red Rooster, 1939

Green and Gold : The Story of the Banana, 1936

Jamaica Johnny, 1935

Midget and Bridget, 1934

Mighty Hunter, 1943

Mr. Peck's Pets, 1947

Tommy Thatcher Goes to Sea, 1937

Tatsinda,

Collection Contents Baby Bear, 1930 MC 1566 Ink & watercolor illustrations 3 p. MC 1566 Ink illustrations with lettering 44 p. MC 1566 Book jacket proofs 2 p. MC 1566 Pencil dummy with printed text 55 p. Big Snow, 1948 MC 1566 Watercolor studies 1 p. Cat and the Kitten, 1940 MC 1564 Tempera jacket illustration 1 p. MC 1564 Watercolor illustrations 8 p. MC 1564 Ink endpaper illustration 1 p. MC 1564 Ink illustrations 25 p. Cock-A-Doodle-Doo : The Story of a Little Red Rooster, 1939 MC 1566 Illustrator's dummy with crayon sketches and corrected typescript 1 p. Green and Gold : The Story of the Banana, 1936 MC 1564 Illustrator's dummy with holograph text 1 p. MC 1564 Pencil illustrator's dummy with holograph text and placement of illustrations indicated 1 p. Jamaica Johnny, 1935 MC 1564 Original watercolors 2 p. Midget and Bridget, 1934 MC 1564 Original watercolor 1 p. Mighty Hunter, 1943 MC 1564 Original watercolor and ink illustrations for title page and frontispiece 2 p. Mr. Peck's Pets, 1947 MC 1564 Original black and white illustration 1 p. Tommy Thatcher Goes to Sea, 1937 MC 1564 Illustrator's dummy with illustrations and text pasteup 1 p. Tatsinda, MC 1564 Colored illustrations 7 p.