CLRC-48 Lois Lenski PapersDavid E. Byer University of Minnesota Libraries05/31/2005
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.05/31/2005Description is in English Summary Information University of Minnesota Libraries Children's Literature Research Collections [clrc] Lenski, Lois Lois Lenski Papers 1925-1966 CLRC-48 Lois Lenski's papers focus on her work as an author and illustrator of children's books. The collection contains production materials for fifty titles published between 1925 and 1966, and includes illustrations, illustration plates, dummies, proofs, typescripts, holographs, background material for some stories, layout instructions, and galley and page proofs. There are also some correspondence, miscellaneous art, a typescript for a play, and biographical material including an album of photos prepared and labeled by Miss Lenski. 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.

Copyright:

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.

Biographical Sketch

Lois Lenski was born October 14, 1893 in Springfield, OH. She was educated at Ohio State University, and received a B.S. in Education in 1915. After college, she studied at the Art Students League in New York City and Westminster School of Art in London. Miss Lenski began her career as an illustrator of children's books in 1918, and in the 1920s, she also began writing as well as illustrating her own books. Her first works were picture books for small children, and she became known for her simple yet carefully detailed drawings that appealed to young children with their emphasis on easily recognized people and places and events of day-to-day life. In the 1940s, Miss Lenski began to travel throughout the United States and gathered material for a series of regional and historical stories emphasizing the lives and environments of children in different parts of the country. She wanted to bring to her readers a sense of how other children lived. These books were written in a realistic and straightfoward style that did not sentimentalize her subjects or condescend to her audience. They were also unique in that they showed ways of life and locations, such as the life of the Georgia Crackers, and migrant workers of the deep South or cranberry bogs of Massachusetts, that were absent from children's books of the time. Miss Lenski won the 1946 Newbery Award for Strawberry Girl, one of this series of regional stories. Lois Lenski continued to write and illustrate children's books throughout the 1960s, and died on September 11, 1974 in Tarpon Springs, Florida.

 Scope and Content

The collection contains production materials for fifty titles published between 1925 and 1966, and includes illustrations done in a variety of media with some as sketches or studies, illustration plates, dummies, proofs, typescripts, holographs, background material for some stories, layout instructions, and galley and page proofs. There are also some correspondence, miscellaneous art, research material and background material to some stories that includes clippings and pamphlets, a typescript for a play, and biographical material including an album of photos prepared and labeled by Miss Lenski.

 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.

Lenski, Lois Accession Information:

Part of this collection was originally given to Dr. Kerlan, who in turn donated his collection to the University of Minnesota. Additional material was donated by Miss Lenski during the 1960s and 1970s and by her estate in 1983 and 1989.

Gift of: Lenski, Lois

Arrangement

A-Going to the Westward, 1937

Alphabet People, 1928

Arabella and Her Aunts, 1932

Bayou Suzette, 1943

Benny and His Penny, 1931

Berries in the Scoop: A Cape Cod Cranberry Story, 1956

Blue Ridge Billy, 1946

A Book of Enchantment, 1928

Boom Town Boy, 1948

Bound Girl of Cobble Hill, 1938

Chimney Corner Fairy Tales, 1926

Chimney Corner Poems, 1930

Chimney Corner Stories, 1925

Coal Camp Girl, 1959

Corn-Farm Boy, 1954

Cowboy Small, 1949

Davy's Day, 1943

The Easter Rabbit's Parade, 1936

Farm by the Road, 1932

Fireside Poems, 1930

Fireside Stories, 1927

The First Thanksgiving, 1942

Flood Friday, 1956

Grandmother Tippytoe, 1931

High-Rise Secret, 1966

Houseboat Girl, 1957

I Like Winter, 1950

Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison, 1941

Jack Horner's Pie: A Book of Nursery Rhymes, 1927

Johnny Goes to the Fair, 1932

Judy's Journey, 1947

Little Baby Ann, 1935

Little Sioux Girl, 1958

Mama Hattie's Girl, 1953

A Merry-Go-Round of Modern Tales, 1927

Mr. and Mrs. Noah, 1948

Now It's Fall, 1948

Ocean-Born Mary, 1939

On A Summer Day, 1953

Peanuts for Billy Ben, 1952

Phebe Fairchild, Her Book, 1936

Prairie School, 1951

A Scotch Circus: The Story of Tammas Who Rode the Dragon, 1934

Shoo-Fly Girl, 1963

Spring is Here, 1945

Strawberry Girl, 1945

Texas Tomboy, 1950

Two Brothers and Their Baby Sister, 1930

We Live in the City, 1954

We Live in the South, 1952

Album of Biographical Photos,

Friend of Children,

Lois Lenski: Biography,

Miscellaneous Art,

Read-To-Me Storybook, 1947

White Girl Captive: A Play in Three Acts,

Correspondence, notes and clippings,

Florida State University, Tallahasse Library, 1966

Capital University, Columbus Ohio,

University of Central Arkansas,

University of Southern Mississippi,

University of Oklahoma library, 1985

Photos,

Stories Behind My Regionals,

We Live by the River, 1956

Collection Contents A-Going to the Westward 1937

Stokes, 1937

 MC662 zinc cut illustration plates 6 p. MC662 proof dummies 80 p. MC662 illustration proof for endpapers 2 p. Alphabet People 1928

Harper, 1928

 MC1073 ink and watercolor illustrations 5 p. Arabella and Her Aunts 1932

Stokes, 1932

 MC680 ink illustration 1 p. Bayou Suzette 1943

Stokes, 1943

 MC1076 dummy proof 40 p. MC1076 cover [cloth] 1 p. Benny and His Penny 1931

Knopf, 1931

 MC691 ink illustration 1 p. Berries in the Scoop: A Cape Cod Cranberry Story 1956

Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1956

 MC692 ink illustration for cover 1 p. MC692 ink illustrations 2 p. MF1954 leaves in bound album, background material 22 p. Blue Ridge Billy 1946

Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1946

 pencil illustration 1 p. A Book of Enchantment 1928

Dodd, 1928

 MC680 ink and watercolor study for jacket and endpapers 1 p. Boom Town Boy 1948

Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1948

 MC599 pencil illustration 1 p. Bound Girl of Cobble Hill 1938

Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1938

MC1076 proof dummy 26 p. Chimney Corner Fairy Tales 1926

Putnam, 1926

MC761 ink illustrations 2 p. Chimney Corner Poems 1930

Putnam, 1930

 MC680 ink illustration for jacket 1 p. MC680 ink illustration for cover 1 p. Chimney Corner Stories 1925

Putnam, 1925

 MC1064 ink illustration 5 p. Coal Camp Girl 1959

Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1959

 MF1954 typescript, carbon 121 p. Corn-Farm Boy 1954

Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1954

 MC599 pencil illustraion 1 p. Cowboy Small 1949

Oxford University Press, 1949

 MC1018 ink and watercolor study 1 p. Davy's Day 1943

Oxford University Press, 1943

 MC599 ink text for title page 1 p. MC599 ink and tempera illustration 1 p. The Easter Rabbit's Parade 1936

Oxford University Press, 1936

 MC599 ink and tempera text for title page 1 p. MC599 ink and tempera illustration 3 p. Farm by the Road 1932

1932

 MC1076 charcoal illustration 1 p. Fireside Poems 1930

Putnam, 1930

 MC680 ink illustration for cover 1 p. Fireside Stories 1927

Putnam, 1927

 MC680 ink illustration for jacket 1 p. The First Thanksgiving 1942

Barksdale, Lena

Knopf, 1942

 MC680 ink illustration 3 p. Flood Friday 1956

Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1956

 MC680 ink and pencil illustration 1 p. MC680 pencil illustrations 5 p. MF1954 holographic material 62 p. MF1954 typescript, carbon 72 p. MF1954 album "the story behind the book", including typescript, correspondence, photographs, and 27 pencil sketches 45 p. MF1954 newspaper article background material 37 p. MF1954 research material with one map sketch, presumably done by Miss Lenski 40 p. Grandmother Tippytoe 1931

Stokes, 1931

 MC680 ink illustration 1 p. High-Rise Secret 1966

Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1966

 MC599 ink illustration 1 p. Houseboat Girl 1957

Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1957

 MC599 pencil illustration 1 p. I Like Winter 1950

Oxford University Press, 1950

 MC599 tempera and ink illustration 1 p. Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison 1941

Stokes, 1941

 MC692 pencil illustrations inscribed for Irvin Kerlan 2 p. MF1955 typescript, corrected "Research for Indian Captive" 12 p. MF1955 typescript, "My Story Indian Captive" 4 p. Jack Horner's Pie: A Book of Nursery Rhymes 1927

Harper, 1927

 MC680 ink and watercolor illustrations 2 p. Johnny Goes to the Fair 1932

Minton, Balch, 1932

 MC680 ink and watercolor illustration 1 p. Judy's Journey 1947

Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1947

 MC599 sheet illustration proof for endpapers 1 p. MC599 pencil illustrations 2 p. MF1955 holograph for contents page 1 p. MF1955 page proof 15 p. MF1956 galley proof corrected 18 p. MF1955 illustration proof 1 p. MF1955 model for contents 1 p. Little Baby Ann 1935

Oxford University Press, 1935

 MC680 ink illustration 1 p. Little Sioux Girl 1958

Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1958

 MC599 ink illustraion for cover 1 p. MC599 pencil illustration 1 p. MF1955 holograph 60 p. MF1955 typescript, corrected 62 p. MF1956 galley proof, corrected 38 p. Mama Hattie's Girl 1953

Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1953

 MC599 pencil illustration 1 p. A Merry-Go-Round of Modern Tales 1927

Emerson, Caroline D.

: Dutton, 1927

 MC692 ink illustrations 20 p. MC692 ink illustration for cover 1 p. Mr. and Mrs. Noah 1948

Crowell, 1948

 MC599a ink illustration with 1 overlay and 3 illustrations 1 p. MC599a photographs, research material 3 p. MC599a bookmarks 3 p. Now It's Fall 1948

Oxford University Press, 1948

 MC599 tempera and ink illustration 1 p. Ocean-Born Mary 1939

Stokes, 1939

 MC1076 proof dummy 24 p. On A Summer Day 1953

Oxford University Press, 1953

 MC599 tempera and ink illustration 1 p. Peanuts for Billy Ben 1952

Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1952

 MC599a ink illustrations 2 p. MC599a ink illustration also used in We Live in the South 1 p. Phebe Fairchild, Her Book 1936

Stokes, 1936

 MC662 zinc cut illustration plates 4 p. MC662 text plate 1 p. MC662 page proof dummy 24 p. Prairie School 1951

Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1951

 MC599 pencil illustration 1 p. MF1955 holograph 178 p. MF1955 typescript, corrected [bound] 167 p. MF1955 holograph, bound with typescript 4 p. A Scotch Circus: The Story of Tammas Who Rode the Dragon 1934

Houghton, 1934

 MC1065 ink illustrations 2 p. Shoo-Fly Girl 1963

Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1963

 MC599 pencil illustration 1 p. Spring is Here 1945

Oxford University Press, 1945

 MC599 text for title page 1 p. MC599 tempera and ink illustration 1 p. Strawberry Girl 1945

Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1945

 MC680 pencil illustration (inscribed for Irvin Kerlan) 1 p. MF1955 typescript, carbon 3 p. Texas Tomboy 1950

Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1950

 MC599 ink cover 1 p. MC599 pencil illustration 1 p. Two Brothers and Their Baby Sister 1930

Stokes, 1930

 MC680 ink and watercolor illustration 1 p. We Live in the City 1954

Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1954

 MC599a ink illustration 1 p. We Live in the South 1952

Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1952

 MC599a ink illustration 1 p. Album of Biographical Photos

MF1954 leaves of 1 bound volume 14 p. Friend of Children

MF1955 typescript, corrected 11 p. MF1955 layout instructions 6 p. MF1956 galley proof, corrected 6 p. MF1956 galley proof 7 p. MF1955 pamphlet 32 p. Lois Lenski: Biography

MF1955 typescript, carbon 2 p. Miscellaneous Art

MC691 colored illustrations on a [printed] 1920 Christmas card 2 p. MC691 black and white lithographs 2 p. MC691 black and white linoleum block prints 15 p. MC691 black and white woodcut prints 3 p. Read-To-Me Storybook 1947

Child Study Association of America, 1947

 MC680 ink illustration 1 p. White Girl Captive: A Play in Three Acts

MF1955 typescripts, mimeographed [identical copies 40 p. each 80 p. Correspondence, notes and clippings

MF3374 typescript, miscellaneous 7 p. MF3374 correspondence 91 p. MF3374 notes 3 p. MF3374 clippings 54 p. MF3374 booklets, clippings 15 p. MF3374 card, clippings 7 p. MF3374 clippings, minature prints 5 p. MF3374 clippings, negatives 4 p. MF3374 clippings, pamphlets 4 p. MF3374 clippings, photographs 8 p. Florida State University, Tallahasse Library 1966

1966

 MF3375 research material 12 p. MF3375 inventory material 7 p. MF3375 interviews with author 28 p. MF3375 pamphlets 2 p. Capital University, Columbus Ohio

MF3376 notes 6 p. MF3376 clippings 4 p. MF3376 autobiographical text 18 p. MF3376 inventory material 11 p. MF3376 miscellaneous material 7 p. University of Central Arkansas

MF3375 correspondence 1 p. MF3375 inventory material 16 p. University of Southern Mississippi

MF3374 correspondence 1 p. MF3374 inventory material 15 p. MF3374 pamphlets 4 p. MF3374 medallion 1 p. University of Oklahoma library 1985

1985

 MF3375 inventory material 221 p. Photos

MF3374 photographs 17 p. Stories Behind My Regionals

MF3374 typescript, corrected carbon 154 p. MF3374 front matter 2 p. MF3374 correspondence 1 p. We Live by the River 1956

Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1956

 MC517 correspondence 1 p. MC517 pencil, ink illustration 1 p.