Summary
Overview
Dodge, Mary Mapes, 1830-1905
Mary Mapes Dodge Collection
0.2 linear feet, 1 half-size archival box
Princeton University. Library. Dept. of Rare Books and Special Collections
Manuscripts Division
One Washington Road
Princeton, New Jersey 08544 USA
Abstract
Consists of selected correspondence of Mary Mapes Dodge, the American children's writer.
Description
Description
The collection consists of selected correspondence of Mary Mapes Dodge, the American children's writer and editor. In a letter to Mary Louise Booth, editor of Harper's Bazaar, Dodge asks Booth to publish one of her poems anonymously. Writing to "Mrs. Coates," Dodge praises Helen Keller's book. Also included is a letter to Arthur Stedman, praising his "biographies" which he wrote for his father's work Library of American Literature, as well as a dictated letter to Miss Laura M. Wachschlager regarding Dodge's novel Hans Brinker. In addition, there are five letters from the English-American playwright Frances Hodgson Burnett, in which she inquires about the proofs of her children's story Little Lord Fauntleroy for publication in St. Nicholas, and an incomplete letter to Dodge, in which she suggests a new serial for St. Nicholas and a new children's book.
Collection Creator
Biography
Mary Mapes Dodge was an American children's writer and editor, best known for her novel Hans Brinker; or The Silver Skates, A Story of Life in Holland. In 1859 she began writing and editing, working with her father to publish two magazines, the Working Farmer and the United States Journal. Within a few years she had great success with a collection of short stories ns2:titled The Irvington Stories (1864). Dodge then wrote Hans Brinker, which became an instant bestseller. Later on she was an associate editor of Health and Home, edited by Harriet Beecher Stowe. She had charge of the household and children's departments of that paper. She became an editor in her own right with the children's magazine St. Nicholas, published by Charles Scribner' Sons, for she was able to solicit stories from a number of well-known writers including Mark Twain, Louisa May Alcott, and Robert Louis Stevenson. St. Nicholas became one of the most successful magazines for children during the second half of the nineteenth century, with a circulation of almost 70,000.. Dodge is buried in the Evergreen Cemetery, at Hillside, New Jersey.
Collection History
Acquisition
The letter to Arthur Stedman was laid in a copy of Hans Binker.
The letters to Miss Wachschlager, Mrs. Grossman, and to Mr. and Mrs. Stedman were purchased in February 1975.
The letters of Frances Burnett were purchased on December 14, 1982.
The letter to Mrs. Coates was purchased on June 7, 1985. Various AM.
Custodial History
The collection was formed as a result of a Departmental practice of combining into one collection material of various accessions relating to a particular person, family, or subject.
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Dina Britain on May 6, 2009. Finding aid written by Lauren Kustner on May 21, 2009. Folder Inventory added by Jameson Creager (2015) in 2012.
Access and Use
Access Restrictions
The collection is open for research.
Use Restrictions
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish material from the collection must be requested from the Associate University Librarian for Rare Books and Special Collections. The library has no information on the status of literary rights in the collection and researchers are responsible for determining any questions of copyright.
Preferred Citation
Mary Mapes Dodge Collection; 1873-1904, Manuscripts Division, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library.
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