Marie Lawson Papers
Scope and Content
The collection contains research notes, handwritten and typed manuscript drafts, carbon copies, dummies, and colored illustrations for one published and a number of apparently unpublished works by Marie Lawson. This includes complimentary correspondence, various draft versions, and an early dummy for her book Strange Sea Stories: Legends, Lore, and Superstitions of the Mysterious Waters which was issued late in 1955, a few months before Mrs. Lawson's death. The unpublished material takes several formats: short stories, poems, an essay, and a longer work arranged as a daily almanac. The preliminary title for this work is While the Earth Remaineth: an Almanac of Country Life and Lore. Proceeding from her compilation of "odd bits" of subject material, to a rough draft, and then a more polished version for some of the calendar months, one can observe the author's writing process. There are four colored illustrations in the collection that do not have an obvious connection to any of the manuscripts. Except for the correspondence, the material in the collection is undated.
Dates
- undated, 1955-1956
Access
The collection is open and available for research.
Restrictions on Use
Permission to publish from these Papers must be obtained in writing from both the University of Connecticut Libraries and the owner(s) of the copyright.
Biography
Author and illustrator Marie Abrams Lawson was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1894. She was educated at the Sweet Briar Institute in Virginia, and studied at the New York School of Fine and Applied Art. Marie maried fellow student Robert Lawson in 1922, and the young couple moved out of the city to Westport, Connecticut, the following year.
The Lawsons decided that each of them would design a greeting card a day until the mortgage on their new home was paid off, a goal they reached in less than three years. Marie subsequently turned to free-lance illustrating for adult and children's magazines, and then in about 1930 began to write and illustrate books.
Following several years in New York City at the beginning of the Depression, the Lawsons returned to Westport in 1936 and built their home at Rabbit Hill. The house was surrounded by gardens and had an adjoining studio in which husband and wife worked at easels facing each other. They enjoyed sailing on Long Island Sound and vacationing on Nantucket Island. Her twin loves of gardening and the sea are evident in much of Mrs. Lawson's work.
She wrote and illustrated four books for young people (Hail Columbia, Dragon John, The Sea is Blue, and Strange Sea Stories) and authored a volume for Random House's Landmark Series of juvenile histories. Many of her stories are simple retellings of old legends or fanciful tales, and her illustrations have a gentle, two-dimensional quality. Her distinctive black and white decorations add grace and beauty to the five volume botanical series by Vernon Quinn.
Marie Lawson died 13 June 1956 in Norwalk, Connecticut. She was survived by her husband Robert Lawson, the Newberry and Caldecott Award-winning children's author and illustrator.
Extent
1 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Marie Lawson, resident of Westport, Connecticut, was an author and illustrator of books for young people. The collection contains research notes, drafts, dummies, and illustrations for her Strange Sea Stories and a number of apparently unpublished works.
Arrangement
Series I: Strange Sea Stories , 1955
Series II: Unpublished Works, undated
Custodial History
The collection was originally donated to the Westport Public Library, Westport, Connecticut.
Acquisition Information
The collection was donated to Archives & Special Colleactions by Maxine Bleweis, director of the Westport (Connecticut) Public Library, in October 2002.
Bibliography
- Authors Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Children's literature Subject Source: Fast
- Children's literature Subject Source: Fast
- Connecticut (state) Subject Source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
- Contracts Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Correspondence Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Galley proofs Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Illustrated children's books Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Illustrations (layout features). Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Illustrators Subject Source: Fast
- Notes Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Photocopies Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Poems Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Press releases Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Publications (documents) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Sketches Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Twentieth century. Subject Source: Fast
- Typescripts Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- United States (nation) Subject Source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
- Works of Art Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- manuscripts (document genre) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Title
- Marie Lawson Papers
- Status
- Published
- Author
- Archives & Special Collections staff
- Date
- 2003 March
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Archives and Special Collections, University of Connecticut Library Repository
University of Connecticut Library
405 Babbidge Road Unit 1205
Storrs Connecticut 06269-1205 USA US
860-486-2524
archives@uconn.edu
