Hetty Burlingame Beatty papers , 1947-1970

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Beatty, Hetty Burlingame
Title
Hetty Burlingame Beatty papers
Dates
1947-1970 (inclusive)
Quantity
10 linear feet, (26 containers)
Collection Number
Ax 452
Summary
Hetty Burlingame Beatty (1907-1971) was a sculptor and an author and illustrator of books for children. The collection includes manuscripts, illustrations, and correspondence relating to Beatty's interest in animals, especially horses, and travel adventure.
Repository
University of Oregon Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives
UO Libraries--SCUA
1299 University of Oregon
Eugene OR
97403-1299
Telephone: 5413463068
spcarref@uoregon.edu
Access Restrictions

Collection is open to the public. Collection must be used in Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room. Collection or parts of collection may be stored offsite. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives in advance of your visit to allow for transportation time.

Additional Reference Guides

See the Current Collection Guide for detailed description and requesting options.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Historical NoteReturn to Top

Hetty Burlingame Beatty was born on October 8, 1907, in New Canaan, Connecticut, the daughter of Robert C. and Jean (Burlingame) Beatty. She attended the Boston Museum School from 1924-1929, and the University of Maryland from 1960-1963 through extension courses given in Bermuda. On October 11, 1959, she married Lewis F. Whitney, also an artist.

A trained sculptor, Beatty's works were exhibited nationally and won a number of awards. She was given the Mrs. David Hunt Scholarship in Sculpture; the second prize at the International Exhibition of Horses in Sculpture in New York; and a one-woman show of her sculpture and drawings at the Worcester Art Museum in 1941.

Beatty wrote and illustrated fourteen books and contributed to magazines. Her books include Topsy (1947), Little Wild Horse (1949), Little Owl Indian (1951), Bronto (1952), Saint Francis and the Wolf (1953), Droopy (1954), Thumps (1955), Bucking Horse (1957), Voyage of the Sea Wind (1959), Blitz (1961), Moorland Pony (1961), Trumper (1963), Bryn (1965), and Rebel, the Reluctant Racehorse (1968).

Beatty once commented to Contemporary Authors, "I started out as a sculptor and gradually shifted over to the field of writing, becoming so absorbed in it that I devote nearly all my time to it now, along with illustration of most of my own books for children.

"I have lived for two years in Italy, 1929-1931, and have since traveled a good deal in Europe, North Africa, and the Near East, as well as in the United States. I speak French and Italian, after a fashion. Horses, gardening, and square dancing are among my special interests, and I love to plan and build houses. I designed our house in Bermuda, where my husband and I spend the winters.

"I am primarily interested in writing for children, but have become increasingly interested in adult non-fiction. While I am busily writing, my husband is equally busy in his work of handwrought sculpture in lead and other things in pewter, copper, brass, and silver. He founded The Pewter Shop in Rockport, Massachusetts, thirty years ago and was long associated with it."

Hetty Burlingame Beatty died on August 20, 1971.

(Source: Gale Literary Databases. "Hetty Burlingame Beatty." Contemporary Authors. 28 October 2003. 30 June 2005.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The Hetty Burlingame Beatty Papers consist of manuscripts, original art and correspondence relating to twelve of Beatty's fourteen books. The only books not included in the collection are Blitz (1961) and Trumper (1963). One interesting feature is the forty Glass printing plates for Saint Francis and the Wolf (1953).

Also included in the collection is a series of correspondence, the majority of which concerns the Houghton Mifflin Publishing Company.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Children's literature, American--Authorship
  • Children's literature, American--Illustrations
  • Illustrated children's books--United States
  • Publishers and publishing--Correspondence
  • Women authors, American--20th century
  • Women illustrators--United States

Personal Names

  • Beatty, Hetty Burlingame

Corporate Names

  • Houghton Mifflin Company
  • Houghton Mifflin Company

Form or Genre Terms

  • Book illustrations
  • Correspondence
  • Glass negatives
  • Manuscripts for publication