NTDMG217 Guide to Helen McKelvey Oakley papers Oakley (Helen McKelvey) papers Finding aid prepared by Trixie Zwolfer. University of Idaho Library, Special Collections and Archives 2024
libspec@uidaho.edu
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2024-07-30. Finding aid written in English. Finding aid based on DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard), 2nd Edition. University of Idaho Library, Special Collections and Archives Helen McKelvey Oakley papers Oakley, Helen McKelvey, 1906-2003 MG 217 0.5 cubic feet 1963-1967 The collection, An Alphabet of Christmas Words, spans the years 1963-1967. Included in the collection are preliminary research notes, early drafts, manuscript, galley proofs, mock-up, and three copies of the printed booklet, two signed by the author; also, correspondence with the publisher Oxford University Press and letters commenting on the booklet. English .

"An Alphabet of Christmas Words" is a Christmas keepsake booklet published by Oxford University Press in 1966. It was written by author Helen McKelvey Oakley and illustrated by Ursula Seuss.

Helen McKelvey Oakley was born in 1906 in New York, New York to Ralph Huntington McKelvey and Helen A. Fairchild. In 1928, she completed a degree from Bryn Mawr College; the following year, she founded a bookstore in New York City, which she worked at for twelve years. In August 1938, she married Walter T. Oakley, with whom she moved to Manhasset, New York and had two daughters. In her later career, she wrote and published several books. Under the name Helen Oakley, she published The Horse on the Hill (1957); The Ranch by the Sea (1959); The Enchanter's Wheel (1962); and Freedom's Daughter (1968). In 1966, as Helen McKelvey Oakley, she published the booklet An Alphabet of Christmas Words through Oxford University Press. As Helen McK. Oakley, she published the booklet "Christopher Morley on Long Island" (1967), and the biography "Three Hours for Lunch: The Life and Times of Christopher Morley" (1976). She died in Manhasset, New York in 2003.

Collection is open for research.

Materials were found in Special Collection stack area in December 1989.

FOR PHOTOS Photographer, "Title," date. Collection name, object ID. University of Idaho Library Special Collections and Archives, Moscow, ID.

FOR DOCUMENTS Author, Description or "Title" of item, date. Collection name, collection number, box, folder. University of Idaho Library Special Collections and Archives, Moscow, ID.

The collection, An Alphabet of Christmas Words, spans the years 1963-1967. Included in the collection are preliminary research notes, early drafts, manuscript, galley proofs, mock-up, and three copies of the printed booklet, two signed by the author. The collection also includes correspondence between author, Helen McKelvey Oakley, and her publisher, Oxford University Press, as well as letters from readers and colleagues commenting on the booklet.

 Books Correspondence research (function) Idaho Series 1: An Alphabet of Christmas Words Correspondence: OUP 21 items Contains correspondence with the publisher Oxford University Press. 19 December 1963-9 August 1966 1 1 Correspondence: Comments on the Book 17 items Contains newspaper clippings and correspondence from readers commenting on the booklet. 10 December 1966-13 February 1967 1 2 Preliminary Notes 46 items Contains preliminary notes, research, and writings for the booklet. undated 1 3 Notes for 1st Draft 64 items Contains early draft of the booklet with notes and edits. undated 1 4 Final Manuscript, Unconnected Carbon 35 items Contains final draft of the booklet, with minor notes and edits. 1966 1 5 Final Manuscript with Publisher's Corrections and Annotations 35 items Contains final draft of the booklet, with publisher's notes and copyedits. 1966 1 6 Galley Sheet 6 items Contains galley sheets of the booklet with copyedits. 1966 1 7 Mock-up 1 item Contains mock-up for the booklet. 1966 1 8 Printed Copies 3 items Contains three final printed copies of the booklet, two signed by the author. 1966 1 9