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Betty Bard MacDonald photograph collection, approximately 1870-1989

Overview of the Collection

Compiler
MacDonald, Betty Bard
Title
Betty Bard MacDonald photograph collection
Dates
approximately 1870-1989 (inclusive)
Quantity
809 photographic prints (4 boxes)
190 negatives (3 boxes)
Collection Number
PH1423
Summary
Photographs relating to Betty MacDonald's writing career and life and publicity photographs for the film of "The Egg and I"
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Selection from the collection can be viewed on the Libraries Digital Collections website. Permission of Visual Materials Curator is required to view originals. Contact Special Collections for more information.

Request at UW

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

Author Betty MacDonald (born Anne Elizabeth Campbell Bard) was born to parents Darsie and Elsie/Sydney Bard on March 26, 1907, in Boulder, Colorado. Her family moved often before settling in Seattle, where Betty attended the St. Nicholas School and Lincoln High School before graduating from Roosevelt High School in 1924. She later attended the University of Washington.

On July 9, 1927, Betty married Robert E. Heskett. The couple moved to a small farming community, Center in the Chimacum Valley, near Port Townsend. During this time, Betty and Robert operated an egg ranch. It was this experience that inspired MacDonald to write one of her most famous books, "The Egg and I." MacDonald left Heskett after four years of marriage, and returned to Seattle with her daughters, Anne and Joan.

Throughout the 1930s, Betty lived with her mother and sisters (Mary Bard, Dede Bard, and Alison Bard) in Seattle and was eventually hired by the National Recovery Administration (NRA) and then the United States Treasury Department. In 1938, she was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis and was admitted to the Firland Sanatorium in Richmond Highlands, Washington. She was discharged in 1939 but the experience inspired her to write “The Plague and I”.

She married Donald C. MacDonald on April 29, 1942 and moved with him and her daughters to Vashon Island. While Anne and Joan were in school, Betty and Donald commuted by ferry to Seattle for work each day.

MacDonald's first book, "The Egg and I," was published in 1945. It quickly became a bestseller and was eventually translated into many different languages. She continued to write many bestsellers, including "The Plague and I," (about her battle with tuberculosis), “Anybody Can Do Anything” (about surviving the Great Depression) "Onions in the Stew," (about raising her daughters on Vashon Island) and her best-selling children's books, the "Mrs. Piggle Wiggle" series and "Nancy and Plum."

The MacDonalds purchased ranch land in Carmel Valley, California in 1952. They moved there to ranch cattle in 1956, but continued to travel to Seattle periodically. In 1956, Betty was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She died in Seattle on February 7th, 1958, at the age of 49.

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Content Description

Photographs relating to Betty MacDonald's writing career and life and publicity photographs for the film of "The Egg and I".

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Use of the Collection

Alternative Forms Available

View selections from the collection in digital format

Restrictions on Use

Donor's copyrights transferred to the University of Washington Libraries Special Collections. However, most of the photographs were not created by the donor.

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Administrative Information

Processing Note

Processed by Paula Becker; Beck Prigot, 2017; processing completed in 2017.

Bibliography

Becker, Paula. Looking for Betty MacDonald : the Egg, the Plague, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, and I. University of Washington Press, 2016.

Related Materials

Betty Bard MacDonald papers , Collection No. 2344

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)

Personal Names

  • MacDonald, Betty Bard--Family--Photographs
  • MacDonald, Betty Bard--Friends and associates--Photographs

Other Creators

  • Family Names

    • Bard (Family : Bard, Darsie Campbell, 1878-1920) (creator)


2018 (Last modified: 3/5/2020)

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