NORMAN BRIDWELL PAPERS

de Grummond Children's Literature Collection
The University of Southern Mississippi


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Creator: Norman Bridwell
Title: Norman Bridwell Papers
Dates: 1963-1971
Dates: [bulk 1963-1966]
Quantity: .60 cubic feet (1 box)
Identification: DG0116

Abstract: Norman Bridwell was the author and illustrator of the popular Clifford the Big Red Dog book series. Clifford books have sold more than sixty million copies and are translated into many languages worldwide. The Norman Bridwell Papers hold original illustrations or book dummies for four Bridwell works, including two Clifford titles.

Biographical Note

The author and illustrator of the popular Clifford the Big Red Dog series, Norman Ray Bridwell was born in Kokomo, Indiana in 1928. By his own admission he always liked to draw, even to the detriment of his schoolwork. He studied at the John Herron Art Institute in Indianapolis and Cooper Union Art School in New York before working as a commercial artist for twelve years.

In 1962 Bridwell found himself having to support a wife and infant daughter on extra money he picked up doing freelance artwork. He considered supplementing his income by illustrating picture books. An editor at Harper & Row advised him that he might find success by writing a story about one of his pictures. Because of his young daughter, Bridwell chose to write a story about an illustration he had made of a little girl and a big red bloodhound. He decided to make the dog VERY big and more of a general, all-around dog instead of a bloodhound. Bridwell wanted to name the dog Tiny, but his wife thought the name too boring. She suggested the name Clifford, after an imaginary play friend from her own childhood. With that settled, Bridwell decided to name the little girl in his book after his own daughter, Emily Elizabeth, and within a few days he completed his story. Three weeks after submitting his story and illustrations to Scholastic Books, the publishers called with an offer to publish his work. Forty titles and sixty million copies later, "Clifford the Big Red Dog" is a well-known and beloved character to the preschool set. Norman Bridwell and his wife Norma moved to Martha's Vineyard after tiring of city life. Their daughter, Emily Elizabeth, and son Tim, who sometimes showed up in his father's stories as a character named Timmy, also live in Massachusetts.

Norman Bridwell passed away on December 12, 2014 at the age of 86.

Sources:
Contemporary Authors, New Revision Series, v. 46 pp. 40-1
Children's Books and Their Creators, pp. 82-3
http://teacher.scholastic.com/authorsandbooks/authors/bridwell/bio.htm [accessed on 6 December 2001]


Scope and Content Note

The Norman Bridwell Papers contain letters sent and dummies and illustrations for four Bridwell books published between 1963 and 1966. The papers are organized into two series: letters sent and books.

The letters sent series consists of three letters Norman Bridwell sent to the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection between 1966 and 1971. The books series contains original illustrations for two Clifford books, Clifford the Big Red Dog and Clifford's Halloween. It also contains dummies from two other works, Bird in the Hat and Zany Zoo. The materials are arranged alphabetically by title and the material for each book is arranged chronologically in order of creation.


Series and Subseries

A. Letters Sent (1966 - 1971)
B. Books (1963 - 1966)

Bird in the Hat (1964)

Clifford the Big Red Dog (1963)

Clifford's Halloween (1966)

Zany Zoo (1963)


Restrictions

Restrictions on Use

Noncirculating; available for research.

Copyright Restrictions

The collection is protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code). Reproductions can be made only if they are to be used for "private study, scholarship, or research." It is the user's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and to obtain all necessary permissions prior to the reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion of these materials, other than that noted above.


Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

(Identify the item and cite the series), Norman Bridwell Papers, de Grummond Children's Literature Collection, University of Southern Mississippi Libraries.

Provenance

These papers were donated to the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection of the University of Southern Mississippi Libraries by Norman Bridwell between 1966 and 1971.

Processing Information

Processed by C. Alder, December 2001. Encoded into EAD Version 1.0 by Danielle L. Bishop. This finding aid is the product of a grant funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.


Container Listing

Box/Folder

.

Letters Sent

1/1Selected letters sent to the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection, 1966 - 1971, (3 items)


.

Books

The Bird in the Hat, story and illustrations by Norman Bridwell (New York: Scholastic Inc., 1964)
1/2Book dummy, entitled The Hat Bird's Seat, (44 pp.)
1/3Black marker illustrations for pp. 3, 24, 28, 36; alternate illustrations for pp. 5 - 6; unused illustration, (2 items)
Clifford the Big Red Dog, story and illustrations by Norman Bridwell (New York: Scholastic Inc., 1963)
1/4Pencil illustrations on tracing paper for pp. 4, 16, 22, 41, 43, and back cover, (6 items)
Clifford's Halloween, story and illustrations by Norman Bridwell (New York: Scholastic Inc., 1966)
1/5Photocopy of book dummy, with alternate story ending, (46 pp.)
1/6Color separation for p. 48
Zany Zoo, story and illustrations by Norman Bridwell (New York: Scholastic Inc., 1963)
1/7Book dummy, entitled Zoo-Illogical, 13 pp.; alternate illustrations for pp. 4 and 25 - 26
1/8Pencil illustrations on tracing paper for pp. 2, 3, 11, 12, 18, 19, and 20, (7 items)

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