Donated by Natalia Belting between 1968 and 1990.
Noncirculating; available for research.
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.
Natalia Maree Belting was born on July 11, 1915 in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Her parents encouraged her to read, and she wrote her first book at age six. She received a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana in 1936, and went on to earn a master's degree in 1937 and a Ph.D. in American history in 1940 from the same institution. She taught history at her alma mater from 1942 until her retirement, forty years later. She became an associate professor in 1973, and retired as a full professor. She studied and wrote about the history of Native Americans and early French colonizers in Illinois. This research formed the basis of her first children's book, Pierre of Kaskaskia, as well as her third book, In Enemy Hands. Her books Indy and Mr. Lincoln, and Verity Mullens and the Indian were also based on historical incidents. For the most part, Belting adapted myths and folktales for young readers. Focusing on a single theme, such as "little people" (Elves and Ellefolk) or the sun (The Sun Is a Golden Earring), Belting usually included ten to twenty myths from around the world. In 1962, The Sun Is a Golden Earring, with illustrations by Bernarda Bryson, was a Caldecott Medal honor book. She went on to produce 24 children's book titles and numerous articles during her career. Throughout her adult life, Belting was active in community affairs, and preached occasionally in Presbyterian churches where she was a lay minister.
Natalia Belting passed away in 1997.
Sources:
This collection contains three series: Alphabetical Files; Correspondence; and Books.
The "Alphabetical Files" contain newsclippings about Belting, as well as reviews about books for which the collection has no original material. The "Correspondence" Series consists primarily of letters to and from publishers and editors, as well as some royalty statements. Researchers should cross-reference this series and the "Books" Series.
The "Books" Series is arranged alphabetically by title, with the material within each title arranged according to probable order of creation. Indy and Mr. Lincoln, Pierre of Kaskaskia, and Verity Mullens and the Indian are all works of historical fiction. Pierre of Kaskaskia tells the story of a young boy's adventures in a French village on the Mississippi River during the colonial period. Verity Mullens and the Indian recounts the adventures of a dog from Plymouth colony who gets lost in the woods.
The other books documented in this series are adaptations of folktales and myths.
Among the subjects in these books are cats stories (Cat Tales), origin
myths (The Earth
Is on a Fish's Back), and myths about the sky (The Moon Is a Crystal
Ball).
Most of the books in this collection are documented with one or more typescripts.
Several of these typescripts are partial and/or unnumbered. Also, there are reviews and
publicity materials for every title. For most of the books there is also material from later
stages of the publishing process, such as a galley, a proof, or folded and gathered
sheets. For Indy and Mr. Lincoln, the collection contains some reproductions of
preliminary illustration sketches.
The Leonard Everett Fisher Papers (DG0327) and The Anne Marie Jauss Papers (DG0510)
Box/Folder
A. Alphabetical Files
1/1 Miscellaneous, 2 items.
1/2 Newspaper clippings about Ms. Belting, 19 items.
1/3 Notes, 41 pp.
1/4 Reviews and publicity material, 24 items.
1/5 Short Story, "The Baker and Our Lord," 29 February 1952, 1 p.
1/6 Typescript, unidentified, 9 pp.
B. Correspondence (1950-1969)
1/7-1/12 Correspondence,
1/7 1950-1957, 60 items.
1/8 1958-1959, 29 items.
1/9 1960, 46 items.
1/10 1961, 46 items.
1/11 1962-1963, 19 items.
1/12 1964-1969, n.d., 28 items.
C. Books
CALENDAR MOON by Natalia Belting, illustrated by Bernarda Bryson (New
York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1964).
2/1 Miscellaneous typescript pages, unnumbered, 58 pp.
2/2 Typescript, 23 pp.
2/3 Typescript, 27 pp.
2/4 Typescript, typesetter's marks, 26 pp.
2/5 Typescript, front matter, 5 pp.
2/6 Reviews and publicity material, 5 items.
CAT TALES by Natalia Maree Belting, illustrated by Leo Summers (New
York: Holt, 1959).
2/7 Correspondence, 1958-1959, 9 items.
2/8 Typescript, front matter, 5 pp., and 39 pp.
2/9 Typescript, 12 pp.
2/10 Typescript, pp. 1-72.
2/11 Typescript, pp. 1-49.
2/12 Typescript, unused chapters, 78 pp.
2/13 Galley, pp. 1-22.
2/14 Book jacket, 2 items.
2/15 Reviews, 13 items.
THE EARTH IS ON A FISH'S BACK: TALES OF BEGINNINGS by Natalia Maree Belting, illustrated by Esta Nesbitt (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston,
1965).
3/1 Typescript, pp. 1-61.
3/2 Typescript, edited with typesetter's marks, front matter, 7 pp., and pp.
1-57.
3/3 Galley, pp. 1-23.
3/4 Reviews, 3 items.
ELVES AND ELLEFOLK: TALES OF THE LITTLE PEOPLE by Natalia M. Belting,illustrated by Gordon Laite (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1961).
3/5 Research material, 17 pp.
3/6 Typescripts, 14 chapters, 44 pp.
3/7 Typescript, 9 chapters, 25 pp.
3/8 Typescripts, 7 chapters, 18 pp.
3/9 Typescript, 45 pp.
3/10 Correspondence, 1960, 1963, 3 items.
Typescript, pp. 1-54.
3/11 Typescript, front matter and book jacket, 6 pp.
3/12 Galley, pp. 1-22.
3/13 Reviews and publicity material, 10 items.
Book jacket, 1 item.
INDY AND MR. LINCOLN by Natalia Maree Belting, illustrated by Leonard
Everett Fisher (New York: Holt, 1960).
4/1 Typescript, "early version," 3 pp.
Typescript, 9 pp.
4/2 Typescript, 10 pp.
Typescript, 9 pp.
4/3 Typescript, typesetter's marks, 11 pp.
4/4 Galley, 6 pp.
4/5 Reproductions of preliminary illustrations, pp. 5, 6-7, 9, 11, 13,
15, 16-17, 19, 20-21, 22-23, 24-25, 27, 29, 30-31, 32-33, 15 items.
4/6 Reviews and publicity material, 8 items.
THE LONG-TAILED BEAR AND OTHER INDIAN LEGENDS by Natalia M. Belting,
illustrated by Louis F. Cary (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1961).
4/7 Research notes, 3 pp.
Miscellaneous typescript pages, unnumbered, 17 pp.
4/8 Typescript, pp. 1-30.
4/9 Reviews and publicity material, 13 pp.
THE MOON IS A CRYSTAL BALL: UNFAMILIAR LEGENDS OF THE STARS by Natalia Maree Belting, illustrated by Anne Marie Jauss (Indianapolis:
Bobbs-Merrill, 1952).
4/10 Correspondence, 1941-1951, 6 items.
4/11 Typescript, 11 chapters.
4/12 Typescript, front matter, 5 pp., and pp. 1-69.
4/13 Reviews and publicity material, 6 items.
PIERRE OF KASKASKIA: PIONEER BOY OF NEW FRANCE by Natalia Maree Belting,
illustrated by Paul Busch (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1951).
4/14-4/15 Typescript,
4/14 Chapters 1-7, pp. 1-72.
4/15 Chapters 7-10, pp. 73-122.
4/16 Correspondence, 1951, 1 item.
4/16-4/17 Proof,
4/16 Chapters 1-6, pp. 1-98.
4/17 Chapters 7-10, pp. 99-162.
4/18 Reviews and publicity material, 5 items.
THE STARS ARE SILVER REINDEER by Natalia Belting, illustrated by Esta
Nesbitt (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1966).
5/1 Research notes, 9 pp.
5/2 Miscellaneous typescript pages, unnumbered, 58 pp.
5/3 Typescript, 19 pp.
5/4 Correspondence, 1964, 1 item.
Typescript, 15 pp.
5/5 Typescript, with typesetter's marks, front matter, 3 pp., and body,
15 pp.
5/6 Galley, 8 pp.
5/7 Reviews, 1 p.
THE SUN IS A GOLDEN EARRING by Natalia Maree Belting, illustrated by
Bernarda Bryson (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1962).
5/8 Typescript, front matter, 2 pp., and body, pp. 1-8.
5/9 Typescript, front matter, 9 pp., and body, pp. 1-19.
5/10 Reviews and publicity material, 5 items.
VERITY MULLENS AND THE INDIAN by Natalia Maree Belting, illustrated by
Leonard Everett Fisher (New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1960).
5/11 Notes, 1 p.
Typescript, pp. 2-10.
5/12 Folded and gathered sheets, 54 pp.
5/13 Book jacket, 1 item.
5/14 Reviews, 15 items. 9 pp.
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