Restrictions
Noncirculating; available for research.
Copyright
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.
Biographical Sketch
Patricia Coombs was born on July 23, 1926 in Los Angeles, California and during her
school age years lived in Hawaii, Boston, New York, and San Francisco. She was
always reading books and would hide in unusual places to avoid getting caught reading
instead of playing. She attended DePauw University and Michigan State University before receiving her bachelor's and master's degrees in English from the University of
Washington. She also studied poetry at New York University.
Ms. Coombs first began writing and illustrating stories for her two daughters. In 1962, she wrote and illustrated Dorrie's Magic, which was highly praised by the New York Times Book Review. According to Coombs, this article bolstered her confidence and started her "Dorrie" series. In total, Coombs wrote and illustrated twenty stories about Dorrie and her adventures as a little witch. In addition to her other books, Coombs also illustrated for other authors and contributed to Poetry Magazine.
Source:
Six of the books in the collection are from the "Dorrie" series, Dorrie and the Birthday Eggs (1971), Dorrie and the Blue Witch (1964), Dorrie and Witch Doctor (1967), Dorrie and the Witch's Imp (1975), Dorrie and the Wizard's Spell (1968), and Dorrie's Play (1965). Dorrie is a little witch whose socks never match. She and her cat Gink have funny adventures and are based on Coombs daughter, Trish, and their cat Dingbat. In Dorrie and the Witch Doctor, Dorrie tries hard to be good when her aunt comes to visit, but she realizes that she needs some help from the Witch Doctor. There are typescripts, a galley, a dummy, and illustrations with color separations for this title. The family is suspicious when the wicked Gloris conjures up a spell for Dorrie, that makes her neat and courteous in Dorrie and the Witch's Imp. There are typescripts and two dummies for this title. In Dorrie and the Wizard's Spell, Wink the Wizard casts a spell on Dorrie's mother, Big Witch, but his love for fudge undoes him. There are typescripts and illustrations with color separations for this title. There are also typescripts for Dorrie and the Birthday Eggs, a dummy for Dorrie and the Blue Witch, and illustrations with color separations for Dorrie's Play.
The other books in the collection include Lisa and the Grompet (1970), The Magic Pot (1977), and Lobo (1969). Lisa and the Grompet, written and illustrated by Coombs, is about a girl who finds an imaginary creature in the woods. There are typescripts, a dummy, illustrations, and a galley for this title. A demon in a magic pot outsmarts a greedy, rich man and gives his wealth to a poor old couple in The Magic Pot, also written and illustrated by Patricia Coombs. There is a typescript, a dummy, and illustrations for this title. Lobo, written by Gladys Yessayan Cretan, is a story about a little black puppy. There are illustrations for this title as well.
B. Unidentified illustrations
Box/Folder
A. Books
Dorrie and the Birthday Eggs written and illustrated by Patricia Coombs
(New York: Lothrop, Lee and Shepard, 1971).
1/1-1/2 Typescripts,
1/1 First draft and second drafts, 2 versions.
1/2 Later drafts, 4 versions.
Dorrie and the Blue Witch written and illustrated by Patricia
Coombs (New York: Lothrop, Lee and Shepard, 1964).
1/3 Dummy with sketches and pen and ink illustrations, 1 item.
1/4 Layout with text and color separations, pp. 20-21, 1 item.
Dorrie and the Witch Doctor written and illustrated by Patricia
Coombs (New York: Lothrop, Lee and Shepard, 1967).
1/5-1/6 Typescripts,
1/5 First draft, pp. 1-7.
1/6 Later drafts, 3 versions.
1/7 Dummy with pasted text and ink sketches, 1 item.
1/8 Galley, minor corrections, 4 pp.
1/9-2/4 Illustrations with color separations and paste up text,
1/9 Dust jacket and jacket material, 2 items.
1/10 pp. 1-7, 7 items.
1/11 pp. 10-16, 7 items.
1/12 pp. 18-25, 8 items.
2/1 pp. 26-32, 7 items.
2/2 pp. 34-42, 8 items.
2/3 pp. 43-48, 6 items.
2/4 Mounted illustration with text and color separation, p. 37.
Dorrie and the Witch's Imp written and illustrated by Patricia
Coombs (New York: Lothrop, Lee and Shepard, 1975).
2/5 Typescripts, edited, 4 versions.
2/6 Dummy, unbound with text paste up and pencil sketches, 1 item.
2/7 Dummy, photocopied, 1 item.
Dorrie and the Wizard's Spell written and illustrated by Patricia
Coombs (New York: Lothrop, Lee and Shepard, 1968).
2/8 Typescripts, edited, 3 versions.
2/9-3/2 Illustrations with color separations,
2/9 Dust jacket and pp. 1-14, 22 items.
2/10 pp. 16-25, 19 items.
3/1 pp. 26-34, 17 items.
3/2 pp. 36-48, 23 items.
Dorrie's Play written and illustrated by Patricia Coombs (New York:
Lothrop, Lee and Shepard, 1965).
3/3 Partial proof, pp. 2-6.
3/4-3/7 Illustrations with color separations and past up text,
3/4 pp. 1-12, 7 items.
3/5 pp. 13-23, 7 items.
3/6 pp. 24-33, 9 items.
3/7 pp. 34-47, 6 items.
Lisa and the Grompet written and illustrated by Patricia Coombs
(New York: Lothrop, Lee and Shepard, 1970).
3/8 Typescripts, edited, 3 versions.
3/9 Typescript of suggested changes, 2 pp.
3/10 Dummy, unbound with text paste up and pencil sketches, 1 item.
3/11 Illustrations, pencil, pp. 22 and 24, 2 items.
3/12 Illustration, ink, p. 1, 1 item.
3/13 Galleys, 4 pp., 4 copies.
Lobo by Gladys Yessayan Cretan, illustrated by Patricia Coombs
(New York: Lothrop, Lee and Shepard, 1969).
3/14-3/15 Illustrations with color separations,
3/14 Dust jacket and pp. 4-17, 38 items.
3/15 pp. 18-32, 34 items.
The Magic Pot written and illustrated by Patricia Coombs (New
York: Lothrop, Lee and Shepard, 1977).
4/1 Typescript, photocopied, pp. 1-8.
4/2 Dummy with text paste up and pencil sketches, 1 item.
4/3 Illustrations with pasted text and color separations, dust jacket
and pp. 1-32, 49 items.
B. Unidentified Illustrations
4/4 Unidentified illustrations, 4 items.
Processed: May 27, 1998; Revised: May 2017
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