de Grummond Collection

McCain Library and Archives
University Libraries
University of Southern Mississippi



GAIL E. HALEY PAPERS

Collection Number
Collection Dates
Collection Volume
DG0414
1970-1988
.9 cu.ft. (1 box)

Biographical Sketch | Scope & Content | Series & Subseries | Box Inventory

Provenance

Materials received from Gail Haley in 1984, 1986, and 1987.

Restrictions

Non-circulating; available for research.

Copyright

This 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

Gail E. Haley was born in Charlotte, North Carolina on November 4, 1939 to artistic parents. She grew up in the rural village of Shuffletown where she cared for farm animals and befriended raccoons, field mice, opossums, and chipmunks and where she witnessed firsthand the daily marvels and balance of nature. She also had a fascination with the written word and spent a great deal of time writing and drawing. From 1957-1959 she attended Richmond Professional Institute. She married Joseph A. Haley, a mathematician, in 1959. From 1960 to 1964 she studied graphics and painting at the University of Virginia where artist-teacher Charles Smith encouraged her to write and illustrate a children's book, My Kingdom for a Dragon, which was published in 1962.

She and her second husband, Arnold F. Arnold, spent a year in the Caribbean, where Haley researched the African origins of Caribbean folklore. In 1970 she retold and illustrated A Story, A Story, an African folktale. In order to make children aware of the need to protect and conserve the natural environment, Haley wrote and illustrated Noah's Ark in 1971. Believing that children need anthropomorphic fantasies for proper development, she wrote The Post Office Cat (1977), the story of a cat searching for a home in London.

Haley has been vice-president of Manuscript Press since 1965. She also designs toys and fashion items. In 1984 the Smithsonian Institute hosted a presention of Haley's puppetry and children's theater. She is writer-in-residence and curator of the Gail Haley Collection of Culture of Childhood at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina; this collection reflects the process by which children are socialized into the adult world, including formal education as well as games, toys, books, and mass media.

During the course of her career, Haley has written and illustrated more than twenty books and illustrated more than ten books for other writers. She is the only writer-illustrator to have won both the Caldecott and Kate Greenaway medals. Her honors and awards include The Boston Globe-Horn Book honor award for illustration in 1970 and the Caldecott Medal in 1971, both for A Story, A Story; the Kate Greenaway Medal for The Post Office Cat in 1977; Parents' Choice Award for The Green Man in 1980; and the Children's Book Council, Children's Choice for Birdsong in 1984. Haley continues to teach courses in puppetry, writing and illustrating for children, and related areas at Appalachian State University.

Sources:


Scope and Content

The collection contains correspondence (1984-1987), a poster (undated), and material on eight books (1970-1988), including several of Haley's award winners. The titles are arranged alphabetically, with the material for each organized in the probable order in which it was created. The phrases in quotes in the inventory are Haley's own descriptions.

The correspondence consists of letters to the de Grummond Collection (1984-1987) with descriptions of the material being donated and undated fan mail from children. There is also a publicity poster titled "Get Together With a Picture Book."

The Abominable Swampman (1975) is the story of a young girl who tries to save the Swamp Man from the irate townspeople and accompanies him to a magical country, where she unlocks the chamber of dreams, insuring the future of magic in the world. Although originally planned in color, the book was published in black and white. For this title, there are color separations, illustrations, a "color sample," galleys, and a dust jacket. Birdsong (1984) is the story of an urchin befriended by an old woman. The girl soon discovers the woman's evil intent, and with the help of bird friends teaches her a lesson. The collection contains sketches and an illustration for this book. For Go Away, Stay Away (1977), the story of village people joining in a festival to free themselves from the demons, goblins, and spirits that cause their misfortunes, there are sketches, a lay-out study, and numerous linoleum prints.

Jack and the Beantree (1986) is the story of a boy climbing to the top of a giant beanstalk where he uses his quick wits to outsmart a giant and make his fortune. For this title there are sketches, an illustration, an incomplete edited typescript including thumbnail sketches, and a paste-up with text and photcopied illustrations. Jack encounters the menacing monster known as Fire Dragaman and rescues three beautiful sisters from the monster's underground cave in Jack and the Fire Dragon (1988). For this book the collection contains sketches, several linoleum prints, illustrations, and an edited photocopy of galleys. Jack Jouett's Ride (1973) recaptures the incident during the American Revolution when Jack Jouett rode to warn Thomas Jefferson and others of the coming of Tarleton's raiders. For this title the collection includes a sketch, linoleum prints, and color separations.

Searching for a home, Clarence the cat arrives at the local post office at an opportune time in The Post Office Cat (1976). The collection contains sketches and color separations for this Greenaway medalist. For Haley's Caldecott winner, A Story: A Story: An African Tale (1970), which recounts how most African folk tales came to be called "Spider Stories," the collection holds sketches, color separations, and linoleum prints.



Series and Subseries


A. Correspondence (1984-1987 and undated)

B. Poster (undated)

C. Books (1970-1988)


Box Inventory


    Box/Folder

A. Correspondence

1/1 To the de Grummond Collection, 1984-1986, 6 items. From children, undated, 13 items.

B. Poster

1/2 Publicity poster, "Get Together With a Picture Book," undated.

C. Books

THE ABOMINABLE SWAMPMAN written and illustrated by Gail E. Haley (New York: Viking Press, 1975). 1/3 Color separations, ink and watercolor, pp. 2-3, 6-7, 18-19, 22-23, 26-27, 34-35, 38-39, and 42-43. 1/4 Illustrations, pen and ink, pp. 39, 41, and 45. Illustration/"color sample," ink and watercolor, pp. 38-39. Galleys, pp. 1-14. Dust jacket. BIRDSONG story and pictures by Gail E. Haley (New York: Crown, 1984). 1/5 Sketches, colored pencil, graphite, ink, and transparent watercolor, pp. 2-3, 10-11, 14-15, 16-17, and prologue alternate. Illustration, "brown ink, batik and wash," pp. 2-3. GO AWAY, STAY AWAY written and illustrated by Gail E. Haley (New York: Scribner, 1977). 1/6 Sketch, colored pencil, dust jacket. Tracing for linoleum cuts, p. 1. Prints, linoleum, black and white, pp. 1-31 (pp. 4-5 missing), 1 alternate, and dust jacket, 18 items. 1/7 Print, linoleum, laminated, black and white, "indicating type design with galley," pp. 30-31. "Photocopies for lay-out study," pp. 2-3, 7, 8, 14-15, 16-17, 20, 24-25, 26-27, and dust jacket. Prints, linoleum, with watercolor, pp. 1, 10-11, 12-13, 24-25, 26-27, 30-31, and 32. Prints, linoleum, corrected and with watercolor, pp. 30-31. Prints, linoleum, "hand colored" and laminated, pp. 12-13. JACK AND THE BEANTREE written and illustrated by Gail E. Haley (New York: Crown, 1986). 1/8 Sketches, graphite and pentel, 9 items. Illustration, transparent watercolor and graphite, p. 13. Typescript, incomplete and edited, "including thumbnail sketches offront matter sequence," 6 pp. Paste-up with text and photocopied illustrations, pp. 16-17. JACK AND THE FIRE DRAGON by Gail E. Haley (New York: Crown, 1988). 1/9 Sketches, graphite, ink, and colored pencil, pp. 2, 2-3, 4, 5, 28-29, and dust jacket. Prints, linoleum, first run, pp. 2-3, 4-5, 14-15, 19-20, 28, and 29. 1/10 Prints, linoleum, 2nd run, pp. 2-3, 4-5, 14-15, 19-20, 28-29, 30-31, and 37-38, and 1 alternate. Illustrations, transparent watercolor over black ink linoleum print, pp. 2-3, 14-15, 19-20, 28-29, 36-37. Galley, edited, photocopy, pp. 1-7. JACK JOUETT'S RIDE written and illustrated by Gail E. Haley (New York: Scribner, 1973). 1/11 Sketch, graphite and pentel, "unpublished design for copyright dedication page." Prints, linoleum, pp. 6-7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15, 16-17, 20-21, 22-23, 26-27, 28-29, and 30-31, and dust jacket. "Color separations," dust jacket, 2 items. THE POST OFFICE CAT written and illustrated by Gail E. Haley (New York: Scribner, 1976). 1/12 Sketches, pentel, graphite, ink, and transparent watercolor, pp. 8-9, 10-11, 18-19, 20-21, 22-23, 26-27, 30-31, and 2 alternates. "Color separations," transparent watercolor, pp. 28-29 and 30-31. A STORY, A STORY: AN AFRICAN TALE retold and illustrated by Gail E. Haley (New York: Atheneum, 1970). 1/13 Sketches, graphite and colored pencil, 3 items. Sketch, "full color," graphite and colored pencil, pp. 34-35. Color separations, "for orange and yellow plates," pp. 26-27 and 2-33. Prints, linoleum, "full color," pp. 10-11, 12-13, and 34-35.


Processed: June 1991
Revised: June 2001

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The de Grummond Children's Literature Collection

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