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
Marian Foster Curtiss was born in 1909 in Cleveland, Ohio. As a child, she took
drawing lessons and often played in her doll house, which was made out of
a large piano crate. She studied art at Sophie Newcomb College in New
Orleans and Grand Chaumiere in Paris. During the Depression, she worked
for the Works Progress Administration drawing old toys and dolls in
museums. It was her interest in old toys and dolls that led her to write
and illustrate books for children using the dolls as characters in her
books. Her illustrations are done in watercolor and gouache using a Chinese ink stick. Illustrating under the pseudonym of Mariana, she
illustrated works for others including Janice's (Janice Brustlein) Little Bear
series. She died in New York in 1978.
Source:
Scope and Content
The collection contains dummies and illustrations for ten titles. There are also
unpublished manuscripts of "Old Dolls," photographs of Mariana featured in
Life Magazine, and pamphlets about her materials and exhibits. The
materials are arranged alphabetically by title.
Seven of the books in the collection are part of her Miss Flora McFlimsey series. The character is based on a doll that Marian Foster saw at the New York Historical Society. The doll s name was inspired by a heroine in the poem Miss Flora McFlimsey of Madison Square. There are watercolor illustrations for Miss Flora McFlimsey and the Baby New Year (1951), Miss Flora McFlimsey's Birthday (1952), Miss Flora McFlimsey's Christmas Eve (1949), Miss Flora McFlimsey's Easter Bonnet (1951), Miss Flora McFlimsey's May Day (1969), and Miss Flora McFlimsey's Halloween (1972). There are preliminary illustrations for Miss Flora McFlimsey and Little Laughing Water (1954), Miss Flora McFlimsey's Christmas Eve (1949), and Miss Flora McFlimsey's Easter Bonnet (1951). There are dummies for Miss Flora McFlimsey's Christmas Eve (1949), Miss Flora McFlimsey's Easter Bonnet (1951), and Miss Flora McFlimsey's May Day (1969). There are dust jackets for Miss Flora McFlimsey and the Baby New Year (1951) and Miss Flora McFlimsey's May Day (1969).
Another book in the collection, The Journey of Bangwell Putt (1945), is based on a picture of a doll that Ms. Foster found in the book Child Life in Colonial Days. Mariana wrote a story about the doll's journeys. There are two watercolor illustrations and a dust jacket illustration for this title.
The collection also contains pamphlets about local exhibits of Marian Foster's work, as well as a pamphlet about her watercolor collection at an elementary school in Delaware. Marian Foster was also featured in Life Magazine in 1952. The article, as well as some photographs from the article are also in the collection.
A. Books
B. Other Illustrated Materials
C. Miscellaneous Materials
Box/Folder
A. Books
Hotspur by Mariana (New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1953).
1/1 Dummy with pasted text and watercolor illustrations, 1 item.
The Journey of Bangwell Putt written and illustrated by Mariana
(New York: F.A.R. Gallery, 1945).
1/2 Illustrations, watercolor, 2 items.
1/3 Illustration for dust jacket, 1 item.
Miss Flora McFlimsey and the Baby New Year written and
illustrated by Mariana (New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1951).
1/4 Illustrations, watercolor, 11 items.
1/5 Illustration for dust jacket, 1 item.
1/6 Dust jacket, 1 item.
Miss Flora McFlimsey and the Little Laughing Water written and
illustrated by Mariana (New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1954).
1/7 Preliminary illustration, watercolor, 1 item.
Miss Flora McFlimsey's Birthday written and illustrated by
Mariana (New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1952).
1/8 Illustration, watercolor, 1 item.
Miss Flora McFlimsey's Christmas Eve written and illustrated by
Mariana (New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1949).
1/9-1/11 Dummies,
1/9 Preliminary watercolor sketches, 1 item.
1/10 Pasted text and watercolor illustrations, 1 item.
1/11 Bound with pasted text and illustrations, 1 item.
1/12 Preliminary illustrations, watercolor, 7 items.
2/1 Illustrations, watercolor, 17 items.
2/2 Reviews, 5 items.
Miss Flora McFlimsey's Easter Bonnet written and illustrated by
Mariana (New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1951).
2/3 Dummy with pasted text and watercolor illustrations, 1 item.
2/4 Preliminary illustrations, watercolor, 2 items.
2/5 Illustrations, watercolor, 27 items.
2/6 Mounted illustration, watercolor with pasted feathers and lace,
1 item.
2/7 Framed and mounted illustration, watercolor, 1 item.
3/1 Illustration for dust jacket, watercolor, 1 item.
Miss Flora McFlimsey's May Day written and illustrated by
Mariana (New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1969.
3/2 Dummy, with pasted text and watercolor illustrations, 1 item.
3/3 Illustration, watercolor, 1 item.
Miss Flora McFlimsey's Halloween written and illustrated by Mariana
New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1972).
3/4 Spiral notebook, with early sketches and manuscript, 1 item.
3/5 Typescript, edited with typesetter s marks, pp. 1-10.
3/6 Dummy, with pasted text and watercolor illustrations, 1 item.
3/7-3/8 Illustrations, watercolor,
3/7 20 items.
3/8 21 items.
3/9 Preliminary dust jacket, watercolor, 1 item.
3/10 Mounted dust jacket illustration, 1 item.
P'sich written and illustrated by Mariana (New York: F.A.R.
Gallery, 1945).
3/11 Dummy with pasted text and watercolor illustrations, 1 item.
B. Other Illustrated Materials
3/12 Illustrations, watercolor, unidentified, 8 items.
4/1 Illustrations from various Miss Flora McFlimsey books, collage or
watercolor, fabric, and lace, 1 item.
C. Miscellaneous Materials
4/2 Manuscripts of "Old Dolls," never published, 3 versions.
4/3 Article and photographs about Mariana featured in Life
Magazine, September 22, 1952, 5 items. Includes one mounted
copy.
4/4 Pamphlet, "A Brief Guide to the Paintings, Drawings,
Manuscripts, Book Dummies, Publisher's Proofs, Letters, and
Photographs in the Mariana Library of the Hockessin Elementary
School," 1 item.
4/5 Exhibition pamphlet from the F.A.R. Gallery's Mariana
exhibition, 1 item.
Biographical Sketch | Scope & Content
| Related Collections | Series &
Subseries | Box Inventory
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The de Grummond Children's Literature Collection
The University of Southern Mississippi
118 College Drive, #5148
Hattiesburg, MS 39406-0001
(601) 266-4349
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