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
Elsa Posell was born in Russia and lived in the Ukraine until she was twelve when
her family moved to the United States. After finishing high school in under three
years, she went to Temple University and graduated in 1931. She also received a
library science degree from Drexel University in 1932 and a master s degree from
Case Western Reserve University in 1963. She has worked in many public and
school libraries throughout her career, and taught library education and creative
writing workshops at Case Western. She also served on the Newbery-Caldecott
Committee from 1963-1964. Her first book This is an Orchestra was
published in 1950 and like many of her other books was later revised.
Source:
Scope and Content
The collection contains typescripts, proofs, galleys and photographs for thirteen
titles. The materials are arranged alphabetically by title. Within each title the
materials are arranged in the probable order in which they were created. All of the
books written by Ms. Posell are represented in the collection.
A large portion of the collection is part of Ms. Posell s True Book of series published in Chicago by Children s Press. These informational books make up a majority of the non-fiction books that she wrote. There are typescripts for True Book of Deserts (1958), True Book of Transportation (1959), True Book of Dogs (1960), True Book of Horses (1961), True Book of Whales (1963), and True Book of Elephants (1964).
She also wrote other non-fiction books including, This is an Orchestra (1950), American Composers (1963), Russian Composers (1967), and Russian Authors (1970). There are typescripts and galleys for all of these titles. There are also photographs for This is an Orchestra (1950) and Russian Composers (1967), including a signed photograph of Igor Stravinsky.
A. Books
Miscellaneous materials
Box/Folder
A. Books
American Composers by Elsa Posell (Boston: Houghton Mifflin,
1963).
1/1-2/5 Typescripts, edited,
1/1 Chapter about Samuel Barber, 4 versions.
1/2 Chapter about Leonard Bernstein, 4 versions.
1/3 Chapter about Easley Blackwood, 1 version.
Chapter about Charles Cadman, 1 version.
Chapter about John Carpenter, 1 version.
1/4 Chapter about Aaron Copeland, 4 versions.
1/5 Chapter about Henry Cowell, 3 versions.
1/6 Chapter about Lucas Foss, 2 versions.
Chapter about Stephen Foster, 1 version.
1/7 Chapter about George Gershwin, 1 version.
Chapter about Morton Gould, 1 version.
1/8 Chapter about Charles Griffes, 4 versions.
1/9 Chapter about Ford Grofe, 4 versions.
1/10 Chapter about Howard Hanson, 1 version.
Chapter about Roy Harris, 4 versions.
1/11 Chapter about Alan Havehaness, 2 versions.
Chapter about Charles Ives, 2 versions.
1/12 Chapters about Ulysses Kay, 2 versions.
Chapter about Normand Lockwood, 1 version.
1/13 Chapter about Peter Mennin, 1 version.
Chapter about Douglas Moore, 1 version.
Chapter about Gian-Carlo Menotti, 1 version.
Chapter about Walter Piston, 1 version.
2/1 Chapter about Quincy Porter, 2 versions.
Chapter about Wallingford Reigger, 1 version.
2/2 Chapter about William Schuman, 3 versions.
2/3 Chapter about Roger Sessions, 1 version.
Chapter about John Phillip Sousa, 2 versions.
Chapter about William Still, 1 version.
2/4 Chapter about Charles Skilton, 3 versions.
2/5 Galley, B, 45 pp.
The Beginning Knowledge Book of Seashells by Elsa Posell,
illustrated by Raul Mina Mora (New York: Rutledge Books, 1969).
2/6 Typed research notes and preliminary information, 7 sets.
2/7 Typescripts, edited, 4 versions.
Cats by Elsa Posell (Chicago: Children s Press, 1983).
2/8 Typed research notes and preliminary information, 4 sets.
3/1 Typescripts, edited, 4 versions.
Homecoming by Elsa Posell (London: Heinemann, 1984).
3/2 Typescripts, edited, chapter 1, 2 versions.
3/3-4/1 Typescripts, edited,
3/3 Chapter 1-7, pp. 1-63.
3/4 Chapter 8-15, pp. 64-116.
3/5 Chapters 16-20, pp. 117-178.
3/6 Chapters 21-31, pp. 179-248.
3/7 Chapters 32-34, pp. 249-336(?)
4/1 Chapters 35-37, pp. 337-408.
4/2-4/5 Typescripts, edited, photocopied,
4/2 Chapter 1-7, pp. 1-59.
4/3 Chapter 8-17, pp. 60-133.
4/4 Chapters 18-25, pp. 134-206.
4/5 Chapters 26-29, pp. 207-270.
4/6-5/2 Typescripts, edited with typesetter s marks,
4/6 Chapter 1-9, pp. 1-76.
4/7 Chapter 10-18, pp. 77-143.
5/1 Chapters 19-25, pp. 144-204.
5/2 Chapters 26-30, pp. 205-262.
5/3 Proof, semi-bound, pp. 1-184.
Russian Authors by Elsa Z. Posell (Boston: Houghton Mifflin,
1970).
5/4 Correspondence, 1969, 3 items.
5/5-7/5 Typescripts, edited,
5/5 Chapter about Russian literature, 4 versions.
5/6 Chapter about Alexander Pushkin, 3 versions.
6/1 Chapter about Nikolai Gogol, 3 versions.
6/2 Chapter about Ivan Turgenev, 3 versions.
6/3 Chapter about Fedor Dostoyevsky, 2 versions.
6/4 Chapter about Anton Chekov, 3 versions.
6/5 Chapter about Lev Tolstoy, 2 versions.
7/1 Chapter about Maxim Gorky, 1 version.
7/2 Chapter about Boris Pasternak, 2 versions.
7/3 Chapter about Mikhail Sholokhov, 2 versions.
7/4 Chapter about Alexander Solzhenitsyn, 1 version.
7/5 Chapter about Yevgeny Yevtushenke, 2 versions.
7/6-8/2 Typescript, edited with typesetter s marks,
7/6 pp. 1-71.
7/7 pp. 72-145.
8/1 pp. 146-214.
8/2 pp. 215-294.
8/3-8/6 Typescript, edited with typesetter s marks, photocopy,
8/3 pp. 1-71.
8/4 pp. 72-145.
8/5 pp. 146-214.
8/6 pp. 215-294.
9/1 Galley, 26 May, 1970, 87 pp.
Russian Composers by Elsa Z. Posell (Boston: Houghton Mifflin,
1967).
9/2-10/6 Typescripts, edited,
9/2 Chapter about Russian music of the past, 2 versions.
9/3 Chapter about Russian music feasts, 3 versions.
9/4 Chapter about music in the New Russia, 3 versions.
9/5 Chapter about Mili Balakirev, 2 versions.
Chapter about Cesar Cui, 1 version.
9/6 Chapter about Alexander Borodin, 3 versions.
9/7 Chapter about Alexander Glazunev, 4 versions.
9/8 Chapter about Reinhold Gliere, 4 versions.
9/9 Chapter about Michail Glinka, 3 versions.
9/10 Chapter about Dmitri Kabalevsky, 4 versions.
9/11 Chapter about Aram Khachaturian, 3 versions.
9/12 Chapter about Nikolai Miaskovsky, 4 versions.
10/1 Chapter about Modest Mosorgsky, 2 versions.
Chapter about Sergei Prokofiev, 3 versions.
10/2 Chapter about Sergei Rachmaninov, 3 versions.
10/3 Chapter about Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, 3 versions.
10/4 Chapter about Alexander Scriabin, 3 versions.
Chapter about Dmitri Shostakovich, 2 versions.
10/5 Chapters about Igor Stravinsky, 4 versions.
10/6 Chapters about Peter Tcaikovsky, 3 versions.
10/7 List of corrections, 6 pp.
11/1-11/2 Typescript, edited with typesetter s marks,
11/1 pp. 1-65.
11/2 pp. 66-126.
11/3-11/4 Typescript, photocopied,
11/3 pp. 1-65.
11/4 pp. 66-126.
11/5-11/6 Galleys,
11/5 Master, 29 May 1967.
11/6 B, 29 May 1967.
12/1-12/2 Photographs of composers,
12/1 9 items.
12/2 8 items. (Includes an autographed photograph of
Stravinsky).
12/3 Folded and gathered sheets
This Is an Orchestra by Elsa Posell (Boston: Houghton Mifflin,
1950).
12/4 Correspondence, 1972-1973, n.d., 13 items.
12/5-12/6 Typescripts, edited, pp. 1-94, 2 versions.
12/7 List of corrections, 3 pp.
Layouts for dust jacket and dust jacket materials, 4 items.
12/8-13/1 Photographs,
12/8 9 items.
12/9 10 items.
12/10 9 items.
12/11 7 items.
13/1 17 items, (unused photographs).
13/2 Playbill for the Cleveland Orchestra, 1 item.
Dust jacket, 1 item.
13/3-13/4 Galleys, master proofs, 2 copies.
The True Book of Deserts by Elsa Posell, illustrations by Carol
Rogers (Chicago: Children s Press, 1958).
13/5 Typescript, carbon copy, pp. 1-15.
The True Book of Dogs by Elsa Posell, pictures by Betsy Warren
(Chicago: Children s Press, 1961).
13/6 Typescript, carbon copy, pp. 1-22.
The True Book of Elephants by Elsa Posell, pictures by Roger
Herrington (Chicago: Children s Press, 1964).
13/7 Typescript, pp. 1-15.
Typescript, carbon copy, pp. 1-15.
The True Book of Transportation by Elsa Posell, illustrated by
Irma and George Wilde (Chicago: Children s Press, 1953).
13/8 Typescript, carbon copy, pp. 1-18.
The True Book of Whales and Other Sea Mammals by Elsa Posell,
pictures by Arthur Warheit (Chicago: Children s Press, 1963).
13/9 Typescripts, chapters on whales and dolphins, 6 versions.
13/10 Typescript, 28 pp.
Typescript, carbon copy, 29 pp.
B. Miscellaneous materials
13/11 Unidentified notes, 11 pp.
Biographical Sketch | Scope & Content
| Related Collections | Series &
Subseries | Box Inventory
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