Material was donated by Vivian Thompson from 1965-1995.
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.
Vivian Laubach Thompson was born in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1911. She was a teacher in the New Jersey public schools from 1930-1937 and a teacher in New York from 1937-1943. While teaching, Ms. Thompson received her bachelor's degree from Columbia University in 1939 and a master's degree in 1943. She also served in the United States Marine Corps Women's Reserve during this time. She moved to California and taught from 1945-1949. She said that she just "came to Hawaii in 1949 for a two week visit" and decided to move to a sugar plantation in Paauilo, Hawaii. She taught in the public school from 1949-1951, when she decided to work as a free-lance writer.
Ms. Thompson has written numerous plays, short stories, and articles for children's magazines. She is most noted for her stories and plays about Hawaii, most of which are based on legends, myths, customs, dances, and her own curiosity. Ms. Thompson passed away on November 4, 2005 in her beloved Hawaii.
Source:
This collection is divided into six series, biographical/autobiographical information, books, short stories, plays, correspondence, and promotional items. The collection consists primarily of a combination of correspondence, manuscript notes, typescripts, proofs and galleys for seven of Ms. Thompson's books, most of which are about Hawaii. She has also included a written history about some of her books and how she came up with the ideas for her stories. The titles are arranged alphabetically with the materials for each title organized in the probable order in which they were created.
Ms. Thompson's stories about Hawaii make up a large majority of the collection. Aukele the Fearless; A Legend of Old Hawaii (1972), Hawaiian Myths of Earth, Sea, and Sky (1966), Hawaiian Tales of Heroes and Champions (1971), and Maui-Full-of-Tricks; A Legend of Old Hawaii (1970) are all stories based on myths, legends, and tall tales from Hawaii.
A few of her other stories are for early readers and have Hawaiian settings and characters. Faraway Friends (1963) is the story of two girls, one Hawaiian villager and one a traveler, who want to trade places. Keola's Hawaiian Donkey (1966) is a picture storybook about a little Hawaiian boy who befriends a "stubborn" donkey that enjoys the sights and sounds of Hawaii just like he does. Two other books in the collection, George Washington (1964) and Camp-in- the-Yard (1961) are also for beginning readers. Camp-in-the-Yard is the story of twin boys who decide to have a "camping trip" in their backyard when their older brother goes away to camp for the summer. Ms. Thompson is a godmother to many children in Hawaii and this story is based on two of the children.
The remaining items in the collection are two play typescripts, "'Neat' said Jeremy" and "The Scary Thing-Snatcher," both of which have been published. There is also a short story entitled "The Protected One," which was published as a supplementary sixth grader reader by Houghton Mifflin in 1981.
The illustrations for George Washington (1964) can be found in the Frank E. Aloise Papers (DG0020).
"The Scary Thing-Snatcher"
Box/Folder
A. Correspondence
1/1 Correspondence with the de Grummond Collection, 1966-1995, undated, 19 items. 1/2 Miscellaneous correspondence, 1970-1982, 11 items. 1/3 Fan mail, 1963-1970, undated, 19 itemsB. Biographical/Autobiographical
1/4 Typescript for Contemporary Authors, NR, vol. 1, pp. 657-658. Proof of typescript for Contemporary Authors, NR, vol. 1, pp. 657-658. 1/5 Photograph of Vivian Laubach Thompson Photograph of Vivian Thompson and Frances Reed, owner of Book Gallery II in Hilo, Hawaii. 1/6 Newspaper clippings, 12 items.C. Books
Aukele the Fearless; A Legend of Old Hawaii by Vivian Laubach Thompson, illustrated by Earl Thollander (San Carlos: Golden Gate Junior Books, 1972). 1/7 Correspondence, 1971, 9 items. 1/8 Research notes, 22 pp. 1/9-1/12 Typescripts, 1/9 "Draft I," 8 October-22 October 1970, edited; pp. 1-48. 1/10 "Draft II," 5 October 1970, edited; pp. 1-4. 1/11 "Draft III," 1 February 1971, edited; pp. 1-50. 1/12 "Copy," minor corrections, pp. 1-64. 1/13 Revisions to typescript, 10 pp. 1/14 Note to illustrator, 1 item. Magazine clippings of birds and palm trees for jacket cover, 4 items. 1/15 Galleys of jacket blurbs, chapter title typesets, and glossary with corrections by Vivian Thompson, 4 items. 1/16 Corrected jacket blurbs, 2 items. 1/17 Galley, "incomplete," pp. 4-20. 1/18 Proofs, "incomplete," pp. 1-10. Camp-in-the-Yard by Vivian Laubach Thompson, illustrated by Brinton Turkle (New York: Holiday House, 1961). 1/19 Typescript, "fourth draft with editor's suggestions," pp. 1-10a. Faraway Friends by Vivian Laubach Thompson, illustrated by Marion Greenwood (New York: Holiday House, 1963). 1/20 Manuscript notes, 2 pp. 1/21 Typescript of synopsis, 2 pp. 1/22 Typescript, "earliest version," pp. 1-11. (Note on typescript from author indicating that this was to be for a beginning reader). 1/23 Typescript, edited, pp. 3-45. Note from editor about corrections and queries, 2 pp. 1/24 Typescript, edited, pp. 1-44. 2/1 Typescript, "illustrator's copy," pp. 1-45. 2/2 Typescript of jacket blurbs, 2 pp. 2/3 Jacket cover, paste-up, 1 item. Jacket cover, paste-up with illustrations and jacket blurbs, 1 item. 2/4 Galley, miscellaneous pages with corrections, 16 pp. 2/5 Typesetter's proofs of title page and front matter, 7 pp. 2/6 Proofs, miscellaneous pages with corrections, 20 pp. George Washington by Vivian Laubach Thompson, illustrated by Frank Aloise (New York: Putnam, 1964). 2/7 Typescript, edited with typesetter's marks, pp. 1-34. Hawaiian Myths of Earth, Sea, and Sky by Vivian Laubach Thompson, illustrated by Leonard Weisgard (New York: Holiday House, 1966). 2/8 Galley, minor corrections, pp. 1-29. Hawaiian Tales of Heroes and Champions by Vivian Laubach Thompson, illustrated by Herbert Kawainui Kane (New York: Holiday House, 1971). 2/9 Manuscript drafts and notes, 83 pp. 2/10 Typescript, "draft I," edited, 45 pp. 2/11 Typescript, "draft I, revised, or discard,", edited, 64 pp. 2/12 Typescript, "draft II," edited, 31 pp. 2/13 Typescript, "draft III," edited, 6 pp. Typescript, "draft IV," edited, 2 pp. 2/14 Typescript of glossary, 2 pp. Typescript of foreword, 2 revisions. 2/15-3/1 Typescript, typesetter's marks, 2/15 Note from editor returning typescript, 1 item. Front matter, 3 pp., pp. 1-44. 2/16 pp. 45-91. 3/1 pp. 92-124. 3/2 Editorial criticism from Marjorie Jones of Holiday House, 6 pp. 3/3-3/4 Typescript, minor corrections, 3/3 Front matter and glossary, 9 pp., pp. 9-69. 3/4 pp. 77-113. 3/5 Galley, "master set," 31 March 1971; 33 pp. 3/6 Proofs, "author's set," 20 May 1971; pp. 3-92. 3/7 Mechanical for jacket, 1 item. 3/8 Semi-bound dummy, 1 item. 3/9 Jacket cover, 4 items. Keola's Hawaiian Donkey by Vivian Laubach Thompson, illustrated by Earl Thollander (San Carlos: Golden Gate Junior Books, 1966). 3/10 Correspondence, 1965-1981, 12 items. Illustrated correspondence from Earl Thollander, photocopied, 2 items. 3/11 Typescript, edited with typesetter's marks, pp. 1-12. Typescript of history of the story, 2 pp. 3/12 Typescript for play version, pp. 1-9. Maui-Full-of-Tricks; A Legend of Old Hawaii by Vivian Laubach Thompson, illustrated by Earl Thollander (San Carlos: Golden Gate Junior Books, 1970). 4/1 Research materials, 2 items. 4/2 Manuscript drafts and notes, 52 pp. 4/3 Typescript of foreword, 3 drafts. 4/4-4/7 Typescript, 4/4 "Original draft, discarded," 63 pp. 4/5 "Draft II," 19 pp. 4/6 "Draft III," 73 pp. 4/7 "Draft IV," 1 pp. "Draft V," 3 pp. 4/8-4/9 Typescript, minor corrections, 4/8 pp. 0-39. 4/9 pp. 40-74. 4/10-4/11 Typescript, edited with typesetter's marks, 4/10 Front matter, 10 pp., pp. 1-40. Note from editor to typesetter, 1 item. 4/11 pp. 41-83. 4/12 Galley, "author's set," minor corrections; pp. 1-28. 4/13 Proofs, pp. 1-8. 4/14 Typescript for talk given to St. James Guild about Maui-Full- of-Tricks. 4/22 Illustrated dummy page, pp. 28-29.D. Textbook
The Protected One by Vivian Laubach Thompson, illustrated by Lisa Aliprando (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1981). (Supplementary reader for Beacons, Level M). 4/15 Correspondence, 1980, 2 items. 4/16 Research materials, 2 items. 4/17 Typescript of history of the story, 1 p. Typescript, pp. 1-11.D. Published Plays
"'Neat' Said Jeremy" 4/18 Typescript of history of the story, 1 p. Typescript, pp. 1-12. "The Scary Thing-Snatcher" 4/19 Typescript of history of the story, 1 p. Typescript, pp. 1-11. 4/20 Review of "'Neat' Said Jeremy" and "The Scary Thing-Snatcher", 1 item.E. Publisher's Promotional Materials
4/21 Autographed bookmarks, 2 items. Autographed book plates, 25 items.
Processed: November 17, 1997
Revised: July 2001
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