N. M. Bodecker Papers
Scope and Contents
The collection contains production material for several dozen books created by Bodecker. The collection includes both manuscript and illustrative material, with an emphasis on the latter. The manuscript material includes holographs and typescripts, and there are also holograph notebooks for a number of unpublished titles, talks and classes given by Bodecker, miscellaneous autobiographical material, and unpublished poetry and prose. The illustrative material included illustrations done in a variety of media, some with separations, sketches, dummies, proofs, and photocopies.
Dates
- 1953 - 1992
Creator
- Bodecker, N. M. (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Open for use in the Elmer L. Andersen Library reading room.
Conditions Governing Use
This collection may be protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code). 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. Researchers may quote from the collection under the fair use provision of the copyright law.
Biographical / Historical
N.M. [ Niels Mogens] Bodecker was born January 13, 1922 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He studied and served in the military in Denmark during the 1930s and 1940s and published his first poetry and book illustrations there during the 1940s. N.M. Bodecker came to the United States in 1952 and illustrated his first American children's book, Half Magic, by Edward Eager, in 1954. For the next three decades, N.M. Bodecker illustrated a number of books by other authors, particularly Edward Eager and Robert Kraus. In 1972 he published his own story, Miss Jaster's Garden. N.M. Bodecker also wrote verse for children, especially nonsense verse that drew on his own childhood "recollections" He also translated Danish verses into English in his self-illustrated book It's Raining Said John Twaining. Bodecker died on February 1, 1988 in Hanover, New Hampshire, and his last book, Water Pennies, was published posthumously in 1991.
Extent
9.6 Cubic Feet (13 boxes [7 record cartons, 1 half-hollinger, 5 flat boxes])
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
N.M. Bodecker's papers focus on his work as an illustrator and author of children's books. The collection contains production material several dozen titles by Bodecker, including both written and illustrative material.
Arrangement
Collection is arranged into three series. Publications are arranged alphabetically by book title.
- Publicationa
- Other writings
- Miscellaneous and personal materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of the estate of N. M. Bodecker.
- Alphabet books Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Authors, American -- 20th century Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Authors, Danish -- 20th century Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Bedtime -- Juvenile fiction Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Children's literature -- Illustrations Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Children's literature, American Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Children's poetry, American Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Children's stories, American Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Cousins -- Juvenile fiction Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Dolls -- Juvenile fiction Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Drawings (visual works) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Families -- Juvenile fiction Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Fantasy fiction Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Gardening -- Juvenile fiction Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Humorous stories Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Illustration of books -- 20th century Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Illustrators -- United States Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Knights and knighthood -- Juvenile fiction Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Magic -- Juvenile fiction Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Manuscripts for publication Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Mice -- Juvenile fiction Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Musicians -- Juvenile fiction Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Nonsense verses, English -- Juvenile literature Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Nursery rhymes Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Picture books Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Sketches Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Space and time -- Juvenile fiction Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Survival -- Juvenile fiction Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Time travel -- Juvenile fiction Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- watercolors (paintings) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
Source
- Bodecker, Torsten Weld (Donor, Person)
- Bodecker, Alexander Weld (Donor, Person)
- Bodecker, Niels Weld (Donor, Person)
- Bodecker, Mary Anne Weld (Donor, Person)
- Title
- N.M. Bodecker Papers, 1952-1992
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Christina Cowan and Nancy Larsen
- Date
- 1996 and 2004
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- September 2018: Reprocessed by Carter Lynn Thurmond
- February 2023: Description updated by Caitlin Marineau.
Collecting Area Details
Contact The Children's Literature Research Collections Collecting Area
