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Marie Hall Ets papers

 Collection — Box: Oversize 1
Identifier: IHRC633

Abstract

Papers (1930s-1960s) of author-illustrator Marie Hall Ets (b. 1895) consist of stories told to Mrs. Ets by Rosa Cassettari, as well as research notes and manuscript drafts forming the basis of Mrs. Ets' book, Rosa, The Life of an Italian Immigrant (Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press, 1970).

Dates

  • Creation: 1930-1969

Creator

Language of Materials

Mainly in English; some titles in Italian

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS

Open for use in the Elmer L. Andersen Library reading room.

OWNERSHIP & LITERARY RIGHTS

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..

For further information regarding the copyright, please contact the IHRCA.

HISTORICAL SKETCH

Marie Hall Ets was born in North Greenfield, Wisconsin, December 16, 1895. The daughter of Walter and Mathilde (Carhart) Hall, she married Harold Norris Ets (deceased) and later Milton T. Rodig (deceased). Her formal education culminated in a Ph. D. degree from the University of Chicago, and also graduate study at the Art Institute of Chicago. Mrs. Ets’ career is best known as one of author-illustrator, primarily of numerous children’s stories (many of Mrs. Ets’ papers and children’s stories are housed in the Kerlan Collection, University of Minnesota Libraries). Her writing span from approximately 1935 to the present, and have won for her the New York Herald Award (for Oley, the Sea Monster, 1947), the Hans Christian Andersen honor (for Play with Me, 1956), and the Caldecott Medal, 1960 (for Nine Days to Christmas). In 1918, Mrs. Ets journeyed to Chicago where she became a social worker at the Chicago Commons, a settlement house on the northwest side of the City. It was there that she met, and immediately befriended Rosa Cassettari, an Italian immigrant who had arrived in America in 1884. Throughout their relationship (1918 to 1943 when Rosa died) Rosa related to Mrs. Ets many of the stories she had heard as a child growing up in Italy. It was the story of Rosa Cassettari’s life, of the fears and beliefs of the people in her village, that interested Marie Hall Ets. The result was Rosa, the Life of an Italian Immigrant, published in 1970 by the University of Minnesota Press.

Extent

1.5 Linear Feet (24 folders)

ORGANIZATION OF MATERIALS

The arrangement of this collection has been basically to leave intact the original organization of the author. The materials (all relevant to the book Rosa), in each folder were found together, but the organizer tried to place them in a manner which lead the researcher from the “first” to the “final” stages of the manuscript, Rosa, the Life of an Italian Immigrant. The collection was arranged in five basic categories: I. Correspondence (Folder 1)II. Stories told to Marie Hall Ets by Rosa Cassettari (Folders 2-12)III. Outline and Research Notes for Rosa (Folders 13-19)IV. Drafts of the manuscript, Rosa (Folders 20-24)

PROVENANCE

The papers of Marie Hall Ets relevant to her book, Rosa, were deposited in the Immigration History Research Center in October of 1971. They were presented as a gift to the author, and secured by Professor Rudolph J. Vecoli, Director of the Immigration History Research Center, and also writer of the Foreword to Rosa. The collection is in English (with a few story titles in Italian), and consists of 1.5 linear feet of papers. It was processed during 1975 by Philip F. Notarianni.

Author
IHRC Archives
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding Aid in English

Collecting Area Details

Contact The Immigration History Research Center Archives Collecting Area

Contact:

612-625-4800