Alice Cooper Bailey Papers

The collection contains materials for seven books and five published short stories. There are typescripts, galleys, and proofs for most of these titles. The materials are arranged alphabetically by title. Within each title the materials are arranged in the probable order in which they were created. The correspondence was arranged by title as well, with the exception of general correspondence, correspondence concerning unrelated or unpublished short stories, and correspondence with the de Grummond Collection. Ms. Bailey's first two books were Dutch children's folk stories. Katrina and Jan (1923) and The Skating Gander (1927) were so well liked that she made many unsuccessful attempts to have them republished and made into animated films. She even sent copies of the books to the Queen of the Netherlands, Willhemina De Koningin. Her majesty's personal secretary and the US State Department both wrote letter's to Ms. Bailey thanking her for her generosity. There is correspondence concerning both books, manuscript notes for Katrina and Jan, and a typescript for The Skating Gander.

Some of Ms. Bailey's writings were inspired by her experiences in Hawaii. Kimo (1928) is the story of a Hawaiian boy who likes to whistle. There are typescripts and correspondence for this title. The Hawaiian Box Mystery (1960) was Ms. Bailey's first attempt at writing a mystery story and is set in Hawaii. There are several typescripts and galleys for this title. For Sun Gold (1930), also a story set in Hawaii there is a typescript.

Ms. Bailey spent many hours lecturing about Hawaii and Robert Lewis Stevenson, who lived and worked on the island. When she decided to write a biography about him, To Remember Robert Lewis Stevenson (1966), she gathered information from his family, including letters and photographs. The collection contains numerous photographs of Robert Lewis Stevenson, his family, and his homes. There are typescripts, galleys, proofs, and correspondence for the biography.

The collection contains typescripts and correspondence for many of the short stories written by Ms. Bailey. Five major titles are in the collection. Other titles, mentioned briefly in correspondence are filed together. Ms. Bailey contributed to children's periodicals such as American Girl, St. Nicholas, and Young People's Weekly. When available, a copy of the story as it appeared in the magazine was added to the collection.

There are also two scrapbooks in the collection. Both contain letters, memorabilia, reviews, and newspaper clippings. One scrapbook contains more personal items about Ms. Bailey's life, her family, and her career. There are letters from Shirley Temple (Black), President Taft's daughter, and the Queen of the Netherlands' personal secretary. There are also many newspaper clippings about her husband and her children.