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Creator
Moore, Anne Carroll, 1871-1961
Call number
MssCol 2048
Physical description
3 linear feet (7 boxes)
Language
English
Preferred Citation

Anne Carroll Moore Papers, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library.

Repository
Manuscripts and Archives Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

Anne Carroll Moore (1871-1961) was a children's librarian, and an author and critic of children's books. She headed the Children's Department of the Pratt Institute Library from 1896 to 1906, and was the first Supervisor of Work with Children at the New York Public Library, 1906-1941. These papers document Moore's career and personal life, and include correspondence, news clippings, photographs, illustrations, mock-ups and a few items of ephemera.

Biographical/historical information

Anne Carroll Moore, an innovator in the field of children's librarianship, was born in Limerick, Maine on July 12, 1871. Anne was the youngest of the eight children of Luther Sanborn Moore and Sarah Hidden Barker, and the only daughter. She was particularly close to her father, who was a lawyer and had served as president of the State Senate of Maine. Anne was educated at the Limerick Academy, and then the Branford Academy for Women in Massachusetts. She graduated in 1891, and then began the study of law under her father's instruction. Her pursuit of a legal career ended upon the death of both of her parents, a few days apart in January 1892. She entered the Library School at Pratt Institute in 1895, and graduated the following year at the age of twenty-five. In the fall of 1896, Mary Wright Plummer, the director of the school, offered Moore a position as children's librarian at the Pratt Institute Free Library. The children's library was a new venture for Pratt, and Moore was granted the opportunity to design it as she wished. She took a great deal of initiative and established new programs of storytelling and poetry for children.

In 1906, Dr. Arthur Bostwick, Chief of the Circulation Department of the New York Public Library, recruited Moore to head the Library's newly established Office of Work with Children. In this position Moore hired and trained children's librarians, oversaw book purchases and planned children's rooms for many neighborhood library branches constructed by NYPL during this period. The NYPL Central Building at 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue, which opened in 1911, included a Central Children's Room. She encouraged the extension of borrowing privileges to children, and initiated the custom of "the pledge" - each child signed his or her name in an enrollment book after reciting: "When I write my name in this book I promise to take good care of the books I use at home and in the library, and to obey the rules of the library" (Sayers, p. 68). The pledge created a bond between the child and the library, and instilled a sense of responsibility.

Moore encouraged events and celebrations planned around special subject areas. These events were also designed to develop a love of reading. She hosted a celebration in the children's room for St. Nicholas' Eve every December 5th. She was a strong advocate for storytelling as a library event. Walter de la Mare, Ludwig Bemelmans and Carl Sandburg were among the authors who presented at the Central Children's Room. She was most influential in the promotion of storyteller Marie Shedlock's career in the United States, as well as in France. For five years she assisted with booking Shedlock's engagements and planning her United States itinerary.

In 1918 Moore inaugurated the pamphlet, Children's Books Suggested as Holiday Gifts, and she oversaw its publication until her retirement in 1941. She was among the first to purchase books for immigrant children in their native languages. She also organized the first Children's Book Week in 1919. In that same year she began writing about children's literature and reviewed books for The Horn Book, The Bookman,and The New York Herald Tribune. The latter carried her column, "The Three Owls" from 1924-1930. Moore believed the owls symbolized the writer, the artist and the critic.

Moore was involved with the American Library Association, and participated in the founding of that organization's Children's Librarian Section in 1900. She visited Europe several times. Her influence was felt among the libraries in France, England and Sweden. It was through her influence that the first children's library was opened in Stockholm in 1911.

In 1921, Moore joined the American Committee for Devastated France. Anne Morgan, daughter of J. Pierpont Morgan, was its Founder. In the aftermath of World War One, the Committee assisted thirty villages behind the lines. In 1919, when physical needs of the villagers were met, the Committee moved on to social concerns and addressed the issue of libraries.

Moore authored two children's books of her own: Nicholas: A Manhattan Christmas Story (1924) and Nicholas and the Golden Goose (1932). Nicholas was an eight-inch wooden doll with articulated arms and legs, which could stand free of support. He was purchased, at Bloomingdale's, by a library employee during the 1920 Christmas season. Nicholas was a constant presence in the library, and is frequently a subject in Moore's correspondence.

There are several compilations of her reviews and literary criticism: : Roads to Childhood (1920), New Roads to Childhood (1923), Crossroads to Childhood (1926), The Three Owls (1931) and My Roads to Childhood (1939). She also authored A Century of Kate Greenaway (1946).

Moore's 25th Anniversary with the NYPL was celebrated on October 14, 1931 in the children's room. It was reported by the New York Herald Tribune as a very festive party, with over three hundred guests in attendance.

She cultivated lasting professional relationships with illustrator Leslie Brooke ( The Three Little Pigs), author/illustrator Beatrix Potter, Eleanor Farjeon and librarian Carolyn Hewins. In 1915, Moore had a unique relationship with Leo Frank. He provided his attorneys with her name as a reference from his youth. Frank remembered Moore from his visits to the Pratt Children's Library. Moore wrote articles and letters on Frank's behalf during the attempted appeals of his sentence, and visited him during his incarceration in Atlanta.

Anne Carroll Moore retired in from the New York Public Library in 1941. During the years after her retirement from the NYPL she continued to write and teach. She taught at the Graduate School of Library Studies in Berkeley, California, and lectured in Utah.

Moore began consulting on The Art of Beatrix Potter in 1952. She wrote the Appreciation and Introduction for this book which Frederick Warne & Co. published in 1955.

Her contributions were acknowledged by her professional colleagues and in the press. Moore was twice awarded the Doctor of Letters; in 1940 from the University of Maine; and in 1955 from Pratt Institute. In 1960 she was awarded the Regina Medal of the Catholic Library Association. Anne Carroll Moore died in New York City on January 20, 1961. Her obituary appeared in the New York Times the following day.

Francis Sayers, Moore's successor at the NYPL, published Anne Carroll Moore : A Biography in 1972.

Scope and arrangement

These papers document the career and personal life of Anne Carroll Moore. The date span is 1898-1960, with the bulk of the correspondence dating from 1910 through 1950. The papers include professional and personal correspondence, news clippings, photographs, illustrations, mock-ups and a few items of ephemera. The papers are an important source for the study of children's librarianship and children's literature. Moore cultivated relationships with a significant number of authors, illustrators and publishers of children's books. Major correspondents include: Leonard Leslie Brooke and his wife Sybil Brooke, Walter de la Mare, Mary Dobie, Leslie Linder, Beatrix Potter, and Marie Shedlock. Prominent correspondents include Ludwig Bemelmans, Paul Bowles, Margaret Wise Brown, Dorothy Canfield, James Daugherty, John Dewey, John Farrar, Eleanor Frick, Wanda Gag, Ted Geisel, Rene Harnoncourt, Alfred Knopf, Lois Lenski, Archibald MacLeish, Anne Morgan, Lewis Mumford, Frederick Pratt, George Putnam, Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt, Carl Sandburg, Alfred E. Smith, Louis Untermeyer, Carl Van Doren, Lillian Wald, and E.B. and Katherine White.

The collection includes photographs of Moore at various points in her life, as well as images of such colleagues and friends as Beatrix Potter and Marie Shedlock. Among the photographs are a series of black and white prints depicting libraries in rural France (1921-1922). These prints document the activities of the American Committee for Devastated France, of which Moore was a member.

Literary material includes extensive correspondence with Leslie Linder and the Frederick Warne Company regarding the publication of The Art of Beatrix Potter. The publishers consulted with Moore on content and illustrations, and Moore also wrote an Appreciation and Introduction for the book. There are also reproductions of drawings and photographs used in the publication, as well as two promotional brochures. Finally, the records include a holograph manuscript of Helen Bannerman's of Sambo and the Twins, together with original illustrations, and a hard-cover copy of the book.

The Anne Carroll Moore papers are arranged in three series:

  • Series I. Correspondence
    1898-1960

    Anne Carroll Moore's correspondence files contain incoming letters, postcards and telegrams which document her professional life and personal activities. The files are arranged alphabetically by the name of the correspondent, and in a few cases by organization name. There are a small number of outgoing letters to John Dewey, Alice O'Connor, and Marie Shedlock. The bulk of the correspondence dates from 1910-1950. This series includes one hundred and eighty-seven letters from the storyteller Marie Shedlock. Moore referred to Shedlock as the "Fairy Godmother of Storytelling." The letters are personal in tone, but also relate the progress of Shedlock's career. These folders also contain a few programs and syllabus' from Shedlock's appearances. Several correspondents discuss Shedlock in their letters to Moore; these include Mary Dobie, Anne Eaton, Mariana Greens, Esther Hoffman, Ruth Kellog Reinhold, and Anna Slocum.

    In an extensive correspondence with Beatrix Potter the author discusses her life in the Lake District of Northern England, her concerns about both World Wars and the origins of the character, Peter Rabbit (1925). Moore received numerous letters from Walter de la Mare who wrote about his family and surroundings in rural England, as well as his career. Carl Sandburg's letters discuss the Nicholas books, and include comments on his own Rootabaga Stories. The file also contains a poem Sandburg wrote in honor of Anne Carroll Moore.

    Moore conducted a lengthy correspondence with author Leonard Leslie Brooke and his wife Sylvia. These letters are personal in tone and deal with their family life, literature and current affairs.

    Author E. B. White corresponded with Moore during the time he was writing Stuart Little. In his letters he discusses the challenge he faced in writing his first book for children. Letters from his wife Katherine discuss White's work, and her own efforts in establishing a rural library North Brooklin, Maine.

    In a letter dated 1923, a 13 year-old Paul Bowles discusses his writing and piano lessons.

    Moore exchanged letters with many other artists and illustrators of children's books. This series includes letters received from Margery Bianco, Will Cuppy, James Daugherty, Rene Harnoncourt, Robert McCloskey, Maxfield Parrish, Arthur Rackham, Hugh Troy, and Jay Van Everen, and author-illustrators Ludwig Bemelmans, Wag Gag, Ted Geisel, and Lois Lenski. They discuss Moore's reviews and articles for the Horn Book and The New York Herald Tribune. In some letters correspondents discuss the work of children's authors and illustrators, as well as their own books. There are drawings contained within the texts of the letters from illustrators James Daugherty, Hugh Troy, and Rene Harnoncourt. Reflections on the World Wars appear in many of the letters, particularly those from Leslie and Sylvia Brooke, Dorothy Canfield, Robert McCloskey and Beatrix Potter.

    Many of her correspondents recognize and offer congratulations for the publication of her Nicholas books. A significant number of letters offer congratulations on her 25th anniversary with The New York Public Library.

    There are also letters from former classmates, students and aspiring librarians from around the country, Britian, China, France and Italy. A group of letters from Anne Morgan deal with her work for the American Committee for Devastated France, as do several other letters from France.

  • Series II. Miscellaneous Papers and Ephemera
    1923-1955

    Clippings about Anne Carroll Moore include a profile of her twenty-fifth anniversary party, an article about her NYPL retirement on August 24, 1941, and her obituary from theNew York Times of January 21, 1961. Other clippings include three obituaries for Beatrix Potter from January 1944; a feature article about Potter from Time (24 Jan. 1944); and an article from Harper's Bazaar, "The Tale of Beatrix Potter" (July 1946).

    The materials concerning The Art of Beatrix Potter include extensive correspondence with the Frederick Warne Company, and the author Leslie Linder. Linder is credited with cracking the code Beatrix Potter used in her personal journals. There are reproductions of mock-ups, drawings and photographs used in the publication, as well as two promotional brochures.

    Finally, the records include a holograph manuscript of Helen Bannerman's Sambo and the Twins: A New Adventure of Little Black Sambo together with original illustrations, and a hard-cover copy of the book.

    A file of materials relating to the Committee for Devastated France includes copies of membership lists, by-laws and correspondence.

  • Series III. Photographs
    1872-1955

    This series features a group of twenty-four black and white photographs taken of libraries in rural France (1921-1922). These prints document the activities of the Committee for Devastated France, founded by Anne Morgan, daughter of J. Pierpont Morgan. Moore was a member of the Committee and visited the libraries in 1922. There are three candid group photographs from the ALA meeting of 1908. There is one photograph of Moore as a young librarian and portraits from later in her career. This includes a photograph taken when she received an honorary degree from Pratt Institute in 1955.

    Five photographs of Beatrix Potter are included: at six years of age posed with her cousin Alice; at nine years of age; and two as an older woman. A postcard of a photographed portrait of Potter painted by D. Banner in 1938 is included. Six photographs of Marie Shedlock are in the collection, including a formal portrait of her in costume.

    There are five unidentified photographs in the series.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

The Anne Carroll Moore papers were donated to The New York Public Library by Storer B. Lunt, nephew of Moore, on June 2, 1961. Additional correspondence files were transferred from the Donnell Children's Center of The New York Public Library in 2003.

Processing information

Processed by Julie Miller; revised by Julia Mucci; machine readable finding aid created by Julia Mucci.

Related Material

Record Group 8 - Branch Libraries - Office of Work with Children Records. NYPL Archives. Leo Frank Papers. American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati, OH.

Using the collection

Location

Manuscripts and Archives Division
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018-2788
Brooke Russell Astor Reading Room, Third Floor, Room 328

Alternative form available

Letters of Beatrix Potter, 1921-1943, available on microfilm.