Call Number:

MSS 0120

Repository:

University of Delaware Library Special Collections

Extent:

1.33 linear foot (4 boxes)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

MSS 0120, Katharine Pyle papers, Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, Newark, Delaware.

Date:

1904-1928 (inclusive)

Creator:

Pyle, Katharine, -1938

Form:

Children's books, Poems, Short stories, Manuscripts (documents), Drafts (documents), correspondence, Illustrations (layout features), and Photographs

Abstract:

A native of Wilmington, Delaware, artist, illustrator, and author Katharine Pyle (1863-1938), achieved recognition through her short stories, poems, and plays for children. The Katharine Pyle papers, spanning approximately 1904–1929, consists of material related to her artistic, business, and personal affairs.

Artist, illustrator, and author Katharine Pyle (1863-1938), was born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware. Pyle achieved recognition through her short stories, poems, and plays for children. She also compiled and retold several volumes of fairy tales and myths.

The youngest of four children, her brothers included well-known artist and writer Howard Pyle (1853–1911). She attended the Women's Industrial School and the Drexel Institute, where she studied with her younger brother. She also studied at the Philadelphia School of Design and the New York Art Students' League. She exhibited work at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago and was a member of the Wilmington Society of Fine Arts.

Her works include

The Counterpane Fairy (1898), The Christmas Angel (1900), Once Upon a Time in Delaware (1911), Tales of Wonder and Magic (1920), Tales from Greek Mythology (1928), and Charlemagne and his Knights (1932). Pyle illustrated many of her own works as well as those of other authors, including her brother. She also painted portraits for prominent people, such as members of the DuPont family.

Burke, W.J. and Will D. Howe, ed. American Authors and Books: 1640 to the Present Day. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1972. 521. Falk, Peter Hastings, ed. Who Was Who in American Art. Sound View Press, 1985. 498. Who Was Who in America. Vol. 1. Chicago: The A.N. Marquis Company, 1942.

The Katharine Pyle papers, spanning approximately 1904–1929, consists of material related to her artistic, business, and personal affairs. The collection contains typed and handwritten manuscripts of her plays, poetry, short stories, and longer works; examples of her illustrations; and correspondence.

The manuscripts provide insight into the early stages of Pyle's many works, recording corrections and alterations. The correspondence between Pyle and her publishers and editors notes disagreements on style, theme, deadlines, and payments. Many letters also concern research she conducted on Charlemagne for her short story. The collection includes photographs as well, possibly of models Pyle studied for her illustrations.

Series I contains typed and handwritten manuscripts of the chapters to Charlemagne and his Knights. Not all the chapters from the published version are represented and others Pyle decided not to include. Series II consists of similar manuscripts pertaining to Pyle's work, Tales from Norse Mythology, while those to Greek Mythology comprise Series III. Found in Series IV are manuscripts of Pyle's poems, short stories, plays, larger books and essays, and commercial jingles. Series V consists of a manuscript by Margaret Churchman Paynter Pyle, and examples of Pyle's illustrations comprise Series VI. Series VII contains correspondence; Series VIII photographs and cancelled checks.