This collection is located on-site.
This collection has no restrictions.
Follett's papers primarily consist of personal letters, manuscripts of published and unpublished works, research materials and notes, publicity and promotional items, educational articles, photographs and postcards of her travels, and newspaper clippings.
In addition, the collection contains correspondence, writings, and newspaper clippings of her daughter, Barbara Newhall Follett.
This collection is arranged in seven series.
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.
This collection is located on-site.
This collection has no restrictions.
Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Helen Follett papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
Barbara Newhall Follett Papers, Rare Book & Manuscript Libary, Columbia University.
No additions are expected
Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.
Source of acquisition--Follett, Helen Thomas. Method of acquisition--Bequest; Date of acquisition--1970. Accession number--M-70.
Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Cataloged Christina Hilton Fenn 06/--/89.
Papers processed by Marilyn Chin (Queens College, 2011).
Finding aid written by Marilyn Chin (Queens College, 2011) April 2011.
Collection is processed to folder level.
2011-05-03 File created.
2011-05-12 XML document instance created by Catherine C. Ricciardi
2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.
Helen Thomas Follett was born in 1893 and was an early twentieth-century author of young adult books. Her first two books, Magic Portholes and Stars to Steer By, were based on her sailing trip to the Caribbean and the South Seas islands during the late 1920s with her teen-age daughter, Barbara.
Follett advocated the use of typewriters in elementary schools as a teaching tool for young students to help learn words and form sentences. She had moderate success with her writings and had two more works published, Third-Class Ticket to Heaven and House Afire! in 1939 and 1941 respectively.
She was married to Wilson Follett, an English professor and writer. They divorced in the early 1930s. They had two daughters, Barbara and Sabra. Barbara was a child prodigy author who disappeared in 1939 at the age of 25.
Follett died in 1970 in New York City at the age of 76.
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.
All links open new windows.
| Name |
|---|
| Follett, Barbara Newhall, 1914-1939 |
| Follett, Wilson, 1887-1963 |
| Sperry, Armstrong, 1897-1976 |
This series consists primarily of personal letters from Helen and Wilson Follett to their very close friends, the Meserveys. Other letters are addressed to Helen from Wilson, Alice Dyer Russell, another close friend, and the Meserveys.
Box 1 Folder 1
Box 1 Folder 2
Box 1 Folder 3
Box 1 Folder 4
Box 1 Folder 5
Box 1 Folder 6
Box 1 Folder 7
Box 1 Folder 8
Box 1 Folder 9
Box 1 Folder 10
In this series, the papers are published manuscripts in various versions. The titles are: House Afire!, Magic Portholes, and Third-Class Ticket to Heaven.
Box 2 Folder 1
Box 2 Folder 2
Box 2 Folder 3
Box 2 Folder 4
Box 2 Folder 5
Box 2 Folder 6
Box 2 Folder 7
Box 2 Folder 8
Box 2 Folder 9
Box 2 Folder 10
Box 3 Folder 1 to 6
Box 3 Folder 7
Box 3 Folder 8
This series contains unpublished manuscripts of books, short stories, and poems.
Box 4 Folder 1
Box 4 Folder 2 to 3
Box 4 Folder 4
Box 4 Folder 5 to 6
Box 4 Folder 7
Box 5 Folder 1 to 2
Box 5 Folder 3
Box 5 Folder 4
Box 5 Folder 5 to 6
Box 5 Folder 7
These files contain various publicity and promotional items including a radio script, book reviews, newspaper clippings, and book jackets.
Box 6 Folder 1
Box 6 Folder 2
Box 6 Folder 3
Box 6 Folder 4
The items in this series consist of photographs, postcards and German newspaper clippings.
Box 6 Folder 5
Box 6 Folder 6
Box 6 Folder 7
This series consists of articles, notes, and a hand-made manual on education using the typewriter for elementary school children.
Box 7 Folder 1
Box 7 Folder 2
Box 7 Folder 3
This series is comprised of a diary detailing Barbara's infancy to early childhood, her writings and correspondence, and newspaper clippings.
Box 7 Folder 4
Box 7 Folder 5
Box 7 Folder 6