Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 1811-1896
- Abstract:
- A collection of material written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, American writer and abolitionist.
- Extent:
- 1.2 Linear Feet (1 box)
- Language:
- Materials are in English.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item]. Harriet Beecher Stowe collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
A collection of short stories, poems, and letters. The majority of the collection are stories written for children including Little Pussy Willow, Parts I-XVI; Queer Little People; and Uncle Abel and Little Edward. There is also a small number of letters written to Stowe's publisher, James Ripley Osgood.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, the daughter of influential clergyman Lyman Beecher and Roxana (Foote) Beecher; she was the sixth of 13 children, who included her brother Henry Ward Beecher and her sister Catharine Beecher. Stowe was educated at the Hartford Female Seminary, run by her sister Catharine, and received a traditional academic education, which was quite unusual for women during the time. In 1836, Stowe married the Reverend Calvin Ellis Stowe, a widower, whom she met at a literary club at Lane Theological Seminary; together they had 7 children. The Stowes were living in Brunswick, Maine, when the United States Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, and Stowe felt compelled to write the novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin, which was published in newspaper serial installments from June 5, 1851 to April 1, 1852. It was published in book form on March 20, 1852, and sold over 300,000 copies. Stowe went on to write many more works of fiction and non-fiction for adults and children and campaigned for the expansion of married women's rights. Calvin Stowe died in 1886, and Harriet B. Stowe began showing signs of dementia by 1888; she died on July 1, 1896, aged 85, in Hartford, Connecticut.
- Acquisition information:
- mssHM 2986, provenance unknown, in library as of 1931. mssHM 12472, removed from manuscript mssHM 12470, 1931. mssHM 35093, removed from rare book 129880, April 1937. mssHM 43371-43397, provenance unknown, in library as of 1976. mssHM 47549, gift of Mrs. Melvin T. Wells, March 1980.
- Processing information:
-
Processed by Huntington Library Staff, 1930-1980; in May 2025, Gayle M. Richardson created the finding aid. This collection includes multiple acquisitions acquired and assembled by Huntington Library staff over many years.
- Arrangement:
-
Arranged alphabetically by last name and title.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.
- Terms of access:
-
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item]. Harriet Beecher Stowe collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
- Location of this collection:
-
1151 Oxford RoadSan Marino, CA 91108, US
- Contact:
- (626) 405-2191