Grandma's Garden

manosca113 Kate Sanborn Papers, 1878-1996 Finding Aid Finding aid prepared by Lee Appelbaum. Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Smith College Archives

Northampton, MA

Finding aid encoded using Perl scripts and edited in XMetal 2.0. Encoded by Laura cutter. 2003-06-10 Finding aid written in English. 2005-09-23 manosca113 converted from EAD 1.0 to 2002 by v1to02-5c.xsl (sy2003-10-15). Smith College Archives Kate Sanborn Papers, 1878-1996 Finding Aid RG 42 Lee Appelbaum 2003 Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Collection Overview Sanborn, Kate, 1839-1917. Kate Sanborn Papers1878-1996 RG 42 1 box (.45 linear ft.) Smith College Archives

Northampton, MA

The Kate Sanborn Papers contain biographical material, personal correspondence, lecture notes, publications and photographs. Among her publications are two verse collections, Grandma's Garden and Purple and Gold as well as a complete set of the Round Table of English Literature series. Photographs include portraits of Sanborn while she was a professor at Smith College and scenes of daily life at Breezy Meadows. English. Biographical Note

Katherine "Kate" Abbott Sanborn was born in 1839 in Hanover, New Hampshire. Her father, Edwin David Sanborn, was professor of classics at Dartmouth College. Her mother, Mary Webster, was a relative of Daniel Webster. Sanborn did not attend school, but was educated at home. In Memoirs and Anecdotes, she wrote of an intellectually rich childhood in which she was exposed to the politicians, academics, and writers who visited her father.

After starting a day school for faculty children, Kate Sanborn continued her teaching career at Mary Institute in St Louis, Mo. when her father became president of Washington University, and later at the Packer Institute in Brooklyn, New York. She was also a newspaper and magazine correspondent who reviewed books for Scribner's Magazine. In 1880, she was invited to teach English literature at Smith College. She left Smith in 1883.

A popular lecturer who became known for presenting literary topics in a humorous, entertaining manner, Sanborn traveled extensively throughout the country on speaking tours. In 1885, she wrote The Wit of Women, a collection of anecdotes and commentary that examined how women's humor was shaped by social attitudes. She also edited several illustrated collections of verse and published the Sunshine Calendar series, a set of small calendar books featuring quotes from famous Americans. She designed and wrote a series of study guides to literature that were published by James R. Osgood and Co. of Boston as the Round Table Series of English Literature. The set of 25 study packets ranges from ancient Celtic literature to Alfred Lord Tennyson and includes essay topics, quick reference material and special readings.

In 1888, Sanborn bought a dilapidated farm in Metcalf, (Holliston) Massachusetts, 25 miles from Boston. She wrote of her experiences and misadventures as a novice farm manager in Adopting an Abandoned Farm. Other farming books followed. She later wrote of selling that farm and moving to a nearby farm, Breezy Meadows, in Abandoning an Adopted Farm. Breezy Meadows, the setting of several light depictions of farm life, was Sanborn's home until her death at 78 in 1917.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

Organization of the Collection

This collection is organized into five series:

I. Biographical Materials II. Correspondence III. Lecture Notes IV. Photographs V. Publications Information on Use Terms of Access and Use

Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish material from the papers may be requested from the College Archives. The Archives has no information on the status of literary rights in the collection and researchers are responsible for determining any question of copyright.

Preferred Citation

Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:

Kate Sanborn Papers, Box #, Smith College Archives.

History of the Collection

The Kate Sanborn Papers were acquired over the years from various sources.

Processed by Lee Appelbaum.

Search Terms Sanborn, Kate, 1839-1917. Smith College--Faculty. Authors, American--19th century--Biography--Sources. English literature--Study and teaching (Higher)--Massachusetts--Northampton. Alcott, Louisa May, 1832-1888. Howe, Julia Ward, 1819-1910. Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 1809-1894. Willard, Frances Elizabeth, 1839-1898. Dodge, Mary Mapes, 1830-1905. Series I. Biographical Materials

The materials include newspaper articles, a scholarly treatment on Sanborn's contributions to the study of women's humor from Psychology of Women quarterly, and a list of Sanborn's publications in the Smith College Archives.

1004 Biographical Materials 1894-1996 Series II. Correspondence

The correspondence collection consists primarily of personal letters. Correspondents include Louisa May Alcott, Julia Ward Howe, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Francis Willard, and Mary Mapes Dodge.

1004 Correspondence 1880-1915 1004 Correspondence n.d. 1004 Correspondence, Nina Browne n.d. Series III. Lecture Notes

The notes are hand-written drafts for lectures on Tennyson's "In Memoriam" and "The Life of Swift."

1004 Lecture Notes n.d. Series IV. Photographs

The collection includes portrait photographs from Sanborn's tenure at Smith College (1880-1883) and an interior shot of the library of James T. Field signed and given to Professor Sanborn. Other photographs include scenes of Sanborn at Breezy Meadows with her butler Taki and a view of the Japanese teahouse built at the farm.

1004 Photographs ca. 1880-1883 1004 Photographs, Breezy Meadows ca. 1888-1917 Series V. Publications

Publications contain articles and books published by Kate Sanborn over her teaching and professional career.

1004 Writings, miscellaneous n.d. 1004 Abandoning the Adopted Farm 1894 1004 Grandma's Garden 1883 1004 Calendars 1878-1879 1004 Just a Christmas Laugh from 'Breezy Meadows' n.d. 1004 Mountain Day, Smith College 1882 1004 Purple and Gold 1882 1004 Tact and Other Essays 1889 1004 Literature Lessons 1-25 n.d.