Contents

Collection Summary

Biographical Note

Scope and Content Note

Arrangement of the Papers

Selected Search Terms

Family Correspondence, 1915-1975

Special Correspondence, 1935-1975

General Correspondence, 1941-1974

"Parents Ask" Newspaper Column, 1954-1968

Writings, 1947-1974

Miscellany, 1922-1975

1977 Addition, 1937-1977

1984 Addition, 1940-1983

1987 Addition, 1941-1986

1988 Addition, 1941-1988

1996 Addition, circa 1945-1996

Louise Bates Ames Papers

A Finding Aid to the Collection in the Library of Congress

Prepared by David MathisenRevised and expanded by Margaret McAleer with the assistance of John Monagle

2010

Biographical Note

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Scope and Content Note

The papers of Louise Bates Ames (1908-1996) span the period 1915-1989, with the bulk of the material dating from 1950 to 1975. The collection consists primarily of correspondence and manuscript material relating to Ames's career as a child psychologist, cofounder and codirector of the Gesell Institute of Child Development, and author of numerous books and articles on child behavior and child development. Included in the collection are family correspondence, correspondence with friends and professional associates, a sampling of letters related to the syndicated newspaper column Parents Ask, and manuscripts and related correspondence for several of Ames's books and articles. The collection is organized in six original series and five additions. The original series include Family Correspondence, Special Correspondence, General Correspondence, “Parents Ask” Newspaper Column, Writings, and Miscellany. The additions are dated according to the year of their arrangement and contain material organized in the same schema as the original part.

Ames's career as a child psychologist began in 1933 when she joined the staff of the Yale Clinic of Child Development as research secretary and personal assistant to the director, Arnold Gesell, with whom she worked until 1948. She received her doctorate in psychology from Yale University in 1936; was curator of the Yale Films of Child Development, 1944-1950; and participated in the development of articles, books, and research projects in the field of child psychology. Material in the collection which relates to this period may be found in the following series: Family Correspondence, especially letters to Annie E. Bates; Special Correspondence, in particular correspondence with James T. Culbertson, Paul H. Elicker, Guy S. Métraux, and Ruth W. Métraux; Writings File, "Guide to the Yale Films of Child Development" by Louise Bates Ames; and Miscellany containing a diary, 1928-1937, and annual reports, 1939-1949.

After Gesell's retirement, the clinic separated from Yale University, and in 1950, Ames and her associate, Frances Lillian Ilg, founded the Gesell Institute of Child Development. The institute's name changed to the Gesell Institute of Human Development in 1978. The Gesell Institute is a private, nonprofit corporation for clinical research in the field of child psychology. Ames was Director of Research at the Institute until 1968 when she became codirector. In conjunction with her study of children's behavior at successive age intervals, Ames became one of the pioneers of rorschach psychological testing. References to this and other aspects of her work may be found in the Family and Special Correspondence series, in particular, the letters of Annie E. Bates, Joan Ames Chase, Len Lye, Guy S. Métraux, Ruth W. Métraux, and Evelyn Goodenough Pitcher. More detailed information about rorschach testing may be found in Ames's numerous books and articles, bibliographies of which are in Miscellany.

As the work of the Gesell Institute became increasingly recognized, requests for lectures, television appearances, and articles began to increase as well. This aspect of Ames's career is well documented in her papers. In the Special Correspondence series are files relating to her two television series, Child Behavior and The Gesell Institute Reports: Your Child and You. In 1951, Ames and Ilg began their syndicated newspaper column, Child Behavior, which in 1962 became known as Parents Ask. A sampling of unedited letters from the column for the period 1954-1964 is included in the collection as well as two sets of the edited and published columns covering the years 1967-1968.

Ames corresponded with numerous friends, colleagues, and associates, many of whom were prominent in their fields. Among those whose letters are contained in the Special Correspondence series are Fitzhugh Dodson, Arnold Gesell, Gerhard Alden Gesell, Len Lye, Margaret Mead, Daniel P. Moynihan, Vance Packard, and Benjamin Spock. Also in the Special Correspondence series are files concerning Ames's work with the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare and the White House Conference on Children and Youth in 1970-1971.

Among the papers are drafts, readers' proofs, and publishers' correspondence for seven of Ames's books: Child Care and Development (1970), Don't Push Your Pre-Schooler (1973), Infant and Child in the Culture of Today (revised edition 1974), Is Your Child in the Wrong Grade? (1967), Mosaic Patterns of American Children (1962), School Readiness (1964), and Stop School Failure (1972). In addition, there is correspondence relating to several book reviews and a draft essay for inclusion in the book Summerhill: For and Against, published in 1970 by Hart Publishing Company.

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Selected Search Terms

People

• Ames, Louise Bates.
• Bates family.
• Bates, Annie E.--Correspondence.
• Chase, Joan Ames--Correspondence.
• Culbertson, James T. (James Thomas), 1911- --Correspondence.
• Dodson, Fitzhugh, 1923- --Correspondence.
• Elicker, Paul H.--Correspondence.
• Gesell, Arnold, 1880-1961--Correspondence.
• Gesell, Gerhard Alden, 1910-1993--Correspondence.
• Ilg, Frances L. (Frances Lillian), 1902-1981. Frances Lillian Ilg papers.
• Johnson, Eric W.--Correspondence.
• Lye, Len, 1901-1980--Correspondence.
• Mead, Margaret, 1901-1978--Correspondence.
• Moynihan, Daniel P. (Daniel Patrick), 1927-2003--Correspondence.
• Métraux, Guy S. (Guy Serge)--Correspondence.
• Métraux, Ruth W.--Correspondence.
• Packard, Vance, 1914-1996--Correspondence.
• Pitcher, Evelyn Goodenough--Correspondence.
• Slosson, Richard L.--Correspondence.
• Spock, Benjamin, 1903-1998--Correspondence.
• Zingg, Robert M. (Robert Mowry), 1900-1957. Robert M. Zingg papers.

Organizations

• Gesell Institute of Child Development.
• United States. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.
• White House Conference on Children (1970 : Washington, D.C.)
• Yale University. Child Study Center.
• Yale University. Clinic of Child Development.

Subjects

• Advice columns.
• Child development.
• Child psychology.
• Mental health facilities--Connecticut--New Haven.

Occupations

• Child psychologists.
• Educators.

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Arrangement of the Papers

The collection is arranged in eleven series:

• Family Correspondence, 1915-1975
• Special Correspondence, 1935-1975
• General Correspondence, 1941-1974
• "Parents Ask" Newspaper Column, 1954-1968
• Writings, 1947-1974
• Miscellany, 1922-1975
• 1977 Addition, 1937-1977
• 1984 Addition, 1940-1983
• 1987 Addition,1941-1986
• 1988 Addition, 1941-1988
• 1996 Addition, circa 1945-1996

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Container List

Family Correspondence, 1915-1975

Correspondence to and from family members, in particular Ames's mother, Annie E. Bates, and daughter, Joan Ames Chase. Included are Bates's rorschach responses that became the basis for Ames's Rorschach Responses in Old Age.

Arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent.

Ames, Smith Whittier (former husband), 1946-1975

Bates, Annie E. (mother)

Correspondence, 1915-1916, 1932-1944, 1954-1963 (13 folders)

Rorschach responses, 1948-1963

Bates, Kay (sister-in-law), 1957

Chase, Joan Ames (daughter), 1953-1970 (3 folders)

Spaulding, Ella (aunt), 1957-1960

Special Correspondence, 1935-1975

Correspondence to and from friends, colleagues, child psychologists, authors, newspaper editors, television producers, and government officials.

Arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent.

Boppert, Walter T., 1971-1975 (3 folders)

Collier, Herbert L., 1971-1973

Culbertson, James T.

1937-1940 (4 folders)

1941-1946, undated (4 folders)

Dodd, Thomas J., 1961-1964

Dodson, Fitzhugh, 1969-1973

Elicker, Paul H., 1943-1946

Gesell, Arnold, 1935-1964

Gesell, Gerhard Alden, 1964

Goodenough, Evelyn See Container 7, Pitcher, Evelyn Goodenough

Hall Newspaper Syndicate

1951-1958 (4 folders)

1959-1969 (5 folders)

Hart Publishing Co., regarding Summerhill: For and Against, 1969-1970

Health, Education, and Welfare, Department of, 1962-1968

Ilg, Frances Lillian, 1945-1961

Johnson, Eric W., 1968-1974

Larson, R. K. T. (Kit), 1960-1971

Lye, Len, 1945-1967, undated (6 folders)

Mead, Margaret, 1952-1954

Métraux, Ruth W. and Guy S., 1942-1974 (7 folders)

Moore, Raymond S., 1972-1974

Moynihan, Daniel P., 1969-1970

Packard, Vance, 1965-1969

Perris, Donald L., 1960-1969

Pitcher, Evelyn Goodenough, 1959-1964

Sands, Alan, 1955-1958

See, Harold P., 1961-1964

Silberberg, Norman E., 1969-1974

Silverthorne, Henry, 1954-1963

Slosson, Richard L., 1961-1967

Spock, Benjamin, 1961-1962

Taylor, John I., 1952-1957 (3 folders)

U.S. Public Health Service, 1948

White House Conference on Children and Youth, 1970-1971 (2 folders)

General Correspondence, 1941-1974

Letters to and from the general public regarding the column Parents Ask and from psychologists and students concerning research projects and books. Some business correspondence is also included.

Arranged chronologically.

1941-1963 (11 folders)

1964-1974, undated (11 folders)

"Parents Ask" Newspaper Column, 1954-1968

A sampling of letters to and from readers of the syndicated column Parents Ask (called Child Behavior until 1962) and a set of columns for the years 1967-1968.

Letters are arranged chronologically by year and thereunder alphabetically by name of correspondent. Columns are arranged chronologically.

Letters from readers

1954-1956 (6 folders)

1957

A-L

M-W

1958-1960 (4 folders)

1961

A-C

D-Y and anonymous (4 folders)

1962

A-L (2 folders)

L-Y and anonymous (2 folders)

1963

Ac-Mc (3 folders)

Me-Wo and anonymous (2 folders)

1964 (3 folders)

Column

1967 (6 folders)

1968 (6 folders)

Writings, 1947-1974

Drafts, proofs, and publishers' correspondence relating to Ames's books and a small collection of articles written by others. Books are arranged alphabetically by title.

Articles are arranged alphabetically by name of author.

Child Care and Development

Correspondence

Rand McNally and Co., 1966-1970 (2 folders)

J. B. Lippincott Co., 1968-1970

Preliminary chapter outlines, 1966-1969

Draft (9 folders)

(17 folders)

Don't Push Your Pre-Schooler

Typescript (5 folders)

Carbon copy (4 folders)

Reader's proof (3 folders)

Infant and Child in the Culture of Today, typescript for revised edition, 1974 (8 folders)

Is Your Child in the Wrong Grade?

Correspondence, Harper & Row, Publishers, 1966

Outlines

First draft (3 folders)

Printer's copy (3 folders)

Mosaic Patterns of American Children

Correspondence, 1950-1964 (3 folders)

Typescript (1 folder)

(7 folders)

School Readiness

Typescript (3 folders)

(5 folders)

Carbon copy (4 folders)

(2 folders)

Stop School Failure

Correspondence

Harper & Row, Publishers, 1970-1972

J. B. Lippincott Co., 1969-1970

Manuscript No. 1 (5 folders)

Manuscript No. 2 (4 folders)

Reader's proof (2 folders)

Guide to the Yale Films of Child Development, 1947

Blanchard, Irene

"A Study of Articulation Tests Suitable for Use with Institutionalized Mentally Retarded Children"

"Diagnostic Patterns of Articulation"

Cohen, Wilbur J., and Wallace K. Babington, "Implications of 1965 Federal Legislation for Mental Retardation"

Crouch, Zilpha B., "Various Aspects of Teaching the Mentally Retarded Child with Emphasis on Information Value to the Speech Therapist"

Waldon, Edgar F.

"The Baby Cry Test: A Meaningful Acoustic Signal for Testing Subnormal Children"

"The Baby Cry Test (BCT): A New Audiometric Technique for Testing Very Young Children"

"Testing Hearing of Subnormal Children"

"Testing of Infants: Implications for Audio-Reflexometry"

Miscellany, 1922-1975

Annual reports, awards, a diary, appointment calendars, lists of lectures, newspaper clippings, and receipts.

Arranged alphabetically by type of material.

Annual reports, 1939-1949

Appointment calendars, 1953, 1960

Awards, bibliographies, and biographies, 1957-1974

Bibliography, 1933-1965

Certification, American Psychological Association, 1943

Diary, 1928-1937

Lists of lectures, 1952-1975

Journal of lectures, 1966-1967

News clippings, 1964-1965, undated

Pamphlets, 1951-1952, undated

Poem, 1922

Receipts, 1957-1963

1977 Addition, 1937-1977

Correspondence with family, friends, colleagues, publishers, and the public; a subject file concerning the television program Playmates/Schoolmates; a writings file largely concerning Don't Push Your Pre-schooler; and miscellany. Also included are research files of Robert M. Zingg on "wolf-children."

Arranged by family correspondence, special correspondence, general correspondence, subject file, writings file, miscellany, and the Robert M. Zingg Papers and alphabetically thereunder by name of person, subject, or type of material.

Family correspondence, Ames, Smith Whittier (former husband), 1937-1977

Special correspondence

Arthur, Phyllis-Marie, 1945-1977

Dickinson, Alice, 1974-1977

Hobson, Dick, 1948-1957

Lowenfeld, Margaret, 1966-1970

Lye, Ann and Len, 1962-1975

Métraux, Ruth W., 1966-1967

Ostler, Renée, 1967

Perris, Donald L. and Barbara, 1964-1977

Rodell, Fred and Janet, 1953-1976

Von Hilsheimer, George, 1967-1977

Wunderlich, Ray C., 1965-1975

General correspondence

"A-Z" miscellaneous, 1968-1977 (4 folders)

Correspondence with publisher regarding books reviewed by Ames, 1962-1974

Letters from fans, 1952-1977

Subject file, Playmates/Schoolmates, television program, 1975-1976

Writings file

Don't Push Your Pre-schooler, by Ames and Joan Ames Chase, correspondence, 1972-1975

Robert L. Lewin/Mill Pond Press project, 1972-1977

Miscellany

Letter from Arnold Gesell to Joan Ames Chase, 1952

Schedule of lecture and television appearances, 1976-1977

Robert M. Zingg papers

Correspondence, 1937-1945

"A-Z" miscellaneous (2 folders)

Allen & Unwin Ltd.

American Journal of Psychology

The American Weekly

Davis, Kingsley

Dennis, Wayne

Eckels, Richard P.

Gates, R. R.

Gesell, Arnold

Harper & Brothers

Hollander, Sidney

Houghton Mifflin Co.

Hutton, J. H.

Life magazine

Literary Services-Mondiale Ltd.

Maxfield, Francis

Pakenham, Walsh H.

Redfield, Robert

Singh, J. A. L.

Singh, Mrs. J. A. L.

Vanguard Press

Wirth, Louis

Subject file

"Baboon" boy of South Africa

The "Tarzancito" case

Writings file

Gesell, Arnold, chronology of the wolf-children

Miscellany

Singh, J. A. L., diary of the wolf-children of Midnapore

Zingg, Robert M.

Miscellany

Newspaper clippings regarding wolf-children

Photographs of wolf-children

Printed matter and bibliographic notes

1984 Addition, 1940-1983

Correspondence with friends, colleagues, publishers, and the public; diary excerpts, photographs, biographical material, and printed matter; condolence letters on the death of Ames's daughter; correspondence of Frances Lillian Ilg; research, lectures, and writings by Ames and Arnold Gesell; and files concerning the Gesell Institute of Child Development, White House Conference on Children and Youth, and Ames's radio and television programs.

Arranged by special correspondence, condolences, general correspondence, diary excerpts, subject file, speeches and lectures file, writings file, and miscellany and alphabetically thereunder by name of person, subject, title, or type of material.

Special correspondence

Balkany, Robert de, 1951-1968

Brilliant, Ira, 1959-1961

Bull, Nina, 1942-1947

Cox, Don and Jo, 1974-1977

Culbertson, James T., 1941-1976

Curnow, Wystan, regarding Len Lye, 1982

Ertel, Paul Y. and Inta, 1974-1978

Gesell, Arnold, 1955-1960

Homberger, Gin and Freddy, 1943-1981 (3 folders)

Ilg, Frances Lillian

With Ames, 1965-1978

With Margaret Mead, 1946-1966

Métraux, Ruth W. and Guy S., 1943-1982 (3 folders)

Scharbert, Beatrice, 1970-1976

Sheldon, William H., 1950-1978

Silverthorne, Pen, 1958-1964

Taylor, John I., circa 1951-1975

Webb, Rachel, 1973-1979

Wunderlich, Ray C., 1964-1965

Condolences on death of daughter, son-in-law, and grandson, 1974 (2 folders)

General correspondence

Of Ames, 1944-1983, undated (6 folders)

Of Frances Lillian Ilg

1944-1951 (2 folders)

1952-1970 (9 folders)

Undated and Ilg miscellany

Diary excerpts, 1945-1982

Subject file

Adolescent rorschach responses, 1950-1959

Books received for review, 1951-1978

Child Care and Development, 1976-1981

Child from Five to Ten, by Frances Lillian Ilg, undated

Controversies with Yale University, New Haven, Conn.; Bernard B. Shapiro; Life magazine; and others, 1957-1980

First Five Years of Life, 1978-1979

Gesell, Arnold

Genius, Giftedness and Intelligence, undated

Sigma Xi lectures, 1947-1949 See also Container 38, Lectures by Arnold Gesell

Translations of books by, 1956-1958

Harper & Row, Publishers, 1967-1981 (2 folders)

Infant and Child, 1972-1973

Journal of Learning Disabilities, 1967-1977

Marks, Philip A., 1974-1977

Playmates/Schoolmates television program, 1975-1976

Radio series, 1968

School Readiness, 1956-1966

Screen gems, 1970-1972

Society of Protective Techniques, 1968-1972

White House Conference on Children and Youth, 1970

Speeches and lectures file

Lectures by Arnold Gesell, 1948-1949 See also Container 36, Sigma Xi lectures

Lists of Ames's lectures, 1940-1983

Writings file

Articles by Ames regarding her books

Book reviews, 1970-1975

Development of Motor Coordination, from Birth to Two Years, typescript (2 folders)

Infant and Child in the Culture of Today

Your Two Year Old

Your Three Year Old

Your Four Year Old

Your Six Year Old

Miscellany

Photographs

Album

Miscellany

General

Printed matter

Biographical file

Clippings and general printed matter

Infancy and Human Growth, by Arnold Gesell

1987 Addition, 1941-1986

Correspondence with family, friends, colleagues, publishers, and the public; dream diaries; articles; lecture schedule; and biographical and genealogical information.

Arranged by subject file, correspondence, writings file, and miscellany and alphabetically thereunder by name of person, subject, title, or type of material.

Subject file

Dream diaries, 1941-1984 (4 folders)

Correspondence

Babcock, Katherine Bradbury, 1974-1977

Haber, Carol Chase (granddaughter), 1959-1985 (3 folders)

Harper & Row, Publishers, 1979-1986

Métraux, Ruth W. and Guy S., 1982-1986

Miscellany, 1966-1986 (3 folders)

Stone, Warren, 1970-1986

Treadwell, Peter, 1949-1983 (2 folders)

Writings file

"A Day with Margaret Mead"

"Dreams of Pregnancy"

"Every Child Develops at His Own Rate," chapter from The Experts Speak

"What Am I Doing in This Grade?"

"What Do They Mean I'm Difficult?"

Miscellany

Biographical and genealogical file, 1982-1986

Gesell Institute of Human Development, New Haven, Conn., history, 1983, undated

Lecture schedule, 1983-1985

1988 Addition, 1941-1988

Correspondence with family, friends, colleagues, and publishers.

Arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent. Also includes Ames's Parents Ask newspaper column, 1986-1988.

Ames, Smith Whittier (husband), 1941-1988, undated

Armstrong, Thomas, 1984-1987

Buch, Mary, 1985-1987

Dickinson, Alice, 1977-1984

Ertel, Paul Y., 1978-1986, undated

Gesell Portrait Fund, 1950

Harper & Row, Publishers, regarding Youth: The Years from Ten to Sixteen, 1979-1986

Ilg, Frances Lillian, memorial fund, 1981

Perticone, Eugene X., and Renée M. Tembeckjian, 1985-1987

Scharbert, Beatrice, 1975-1983, undated

Shiff, Eileen, 1984-1988

Webb, Rachel, 1949-1960 (2 folders)

Miscellany, 1981-1987

Parents Ask newspaper column, 1986-1988

1996 Addition, circa 1945-1996

Correspondence, biographical information, dream diaries, family history, fan letters, interviews, photographs, reminiscences, and writings.

Arranged by family correspondence, general correspondence, subject file, and writings and alphabetically thereunder by name of person, subject, title, or type of material.

Family correspondence

Bates, Silas and Kay (brother and sister-in-law), 1987-1995

Chase, Clifford (grandson), 1974-1996, undated (10 folders)

Chase, Joan Ames (daughter), 1952-1973

Haber, Carol Chase (granddaughter), 1985-1995 (5 folders)

General correspondence

"A" miscellaneous, 1974-1994

Barry, Laurel D., 1989-1992

"B-C" miscellaneous, 1974-1995, undated

Dodson, Fitzhugh, 1977-1978

"D-E" miscellaneous, 1970-1995

Fagan, Tom, 1983

"F" miscellaneous, 1970-1991

Gillespie, Clyde, 1994

Gold, Svrea J., 1986-1990

"G" miscellaneous, 1959-1993

Heimgartner, Norm, 1989-1995

Homberger, Freddy, 1978-1995, undated

"H" miscellaneous, 1976-1991

Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential, 1967-1993

"I-L" miscellaneous, 1977-1996

Métraux, Ruth W. and Guy S., 1986-1996 (2 folders)

"M-O" miscellaneous, 1970-1993, undated

Perris, Donald L., 1960-1995 (5 folders)

"P" miscellaneous, 1970-1987

Rimland, Bernard, 1978-1989

"R" miscellaneous, 1948-1993

Senn, Milton J. E., 1948-1957

"S" miscellaneous, 1973-1995

Tembeckjian, Renée M., 1988-1990

Treadwell, Peter and Licie, 1985-1987

"T-V" miscellaneous, 1970-1991

Webb, Rachel

1960-1986 (5 folders)

1987-1995, undated (3 folders)

Wozniak, Robert H., 1984-1989

"W" miscellaneous, 1977-1992, undated

Zigler, Edward, 1988-1992

Subject file

Biographical information, 1966-1993 See also Container 52, Articles, 1993

Child Behavior newspaper column, 1956, undated

Department of Health Services, Hartford, Conn., expiration of psychologist's license, 1984-1986

Dream diaries, 1984-1993 (2 folders)

European trips, 1949-1981

Family history, undated

Fan letters, 1952-1991, undated (2 folders)

Gesell, Arnold

Evaluation of Gesell's work by Ames, 1973-1974

Writings on Gesell by others, 1987-1993, undated (2 folders)

Gesell Institute of Child Development, New Haven, Conn.

Board of directors, 1964-1977

Grants and gifts, 1952-1970

Gesell Institute of Human Development, New Haven, Conn.

Board of directors, 1978-1980

Privately-printed history by Ames, 1994

Update newsletter, 1980-1986

Yale University, New Haven, Conn., 1990-1993

Harper & Row, Publishers, 1958-1986

Ilg, Frances Lillian, files

Annual reports, 1962-1968

General correspondence, circa 1945-1980

Laramore, Joyce, regarding Ilg biography, 1976

Pilpel, Harriet F., attorney for the Gesell Institute of Child Development, New Haven, Conn., 1952-1966

Proposed consultation with architectural firm, 1951-1952

Instituto Psicopedagogico "Gesell," Maracaibo, Venezuela, 1962, 1981

Interviews, 1980-1989

Parents' Magazine, 1953

Photographs, 1953-1987

Reminiscences re

Associations with notable people, undated

Books written with Frances Lillian Ilg, undated

Requests for commentary on books, 1977-1994 (2 folders)

Research proposed but not undertaken, 1951-1954

Writings

Articles

1971-1991 (2 folders)

1993-1994, undated (2 folders)

Books

Reviews, 1970, 1992

Your One [Two] [Three] [Four] Year Old series

Correspondence, 1974-1989

Pamphlet layout, undated

Introductions and prefaces, 1959-1988