Louise Bates Ames Papers
Catalog Record: http://lccn.loc.gov/mm79010868
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Manuscript Division Library of Congress Washington, D.C.
Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress Manuscript Division, 2011
Encoded Archival Description
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
Louise Bates Ames Papers 1915-1989 (bulk 1950-1975)
Ames, Louise Bates
Biographical History for: Louise Bates Ames Papers 1915-1989 (bulk 1950-1975)
Biographical Note Date Event 1908, Oct. 29 Born, Portland, Maine 1930 Married Smith Whittier Ames (divorced 1937) B.A., University of Maine, Orono, Maine 1933 M.A., University of Maine, Orono, Maine 1933-1936 Research secretary and personal assistant to Arnold Gesell, Clinic of Child Development, Yale University, New Haven, Conn. 1936 Ph.D., Yale University, New Haven, Conn. 1938 Produced first film, "How Behavior Grows: The Sequential Patterning of Prone Progression" 1940-1944 Instructor, Clinic of Child Development, Yale University, New Haven, Conn. 1943 Published with Arnold Gesell, Frances Lillian Ilg, and Janet Learned Infant and Child in the Culture of Today: The Guidance of Development in Home and Nursery School (New York: Harper & Brothers. 405 pp.) 1944-1950 Assistant Professor and curator of the Yale Films of Child Development, Clinic of Child Development, Yale University, New Haven, Conn. 1946 Published with Arnold Gesell, Frances Lillian Ilg, and Glenna E. Bullis Child from Five to Ten (New York: Harper & Brothers. 458 pp.) 1950 Founded with Frances Lillian Ilg the Gesell Institute of Child Development, New Haven, Conn. 1950-1968 Director of research and secretary-treasurer, Gesell Institute of Child Development, New Haven, Conn. 1951-1973 Coauthor of syndicated newspaper column Child Behavior (after 1962 called Parents Ask) 1952-1955 Weekly television series, Child Behavior 1960-1961 Weekly television series, The Gesell Institute Reports: Your Child and You 1965 Published with Frances Lillian Ilg School Readiness: Behavior Tests Used at the Gesell Institute (New York: Harper & Row. 396 pp.) 1968 Associate director and chief psychologist, Gesell Institute of Child Development, New Haven, Conn. 1970 Published Child Care and Development (Philadelphia: Lippincott Co. 426 pp.) 1971-1977 Codirector, Gesell Institute of Child Development, New Haven, Conn. 1973 Published Rorschach Responses in Old Age (New York: Brunner/Mazel. 219 pp.) 1974 Published with Joan Ames Chase Don't Push Your Pre-schooler (New York: Harper & Row. 212 pp.) 1976 Published series on child development with Frances Lillian Ilg, beginning with Your Two-Year-Old: Terrible or Tender (New York: Delacorte Press. 149 pp.) 1978 Gesell Institute of Child Development, New Haven, Conn., renamed Gesell Institute of Human Development, New Haven, Conn. 1989 Published Arnold Gesell: Themes of His Work (New York: Human Sciences Press. 334 pp.) 1990 Reaffiliation of the Gesell Institute of Human Development with Yale University, New Haven, Conn. 1991 Lecturer, Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, Conn. 1996, Oct. 31 Died, Cincinnati, Ohio
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.
series
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.
file
Ames, Smith Whittier (former husband), 1946-1975
Bates, Annie E. (mother)
Correspondence, 1915-1916, 1932-1944, 1954-1963
Rorschach responses, 1948-1963
Bates, Kay (sister-in-law), 1957
Chase, Joan Ames (daughter), 1953-1970
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.
Boppert, Walter T., 1971-1975
Collier, Herbert L., 1971-1973
Culbertson, James T.
1941-1946, undated
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
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
Mead, Margaret, 1952-1954
Métraux, Ruth W. and Guy S., 1942-1974
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
U.S. Public Health Service, 1948
White House Conference on Children and Youth, 1970-1971
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.
1964-1974, undated
"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 from readers
A-L
M-W
A-C
D-Y and anonymous
L-Y and anonymous
Ac-Mc
Me-Wo and anonymous
Column
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.
Child Care and Development
Correspondence
Rand McNally and Co., 1966-1970
J. B. Lippincott Co., 1968-1970
Preliminary chapter outlines, 1966-1969
Draft
Don't Push Your Pre-Schooler
Typescript
Carbon copy
Reader's proof
Infant and Child in the Culture of Today, typescript for revised edition, 1974
Is Your Child in the Wrong Grade?
Correspondence, Harper & Row, Publishers, 1966
Outlines
First draft
Printer's copy
Mosaic Patterns of American Children
Correspondence, 1950-1964
School Readiness
Stop School Failure
Harper & Row, Publishers, 1970-1972
J. B. Lippincott Co., 1969-1970
Manuscript No. 1
Manuscript No. 2
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.
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."
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
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
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
Gesell, Arnold, chronology of the wolf-children
Singh, J. A. L., diary of the wolf-children of Midnapore
Zingg, Robert M.
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.
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
Ilg, Frances Lillian
With Ames, 1965-1978
With Margaret Mead, 1946-1966
Métraux, Ruth W. and Guy S., 1943-1982
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
Of Ames, 1944-1983, undated
Of Frances Lillian Ilg
Undated and Ilg miscellany
Diary excerpts, 1945-1982
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
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
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
Articles by Ames regarding her books
Book reviews, 1970-1975
Development of Motor Coordination, from Birth to Two Years, typescript
Infant and Child in the Culture of Today
Your Two Year Old
Your Three Year Old
Your Four Year Old
Your Six Year Old
Photographs
Album
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.
Dream diaries, 1941-1984
Babcock, Katherine Bradbury, 1974-1977
Haber, Carol Chase (granddaughter), 1959-1985
Harper & Row, Publishers, 1979-1986
Métraux, Ruth W. and Guy S., 1982-1986
Miscellany, 1966-1986
Stone, Warren, 1970-1986
Treadwell, Peter, 1949-1983
"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?"
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.
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
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.
Family correspondence
Bates, Silas and Kay (brother and sister-in-law), 1987-1995
Chase, Clifford (grandson), 1974-1996, undated
Chase, Joan Ames (daughter), 1952-1973
Haber, Carol Chase (granddaughter), 1985-1995
"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
"M-O" miscellaneous, 1970-1993, undated
Perris, Donald L., 1960-1995
"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
1987-1995, undated
Wozniak, Robert H., 1984-1989
"W" miscellaneous, 1977-1992, undated
Zigler, Edward, 1988-1992
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
European trips, 1949-1981
Family history, undated
Fan letters, 1952-1991, undated
Evaluation of Gesell's work by Ames, 1973-1974
Writings on Gesell by others, 1987-1993, undated
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
Research proposed but not undertaken, 1951-1954
Writings
Articles
1993-1994, undated
Books
Reviews, 1970, 1992
Your One [Two] [Three] [Four] Year Old series
Correspondence, 1974-1989
Pamphlet layout, undated
Introductions and prefaces, 1959-1988