Kate Sanborn Papers, 1878-1996
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Smith College Archives Northampton, MA
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Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
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Kate Sanborn Papers
Creation of Kate Sanborn Papers
Time of Creation of Kate Sanborn Papers
Sanborn, Kate, 1839-1917.
Biographical History for: Kate Sanborn Papers
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 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.
Authors, American--19th century--Biography--Sources.
lcsh
English literature--Study and teaching (Higher)--Massachusetts--Northampton.
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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.
Smith College--Faculty.
series
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.
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.
Correspondence 1880-1915
Correspondence n.d.
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."
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.
Photographs ca. 1880-1883
Photographs, Breezy Meadows ca. 1888-1917
Series V. Publications
Publications contain articles and books published by Kate Sanborn over her teaching and professional career.
Writings, miscellaneous n.d.
Abandoning the Adopted Farm 1894
Grandma's Garden 1883
Calendars 1878-1879
Just a Christmas Laugh from 'Breezy Meadows' n.d.
Mountain Day, Smith College 1882
Purple and Gold 1882
Tact and Other Essays 1889
Literature Lessons 1-25 n.d.