Eulalie Osgood Grover was born on June 22, 1873 in Mantorville, Minnesota. She authored the “Sunbonnet Babies” series, starting with The Sunbonnet Babies’ Primer, which was published in 1902. The books were based around a 150-word vocabulary and included songs which were used in schools throughout the United States. Her illustrator for the Sunbonnet series, Bertha L. Corbett, later Bertha Corbett Melcher, studied in Philadelphia under Howard Pyle. In 1905, Grover wrote a second series, The Overall Boys. She published twenty-seven books, including Sunbonnet Babies in Holland (1915) and The Overall Boys in Switzerland (1916), drawing from her travels in Europe. These books were used by second and third grade students as geography textbooks. Starting in 1904, she wrote the first three volumes in The Art-Literature Reader series published by Atkinson, Mentzer & Grover. She also edited a book of nursery rhymes, Mother Goose: The Original Volland Edition (1915). She died in Winter Park, Florida on December 18, 1958.

Bibliography

“Eulalie Osgood Grover” Winter Park Public Library accessed on December 30, 2011, http://www.wppl.org/wphistory/EulalieGrover/index.html.

This is a small collection of papers by the author Eulalie Osgood Grover. This collection consists of two typescript French translations of The Sunbonnet Babies, a printed copy of A Trip to Egypt by Dreamland Babies, advertising material for The Art-Literature Readers, and correspondence. The majority of the correspondence is from the illustrator Bertha Corbett Melcher, with whom Grover collaborated frequently. Much of the correspondence is illustrated by Melcher. The correspondence from Melcher is addressed to Eulalie Osgood Grover as well as to her brother, publisher Edwin Osgood Grover. There is also one letter from Jessie Phelps Kahles and a transcript of a passage by Clifton Fadiman on the impact of Eulalie Grover's work. Researchers may find the connection between Bertha Corbett Melcher and Howard Pyle particularly interesting.

The materials are arranged chronologically.

Publication Information:

Free Library of Philadelphia: Children's Literature Research Collection

Finding Aid Author:

Finding aid prepared by Garrett Boos

Sponsor:

The processing of this collection was made possible through generous funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered through the Council on Library and Information Resources’ “Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives” Project.

Access Restrictions:

This collection is open to researchers by appointment. Please contact the Curator for information on access.

Use Restrictions:

The right of access to material does not imply the right of publication. Permission for reprinting, reproduction, or extensive quotation from the rare books, manuscripts, prints, or drawings must be obtained through written application, stating the use to be made of the material. The reader bears the responsibility for any possible infringement of copyright laws in the publication of such material. A reproduction fee will be charged if the material is to be reproduced in a commercial publication.

Immediate Source of Acquisition:

Gift of Frances Grover, 1964.

Winter Park Public Library: Eulalie Osgood Grover Collection.

• Clippings
• Correspondence
• Translations (documents)
• Typescripts

• Grover, Edwin Osgood, 1870-
• Grover, Frances
• Melcher, Bertha Corbett

• Children's authors--20th century
• Children's literature--20th century
• Illustrated children's books--20th century