Marie-Louise Osborn Letters to Family
Collection
Call Number: OSB MSS 436
Scope and Contents
Letters sent from Marie-Louise Osborn and occasionally James M. Osborn to their parents Clare Marshall Osborn and Mildred Sleeper Osborn, and John Flournoy Montgomery and Hedwig Louise Wildi Montgomery, as well as other relatives, 1934-1968. Letters primarily relate to the Osborn's daily routines and social activities, travels, and children James M. Osborn, Jr. and Thomas Montgomery Osborn. Documented are the Osborn's life at Shotover Cleve in Oxford, England; their life in New Haven, Connecticut; their cattle farm (Whirlwind Hill Farm) in Wallingford, Connecticut; and James M. Osborn's studies, teaching, and curation. Letters sent during World War II mention James M. Osborn's work as an air raid warden and Marie-Louise Osborn's work with various aid organizations.
Letters are chiefly typescript "Family Newsletters" dictated by Marie-Louise Osborn to secretaries and addressed to "Dear Family." Some letters are accompanied by additional copies. Letters were sent roughly weekly.
Letters are chiefly typescript "Family Newsletters" dictated by Marie-Louise Osborn to secretaries and addressed to "Dear Family." Some letters are accompanied by additional copies. Letters were sent roughly weekly.
Dates
- 1934-1968
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
The Marie-Louise Osborn Letters to Family is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Bequest of James Marshall Osborn, 1976.
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically.
Extent
2.58 Linear Feet (7 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
https://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/beinecke.osbornfamilyletters
Overview
Letters sent from Marie-Louise Osborn and occasionally James M. Osborn to their parents Clare Marshall Osborn and Mildred Sleeper Osborn, and John Flournoy Montgomery and Hedwig Louise Wildi Montgomery, as well as other relatives, 1934-1968. Letters primarily relate to the Osborn's daily routines and social activities, travels, and children James M. Osborn, Jr. and Thomas Montgomery Osborn. Documented are the Osborn's life at Shotover Cleve in Oxford, England; their life in New Haven, Connecticut; their cattle farm (Whirlwind Hill Farm) in Wallingford, Connecticut; and James M. Osborn's teaching and curation at Yale University. Letters sent during World War II mention James M. Osborn's work as an air raid warden and Marie-Louise Osborn's work with various aid organizations.
Letters are chiefly typescript "Family Newsletters" dictated by Marie-Louise Osborn to secretaries and addressed to "Dear Family." Some letters are accompanied by additional copies. Letters were sent roughly weekly.
Letters are chiefly typescript "Family Newsletters" dictated by Marie-Louise Osborn to secretaries and addressed to "Dear Family." Some letters are accompanied by additional copies. Letters were sent roughly weekly.
Marie-Louise Osborn
Marie-Louise Osborn (1905-1968) was the daughter of John Flournoy Montgomery (1878-1954) and Hedwig Louise Wildi Montgomery (1881-1953). She was born in Ramsey, Minnesota, and by 1920 was living in New York City. Following her graduation from Vassar College, she married James M. Osborn in 1929 and by April 1934 had two sons: James M. Osborn, Jr. and Thomas Montgomery Osborn (1934-2006). Marie-Louise Osborn died in New Haven, Connecticut, on December 23, 1968.
James M. Osborn
James Marshall Osborn, literary historian, founder of the James Marshall and Marie-Louise Osborn Collection at Yale University, and Holstein cattle breeder, was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1906. He graduated from Wesleyan University in 1928, and joined the investment advisory department of Guaranty Trust in New York. The next year, he married Marie-Louise Montgomery, a graduate of Vassar.
In 1932 Osborn left Guaranty Trust to study for a Master's degree in English at Columbia University. Two years later, the Osborns moved to England with their two sons, and James began to work toward a B.Litt degree at Oxford University. While at Oxford, Osborn pursued his interest in eighteenth-century literary history and began to acquire the literary and historical manuscripts that would form the core of the James Marshall and Marie-Louise Osborn Collection.
Osborn was appointed Research Associate in English at Yale University in 1938; he held the position until his death. He was named Adviser on Seventeenth Century Manuscripts to the Yale Library in 1954, and in 1963, when he began the transfer of his collection to Yale, became the first curator of the Osborn Collection.
Osborn's publications include The Autobiography of Thomas Whythorne (1961); an edition of Joseph Spence's Observations, Anecdotes and Characters (1966); and Young Philip Sidney (1972).
In addition to his scholarly activities, Osborn was also a noted dairy cattle breeder and promoter of Holsteins from 1940 to 1960. He received the D.Litt from Oxford University in 1968, and was named Curator Emeritus of the Osborn Collection in 1972. James Marshall Osborn died in New Haven on October 17, 1976.
In 1932 Osborn left Guaranty Trust to study for a Master's degree in English at Columbia University. Two years later, the Osborns moved to England with their two sons, and James began to work toward a B.Litt degree at Oxford University. While at Oxford, Osborn pursued his interest in eighteenth-century literary history and began to acquire the literary and historical manuscripts that would form the core of the James Marshall and Marie-Louise Osborn Collection.
Osborn was appointed Research Associate in English at Yale University in 1938; he held the position until his death. He was named Adviser on Seventeenth Century Manuscripts to the Yale Library in 1954, and in 1963, when he began the transfer of his collection to Yale, became the first curator of the Osborn Collection.
Osborn's publications include The Autobiography of Thomas Whythorne (1961); an edition of Joseph Spence's Observations, Anecdotes and Characters (1966); and Young Philip Sidney (1972).
In addition to his scholarly activities, Osborn was also a noted dairy cattle breeder and promoter of Holsteins from 1940 to 1960. He received the D.Litt from Oxford University in 1968, and was named Curator Emeritus of the Osborn Collection in 1972. James Marshall Osborn died in New Haven on October 17, 1976.
Processing Information
Collections are processed to a variety of levels, depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived research value, the availability of staff, competing priorities, and whether or not further accruals are expected. The library attempts to provide a basic level of preservation and access for all collections, and does more extensive processing of higher priority collections as time and resources permit.
These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards. For more information, please refer to the Beinecke Manuscript Unit Processing Manual.
Some duplicates (primarily carbon copies) were removed and filed at the end of the collection prior to 2022. Others remain filed chronologically. Some duplicates in Box 6 and Box 7 have manuscript annotations and additions from Marie-Louise Osborn.
These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards. For more information, please refer to the Beinecke Manuscript Unit Processing Manual.
Some duplicates (primarily carbon copies) were removed and filed at the end of the collection prior to 2022. Others remain filed chronologically. Some duplicates in Box 6 and Box 7 have manuscript annotations and additions from Marie-Louise Osborn.
- Americans -- Great Britain
- Cattle -- Breeding -- Connecticut
- College teachers' spouses -- Connecticut
- Connecticut -- Social life and customs -- 20th century
- Families -- Connecticut
- Great Britain -- Social life and customs -- 20th Century
- New Haven (Conn.)
- Osborn, James M. (James Marshall), 1906-1976
- Osborn, James M., Jr. (James Marshall)
- Osborn, Marie-Louise
- Osborn, Thomas Montgomery, 1934-2006
- Osborne family
- Oxford (England)
- University of Oxford -- Students
- Whirlwind Hill Farm
- Women -- Connecticut
- Women -- Societies, etc. -- Connecticut
- World War, 1939-1945 -- War work
- Yale University -- Faculty
- Title
- Guide to the Marie-Louise Osborn Letters to Family
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Sarah Lerner
- Date
- December 2022
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
Location
121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Opening Hours
Access Information
The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.