Baldwin, Clara (1908- ), Papers, 1947-1993 (C3953)

.2 linear feet

INTRODUCTION

Papers of Clara Baldwin, a trade reporter and published author of poetry and children's books. The papers consist of personal correspondence, biographical materials, published trade journal articles and poetry, and photographs.

DONOR INFORMATION

The Clara Baldwin Papers were donated to the State Historical Society of Missouri on April 4, 1994 (SHS Accession No. 3009). It is part of the Women and Media Collection.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Born to John T. Baldwin, Jr. and Clara Delano Baldwin of Ironton, Missouri, on April 4, 1908, Clara Baldwin was valedictorian of the 1927 class of Laurel High School in Mississippi. She attended Northwestern University in Chicago, majoring in English.

From 1932 until 1947 Baldwin worked in the family lumber business first as a secretary to her father and later as a lumber broker. She closed the office in 1947 to concentrate on her career as a free-lance trade correspondent for such business publications as Display World (now Visual Merchandising), The Insurance Field, and Eastern Underwriter, and was the Chicago correspondent for the insurance section of The New York Journal of Commerce. As "writer around the world" from 1947 to 1948, for publications including Manufacturing Confectioner, American Box Maker, and The Canner, Baldwin contributed articles from Colombia, Chile, Peru, Argentina, Uruguay, England, France, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway.

Baldwin wrote and published numerous short stories and poetry for children; authored four children's books: Cotton for Jim, Timber from Terry Forks, The Hermit of Crab Island and Little Tuck; and contributed adult poetry to myriad publications.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The Baldwin Papers consist of personal correspondence and published trade articles written during travels in 1947 and 1948 to South America and Europe as a foreign correspondent, family correspondence dating from 1952 to 1956, Baldwin-Delano family biographical and historical information, poetry published from 1984 to 1990, and a small collection of photographs dating from 1948 to 1960. The papers are arranged by type of material.

The letters written to her family from South America and Europe offer not only a vivid account of the hazards of pre-jet age airplane travel but also detail problems faced by a woman traveling alone, and provide insights into post war South American and European cultures. The majority of the photographs in the papers pertain to this trip. Remaining family correspondence deals with personal concerns following her return and the details surrounding the publishing of her first children's book in 1954. The biographical and historical information primarily documents the Delano family, mentions the slight connection to the Delano family of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and provides basic genealogical data.

Published poetry, dating from 1984 to 1990, and from a variety of publications, is included, as are trade articles relating both to the 1947/48 business trip and her later career from 1949 to 1961. The trade articles, some of which were written by Baldwin under various pen names, present a glimpse into the worlds of manufacturing and merchandising of the time.

FOLDER LIST

f. 1Correspondence, 1947-1948
f. 2Correspondence, 1952-1956
f. 3Trade articles, 1946-1961
f. 4Poetry, 1984-1990
f. 5Miscellaneous, 1946-1993

INDEX TERMS

These index terms are the subjects, people, places, etc. under which this collection is listed in all available indexes at the Western Historical Manuscript Collection-Columbia. If you are interested in a specific index term, please contact the reference staff.

  • Advertising--Marketing, 1940s-1960s
  • Advertising--Packaging, 1940s-1960s
  • Advertising--Show windows, 1940s-1960s
  • Authors--Missouri, 1950
  • Baldwin, Clara (1908-2001)
  • Chile, Panquipulli
  • Chile, Santiago
  • England--Description and travel, 1940s
  • France--Description & travel, 1940s
  • Journalism, Business, 1940s-1960s
  • National Women & Media Collection
  • Norway, Stavangar
  • Postcards
  • Scandanavia--Description and travel, 1940s
  • South America--Description and travel, 1940s
  • South America--Social life and customs, 1940s
  • Switzerland, Lucerne
  • Women authors--Missouri, 1950
  • Panquipulli, Chile