Scott Corbett papers, 1884-1984

(bulk 1941-1971)


John Hay Library , Special Collections
Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Tel: 401-863-2146
email: hay@brown.edu

Published in 2013

Collection Overview

Title: Scott Corbett papers
Date range: 1884-1984, (bulk 1941-1971)
Creator: Corbett, Scott, 1913-2006
Extent: 1.5 Linear feet
Abstract: The Scott Corbett papers contain a variety of material related to his career as a writer as well as personal memorabilia from his childhood and service in the United States Army during World War II. These papers also include Elizabeth Corbett’s personal and business papers and artwork by the illustrator and author Don Freeman.
Language of materials: English
Repository: John Hay Library , Special Collections
Collection number: Ms.2008.019

Scope & content

The Scott Corbett papers contain a variety of material related to his career as a writer as well as personal memorabilia from his childhood and his service in the United States Army during World War II. These papers also include Elizabeth Corbett's personal and business papers and artwork by the author and illustrator Don Freeman.

The first series contains both personal and business correspondence to and from Scott and Elizabeth. Scott Corbett's personal papers include memorabilia from his childhood and service in the Army as well as a variety of printed material such as newspaper clippings, maps and sheet music.

The series concerning Scott's writings contains both writings by him, chiefly concerning Army life, and printed material such as book reviews and catalogues related to his published work.

Most of Elizabeth Corbett's papers are related to her career as a social worker in Providence, Rhode Island. This series also contains documents related to the estates of her mother, Susan Esberg, and her aunt, Florence Anspacher.

The artwork by Don Freeman consists of drawings on a variety of topics, including humorous drawings regarding Army life, drawings of the Corbett family, published cartoons, and drawings of theater and street scenes in New York City.

Most of the photographs in these papers were taken while Scott was in the Army from 1943 to 1945. Some are oversize. Very few are labeled or dated.

The newspapers were all published during World War II. Several feature headlines regarding important events such as the invasion of France on June 6, 1945. Most were published by the 42nd Infantry Division and include columns by Scott Corbett.

Most of the artifacts are related to Scott's service in the Army. They include his dog tags and Rainbow Division insignia as well as a German military armband and rubber stamp. A few personal items such as straight razors and marbles are also included.

Access Points

Subject Names Subject Organizations Subject Topics Occupations Document Types Subject Topics

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into the following series:

  • Series 1. Correspondence
  • Series 2. Personal papers
  • Series 3. Writings
  • Series 4. Elizabeth Corbett papers
  • Series 5. Don Freeman artwork
  • Series 6. Photographs
  • Series 7. Newspapers
  • Series 8. Artifacts

The collection is housed in three boxes. Box 2X (oversize) contains oversize material from Series 2. Personal papers, Series 3. Writings, Series 5. Don Freeman artwork, Series 6. Photographs, and Series 7. Newspapers. Box 3 (shoebox) contains Series 8. Artifacts.

Biographical note

Winfield Scott Corbett was born on July 27, 1913 in Kansas City, Missouri. After graduation from high school in 1930 he attended Kansas City Junior College and the University of Missouri-Columbia. He graduated with a Bachelor's degree in journalism in 1934 and moved to New York City, where he worked as a freelance writer.

Elizabeth Corbett was born in Dachau, Germany in 1911. Her parents, Justin and Susan Esberg, had moved from California to Germany so that her father could study medicine in Munich. The family returned to California sometime before 1920. Elizabeth graduated from Mills College in Sacramento in 1932 and received her Master of Social Work degree from the Columbia University School of Social Work in 1943.

On May 11, 1940 Scott and Elizabeth were married. They had one daughter, Florence, now known as Jane Corbett Flusser.

Scott was inducted into the United States Army in September 1942 and was ordered to report to active duty in August 1943. He was assigned to the 42nd Infantry Division, known as the Rainbow Division. After training at Camp Gruber, Oklahoma, the division left for France in January 1945.

While in the Army, Scott was on the staff of the division's official newspaper the Rainbow Reveille . He also worked as a correspondent for the Army's official newspaper overseas, Stars and Stripes , and was the last editor of Yank: The Army Weekly.

On April 29, 1945, units of the 42nd division liberated the concentration camp at Dachau, Germany. Scott was one of the first journalists on the scene. His account of the liberation of Dachau in the Rainbow Reveille is part of the division's official history.

After Scott was discharged from the Army in 1946 he and his family moved to New York City, where Scott continued his career as a writer and Elizabeth worked as a social worker. In 1950 Scott published his first book, The Reluctant Landlord, based on his and Elizabeth's experience in renting part of their home in New York City. In 1951 the book was made into a movie called The Love Nest, which included Marilyn Monroe in the supporting cast. That year the Corbetts moved to East Dennis, Massachusetts on Cape Cod. While there Scott published several novels for adults and wrote his first book for children, Susie Sneakers, in 1956.

After the family moved to Providence in 1957 Scott taught English at the Moses Brown School and continued to write books for children. In 1962 his book Cutlass Island won the Edgar Allan Poe Award for the best mystery for children. In 1976 his book The Home Run Trick won the Mark Twain Award, which is sponsored by the Missouri Association of School Librarians.

Scott left his teaching position at Moses Brown in the late 1960's. He continued to write while he and Elizabeth traveled extensively. Altogether he published at least sixty-seven fiction and non-fiction books for children.

Elizabeth Corbett passed away on November 21, 1990. Scott passed away on March 6, 2006, in Providence, Rhode Island, at the age of ninety-two.

Access & Use

Access to the collection: There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested.
Use of the materials: Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. Researchers should note that compliance with copyright law is their responsibility. Researchers must determine the owners of the literary rights and obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Preferred citation: Scott Corbett papers, Ms. 2008.019, Brown University Library.
Contact information: John Hay Library , Special Collections
Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Tel: 401-863-2146
email: hay@brown.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION  
Acquisition: The Scott Corbett papers were given to the Brown University Library in 2007 by Jane Corbett Flusser, daughter of Scott and Elizabeth Corbett.
Accruals: No further materials are anticipated for this collection.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID  
Author: Finding aid prepared by Mary A. Harrison.
Encoding: This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2013-02-05

Additional Information

Related material: Related collections held at the Brown University Library include: Dr. Arlene Pillar Collection of Children's LiteratureAnne S.K. Brown Military CollectionThe papers of Scott Corbett and Don Freeman may also be found in the Kerlan Collection of Children's Literature at the University of Minnesota: Scott Corbett papers (1966-1981)Don Freeman papers (1954-1976)and at the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection at the University of Southern Mississippi: Scott Corbett papers (1959-1982)Don Freeman papers (1955-2002)
Bibliography:
  • Dachau 29 April 1945: The Rainbow Liberation Memoirs. Lubbock, Tex.: Texas Tech University Press, 1998
    		•
    Other information:
      Researchers seeking materials about topics, places or names related to this collection may search the Brown University catalog (Josiah) via this link: Scott Corbett papers

    Inventory

    Series 1. Correspondence
    Box 1
    This series contains both personal and business correspondence to and from Scott and Elizabeth Corbett and their daughter Florence.

    Container Description Date
    Box 1, Folder 1 Correspondence
    Contents Note: This folder includes letters from Scott to Elizabeth written when he was in Austria in 1945. One set of letters was sent to Elizabeth from Don Freeman. It includes two drawings and typewritten letters from a Sgt. Roy J. Potter to his sister.

    		 1941-1945
    Box 1, Folder 2 Correspondence
    Contents Note: This folder includes a letter from the screenwriter John Paxton and two copies on an interview Scott gave on WCBS in 1950.

    		 1949-1965
    Box 1, Folder 3 Correspondence
    Contents Note: This folder contains letters addressed to Scott and Elizabeth as a couple. It includes two letters from the actress Rosemary DeCamp.

    		 1950-1971
    Box 1, Folder 4 Get well card from Florence
    		 undated

    Series 2. Personal papers, 1884-1968
    Box 1, 2X (oversize)
    This series contains a variety of material, including a scrapbook, diploma, certificates, newspaper clippings, legal documents, maps and sheet music.

    Container Description Date
    Box 1, Folder 5 Alumni Association's 13th annual dinner program
    Contents Note: The Alumni Association of the Medical Department of the University of the City of New York held their 13th annual dinner at Delmonico's restaurant in New York City. This is the bound program and menu from that event.

    		 1884
    Box 1, Folder 6 Scrapbook
    Contents Note: This scrapbook contains newspaper clippings, almost all undated, on a variety of topics. Some concern the deaths of members of the Corbett family.

    		 ca. 1919
    Box 1, Folder 7 Scrapbook enclosures
    Contents Note: These enclosures were found inside the front cover of the scrapbook in folder 6. They include programs from Scott's piano recitals, his seventh grade graduation program and a handmade card from Scott to his mother.

    		 1924-1926
    Box 1, Folder 8 Certificates
    Contents Note: This folder contains Scott's high school ROTC certificates and a certificate appointing him as an Air Raid Warden for the City of New York in 1942.

    		 1929-1942
    Box 1, Folder 9 Army materials
    Contents Note: This folder includes Scott's draft card and a pamphlet concerning the anniversary of the Rainbow Division.

    		 1940-1944
    Box 1, Folder 10 Army materials
    Contents Note: This folder contains a variety of printed material collected while Scott was in Europe. It includes postcards, photographs and a pamphlet about the Mozart Festival in Salzburg, Austria.

    		 1945-1946
    Box 1, Folder 11 Newspaper clippings
    Contents Note: Most of these clippings are related to Scott's writings and personal appearances. Some concern Elizabeth's career as a social worker in Providence, Rhode Island.

    		 1948-1968
    Box 1, Folder 12 Sea Sauce Company
    Contents Note: This folder contains legal documents related to the incorporation of the Sea Sauce Company in New York.

    		 1950
    Box 1, Folder 13 Biographical information
    Contents Note: This folder contains the April 1954 issue of the Monthly Supplement and a proof from Contemporary Authors dated 1963.

    		 1954, 1963
    Box 1, Folder 14 Public appearances
    		 1955-1964
    Box 1, Folder 15 The Quaker
    Contents Note: This folder contains four issues of The Quaker, which was published by the Moses Brown School in Providence, Rhode Island.

    		 1957
    Box 1, Folder 16 Maps
    Contents Note: These are National Geographic maps of the United States, California, Italy, France, Spain and Portugal.

    		 1966-1984
    Box 1, Folder 17 Sheet music
    Contents Note: This folder contains four pieces of sheet music: I'm Sorry I Made Your Cry (1918), Moonlight on the Ganges (1920), A Precious Little Thing Called Love (1928) and two copies of a song called Kitchenette (1953) for which Scott wrote the lyrics.

    		 1918-1953
    Box 1, Folder 18 What Makes Scott Corbett Run
    Contents Note: This is a handmade, humorous booklet, probably written during the 1960's when Scott taught at the Moses Brown School. The author is unknown.

    		 undated
    Box 2X (oversize), Folder 1 High School diploma
    Contents Note: This is Scott's diploma from Southwest High School in Kansas City, Missouri.

    		 1930

    Series 3. Writings, 1938-1971
    Box 1, 2X (oversize)
    This series contains writings by Scott Corbett and a variety of printed material related to his writings. The printed material includes a scrapbook, movie poster, newspaper clippings, awards, publishers' catalogs and observations concerning Army life.

    Container Description Date
    Box 1, Folder 19 Writings
    Contents Note: This folder contains two poems, a journal of a trip to Europe in 1938 and observations concerning Army life while Scott was in Europe.

    		 1938-1951
    Box 1, Folder 20 The Reluctant Landlord scrapbook
    Contents Note: This is an unbound scrapbook containing printed material related to Scott's first book, The Reluctant Landlord.

    		 1950
    Box 1, Folder 21 The Love Nest movie poster
    		 1951
    Box 1, Folder 22 Newspaper clippings regarding The Reluctant Landlord and The Love Nest
    		 1950-1951
    Box 1, Folder 23 Newspaper clippings regarding We Chose Cape Cod
    		 1953-1956
    Box 1, Folder 24 Newspaper clippings regarding works published from 1951 to 1959
    Contents Note: These clippings are arranged by title. Most are from the Literary Clipping Service.

    		 1951-1959
    Box 1, Folder 25 Newspaper clippings regarding works published from 1960 to 1967
    Contents Note: These clippings are arranged by title.

    		 1960-1967
    Box 1, Folder 26 Edgar Allan Poe Awards dinner
    Contents Note: This is the program from the dinner sponsored by the Mystery Writers of America. Scott's book Cutlass Island won the Edgar Award for the best mystery written for children.

    		 1963
    Box 1, Folder 27 Catalogs
    Contents Note: Most of these catalogs are from publishers. All mention at least one of Scott's books. The Book of the Month Club catalog came with a letter regarding its reveiw of Sauce for the Gander.

    		 1950-1971
    Box 1, Folder 28 Printed material
    Contents Note: This folder contains a variey of material related to Scott's books and the movie The Love Nest. It includes three copies of a reprint of the first sixteen pages of The Reluctant Landlord and a photograph of the book jacket for Treehouse Island.

    		 undated
    Box 2X (oversize), Folder 2 Boy's Clubs of America Award
    Contents Note: This award named Scott's book Dead Man's Light as the best liked book of 1962.

    		 1962

    Series 4. Elizabeth Corbett papers, 1932-1971
    Box 1
    This series contains both personal and business papers. Most are related to Elizabeth's career as a social worker in Providence, Rhode Island. Two folders contain documents regarding the estates of her mother, Susan P. Esberg, and her aunt, Florence Anspacher.

    Container Description Date
    Box 1, Folder 29 Personal papers
    Contents Note: This folder contains a variety of personal memorabilia, including lists of alumni from colleges Elizabeth attended, a military pass to Camp Gruber, Oklahoma and a list of wedding presents.

    		 1932-1971
    Box 1, Folder 30 Business papers
    Contents Note: This folder includes correspondence, Elizabeth's resume and several pamphlets regarding social work as a profession.

    		 1951-1969
    Box 1, Folder 31 Community Workshops of Rhode Island
    Contents Note: This folder includes correspondence regarding Elizabeth's work for this agency and a short paper by her about counseling children.

    		 1957-1967
    Box 1, Folder 32 Providence League for the Hard of Hearing
    Contents Note: This folder includes pamphlets and a report about the agency as well as a photograph of Elizabeth and her colleagues with Governor John Chaffee.

    		 1965
    Box 1, Folder 33 Rhode Island Council of Community Services Information Service
    Contents Note: This folder includes pamphlets about the agency, an annual report, a paper by Elizabeth regarding medical social work, and material regarding her retirement.

    		 1967-1969
    Box 1, Folder 34 Estate of Susan P. Esberg
    		 1944
    Box 1, Folder 35 Estate of Florence Anspacher
    Contents Note: This folder includes a copy of Florence Anspacher's will.

    		 1968-1971

    Series 5. Don Freeman artwork, ca. 1943
    Box 1, 2X (oversize)
    This series contains both original drawings and printed cartoons by the author and illustrator Don Freeman. Most are not dated.

    Container Description Date
    Box 1, Folder 36 Cartoons
    Contents Note: This folder contains cartoons on various subjects. Many were published in the San Francisco Chronicle and are of delegates attending the United Nations Conference on International Organization in April 1945.

    		 1944-1945
    Box 1, Folder 37 Drawings regarding Army life
    		 1943-1945
    Box 1, Folder 38 Drawings of the Corbett family
    Contents Note: This folder includes lithographic prints of Scott and Elizabeth and a pencil drawing of Florence when she was a young girl.

    		 undated
    Box 1, Folder 39 Drawings on various subjects
    Contents Note: Most of the drawings in this folder are of theater scenes or street scenes in New York City. Some are in color.

    		 undated
    Box 2X (oversize), Folder 3 Lithographic plate
    Contents Note: This folder contains the metal lithographic plate used to make the print of Scott Corbett in folder 38.

    		 undated

    Series 6. Photographs, 1943-1967
    Box 1, 2X (oversize)
    Most of the photographs in this series were taken while Scott was in the Army. Some are personal photographs, including one of Scott and Elizabeth holding their baby Florence and one of Florence in her wedding gown. Most are in black-and-white and are not dated.

    Container Description Date
    Box 1, Folder 40 Photographs
    		 1943-1967
    Box 2X (oversize), Folder 4 Oversize photographs
    Contents Note: This folder includes a photographs of the Headquarters Company of the 42nd Division at Camp Gruber, Oklahoma in 1944 and two faked photographs of a woman inside the barracks.

    		 1943-1945

    Series 7. Newspapers, 1943-1945
    Box 1, 2X (oversize)
    This series contains copies of several newspapers published by the 42nd Division: Gordon News, Gruber Guidon, Rainbow Reveille and The Reveille: World News Edition. Rainbow Ravioli is a single-issue humorous publication regarding a party at Camp Gruber.

    The issues of the Charlotte News, the Muskogee Daily Phoenix and the Muskogee Times Democrat all feature headlines regarding important events such as the Allied invasion of France on June 6, 1944.

    Container Description Date
    Box 1, Folder 41 Rainbow Ravioli
    		 1944 Nov 3
    Box 1, Folder 42 Gordon News
    Contents Note: This newspaper was published aboard the troop carrier U.S.S. General W.H. Gordon, which carried the 42nd Division to France in January 1945.

    		 1945 Jan 7-1945 Jan 17
    Box 1, Folder 43 The Reveille: World News Edition
    		 1945 Jan 22-1945 Feb 4
    Box 2X (oversize), Folder 5 Civilian newspapers
    		 1941-1944
    Box 2X (oversize), Folder 6 Gruber Guidon
    Contents Note: This folder contains a single issue of this newspaper, which was published at Camp Gruber, Oklahoma.

    		 1944 Aug 11
    Box 2X (oversize), Folder 7 Rainbow Reveille
    Contents Note: Rainbow Reveille was the official newspaper of the 42nd Division. The issues included here were published in Camp Gruber, Oklahoma, France, Germany and Austria. The account of the liberation of Dachau is in the May 11, 1945 issue. The issues for Nov 3 and Nov 10, 1945 have the same number (v.4 no.10).

    		 1943-1945

    Series 8. Artifacts
    Box 3 (shoebox)
    This series consists of a variety of personal memorabilia. Items related to Scott's service in the Army include two dogtags, one with keys attached, a German armband and rubber stamp, two metal stamps with Scott's image on them, and several U.S. Army insignia. The personal items include six straight razors and three marbles.