urn:taro:twu:00024 Laura Lee Bird Collection An Inventory to the Collection Finding aid prepared by Penny Bell, 2009 Texas Woman's University, The Woman's Collection
P.O. Box 425528 Denton, TX 76204-5528 Phone: 940-898-3752 Email: Womansc@twu.edu
Finding aid encoded by Penny Bell 2009 Finding aid written in English Description based on DACS Collection Summary Texas Woman's University, the Woman's Collection Bird, Laura Lee 1908 -1980 Laura Lee Bird Collection 1932-1953 Mss. 6 1 cubic foot Native Texas poet and costume designer for the New York stage, and graduate of College of Industrial Arts in 1929 and 1931 (later Texas Woman's University) Collection contains around 750 original drawings, illustrations and costume designs. Most of the designs are signed Lauralee, and many have inscribed verse and/or notations naming characters or scenes from plays or musical works. Included are designs for And for "Yale, Night : Being a Ballet-Masque", "Rip Van Winkle", "The Crock of Gold", "The Hour Glass", "Prometheus Unbound", "Salome", "The Tempest", and "The Mikado". Also included are Bird's original poetry, and news clippings from the 1930's containing her verse. Two Japanese prints marked Hiroshige and Shoson complete the collection. Biographical Note

Laura Lee Bird, a native Texan poet and costume designer for the New York stage, received her B.S. (1929) and M.A. (1931) from the College of Industrial Arts. While attending CIA, she was active in literary and art organizations and associate editor of the Daedalian Her master's thesis was entitled "Original Designs of Stage sets and Costumes forThe Mikado. Her poetry had been published in Torch Bearer, Blue Moon, Kaleidograph, andPoetry: A Magazine of Verse (1933). Examples of her costume designs appeared in Theater Hits Monthly(1933). At the time of her death in April, 1980, she was the wife of Frederick R. Hammargren of Hollywood, CA.

 Scope and Contents of the Collection

The collection contains around 756 original illustrations and costume designs for plays and musical works. Most of the designs are signed "Lauralee", some are inscribed with poetry, and many have notations naming characters or scenes. Also included are Bird's original poetry, and news clippings from the 1930's containing her verse. Although the bulk of the collection is undated, the documents that are dated are mainly from the 1930's.

Arrangement of the Collection Series 1: Costume Designs and Poetry Series 2: Sketches and Poetry Series 3: Scrapbooks Access to the Collection:

Open for research.

 Publication and Copyright Statements:

Permission to publish materials must be obtained in writing from the Coordinator for Special Collections. Where copyright is unclear, all responsibility must be assumed by the user.

Provenance

Unknown. Texas Woman’s University apparently accessioned these records in 1981, but provides no hint to the source of this acquisition.

Processed/Encoded by:

Penny Bell 2009

 Series 1: Costumes Designs and Poetry 1 1 "And for Yale"

Playbill, n.d. Jitney Players, New York City, costumes designed by Laura Lee Bird.

Sketches of costume designs, some color, some fabric swatches, notations concerning fabric, trim, and accessories, 23 items.

 1 2 "Night: Being a Ballet-Masque"

Typed Play script.

Costume designs, 12 items.

 1 3 "Rip Van Winkle"

Playbill,n.d.,Jitney Players, New York City, costumes designed by Laura Lee Bird.

Costume designs with notations describing accessories, fabric type, and color, and yardage requirements, 17 items.

 1 4 "The Crock of Gold" by James Stephens

Title page design.

Notes concerning design of book.

Illustrations and captions, 25 items.

 1 5 "The Hour Glass" by William Butler Yeats.

Costume designs colored, framed in black construction paper, 33 items.

1 6 "Prometheus Unbound".

Lists of characters appearing in each act and scene.

Illustrations with captions, 55 items.

 1 7 "Salome" by Wilde-Strauss.

Costume designs inscribed with names of the characters, 5 items.

 1 8 "The Tempest" by William Shakespeare.

Costume designs inscribed with names of the characters, 16 items.

 1 9 "Devotions and Despairs: Irregular Sonnets and Erratic Lyrics by an Unknown Minor Poet" by William Shakespeare.

Typed poems, n.d.

Envelope cover, from Poetry [magazine], addressed to "Former Contributor".

 1 10 Poems

Typed poems, some titles, n.d.,with revisions.

 1 11 Poems, "For H.M."

Typed poems, no titles,with table of contents, 1936-1952.

 1 12 Poems

Typed poems, no titles,n.d.

 1 13 Poems

Typed poems, some titles,n.d., with revisions.

 1 14 Poems

Typed poems, some titles,n.d.

 1 15 News clippingsPoems by Laura Lee Bird

"Nuptial",Dallas Morning News, September 14, 1932

"Release (for Sara Teasdale)", Dallas Morning News, May 21, 1933.

"Evening",Dallas Morning News, August 13 1933.

"Evening", Hartford Times, August 8,1933.

"Orphan", Niagara Falls Gazette, July 31, 1937.

"Youth", Dallas Journal, n.d.

 Series 2: Sketches and Poetry 2 1 "Poems to No One"

Autographed poems, n.d.

 2 2 "Devotions: Poems by an Unknown Poet: To My Own (the One) True Lord"

Autographed poems, n.d.

 2 3 "Devotions"

Autographed poems, n.d.

 2 4 Drawings, 1930's

Sketches, some titled, some with poetry, 30 items.

 2 5 Drawings, 1930's

Sketches, some titled, some with poetry, 49 items.

 2 6 Drawings, 1936-1938

Sketches, some titled, some with poetry, 26 items.

 2 7 Drawings

Sketches, 26 items.

 2 8 Drawings, 1933-1937

Interpretations of characters in musical works, 35 items.

 2 9 Drawings

Sketches, some titled, some with poetry, 39 items.

 2 10 Drawings, 1933-1936

Interpretations of characters in musical works, 25 items.

 2 11 Portrait of Woman

One framed portrait (drawing) of a woman, titled (handwriting unclear), signed.

 2 12 Drawings, ca 1935

Sketches, some titled, 32 items.

 2 13 Miscellaneous

Japanese prints, "Hiroshige" and "Shoson", 2 items.

Drawings on the back of employee time cards for "Laura L.B. Hammargren", May 1943, 5 items.

Drawings, some color, 40 items.

Booklet on"La Scala", ca. 1953.

 2 14 Drawings, 1933-1936

Interpretations of characters in musical works, 43 items.

 2 15 Theatre Arts Monthly

One copy of magazine, July 1933, containing ballet costume designs by Laura Lee Bird on page 510.

 Series 3: Scrapbooks 3 Portfolio

Ten packets containing interpretations of musical works (139 drawings).

 3 Scrapbook

Drawings, 39 items

 3 Scrapbook

Costume designs (including some for "The Mikado"), colored, framed in black construction paper, 27 items.

 3 Scrapbook

Costume designs,colored, on black construction paper, interpretation of musical works, 29 items.

 3 Scrapbook

Interpretations of musical works, 28 items.