Scope and Contents note
The Mary Chase Papers consist of manuscripts and one folder of correspondence. The manuscripts include various drafts of and related material for plays such as Bernardine, Harvey, and Mickey (the manuscripts of Mickey have the early titles of: Loretta Fanning Potts, Loretta Mason Potts and Loretta). Also included are galley proofs of the book The Wicked Pigeon Ladies in the Garden (no manuscripts of the book are included).
Dates
- 1945-1968
Creator
- Chase, Mary, 1907-1981 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access note
Collection is open to the public. Collection must be used in Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room. Collection or parts of collection may be stored offsite. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives in advance of your visit to allow for transportation time.
Conditions Governing Use note
Property rights reside with Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries. Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs. All requests for permission to publish collection materials must be submitted to Special Collections and University Archives. The reader must also obtain permission of the copyright holder.
Biographical/Historical note
Mary Coyle Chase was born on February 25, 1907 in Denver Colorado. She attended the University of Colorado, and worked for The Rocky Mountain News as a reporter and served as publicity director for the National Youth Administration. Chase was also a playwright and author, her most famous works being the play Harvey and the book Loretta Mason Potts (Mickey). Harvey won a Pulitzer Prize and was made into a movie starring James Stewart, and her book The Wicked Pigeon Ladies in the Garden was nominated for the Dorothy Canfield Fisher award in 1969. She married Robert Lamont Chase (a newspaper reporter), on June 7, 1928. In addition to her career as a reporter, playwright and author she was a member of the Dramatists' Guild and had three sons. She died of a heart attack, October 20, 1981, in Denver, Colorado.
Extent
3 linear feet (4 containers)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Mary Coyle Chase (1907-1981) was born in Denver, Colorado. While working at newspaper and public relations jobs, Chase began to write plays. Her most famous play is Harvey, the story of Elwood P. Dowd and his imaginary, six-foot tall rabbit. Chase incorporated elements of fantasy drawn from Irish folktales into her work, such as banshees and Celtic pookas (spirits in animal form). The collection includes literary manuscripts and correspondence.
Arrangement note
Collection is organized into the following series: Manuscripts.
Processing Information note
Collection processed by processing staff, 1968.
This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.
- Chase, Mary, 1907-1981
- Chase, Mary, 1907-1981
- Children and Youth Subject Source: Archiveswest
- Correspondence Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Literature Subject Source: Archiveswest
- Performing Arts Subject Source: Archiveswest
- Playwriting Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Women Subject Source: Archiveswest
- Women authors, American -- 20th century Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Women dramatists, American -- 20th century Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Title
- Guide to the Mary Chase Papers
- Status
- Complete Description
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by processing staff
- Date
- ©2006
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid is in English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Repository Details
Part of the University of Oregon Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives Repository
