The L. M. Montgomery collection contains secondary source material related to the life and works of Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942), including materials relating to theatre, film, and television adaptations of Montgomery’s life and works; promotional, exhibition, and commemorative items related to Montgomery; and records relating to the Leaskdale Manse Historical Restoration Committee. Materials related to the publication of The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery (1985 to 2004), edited by Mary Rubio and Elizabeth Waterston; research materials including Charlottetown, Halifax, and Georgetown newspapers on microfilm from the time of Montgomery’s life; and books, articles, and other publications written about Montgomery and her works, are also included.
Montgomery, Lucy MaudThe L. M. Montgomery fonds is an extensive and diverse collection of primary source materials created by and related to the life and work of Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942). At its centre are Montgomery's journals, which consist of ten legal-size written volumes and unpublished, edited typescripts. Four of her scrapbooks, covering the years 1910 to 1936, provide additional information on her activities and interests while a fifth contains newspaper reviews of her books. The scrapbooks and journals are illustrated with pictures, swatches, and other memorabilia.
The Montgomery papers comprise a selection of materials including typescripts of The Blythes are Quoted, Road to Yesterday, and House Party on Smoky Island, the original manuscript of Rilla of Ingleside, correspondence and legal materials relating to her will and estate, royalty statements, and genealogical notes. A letter from L.C. Page accepting Anne of Green Gables for publication is included as well as another from Mark Twain's secretary and one from Canadian Prime Minister R.B. Bennett regarding the author's award of the Order of the British Empire. As well, there are poems, stories, business correspondence, and financial records (e.g., a ledger for poems and stories sold). Montgomery’s private photograph collection, chiefly taken by her, contains 1273 photos, 1181 negatives, and 3 family photo albums.
Included in the fonds are sixty-four artifacts, including needle works made by Montgomery, such as a christening gown, a shawl, and a crazy patchwork cushion cover, as well as various ceramics including Gog and Magog, the pair of Staffordshire pottery dogs purchased by the author on her honeymoon in 1911, and broken pieces of the “Dark Jug”, said to inspire the story of The Tangled Web.
The private library of Montgomery contains 175 books which reflect a wide diversity of reading interests from English literature classics to such popular writers as Agatha Christie. There are scattered annotations and inserts and many books are inscribed with the Montgomery’s distinctive signature and logo of a tiny black cat. The fonds also contains approximately 70 first and subsequent editions of Montgomery’s own works, as well as translations in several languages including French, German, Finnish, Japanese, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Polish, Spanish, and Italian.
Montgomery, Lucy Maud