Munro Leaf was born in Hamilton, Maryland on December 4, 1905, and grew up in Washington, D.C. After receiving his B.A. from the University of Maryland and M.A. from Harvard University, Leaf first worked as an English teacher (including a stint at the Montgomery School, which was at that time a boys prep school in Wynnewood) before moving to New York City with his wife, Margaret, in 1932. His first city job was as a manuscript reader at Bobbs-Merrill, but within the year he had moved to the F.A. Stokes Company where he remained an editor and a director until leaving to write full-time in 1939.

Leaf’s first book, Grammar Can Be Fun, was the first in a long series of “Can Be Fun” books written and illustrated by Leaf. It was published by Stokes in 1934 and included his “scratchy pencil indications of what the artist was supposed to draw.” That same year Leaf published Lo, the Poor Indian under the pseudonym Mun, but tended to leave it out when recounting his career. Leaf’s most lasting recognition was for writing The Story of Ferdinand, published in 1936 and illustrated by his friend Robert Lawson. Leaf wrote Ferdinand for Lawson, who had been disappointed with his lack of creative freedom as an illustrator. In 1938, Disney’s short-film animated adaptation “Ferdinand the Bull” was released to enormous fanfare and merchandising opportunities; Leaf was known to wryly comment that the hit movie made Leaf, Lawson, and their publisher Viking Press a grand total of $800 split three ways. Another big hit came in 1937 when Leaf collaborated with Ludwig Bemelmans, best known for writing and illustrating Madeleine (1939) and its sequels, on the book Noodle, inspired by Hendrik Van Loon’s dachshund.

Although Leaf is best remembered as an author of children’s books, much of his life was spent working for the United States government. Leaf enlisted in the Army in 1942 and collaborated with Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss) on a War Department health pamphlet on malaria, “This Is Ann,” although neither Leaf nor Geisel were credited. After leaving the Army in 1946, Leaf returned to the State Department as a Specialist in 1960, traveling with his wife on Foreign Service lecture tours throughout Europe and Asia. Many of his children’s books of this period were directed towards explaining (and fighting) Communism and promoting world peace. Throughout his career, Leaf was highly regarded for his “chalk talks” to schoolchildren both in his home in Andover and around the world. Although he is perhaps most well-known for his collaborations with Lawson, Leaf was a prolific illustrator of what he called his “stick figures.” He acknowledged that “I can’t draw and I never said I could. I think I am equal to a five-year-old, if he did not go to a progressive school.” Leaf published more than fifty books, most as author and illustrator, and many remain in print and widely read today.

Bibliography:

Children’s Literature Review, vol. 25.

Leaf, Munro. “Just for Fun.” Publishers Weekly Volume 130: 1975.

Something About the Author, vol. 20.

This collection contains the literary papers of author and illustrator Munro Leaf. Fifty-eight titles (both published and unpublished) are represented, most notably manuscript drafts and illustrations from Leaf’s long-running Can Be Fun series, the original handwritten draft of The Story of Ferdinand (1936), an early draft of Noodle (1937), and a large pastel drawing of Noodle by the book’s illustrator, Ludwig Bemelmans, inscribed to Munro and Margaret Leaf. Also of interest are Leaf’s Watchbird cartoons and related materials, serialized in the Ladies' Home Journal and published in six compilations, and materials from his time in the Army during World War II and as a specialist for the United States Information Agency and Foreign Service. The collection dates between 1918 and 1983 (bulk 1936-1976) and includes audiotapes, blueline proofs, books, correspondence, clippings, drafts, a filmstrip, galley proofs, government memoranda, illustrations (primarily in graphite and pen and ink, but also in colored pencil, gouache, marker, and pastel), typescripts, photographs, promotional materials, and a scrapbook from one of Leaf’s lecture tours. There is also a variety of unusual merchandise ephemera from the Walt Disney adaptation “Ferdinand the Bull” (1938), including a charm bracelet, decorative buttons, and quilting squares.

This collection is arranged in seven series: I. Articles, essays, and speeches; II. Book manuscripts and illustrations; III. Clippings, reprints, and scrapbook; IV. Correspondence; V. Promotional materials, photographs, and ephemera; VI. Published volumes; VII. U.S. Army and Foreign Service work.

The first series is arranged alphabetically by folder title.

The second series includes forty-four subseries, arranged alphabetically by title. Within it, "The Story of Ferdinand" includes all materials, regardless of format, related to the book and its adaptations. This arrangement most closely approximates Leaf's original order.

The third series includes three subseries: i. Clippings; ii. “Lecture Tour” scrapbook; iii. Reprints. The subseries for the scrapbook preserves Munro Leaf’s original order, while the remaining subseries are arranged chronologically.

The fourth series includes three subseries: i. Fan mail; ii. Personal correspondence; iii. Professional correspondence. The first subseries is arranged alphabetically by folder title, the remaining subseries are arranged chronologically.

The fifth series is arranged alphabetically by folder title.

The sixth series is arranged alphabetically by title.

The seventh series includes six subseries: i. Articles and speeches; ii. Correspondence and memoranda; iii. Foreign Service clippings; iv. Itineraries; v. Manuscripts and illustrations; vi. Photographs. The third and fourth subseries are arranged chronologically, with all other subseries arranged alphabetically by folder title.

Publication Information:

Free Library of Philadelphia: Rare Book Department

Finding Aid Author:

Finding aid prepared by Caitlin Goodman

Sponsor:

The processing of this collection was made possible through generous funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered through the Council on Library and Information Resources’ “Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives” Project.

Access Restrictions:

This collection is open for research use.

Use Restrictions:

The right of access to material does not imply the right of publication. Permission for reprinting, reproduction, or extensive quotation from the rare books, manuscripts, prints, or drawings must be obtained through written application, stating the use to be made of the material. The reader bears the responsibility for any possible infringement of copyright laws in the publication of such material. A reproduction fee will be charged if the material is to be reproduced in a commercial publication.

Processing Information:

The processing of this collection was made possible through generous funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered through the Council on Library and Information Resources’ “Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives” Project.

Immediate Source of Acquisition:

Gift of Margaret Leaf, 1977-1983.

Garrett Park Archives : Munro Leaf collection

• North American Treaty Organization.
• United States Information Agency.
• United States. Army.
• United States. Foreign Service.
• United States. National Park Service.
• Walt Disney Productions.

• 78 rpm records
• Audiotapes
• Bluelines (proofs)
• Books
• Brochures
• Calendars
• Clippings
• Color separations
• Correspondence
• Drawings (visual works)
• Dummies (printed matter)
• Ephemera
• Fables
• Filmstrips
• Galley proofs
• Illustrations
• Manuscripts
• Negatives (photographic)
• Photographs
• Playbills
• Posters
• Programs (documents)
• Scrapbooks
• Scripts (documents)
• Sheet music
• Telegrams
• Typescripts

• Baruch, Bernard M. (Bernard Mannes), 1870-1965
• Bemelmans, Ludwig, 1898-1962
• Humphrey, Hubert H. (Hubert Horatio), 1911-1978
• Hunter, Frances Tipton
• Lawson, Robert, 1892-1957
• Leaf, Margaret
• Leaf, Munro, 1905-1976
• Rusk, Dean, 1909-1994
• Seuss, Dr.
• Van Loon, Hendrik Willem, 1882-1944

• Children's authors--20th century
• Children's literature--20th century
• Drama
• Illustrated children's books--20th century
• Illustration of books--20th century