Special Collections and Archive

Charlotte Baker Papers

Charlotte Baker Montgomery (1910- ) received her BA from Mills College in 1929 and her MA from the University of California at Berkeley in 1930. In addition to her career as a writer and illustrator of books for children, she and her husband have been very active in the work of the Humane Society.

She has twice been awarded the Cokesbury Award by the Texas Institute of Letters: in 1953 for Magic for Mary M., and in 1955 for Best of Friends. In 1972, her book Cockleburr Quarters was nominated for the Newbery Award.

The Baker papers include the manuscripts of eleven of Charlotte Baker's books, as well as associated research notes, correspondence, and reviews. The accompanying artwork for fourteen books includes 327 finished drawings and 24 designs for jackets or endpapers.

The design she made for the cover of her book, Nellie and the Mayor's Hat, is shown on the left.