Scope and Content Note
The papers of Ludwig Bemelmans (1898-1962) span the years 1951-1962. Book drafts for two of his adult novels make up most of the collection: Are You Hungry, Are You Cold (1960) and The Street Where the Heart Lies (1962). All of the drafts in this collection are typescripts, but some are very heavily annotated or have lengthy handwritten additions pasted into the text. Since Bemelmans added to his texts with each new draft, later drafts usually contain some chapters in a "first" draft.
Correspondence in the collection consists primarily of letters written by Bemelmans to Faith and Stephen Day of Houston, Texas, some with notes from his wife Madeleine (Mimi). Bemelmans met the Days in a restaurant in Paris, and subsequently they planned an exhibition of Bemelmans's paintings in Houston. Bemelmans illustrated many of his letters, and several include photographs.
Also in the collection are newspaper clippings, sketches, and a typescript article about Bemelmans by art dealer Victor Hammer of Hammer Galleries in New York, New York.