American Folklife Center Isabel Gordon Carter Collection

Isabel Gordon Carter Collection

Collection

Identifier: AFC 2005/004

Scope and Content Note

Collection of correspondence, notes, a research notebook, and photographs related to Isabel Gordon Carter's research and publications on Appalachian ballads, folktales, and customs from 1921 to 1942. Carter's correspondents include E. A. Bishop, Horace Kephart, I. K. Stearns, Nelly L. Brooks, Amabel Williams-Ellis, Ales Hrdlicka, Richard Chase, Kay Chase, Maud Gentry Long, Robert B. Bean, Maude Minish, Helen Dashiell, W. H. Rothe, Rev. Hannah J. Powell, and Mary H. Brown. E. A. Bishop enclosed texts for two ballads, "Jonah and the whale," and "Little Mohea" (1921) and Nelly L. Brooks sent the text to "I'm as free a little bird as I can be" (1924). Includes copies of Richard Chase's articles on Jack tales.

Photographs include Bob DeHart family in front of their cabin near Bryson City, North Carolina, and a photograph of camp equipment and car belonging to Horace Kephart, taken by I. K. Stearns, circa 1923. Also includes color photograph of an oil portrait by artist Katherine Wiley of Isabel Gordon Carter, dated 1913.

Dates

Creation: 1921-1942

Language of Materials

Collection materials in: English.

Access and Restrictions

Collection is open for research. The material is fragile. Preservation copies are available for extremely fragile items. To request materials, please contact the Folklife Reading Room at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/folklife.contact

Copyright Status

Duplication of the collection materials may be governed by copyright and other restrictions.

Biographical Notes

Isabel Gordon Carter was a collector of folktales, ballads, and riddles in North Carolina and Tennessee in the 1920s and 1930s. In the summer of 1923, Isabel Gordon Carter collected tales in the Blue Ridge region and published "Mountain White Folk-Lore: Tales from the Southern Blue Ridge" in the Journal of American Folklore in 1925. Her special interest was the traditions of mountain folk. She published numerous articles in the Southern Folklore Quarterly regarding her fieldwork and was also a social worker who wrote on aspects of social welfare. She received her M.A. from the University of Tennessee and Ph.D. from Columbia University.

Extent

132 Leaves
2 photographic prints : black and white ; 3 1⁄2 x 5 1⁄2 in.
1 photographic print : color ; 15 x 18 in.

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Additional Description

Abstract

Collection of correspondence, notes, and photographs related to Isabel Gordon Carter's research and publications on Appalachian ballads and folktales, and customs from 1921 to 1942.

Arrangement

Organized into the following series: I. Manuscripts; II. Graphic Materials.

Catalog Record

https://lccn.loc.gov/2005700213

Acquisition

Janet Carter, daughter of Isabel Gordon Carter, donated the collection to the Archive of Folk Culture in January 2005, from the estate of her mother.

Publications

Carter, Isabel Gordon. 1925. "Mountain White Folk-Lore: Tales from the Southern Blue Ridge." Journal of American Folklore , 38:340-374.

Collection Concordance by Format

Quantity	Physical Extent (original)	Location	Item Numbers
Series I: Manuscripts
32	manuscript items, 132 leaves	Box 1	MS01-MS32
Series II: Graphic Materials
2	black-and-white photographs	Box 1	PH01-PH02
1	digital color print	RR Map Case	GR01

Processing History

Sarah Bradley Leighton processed the collection in February 2005. Janet Carter included a list of items conveyed to the Library, but indicated that there was no specific importance to her numbering. During processing, each item was assigned a unique manuscript (MS) number and placed in chronological order. A descriptive log of each item was then created. Due to the fragile condition of the paper, most items are housed in Mylar sleeves. Preservation copies were made for extremely fragile original documents.