Papers of Dorothy Rodgers, 1922-1987
Overview
Correspondence, photographs, notes, etc., Dorothy Rodgers, writer and inventor.
Dates
- Creation: 1922-1987
Language of Materials
Materials in English.
Access Restrictions:
Access. Unrestricted. An appointment is necessary to use any audiovisual material.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright. Dorothy Rodgers' copyright in these papers is held by her daughters, Mary R. Guettel and Linda R. Emory.
Copying. Papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures.
Extent
5 linear feet ((3 cartons, 1+1/2 file boxes, 1 folio box) plus 3 folio+ folders)Series I, Biographical/personal, includes letters to Dorothy Rodgers from Richard Rodgers; diplomas, school papers, and clippings documenting Rodgers' childhood, education, family, and social life; and the con- tents (mostly clippings) of seven scrapbooks kept by Rodgers.
Series II, Professional, contains photographs, notes, sketches, and correspondence pertaining to Rodgers' professional endeavors: Repairs, Inc.; Hasharades and other puzzles; patents; work on the Writers' War Board, Public Education Association, and Arts Council; and her four books.
Series III, Correspondence, consists of all correspondence not included in series I and II. Subseries A, Political correspondence, pertains to such issues as anti-Semitism, renovations at Wollman Memorial Skating Rink, health care, etc. Letters are arranged by issue: those relating to anti-Semitism, for example, form a distinct unit; within each such unit, correspondence is arranged chronologically.
Subseries B, General correspondence, includes all remaining letters, including correspondence with friends and acquaintances about travels and social life, as well as about political issues. In cases where there is a substantial amount of correspondence with one person--such as with Robert Crichton, Edna Ferber, or Edward Koch--letters are arranged by correspondent. Others are arranged chronologically.
BIOGRAPHY
Dorothy Feiner Rodgers was born in 1909 to Benjamin Franklin and May Adalson Feiner. She graduated from the Horace Mann School in 1926, and attended Wellesley College from 1926 to 1928. In 1930 she married composer Richard Rodgers; they had two daughters, Mary and Linda. Richard Rodgers died in 1979.
In the 1930s, Rodgers ran a home decorating and repair business called Repairs, Inc. During World War II she was active in the Writers' War Board, a branch of the Office of War Information that produced shows for United States servicemen. Her other volunteer activities have included the Public Education Association of New York (1947-1957), the New York State Council on the Arts (1964-1979), and the Jewish Museum (1984-present).
Dorothy Rodgers is the inventor of the Johnny Mop (1945), the Basically Yours dress pattern (1958), and Turn and Learn storybooks (1972); see #66-71. She has written four books: My Favorite Things (1964), The House in My Head (1967), A Word to the Wives (with her daughter, Mary, 1970), and A Personal Book (1977), and from 1971-79 she and Mary wrote a column, "Of Two Minds," for McCall's magazine.
For further biographical information, see Rodgers' autobiographical A Personal Book (Harper and Row, 1977).
ARRANGEMENT
The collection is divided into three series
- Series I. Biographical/personal #1-64
- Series II. Professional 64a-113
- Series III. Correspondence
- ___A. Political 114-144
- ___B. General 145-182
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Accession numbers: 87-M118--87-M195
The papers of Dorothy Rodgers were given to the Schlesinger Library by Dorothy Rodgers in July, August, September, October, and December 1987.
Related Material:
There is additional material at the Schlesinger Library; see Dorothy Rodgers Additional papers, 1921-1992 (88-M160--93-M177).
CONTAINER LIST
- Carton 1: 1-64
- Carton 2: 64a-111
- Carton 3: 112-158
- Box 4: 159-178
- Box 5: 179-182
- Box 6f: 19f, 22f, 32f, 42f, 45f-46f, 48f, 52f, 55f, 58f-59f, 86f
INDEX OF CORRESPONDENTS
This index includes authors of letters to Rodgers; people who are recipients only have been omitted. Little-known persons writing for organizations or as secretaries to individuals are not indexed; such letters are indexed under the name of the organization or individual. Information about individuals or subjects is not indexed. The first number after an author's name refers to the folder in which letters appear, the second to the number of letters in the folder.
- Abbott, George 181:1
- Abrams, Robert 136:1
- Acton, Harold 176:1
- Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 45f:1; 98:1; 105:1
- Albano, Vincent F. 23:1
- Alsop, Em Bowles Locker 113:3
- Ames, Amyas 119:5
- Amory, Cleveland 175:1; 182:1
- Anderson, Warren M. 119:2; 141:1
- Austin, J. Paul 126:2
- Badillo, Herman 121:1; 141:1
- Baekeland, Grace 113:1
- Baer, Jean 48f:1
- Baker, Russell 178:2
- Balanchine, George 178:1
- Barach, Frederica Pisek 113:1; 182:1
- Barlow, Elizabeth 136:1
- Barnett, Robert Russell 182:1
- Barthelmess, Richard 182:1
- Barwick, Kent 180:1
- Barzini, Luigi 176:1
- Beame, Abraham D. 138:3
- Beecher, William 114:1
- Beer, Meme and David 134:1
- Beham, Mrs. Yochanan 177:3
- Behrman, Sam 175:1
- Benton, William 175:1; 177:1
- Berle, Peter A. A. 140:1
- Berlin, Ellen 180:1; 182:1
- Berlin, Irving 182:1
- Berman, Frederic S. 23:1
- Bernstein, Leonard 1918- 179:1
- Biaggi, Mario 111:1; 119:1; 121:1
- Biddle, Flora M. 181:1
- Bijur, Herbert 68:6
- Birmingham, Stephen 177:1
- Bishop, Joan 182:1
- Bitker, Marjorie 113:1
- Bloom, Herbert 34:1
- Blumenthal, Al 140:1
- Boorstin, Daniel J. 181:1
- Bouche, Rene 182:1
- Boyer, Charles 176:1; 182:1
- Brent, Romney 175:1
- Brokaw, Tom 135:1
- Brooke, Edward W. 137:1
- Brown, Judy 176:2; 182:1
- Brown, Meredith 181:1
- Brydges, Earle W. 24:1
- Buckley, James Lane 121:2; 125:1; 127:2; 134:1; 137:3; 141:1; 142:1
- Burden, Carter 134:2
- Burk, Bill 104:1
- Byrd, Harry Flood Jr. 125:1; 127:1; 134:2; 141:1; 143:1; 145:8
- Byron, Joseph W. 74:1
- Callaway, Janice 113:2
- Canaday, John 181:1
- Carey, Hugh L. 24:2; 135:1; 137:2; 178:1; 181:1
- Carlisle, Kitty 24:1; 182:1
- Carroll, Vinette 113:1
- Carson, Johnny 135:1;179:1
- Carter, Ernestine 182:1
- Carter, Jimmy 179:1
- Carter, John Mack 54:1
- Carter, Rosalynn 138:1; 179:1
- Catto, Henry E. 180:1
- Cerf, Bennett 178:1
- Chapin, Schuyler 181:1
- Chapin, Theodore S. 182:1
- Charnin, Martin 182:1
- Chase, Ilka 176:1
- Chisolm, Shirley 119:1
- Churchill, Sir Winston 176:2
- Claiborne, Craig 178:1
- Clayton, Jan 178:1
- Clemenko, Harold B. 62:1
- Cohen, Gerson 27:1
- Cohen, Murray 103:1
- Cohen, Oscar 116:3
- Colin, Georgia 113:1
- Colin, Ralph F. 119:1
- Colman, Ronald 175:6
- Comay, Michael 176:1
- Comden, Betty 178:2
- Conklin, William T. 119:2
- Connelly, Marc 175:1
- Cook, Howard A. 134:1
- Coots, J. Fred 138:1
- Copland, Aaron 24:1
- Cornell, Katharine 175:1
- Cornman, Michael A. 66:1
- Cott, Ted 138:1
- Couper, Richard W. 118:1; 179:1
- Coward, Noel 146:9
- Crawford, Joan 178:1
- Crichton, Jennifer 151:14
- Crichton, Judy 153:4
- Crichton, Robert 147:21; 148:24; 149:23; 150:27
- Crichton, Robert, Jr. 153:1
- Crichton, Sarah 152:13
- Crouse, Anna 119:2
- Crouse, Russel 176:1
- Cullman, Joseph F. III 27:1
- Curtis, Charlotte Murray 179:1
- D'Alleva, Nicholas 24:1
- Daly, Stuart 178:1
- D'Amato, Alphonse M. 113:4; 118:1; 121:1; 127:1; 143:1
- Darrow, Whitney 154:3
- Davenport, Marcia 90:1
- Davis, Barbara 113:1
- Davis, Gordon J. 130:2; 131:3; 136:1
- De Mille, Agnes 175:1; 178:1; 180:1
- De Montebello, Philippe Lannes 171:5
- De Vries, Katinka 115:1; 157:2
- De Vries, Peter 99:1; 113:1; 155:8
- Diamond, Oscar K. 128:2
- Diamondstein-Spielvogel, Barbaralee 38:2
- Dietrich, Marlene 182:1
- Dietz, Lucinda 178:1; 181:2
- DiFalco, Anthony 140:1
- Douglas, Helen Gahagan 180:1
- Draper, Dave and Heidi 175:1
- Drinan, Robert F. 121:1
- Dunstair, Margaret 113:1
- Duffy, John 180:1
- Durante, Jimmy 176:1
- Duryea, Perry B. 24:2; 119:2; 141:2
- Eban, Abba 181:1
- Ebbert, Jean 103:1
- Edson, Lewis L. 134:1
- Eisenhower, Dwight D. 175:2
- Eisenhower, Mamie Doud 175:5
- Elliot, Osborn 135:1
- Ellis, Mike 181:1
- Engel, Lehman 178:1
- Ephron, Nora 113:1
- Ettlinger, Don 136:1
- Evans, Eli 28:1
- Feibleman, Peter S. 176:3
- Ferber, Edna 77:6; 156:63; 157:46; 158:25; 159:25; 160:33; 161:23; 162:53
- Fontanne, Lynn 182:1
- Ford, Gerald 127:1
- Forner, John, Jr. 140:1
- Fremont-Smith, Eliot 178:1
- French, Peter B. 136:1
- Freund, Max 68:1
- Friedman, Paul E. 135:1
- Fulbright, J. William 125:1; 127:1; 141:1
- Furness, Betty 27:1; 163:11
- Gabriel, Gilbert 182:1
- Gallico, Paul 164:9
- Garelik, Stanford D. 138:1
- Gash, Fredrick 133:1
- Gaylin, Willard 27:1
- Ghezzi, John, J. 23:1
- Giaimo, Robert N. 119:1
- Gielgud, Sir John 182:2
- Gittleson, Natalie 40:3; 103:1
- Glasser, Ira Saul 115:3
- Goodman, Roy M. 119:1; 128:1; 140:3; 141:3
- Gottfried, Richard N. 141:1
- Gottschalk, Alfred 27:1
- Grafton, Samuel 113:1
- Grauer, Ben 178:1
- Green, John 181:1
- Green, S. William 113:2; 118:2; 121:1; 123:1; 138:1
- Greenough, Beverly Sills 179:1
- Griffin, Merv 135:2
- Guber, Lee 28:1
- Hamilton, W.D. 65:1
- Hardiman, Mrs. Margaret 90:2
- Harnick, Sheldon 113:1
- Harriman, W. Averell 175:2; 178:1
- Hart, Moss 175:2; 176:1; 182:1
- Hartke, Vance 138:1
- Hayes, Helen 113:1; 175:1; 178:1; 181:1; 182:3
- Hayward, Brooke 179:1
- Hazen, Joe 113:1
- Heckscher, August 133:1; 177:1
- Hecksher, Claudia 24:1
- Hellman, Lillian 178:1
- Herman, Robert S. 128:3
- Hersey, Barbara 113:1; 165:11
- Hersey, John 165:2
- Hershey, Lenore 113:1
- Hightower, John Brantley 119:2; 178:2; 181:1; 182:1
- Hockler, Charles E. 27:1
- Holtzman, Elizabeth 121:1; 123:2; 124:1; 137:1; 138:1; 141:1; 180:2; 181:2
- Hope, Judith 119:1
- Horchow, Roger 179:1
- Housman, John 182:1
- Hoving, Thomas 171:2
- Hume, Benita 177:2
- Humphrey, Hubert H. 127:1; 176:1
- Irving, Flora Miller 179:1; 180:1
- Ives, David O. 135:1
- Jackson, Henry M. 125:1
- Javits, Jacob K. 119:1; 120:1; 121:1; 122:1; 123:1; 124:3; 125:1; 127:4; 134:1; 137:2; 138:2; 140:1; 142:1; 176:1; 178:1
- Jewish Museum 27:2
- Johnson, Lady Bird 99:1; 178:1
- Johnson, Lyndon B. 176:1
- Jones, Louis C. 178:1
- Kaitz, Karen 62:1
- Kaufman, George 182:1
- Kaufman, Robert L. 135:1
- Kaye, Sylvia 113:1
- Kelly, Gene 181:1
- Kennedy, Caroline 181:2; 182:1
- Kennedy, Edward Moore 121:1; 125:1; 127:2
- Kennedy, Roger C. 181:1
- Kerr, Jean 43:1; 166:15
- Kerr, Walter 166:1
- Kimball, Robert E. 11:1
- Kimbrough, Emily 179:3
- Kingston, John E. 119:1; 141:2
- Kinitz, Harry 182:2
- Kissinger, Henry A. 119:1
- Knight, Mary Ann 180:3
- Knox, Semour 178:1
- Kober, Arthur 176:1
- Koch, Ed 120:2; 121:2; 123:1; 124:3; 129:1; 130:2; 131:1; 134:4; 135:4; 136:3; 137:4; 138:2; 139:4; 140:1; 141:6; 142:3; 143:3; 167:22
- Kolatch, Esther H. 20:1
- Koll International 27:1
- Kollek, Teddy 168:17
- Kosner, Louise 34:1
- Krents, Milton E. 179:1
- Kupcinet, Irv 178:1
- Kupferman, Theodore R. 23:1
- Kuroyanagi, Tetsuko 182:1
- Landerson, Louis 27:1; 182:1
- Lang, George 130:1
- Lang, Leonard C. 128:3
- Larrabee, Eric 119:2; 177:1
- Larsen, Roy 113:1
- Lash, Stephen S. 181:1
- Laurents, Arthur 182:1
- Lawrence, Mary 178:2
- Lee, Edward 27:1
- Lee, Marshall 178:2
- Lehman, Orin 130:1
- Leonard, Bill 124:1
- Levin, Anna 130:1
- Lewis, Mort R. 180:2
- Lieberman, William Slattery 172:2
- Lindley, Frances 106:5; 113:2; 182:1
- Lindsay, John V. 133:2; 140:1; 169:10; 170:12
- Lindsay, Mary 113:1; 133:1; 134:2; 137:1; 138:2; 140:5; 142:1; 169:38; 170:13
- Littler, Emile 179:1
- Loeser, Katinka 182:1
- Lombardi, Tarky, Jr. 118:1
- Lomenzo, John P. 23:1
- Lotz, Betty 90:2
- Lunt, Alfred 175:1
- Luttrell, Mary Frances 113:1
- McAleer, John J. 178:2
- McCullough, Grace (Collins) 180:1
- McGee, Robert M. 129:2
- McGovern, George 140:1
- McIntosh, Millicent 99:1; 175:1
- McKinney, Stewart B. 80:2; 137:1
- Makla, Robert 129:4; 130:1; 131:2
- Mandeville, H.T. 67:5; 68:1; 69:2; 70:1
- Manville, Richard 69:2
- Marchant, Bill 113:1
- Marchi, John J. 23:1; 119:1
- Mardus, Elaine 180:1
- Martin, Guy 152:1
- Martin, Mary 178:1
- Mary Washington College 20:1
- Max, Jerome 135:1
- Mayes, Herbert R. 99:1; 113:2
- Mellon, Paul 181:1
- Melnick, Peter 181:1
- Menschel, Ronay 131:1; 135:2; 136:2
- Michener, James A. 181:1
- Miller, Alan 128:1; 141:2
- Miller, Karin 113:1
- Mitchell, MacNeil 23:1
- Moffett, Toby 118:1
- Morrissey, Kevin 181:1
- Moynihan, Daniel P. 118:1; 123:1
- Murphy, Sandra 180:1
- Museum of Modern Art 172:1
- Muskie, Edmund S., 1914- 124:1; 127:1; 141:1
- Neier, Aryeh 115:2
- Newhouse, Susan 27:1; 182:1
- Newman, Robert N. 181:3
- Norman, Lenore 135:1
- Oakes, John B. 138:1
- Oberman, Bonnie 34:1
- O'Dwyer, Paul 134:1
- O'Leary, Nora 68:2
- Olivieri, Antonio G. 119:2; 140:3; 141:4
- Onassis, Jacqueline Kennedy 79:1; 176:1
- O'Neill, Thomas P. 127:1
- Oppenheim, David J. 113:1
- Osborn, Millicent 113:1
- Osborn, Paul 113:1
- Papp, Joseph 119:2
- Passante, William F. 140:1
- Pattison, Edward 121:1
- Pell, Claiborne 119:1
- Penrose, Elizabeth 32f:1
- Percy, Charles H. 124:1; 127:2; 137:2; 141:2
- Perlmutter, Nathan 116:2
- Peyser, Peter A. 119:1
- Pollak, Richard 115:1
- Post, Steve 180:1
- Prideaux, Tom 113:1
- Proxmire, William 143:1
- Prude, Agnes De Mille, see De Mille, Agnes
- Railsback, Tom 121:1
- Rangel, Charles B. 137:1
- Rathbun, Georgianna 124:1
- Reagan, Ronald 118:1
- Reasoner, Mary Ray 113:1
- Reid, Ogden R. 127:3; 137:3; 138:1
- Ribicoff, Abraham 120:1; 124:1; 125:1; 127:1; 137:3; 142:1; 143:1
- Rice, Charles D. 67:3
- Richmond, Fred 120:1; 143:2
- Robinson, Seymour 143:1
- Rockefeller, Nelson A. 23:3; 122:1; 128:2; 137:1; 142:1
- Rodgers, Richard 12:48
- Rosary College 182:1
- Rosenbaum, Joan Hannah 27:2
- Rosenthal, A. M. 143:1
- Ross, Mary R. 136:2
- Rostad, Elene 178:1
- Rostad, Per 178:1; 181:2
- Roueche, Burton 143:1
- Rubin, William 172:3
- Ruggles, M.J. 139:1
- Russell, John 178:1
- Saarinen, Aline Bernstein 99:1; 176:1; 182:2
- Salz, Sam 171:1
- Sanders, George 182:1
- Sassoon, Marion 27:1
- Schlaifer, Charles 128:1
- Schroeder, Pat 121:1
- Schwartz, Arthur 175:1
- Schweitzer, Fritz L. 70:3
- Screvane, Paul R. 24:1
- Segal, Erich 178:1
- Shalit, Gene 178:1
- Sheppard, J. Stephen 134:1
- Sherwood, Robert E. 175:1
- Sills, Beverly see Greenough, Beverly Sills
- Simon, Neil 178:1
- Singer, Norman 113:1
- Sirica, John J. 137:1
- Smith, Oliver 176:3; 182:2
- Smith, Sister Doris 22:4
- Sobel, Ronald B. 27:2; 180:1; 181:2
- Sondheim, Stephen 114:1; 176:3; 178:1; 182:1
- Spahr, Charles E. 124:1
- Spellman, F. Cardinal 175:1
- Stamler, Max 122:1
- Stein, Andrew 140:1; 141:1
- Stein, Robert 103:1
- Steinbeck, Elaine 177:1
- Steinbeck, John 175:2
- Steingut, Stanley 119:1; 140:1; 141:3
- Stern, Henry J. 131:2
- Stevens, Dorothy 113:1
- Stevenson, Adlai E. 175:4; 176:1; 182:2
- Stevenson, Adlai E. III 120:1; 124:1; 125:1; 127:1; 137:3; 141:1
- Stickney, Dorothy 178:1
- Stonehill, Arthur 113:1
- Stonehill, Norma 182:1
- Stonehill, John 177:1
- Stout, Rex 176:1
- Strauss, Mrs. R. Peter 140:1
- Sulzberger, Arthur Hays 75:3; 176:1
- Sulzberger, Iphigene 27:2; 28:1; 178:1; 181:2
- Sutherland, Graham 177:2
- Swanson, Coralie 179:1
- Swarthout, Gladys 175:1
- Taylor, Billy 24:1
- Taylor, Deems 176:1; 182:2
- Taylor, Harold 114:1
- Taylor, L.M., Jr. 140:1
- Taylor, Lisa 179:1
- Tinker, Grant 18:1
- Tipple, F.A. 104:1
- Toporcer, Bill 130:1
- Truman, Harry S. 175:1
- Truman, Margaret 175:2; 182:1
- Tuchman, Barbara 178:1
- Ullman, Al 123:1
- Ullman, Olivia 182:1
- Valenti, Jack 176:1
- Vance, Betty 47f:1
- Van Horne, Harriet 113:1
- Verrett, Shirley 177:1
- Von Druten, John 182:1
- Von Luther, Sidney 141:1
- Wagner, Robert F. 124:1; 134:1; 138:1; 141:1
- Wagner, Susan 176:1
- Wallace, Marcia 182:1
- Wallach, Sidney 138:1
- Walters, Barbara 113:1; 173:20
- Wayne, Jane 182:1
- Webster, H.T. 175:1
- Weicker, Lowell Palmer 125:1; 141:1
- Weidman, Jerome 113:1; 174:9
- Weinberg, James L. 27:1; 28:1
- Weingarten, Vi 177:1
- Weisl, Edwin L., Jr. 129:1
- Weiss, George David 35:1
- White, Nancy 40:1
- Whitney Museum of American Art 113:1; 180:1
- Wiesel, Elie 180:1
- Williams, Evelyn 176:1
- Willkie, Wendell L. 175:1
- Wilson, Malcolm 23:2; 119:1
- Windsor, Wallis Warfield 175:1; 182:1
- Windward, Simi 180:2
- Wodehouse, P.G. 11:1
- Wortman, Doris Nash 67:5; 75:6
- Yellen, Sherman 113:1; 177:1; 181:2; 182:1
- Yeston, Manny 181:1
- Zuccotti, John E. 135:1
Processing Information
Preliminary inventory: July 1988
By: Susan J. von Salis
Genre / Form
Geographic
Topical
Subject
- Gielgud, John, 1904-2000 (Person)
- Holtzman, Elizabeth (Person)
- Humphrey, Hubert H. (Hubert Horatio), 1911-1978 (Person)
- Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.) (Organization)
- Rockefeller, Nelson A. (Nelson Aldrich) (Person)
- Rodgers, Richard, 1902-1979 (Person)
- Title
- Rodgers, Dorothy, 1909-1992. Papers of Dorothy Rodgers, 1922-1987: A Finding Aid
- Author
- Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
- Language of description
- eng
- EAD ID
- sch00878
Repository Details
Part of the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute Repository
The preeminent research library on the history of women in the United States, the Schlesinger Library documents women's lives from the past and present for the future. In addition to its traditional strengths in the history of feminisms, women’s health, and women’s activism, the Schlesinger collections document the intersectional workings of race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class in American history.