Pine Mountain Settlement School
Series 09: BIOGRAPHY
Mary G. Davis, Donor to PMSS Library
Mary Gould Davis (1882-1958)

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TAG: Mary Gould Davis, storyteller, folk tales, librarians, Middlesboro KY, philanthropist, Brooklyn Public Library, New York Public Library, Columbia University, Newberry Award

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MARY GOULD DAVIS Donor

Librarian, storyteller, author, editor, and philanthropist, Mary Gould Davis had Kentucky roots and reasons aplenty to make connections to Pine Mountain Settlement School.

When she was quite young, her parents moved from Bangor, Maine, where she was born on February 13, 1882, to Kentucky. The family lived for a brief time in Middlesboro, Kentucky, but in 1896 when Mary was 14 her parents moved again, this time to New York City.

MARY GOULD DAVIS: Librarian in New York City

It was in New York that Mary was educated and by 1905 she had been hired as an assistant librarian at Brooklyn Public Library.  She later moved to New York Public Library where she also worked as an assistant librarian and honed her storytelling skills. She was soon advanced to children’s librarian.

Perhaps it was her Eastern Kentucky roots, or not, but she was by all accounts, a consummate story-teller and had a deep and commanding voice and a meticulous sense of timing. In 1922 she was advanced to Supervisor of storytelling in the Children’s Library at the NYPL and also began to write.  Her stories became books that also had a wide audience. Her skills were also noticed by Columbia University Library School where she was hired to teach storytelling and courses in Children’s Literature.

As a member of the New York Library Association and the American Library Association, Mary Gould Davis was a strong advocate for children’s literacy, for children’s books and for the promotion of folklore and storytelling in libraries.

MARY GOULD DAVIS: Friend of Pine Mountain Settlement School

While most of her life was spent in New York, she never forgot her early years in Kentucky and the great need for programs that would foreground literacy. In correspondence with Dr. Francis Hutchins at Berea College, she became a fast friend of Pine Mountain Settlement School, donating money and books to support the School Library headed by Mary Rogers.  Mary Gould Davis and Mary Rogers shared the love of storytelling, but it is not known if one ever heard the other tell their folktales. But, the support of Mary Gould Davis resulted in the dedication of the Pine Mountain Library to her and to her interest in the children of the Southern Appalachians.

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Mary Gould David died in New York City on April 15, 1958. Her papers are held by the New York Public Library and include correspondence with her friend Beatrix Potter and also other noted children’s authors. Correspondence also includes a letter from Dr. Francis Hutchins while he served on the Pine Mountain Board of Trustees in 1959. Additional correspondence is seen below.

Her most important literary work was Truce of the Wolf and Other Tales of Old Italy (1931). It was awarded the prestigious Newberry Award for the best children’s book in 1932. Her other publications are included at the end of this record.

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GALLERY: MARY GOULD DAVIS Donor – Correspondence

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MARY GOULD DAVIS Donor: Publications By or About Davis

[Note: The following list is in chronological order.]

Davis, Mary G, Perley B. Davis, and Beatrix Potter. Mary Gould Davis Papers. , 1927. Archival material.

Davis, Mary G, and Emma L. Brock. The Handsome Donkey. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co, 1933. Print.

Davis, Mary G. Sandy’s Kingdom. Chicago: E.M. Hale, 1935. Print.

Davis, Mary G, and Richard Bennett. With Cap and Bells: Humorous Stories to Tell and to Read Aloud. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co, 1937. Print.

Shedlock, Marie L, and Mary G. Davis. The Art of the Story-Teller. New York: D. Appleton-Century Co, 1942. Print.

Davis, Mary G, and Joan Vatsek. Stories: A List of Stories to Tell and to Read Aloud. New York: The New York Public Library, 1943. Print.

Kalibala, Ernest B, Mary G. Davis, and Avery Johnson. Wakaima and the Clay Man: And Other African Folktales. New York: Longmans, Green & Co, 1946. Internet resource.

Davis, Mary G. Randolph Caldecott. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, 1946. Print.

Davis, Mary G. Mary Gould Davis Speaking on the Story of Book Week. New York, N.Y: National Broadcasting Co, 1947. Sound recording.

Carmer, Carl, and Mary G. Davis. American Folklore and Its Old-World Backgrounds. Chicago: F.E. Compton, 1950. Print.

Carmer, Carl, and Mary G. Davis. Folklore: Two Articles Reprinted from Compton’s Pictured Encyclopedia. Chicago, Ill: F.E. Compton, 1951. Print.

Davis, Mary G. The Girl’s Book of Verse: A Treasury of Old and New Poems. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1952. Print.

Leavell, Ullin W, Matilda Bailey, and Mary G. Davis. The Mastery of Reading. New York: American Book, 1956. Print.

Boggs, Ralph S, Mary G. Davis, and Emma L. Brock. Three Golden Oranges: And Other Spanish Folk Tales. New York: David McKay Co, 1964. Print.

Davis, Mary G. Children’s Books from Twelve Countries. Ann Arbor: University Microfilms, 1975. Print.

Lang, Andrew, Mary G. Davis, and Christine Price. Orange Fairy Book. London: Kestrel Books, 1978. Print.

Lang, Andrew, Mary G. Davis, and Dorothy L. Gregory. Violet Fairy Book. Harmondsworth: Kestrel, 1979. Print.

Title	Mary Gould Davis
Alt. Title	Mary Gould, Mary Davis, Mary G. Davis
Identifier	https://pinemountainsettlement.net/?page_id=55772
Creator	Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY.
Alt. Creator	Ann Angel Eberhardt ; Helen Hayes Wykle ;
Subject Keyword	Mary Gould Davis, storyteller, folk tales, librarians, Middlesboro KY, philanthropist, Brooklyn Public Library, New York Public Library, Columbia University, Newberry Award
Subject LCSH	Davis, Mary Gould,  — 1882-1958. Pine Mountain Settlement School (Pine Mountain, Ky.) — History. Harlan County (Ky.) — History. Education — Kentucky — Harlan County. Rural schools — Kentucky — History. Schools — Appalachian Region, Southern.
Date	2018 November 6
Publisher	Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY.
Contributor	n/a
Type	Collections ; text ; image ;
Format	Original and copies of documents and correspondence in file folders in filing cabinet.
Source	Series 09: BIOGRAPHY  – Donor
Language	English
Relation	Is related to: Pine Mountain Settlement School Collections, Series 09: BIOGRAPHY – Staff
Coverage Temporal	1882-1958
Coverage Spatial	Pine Mountain, KY ; Harlan County, KY ;  Bangor, ME ; Middlesboro, KY ; New York City, NY ; Berea, KY ;
Rights	Any display, publication, or public use must credit the Pine Mountain Settlement School. Copyright retained by the creators of certain items in the collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Donor	n/a
Description	Core documents, correspondence, writings, and administrative papers of Mary Gould Davis ; clippings, photographs, books by or about Mary Gould Davis ;
Acquisition	n/d
Citation	“[Identification of Item],” [Collection Name] [Series Number, if applicable]. Pine Mountain Settlement School Institutional Papers. Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY.
Processed By	Helen Hayes Wykle ; Ann Angel Eberhardt ;
Last Updated	2024-08-08 aae ;
Bibliography	[SEE LIST ABOVE THIS TABLE]

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 See Also:
BOYS HOUSE (Library)
HISTORY PMSS Summary 1959-1960

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BIOGRAPHY – A-Z