Converted to EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm79033894
Collection material in English
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
The papers of Kirk Munroe, author and adventurer, were given to the Library of Congress by Eliot O’Hara in 1964.
The papers of Kirk Munroe were arranged and described in 1964. The finding aid was revised in 2011 by Allen H. Kitchens. The finding aid was updated in 2023 by Maria Farmer as part of a division-wide remediation project by the Inclusive Description Working Group.
A daguerreotype and two tintypes have been transferred to the Library's Prints and Photographs Division where they are identified as part of these papers.
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Kirk Munroe is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
The papers of Kirk Munroe are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.
A microfilm edition of the 1915 Mary Barr Munroe diary in the Munroe Papers is available on one reel. Consult a reference librarian in the Manuscript Division concerning availability for purchase or interlibrary loan. To promote preservation of the originals, researchers are required to consult the microfilm edition as available
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, Kirk Munroe Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The papers of Kirk Munroe (1850-1930) consist of diaries, correspondence, writings biographical material, photographs, subject files, printed matter, newspaper clippings, memorabilia, scrapbooks, drawings and watercolors, and an autographed guest book from “The Scrubub,” the Munroe home in Florida. The material extends from 1850 to 1940, with the bulk of the papers concentrated in the period 1867-1932. The collection is organized into four series: Diaries ; General Correspondence ; Article, Short Story and Book File ; and Miscellany .
The papers relate primarily to Kirk Munroe’s literary career as an author of boy’s books; his adventures on a survey team for the Union Pacific and Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe railroads; trips into the Everglades, into the Hudson Bay region, and to the Far East on a world tour; his work in behalf of the Seminole people of Florida; and his canoeing and bicycling interests. These activities are documented principally by his writings, by the correspondence kept by himself and his two wives, by the diaries kept by himself, and by his first scrapbooks. The writings include handwritten drafts and printed copies of articles, short stories, essays, books, and poetry. The period of his life from 1870 to 1880 is poorly documented.
A diary dated 1853 was kept by Charles W. Munroe, Kirk Munroe’s father. Diaries dated 1867-1869, 1881, and 1923 were kept by Kirk Munroe. Diaries dated 1884-1922 were kept by Mary Barr Munroe, first wife of Kirk Munroe. There are no diaries for the years 1870-1880.
Correspondence to and from Kirk Munroe is meager and focused exclusively on his family for the years 1867-1869. There is considerable correspondence to and from his second wife, Mabel Stearns Munroe, with reference to a proposed biography of Kirk. Her correspondents include Poultney Bigelow, Frank W. Buxton, Randolph Edgar, Duncan U. Fletcher, Ward Greene, Hermann Hagedorn, James K. Hand, Arthur Milton Pope, Herbert Putnam, William F. Raney, Clement Francis Robinson, William A. Rodgers, Charles Scribner (1854-1930) W. P. Stephens, Lyman Beecher Stowe, and Ray L. Wilbur.
The Miscellany series contains family and biographical material, photographs, printed matter, various topical files, and scrapbooks of miscellaneous writings, diary excerpts, correspondence. photographs, and clippings. Depicted in the photographs in addition to the Munroe family are canoeing and bicycling scenes, views from a trip to Hudson Bay in 1909, Indians, and the Monroe home in Florida. Some of these same topics are documented in a subject file within the series, which also contains oversize drawings, sketches, and watercolors.
This collection is arranged in four series:
Bound diaries and folders of typed excerpts.
Arranged chronologically.
The diary for 1915 in Container 7 is available on microfilm, shelf no. 21,375.
Letters sent and received.
Arranged by name of person and therein chronologically.
Handwritten drafts and printed copies of articles, short stories, essays, books, and poetry by Munroe. Includes newspaper clippings and early newspaper articles possibly written by Munroe as a reporter; a scrapbook containing Munroe’s poetry; and bibliographies, notes, and related material. .
Arranged by type of writing or material
Family and biographical material, photographs, printed matter, various topical files, scrapbooks of miscellaneous writings, diary excerpts, correspondence. photographs, and clippings, and oversize drawings, sketches, and watercolors.
Organized by type of file or material.