W. BARKSDALE MAYNARD WALDEN POND: A HISTORY PAPERS, 1988-2007
Vault A35, Maynard Unit 1
EXTENT: 3 boxes, approximately 1.5 linear feet.
ORGANIZATION AND ARRANGEMENT: :Organized into three series: I. Walden Pond: A History book preparation materials and gathered research, 1988-2007; II. Annotated drafts of Walden Pond: A History, ca. 2002-2003; and III. Response to Walden Pond: A History, 2000-2007. The collection was organized by W. Barksdale Maynard prior to acquisition. The three larger series encompass Maynard's divisions.
BIOGRAPHY: Architectural historian Dr. W. Barksdale Maynard wrote his book, Walden Pond: A History (2004), as a comprehensive history of Walden Pond in Concord and Lincoln, Massachusetts up to 2003. In 2001, Maynard served as a consultant to the Walden Woods Project and a visiting scholar at the Thoreau Institute at Walden Woods in preparation for the book. He researched and corresponded with other scholars about the pond, and wrote the book from 2001-2002. During this time, he also created and gathered many supplemental materials on the subject of Walden Pond—including the creation of the Walden place-name index that appears in this collection— and wrote articles about the pond, the surrounding landscape and Henry David Thoreau. Maynard received multiple awards for the book, including the Boston Authors Club 2005 Julia Ward Howe Special Award, the American Association for State and Local History Certificate of Commendation, and Library Journal's Masters of Science Writing/Best Sci-Tech Books of 2004.
SCOPE AND CONTENT: Papers consist of Dr. W. Barksdale Maynard's notes, correspondence, and research related primarily to his 2004 book, Walden Pond: A History. The papers also include materials related to earlier articles written by Maynard about Thoreau and Walden Pond, and one DVD, “Walden: 1962."
SOURCE OF ACQUISITION: Donated by W. Barksdale Maynard, 2016.
RELATED COLLECTIONS: Maynard used many Concord Free Public Library collections in Walden Pond, A History. See Thoreau Holdings in Special Collections for an introduction to the Thoreau-related collections at the Library.
NOTES AND COMMENTS: Accessioned 2016 (AMC 252).
PROCESSED BY: Finding aid completed by JK, 06/30/17.
Series I: Walden Pond: A History book preparation materials and gathered research, 1988-2007
- Box 1, Folder 1. “Notes and correspondence,” ca. 2000-2005. Organized by type: letters (in alphabetical order by correspondent last name), dated notes (in chronological order), and undated notes (grouped as found). Notes are typically a stapled packets related to one source. Includes letters (mostly in printed email format) from the period of writing of Walden Pond: A History and after, and notes made by Maynard based on research, with some annotated draft from Walden Pond: A History. Includes letters from William Howarth, J. Walter Brain, Stephen Ells, Brian Donahue, Richard O'Connor and Ken Bassett.
- Box 1, Folders 2-6. “Printed materials,” gathered copies of printed materials regarding Walden Pond with some original printed materials 1988-2007 (with facsimiles of materials dating 1850s-1990s). Organized by date of original (1850s-1968, 1970s-1980s, 1990s, 2000s)—rather than date of reproduction—with undated items at the end. Bulk are copies of articles (likely gathered for research) with some annotations, separate notes. Includes some some advertisements, copies of manuscripts and ephemera related to Walden. The articles document the history of Walden and Walden Woods Project, other Walden preservation efforts. The folders also include articles following the publication of Walden Pond: A History (with some articles written by Maynard himself), and some correspondence and notes from others. Includes a copy of “A Pilgrim Visits Thoreau’s Concord: The Calvin H. Greene Diary” with an introduction by W. Barksdale Maynard, 2004, from The Princeton University Library Chronicle; and a copy of “The Journal of Henry David Thoreau, 1906-2006”, 2006, from The Princeton University Library Chronicle.
- Box 2, Folders 1-2. “Maps,” maps and map-related materials, ca. 2000-2003 (with facsimiles of materials dating 1880s-1980s). Includes hand-drawn illustrations with captions, photocopies of maps and articles. The maps often include notes, annotations, transparencies and correspondence. Also contains a copy of Ecological Inventory and Conservation Management Plan for Brister’s Hill and the Concord Land, from the Massachusetts Audubon Society, 2000 February 9, and a copy of Brister’s Hill Interpretive Site, 2002 October, from The Walden Woods Project.
- Box 2, Folder 3. “Photos,” gathered photocopies of photographs of, or related to, Walden Pond, ca. 2002. Images date back to the late 19th century. Includes catalog print-outs with images and manuscript notes.
- Box 2, Folder 4. “Walden: 1962” DVD including audio and images (no video), 2002 (with recording from 1962).
- Box 2, Folder 5, “Place-name index” typed document with manuscript notes, ca. 2001. Describes places in Concord mentioned by Thoreau in his journals. Includes a note by Maynard about the composition of the index.
Series II: Annotated drafts of Walden Pond: A History, ca. 2002-2003
- Box 3, Folder 1. Draft of Walden Pond: A History with manuscript notes by Thomas Blanding, ca. 2002-2003.
- Box 3, Folder 2. Comb-bound draft of Walden Pond: A History with annotations from J. Walter Brain, ca. 2002.
- Box 3, Folder 3. “Ed Schofield (1938-2010) correspondence” and notes, ca. 2003. Consists mainly of letters and printed emails. Includes one draft of Walden Pond: A History with manuscript notes by Ed Schofield.
Series III: Response to Walden Pond: A History, 2000-2007
- Box 3, Folder 4. “Response,” gathered clippings, correspondence and printed reviews related to Walden Pond: A History, 2000-2007. Includes some response to Maynard’s earlier work on Walden and Thoreau. Contains Maynard’s American Association for State and Local History Certificate of Commendation, 2005; Boston Authors Club Julia Ward Howe Special Award, 2005; compiled comments, ca. 2005, and printed Amazon.com comments, 2004.