John Rae 1882-1963 Collection
Scope and Contents
The John Rae Collection was donated to the Research Center by his son, Walter Rae, and granddaughter, Jennifer Rae. These materials primarily concern the artist’s illustration career from approximately 1920 to 1950. Also included in the collection are Walter Rae’s unpublished biography of his father, detailing his art career.
Examples of Rae’s published work are included in the form of print proofs, book jackets, magazine tear sheets, cards, booklets, and advertisements. Specifically, his extensive work in children’s literature is represented in the collection by illustrated dustjackets for the books Lucy Locket the Girl with the Pocket (1928), written by Rae himself; Rob Roy: The Frontier Twins (1937), by Constance Lindsay Skinner; and The Winds of God (1941), by Irving Bacheller. Rae’s illustrations are seen in the baby journal, The Best Baby, published by Borden Eagle Brand (circa 1920), and The Runabouts, a guidebook for child-raising published by House of Health (1923).
The collection also includes photographs of Rae’s commissioned oil portraits, including his portrait of Albert Einstein; Rae’s undated manuscript for his children’s book, Grasshopper Green and the Good Fun Club; handwritten song lyrics and sheet music; and a number of original sketches, including two bound sketchbooks.
Dates
- Creation: 1920 - 1999
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1937 - 1998
Creator
- Rae, John, 1882-1963 (Person)
- Rae, Walter, 1916-1998 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open to researchers by appointment only. Please contact the Research Center for information on access and research.
Conditions Governing Use
Materials held within the Research Center may be protected by copyright. Authorization to reproduce, publish, or quote from any restricted material requires permission from the copyright holder and is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain.
Biographical / Historical
John Rae (1882-1963) was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. He attended Pratt Institute High School and later the Art Students League of New York City, where he studied under Kenyon Cox and Frank Vincent DuMond. He went on to study with illustrator Howard Pyle (1853-1911) at the Drexel Institute in Philadelphia.
Over the course of his career, Rae produced pen and ink drawings for magazines, books and advertisements, focusing primarily on children’s illustration. He is remembered as having a particular fondness for animals, which is reflected in the children’s books he authored, including Grasshopper Green and the Meadow-Mice (1922), The Big Family, New Adventures of Alice, Granny Goose, The Pies and the Pirates, Lucy Locket the Doll with the Pocket, and Why. Between 1930-1950, he painted oil portraits of many notable figures including Albert Einstein and Carl Sandburg.
Rae married Helen Cortelyou 1907, and the couple had three sons, Walter, John Jr., and Robin He spent most of his career in North Stonington, Connecticut, and later taught painting and design at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. Rae died in October of 1963 in Houston, Texas, at the home of his son, John Jr.
Extent
0.417 Linear Feet (1 box)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
The collection is contained in one box with materials divided into sixteen folders. Folders are arranged by content and subject.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Walter Rae (son of the artist) and Jennifer Rae (granddaughter of artist), 1993, 1995, and 2001. The 2001 donation was made via Illustration House, Inc. on behalf of Jennifer Rae, who was representing the family.
Accruals
No further accruals expected.
Bibliography
Mahoney Miller, Bertha E. (editor) Illustrators of Children’s Books. The Horn Book, Massachusetts: 1947, 1970.
Rae, Walter. John Rae: A Sketch. Not published: 1989.
Project Gutenberg – online view of Grasshopper Green and the Meadow-Mice http://www.gutenberg.org/files/24237/24237-h/24237-h.htm “John Rae, Artist and Author, Dies; Children's Book Illustrator also was Portraitist.” The New York Times, 8 Oct. 1963, www.newyorktimes.com
Processing Information
The John Rae Collection materials were donated to the Brandywine Museum of Art in three installments (1993, 1995, and 2001) by the Rae family, and were received with no known original order. An oversized folder (still with the collection) that may have been the artist’s, appears to have housed some of the materials at the time of the donation. Additionally, the family gave original works of art to the Museum as part of the fine art collection. The Research Center staff’s initial arrangement separated materials into folders. This arrangement was refined in 2019 by summer intern Bri Cronin; objects were interleaved with archival paper and/or rehoused using archival-quality materials, and an initial finding aid was created. Edits were made between 2020 and 2022 by Manager Virginia O’Hara, with additional reprocessing (removal of staples, relabeling folders, etc.) and edits made by Manager Lillian Kinney in 2025 to better comply with professional standards. The collection and finding aid underwent final reprocessing and editing in 2026 by summer intern Taylor Weeks.
Source
- Rae, Jennifer (Person)
Subject
- John Rae Book Company (Organization)
- Rollins College (Winter Park, Fla.) (Organization)
- Saalfield Pub. Co. (Organization)
- Macmillan Company (Organization)
- Farrar & Rinehart (Organization)
- Title
- Finding Aid to the John Rae 1882-1963 Collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Bri Cronin
- Date
- 2019
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- 2020-2022: Edits made by Research Center Manager Virginia O'Hara
- 2025: Additional edits and reprocessing (removal of staples, relabeling folders, etc.) done by Research Center Manager Lillian Kinney
- 2026: Final edits and reprocessing by intern Taylor Weeks
Repository Details
Part of the Walter & Leonore Annenberg Research Center - Archives & Special Collections Repository
1 Hoffman's Mill Road
PO Box 141
Chadds Ford PA 19317 United States
610-388-8310
research@brandywine.org