Papers of Lorraine Maynard, 1850-2013 (inclusive), 1897-1930 (bulk)

The collection documents Lorraine Huling Maynard's personal life and her career as a silent film actress, as well as the life of her husband, Richard Field Maynard. Included are Lorraine Huling Maynard's autobiography, diaries, and writings; correspondence, including courtship letters and family correspondence; photographs, including movie stills and multiple generations of the Maynard family; correspondence and other papers of Richard Field Maynard; and notes and reflections on Lorraine and Richard by their daughter Sylvia Maynard. Relatively little material after 1930 is included. Most of the folder headings were created by the archivist; those by Lorraine Huling Maynard and Sylvia Maynard appear in quotation marks. Books by Lorraine Huling Maynard were transferred to the Schlesinger Library book collection.

Additional material received in 2010 and 2013 (accession numbers 2010-M217 and 2013-M125) was added to the collection in May 2018. These materials are housed in Series VI.

Series I, BIOGRAPHICAL AND PERSONAL, 1873-1995 (#1.1-4.2, F+D.1, Mem.1-Mem.2), includes diaries (including those kept during Maynard's childhood trips to Europe and during the filming of The Fall of a Nation, and her mother-in-law Margaret Field Maynard's travel and social engagement diaries); notes and letters written by Lorraine Huling Maynard during her therapy with psychologist David Seabury; detailed notes and writings by Sylvia Maynard regarding the Maynard family (and, in particular, her parents' characters and their relationship); address and appointment books; a wooden figurine depicting Lorraine Huling Maynard's character in Prunella; and other memorabilia. The series is arranged with notes on the Maynard papers appearing first, followed by Lorraine Huling Maynard's autobiography; her thoughts regarding aging, and what appears to be her suicide note; and by scrapbooks and articles (including her obituary). The remaining material is organized into several alphabetical groupings.

Series II, CORRESPONDENCE, 1896-2006 (scattered) (#4.3-6.16, FD.1, PD.1), includes Maynard's extensive correspondence with Richard Field Maynard and others. Topics discussed with Richard include their often troubled relationship, Lorraine's experiences in Hollywood, Richard's work as a painter in New York City, and their wedding plans. (Richard bound his and Lorraine's letters into several small volumes. The archivist disbound the volumes but maintained the overall arrangement of the letters. Sylvia Maynard frequently annotated her parents' correspondence, either on photocopied pages or on small strips of paper, and these annotations are interfiled with the letters.) The series also contains letters to Lorraine from her mother, Florence Simmons Huling Young; from her maternal grandparents, Mary Elizabeth Lyman Simmons and S.G. Simmons; from movie fans; from her admirer Theodore Rand "Mac" McNally, a captain in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during World War I; correspondence and publicity regarding Lorraine's film The Fall of a Nation; letters regarding the Maynard's engagement, Lorraine's first pregnancy, and the birth of their daughter Sylvia. The series is arranged with Sylvia Maynard's notes on Lorraine's letters appearing first, followed by a small amount of correspondence of Isaac Newton Maynard and Margaret Field Maynard; by Lorraine Huling Maynard's correspondence; and finally by Sylvia Maynard's correspondence. Sylvia Maynard's correspondents include her sister Beverly Maynard, her daughter Melissa Knox, her grandfather Isaac Maynard, great-grandmother Mary Elizabeth Lyman Simmons, and the Archives of American Art. Correspondence is arranged alphabetically within each group.

Series III, WRITINGS, 1906-ca.1967 (scattered) (#6.17-9.10), contains stories by Lorraine Huling Maynard, including one co-written with Richard Field Maynard, and drafts of her unpublished autobiographical novel A Continental Breakfast. Several of the stories were written for creative writing classes at Columbia University and include instructor and classmate comments. The series is arranged with an essay Maynard wrote re: her 1909 trip to Europe, correspondence, and a list of works sold appearing first, followed by an alphabetical arrangement.

Series IV, RICHARD FIELD MAYNARD, 1876-1928, 1964, 2005-2006 (#9.11-26.9, FD.2-FD.4, F+D.2), includes Cornell University and Harvard College yearbooks and essays, scrapbooks, etc.; correspondence with parents, classmates, and friends; and drawings and small oil paintings. The series consists of five subseries, each arranged chronologically.

Subseries A, Personal, 1894-1898, 1912, 1964 (#9.11-10.5), consists primarily of material from Richard Field Maynard's years as an undergraduate at Cornell University and Harvard College and includes scrapbooks, Cornell and Harvard yearbooks with illustrations by Maynard, and his obituary.

Subseries B, Correspondence with parents, 1876-1928 (#10.6-21.5, F+D.2), includes extensive correspondence with Margaret Field Maynard and Isaac Newton Maynard, beginning with the birthday greetings Margaret sent Richard every year. (Subsequent to his marriage in 1917, most letters are addressed to both Richard and Lorraine.) Topics include daily life in Utica, New York; trips taken by Isaac and Margaret; their health and that of other family members; financial matters; Richard's experiences at Cornell and Harvard; and his work as a portrait painter. Some letters from 1915 include references to Lorraine Huling, whom Richard had met that year, and his letters from December 1916 refer to their intention to marry, objections his parents had raised to the marriage, and wedding preparations.

Subseries C, Correspondence with others, 1893-1939 (#21.6-25.2), consists largely of letters received by Richard Field Maynard, though some letters by him are also included, as well as some sketches, diary entries, and short stories. Correspondents include maternal grandmother Margaret Telfair Field; author (and daughter of William Dean Howells) Mildred Howells; college friends; children with whom Maynard exchanged fairy tales; and fellow artists. Of particular note are photocopies of letters from Richard to Anaïs Nin and David Seabury, in which he reflects on his own and Lorraine's emotional difficulties and unhappiness, and a letter from Otto Rank to Richard, regarding the possibility of Anaïs Nin offering psychological help to Lorraine. Some correspondence refers to the "Maynard easel," a folding easel invented by Richard, and to art exhibits in which his paintings were featured.

Subseries D, Coursework, 1894-1901, 1919 (#25.3-25.11), includes essays and stories written at Cornell University and Harvard College, and correspondence from the Art Students' League of New York.

Subseries E, Artwork, 1891-1925, 2005-2006 (#25.12-26.9, FD.2-FD.4), includes charcoal and pencil sketches and oil sketches (created in preparation for larger oil paintings), primarily of Lorraine Huling Maynard. Some information on art exhibitions in which Maynard's work appeared is also included, as well as some photographs and print-outs of digital images of his paintings.

Series V, AUDIOVISUAL AND PHOTOGRAPHS, ca.1850-1970 (MP-55.1 - MP-55.5, DVD-60.1, PD.2-PD.61), contains film reels, a DVD, and photographs.

Subseries A, Audiovisual, 1916, n.d. (MP-55.1 - MP-55.5, DVD-60.1), contains a DVD of the 1916 film King Lear, in which Lorraine Huling Maynard played Cordelia, and several film reels, consisting of home movies and travel footage.

Subseries B, Photographs, ca. 1850-1970 (#PD.2-PD.61), contains images of Lorraine Huling Maynard from babyhood to old age, alone, and with others. Publicity photographs and stills from her movies are included, as well as photographs of extended family and friends, and of the Maynard's apartment in New York City. The subseries is arranged with photographs of Lorraine Huling Maynard appearing first, followed by Richard Field Maynard; Isaac Newton Maynard; Margaret Field Maynard; other family (including daughters Sylvia and Beverly Maynard, and Lorraine's mother Florence Simmons Huling Young and grandmother Mary Elizabeth Lyman Simmons, and members of the Maynard and Field families); and finally, photographs of friends.

Most of the photographs in this collection are or will be cataloged in VIA, Harvard University's Visual Information Access database. Others, referred to as "uncataloged" photographs, are not of sufficient research interest to warrant cataloging and are simply treated as part of the documents they accompany; they are marked on the back with an asterisk in square brackets [*].

Series VI, ADDENDA, 1896-2013 (#27.1-32.19, 33FB.1, FD.5, F+D.3, OD.1, SD.1, PD.62, DVD-60.2,) consists of material donated to the Schlesinger Library by Sylvia Maynard between November 2010 and July 2013. The series includes biographical information about Maynard, correspondence (largely letters received by her), stories and poems by Maynard, and photographs. Some material related to Richard Field Maynard, Beverly Maynard, and Sylvia Maynard, such as a short film featuring Sylvia, is also included.

Of particular note is Maynard's correspondence with her therapist, David Seabury, which reveals her admiration and love for him, as well as her dependence on his guidance and her concern as to his opinion of her. The letters address Maynard's conflicted feelings towards her husband and children; her lack of fulfillment in the role of wife and mother and her resultant guilt and self recrimination; and the idea of her finding fulfillment in work outside the home, which Seabury encouraged her to do. Other topics include their joint and separate writing projects; Maynard's fear that her mother would have her committed to an asylum and seize control of her children; her fear that her mental and emotional health would deteriorate; Seabury's divorce from his second wife and his feelings towards his first wife; and his health. Of particular note is a letter in which Maynard discusses their differing feelings about masturbation. Seabury's letters often include thanks for gifts (including of money) Maynard sent him and his third wife, Evelyn Uhler Seabury. The bulk of Maynard's letters to Seabury are undated and some were apparently never sent.

Also of note is Maynard's correspondence with her husband Richard. Series II of this collection includes some correspondence between Richard and Lorraine, but the bulk of it dates from their courtship. The correspondence in Series VI dates almost entirely from after their wedding and thus provides a look at their marriage. The majority of the letters are from Richard to Lorraine, frequently from Utica, New York, where he was visiting and caring for his parents, who were in failing health. Richard frequently addressed his letters to "Lorreindearest" and the letters reflect his concern for the well being of Lorraine and their children and his regret at hearing from her less frequently than he'd hoped. Many letters also include detailed accounts of his daily activities. The series arrangement mirrors the arrangement of the existing collection. Some overlap with earlier series may exist.