Yale Bulletin and Calendar

October 5, 2001

Volume 30, Number 5

Thomas H. Foster

Archive documents work of lover
of nature and good literature

The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Yale University has received a gift of the papers of Thomas H. Foster, a one-time poultry farmer and Vermont legislator who went on to help launch the careers of Shirley Jackson and other writers.

The archives include a long correspondence with the publishing house Farrar Straus, the record of Foster's friendships with writers, and documentation of his writings as a naturalist and book reviewer. The gift also includes the papers of his wife, Catharine Osgood Foster, concerning organic gardening and her publications on that subject.

Thomas Foster's many careers included that of poultry farmer in Bennington, Vermont (1938-1948) and Vermont state representative (1970-1976). After World War II, he became an editorial scout for Farrar Straus; his task was to find manuscripts to recommend to the publisher. His best known find was Shirley Jackson, famous for such short stories as "The Lottery" and many other books. Some of the authors he recommended but who were turned down were Konrad Lorenz and Anais Nin.

Catharine Foster taught English at Bennington College for 35 years, beginning in 1934. Her writer friends include Leonie Adams, Kenneth Burke, and a very young professor named Theodore Roethke, who later earned acclaim as a poet. Catherine Foster's lifetime interest in the well-being of nature is reflected in the manuscripts and research materials for "The Organic Gardener" (1972) and "The Organic Flower Gardener" (1975).

Thomas Foster is a dedicated birder who has photographed unusual birds in unusual habitats around the globe. He banded and photographed the first lark sparrow ever recorded in Vermont. Thousands of his slides of birds accompany the papers. Foster has been honored by many organizations for his contributions to conservation. His recent awards have included the Merck Forest & Farmland Center plaque inscribed to him for outstanding service and the Garden Club of America's certificate acknowledging his "significant contribution to conservation" in Vermont. In addition, the Nature Conservancy has acquired an area near Pownal, Vermont, to be named the "Catharine Osgood Foster Natural Area."

The papers also contain family correspondence, photographs and other memorabilia spanning almost a century. Included is a group of letters documenting the family of William Edwin Haskell I, publisher of the Boston Globe. The latter document Haskell's interesting investments in the Wailea Agricultural Company on Oahu in Hawaii at the turn of the 20th century, and the record of the service in World War I of his son, William Haskell II, who was highly decorated by France for his bravery.

The collection is open for scholarly research.

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Archive documents work of lover of nature and good literature

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Campus Notes