Guide to the Leon Tebbetts papers, ca. 1940-1960

Historical Note

Publisher, author, illustrator, filmmaker, and book dealer Leon Harold Tebbetts was born on June 15, 1908. He graduated from Deering High School in Portland, Maine and studied briefly at Colby College before becoming a journalist with the Maine Sunday Telegram at the age of 20. In 1935, he self-published his first book, The Amazing Story of Maine, a geologic history of the state. This lead to the founding of his Falmouth Publishing House, which operated for more than twenty years and produced works by such notable authors as Marsden Hartley, Arthur MacDougal Jr., and Erskine Caldwell. Tebbetts did many of the illustrations for the works the press produced. His publishing career was interrupted when he was drafted into World War II, an experience which he later chronicled in his book Rough Draft, which was published in 1996. Following his return from the military, Tebbetts began but did not complete a feature-length film and opened a book store, which he operated for many years in Hallowell, Maine. He also continued to write and publish works, many of which were published by Valley Publishers. Tebbetts was married twice, first to Alice Cleaves, with whom he had a son, William. They divorced in 1935 and he later married Dorothy Haskell. They also had a son named William who died at a young age, in 1955. Tebbetts died on June 5, 1997, and his autobiography, Story of a Maine Publisher, was published the same year.

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Scope and Content Note

The collection is comprised of typescript and manuscripts of various literary works by Tebbetts, including "The Manchester House Mystery," "The Bears Goodnight Ball," "A Needy Lesson," "To the Moon in a Helicopter," "In the Haunted House," "At the Circus," "The Phantom Rider," and "The Submerged Island." At least one of these works, "The Bears Goodnight Ball," was published.

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Organization and Arrangement

In original order.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

The collection is the physical property of Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library. Bates College holds literary rights only for material created by College personnel working on official behalf of the College, or for material which was given to the College with such rights specifically assigned. For all other material, literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. Researchers are responsible for obtaining permission from rights holders for publication or other purposes that exceed fair use.

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Related Material

Leon Tebbetts collection, Northeast Historic Film, 85 Main Street, Bucksport, ME 04416, http://oldfilm.org/ocg/publicMainView.cfm?id=570

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Index Terms

These records are indexed under the following headings in the Bates College Library catalog. Researchers wishing to find related materials should search the catalog under these index terms.

Personal Names:

Corporate Names:

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Administrative Information

Acquisition and Custody Information

No provenance information available. Accession No.: xx-046.

Preferred Citation

Leon Tebbetts papers, Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library, Bates College.

Processing Information

Description by Kat Stefko, 2006.

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