Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
Margerie Lowry Papers
General material designation
Parallel title
Other title information
Title statements of responsibility
Title notes
Level of description
Sous-fonds
Reference code
Edition area
Edition statement
Edition statement of responsibility
Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
Statement of coordinates (cartographic)
Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
Physical description area
Physical description
21.15 cm textual records and other material
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
Parallel titles of publisher's series
Other title information of publisher's series
Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series
Numbering within publisher's series
Note on publisher's series
Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Margerie Lowry (née Bonner) was born on July 18, 1905, in Adrian, Michigan, to parents Mr. and Mrs. John Stuart Bonner. Her father was a diplomat, newspaperman, and manager of a wire fence company, and reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the AEF during the first World War. By the end of the war, he had lost much of the family’s money, and so daughters Margerie and Priscilla were encouraged to work. Both girls went into the film industry in Hollywood and did well. Margerie began starring as a horsewoman in Westerns, among other roles, at age 14, after completing only one year of high school. Between 1919 and 1923, Margerie did well enough as an actress that she was able to support herself, her sister, and her parents; her acting career largely ended with the advent of “talkies”.
Margerie was briefly married to Jerome Chaffee, from 1923 to 1925. After her divorce from him, Margerie continued working in various positions in film and radio, including as an animator for Disney, over the subsequent decade. She also wrote novels during this period, though none were published.
Margerie met Malcolm Lowry in Los Angeles, California, in 1939, and the two immediately took to each other. When Lowry moved to Vancouver later in 1939, Margerie followed him. The two were married, after Lowry’s official divorce from Gabrial, in 1940 and remained so until Lowry’s death in 1957. Lowry assisted Margerie with the publication of several of her novels, and Margerie likewise helped Lowry with the many works he began and published during their marriage.
After Lowry’s death in 1957, Margerie eventually moved back to Los Angeles, where she passed away in 1988.
Custodial history
Scope and content
The sous-fonds reflects Margerie Lowry’s relationship with husband Malcolm Lowry, their friends and family, and her own literary endeavours. The sous-fonds is predominantly textual records. Contents include: correspondence with friends, family, Lowry scholars, and publications, typescripts and manuscripts of Margerie’s novels, photographs, and some literary criticism about Margerie’s works.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Arrangement
Language of material
Script of material
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
Some files in the Margerie Lowry Papers will only be circulated one at a time. Circulation restriction is indicated in the series and file level description.
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Finding aids
Generated finding aid
Associated materials
Accruals
Physical description
Includes 22 photographs, 6 negatives, 1 ring, 1 necklace, 1 cigarette case, 1 lighter