The Bertha McKee Dobie Papers (1889 – 1986; 10.5 linear feet) include writings, publications, correspondence, clippings, photographs, and other items documenting Mrs. Dobie’s life and work as an author, editor, and naturalist, as well as her role as the spouse of author J. Frank Dobie.

The collection is organized in eleven series. Highlights of each series are listed.

• Biographical Materials (1 box): Mrs. Dobie’s birth certificate, family history, and autobiographical notes. • Writings and Publications (6 boxes): Handwritten and typed drafts of Mrs. Dobie’s newspaper columns and articles about gardening, Mexico, and Frank Dobie, as well as speeches, short stories, poems, and children’s stories. Some of the drafts are written on the verso of discarded correspondence and drafts by Frank Dobie. • Nature/Texana (2 boxes): Notes and publications illuminating Mrs. Dobie’s interests in gardening, botany, ornithology, and the natural world, especially in Texas. This series also contains flower seeds collected by Mrs. Dobie. • Correspondence (8 boxes): Letters to and from Mrs. Dobie dating from 1913 to 1984. This extensive series, comprising almost one-third of the collection, also includes some correspondence to Frank Dobie and to Edgar Kincaid, Jr. (Mrs. Dobie’s nephew), who lived with the Dobies for many years. Letters from Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson, Senator Ralph Yarborough, and John Henry Faulk are part of the collection. • Clippings (1 box): Pieces written by and about the Dobies, and well as articles collected by Mrs. Dobie on gardening, Texana, Velasco (her hometown), and women’s issues. • Photographs (1 box): Photos of the Dobies, their family members, and their Austin home, as well as photos taken in Mrs. Dobie’s garden, at Southwestern University, and in Mexico. • Southwestern University (2 boxes): Mrs. Dobie’s senior yearbook (1910) and materials relating to her Distinguished Alumna Award (1973). • European Trip of 1948 (1 box): Her passport and itinerary, ocean liner memorabilia, and souvenir publications and postcards. • J. Frank Dobie (1 box): Publications and notes about Dobie, copies of pages from his family Bible, and copies of nine Christmas booklets (1948-63) containing reprints of Dobie articles. • Assorted (1 box): Publications by and from Mrs. Dobie’s friend, Senator Yarborough, as well as materials from President Johnson’s 1965 inauguration. • Oversize (1 box): Oversize certificates, photographs, and publications, as well as the plaque Mrs. Dobie received when named a Distinguished Alumna by Southwestern University in 1973.