Guide to the Joan Pilsbury Calligraphic Manuscript of “The Cat and the Moon” by W.B. Yeats, 1958 SPEC.RARE.MMS.0403 Finding aid prepared by Allison McPherson Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections
1858 Neil Avenue Columbus, OH, 43210
2025 October This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2025-10-23T13:40-0400 English Describing Archives: A Content Standard Joan Pilsbury Calligraphic Manuscript of The Cat and the Moon by W.B. Yeats SPEC.RARE.MMS.0403 Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections MMS 19 0.02 Cubic feet 1958 Joan Pilsbury (1926-2016) was a scribe, calligrapher, and illuminator in England until retirement in 2006. The Joan Pilsbury Calligraphic Manuscript of The Cat and the Moon by W.B. Yeats contains a calligraphy version of a poem written by the Irish poet Yeats on a singular sheet. This material is in English and dates 1958. (1) letter file folder English Pilsbury, Joan Acquisitions Information

Accession No. RARE.2025.0030: Purchased, 2020 March

 Preferred Citation

[identification of item], Joan Pilsbury Calligraphic Manuscript of The Cat and the Moon by W.B. Yeats, SPEC.RARE.MMS.0403, Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, Ohio State University

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Materials in this collection are available for use, but may be used in the Thompson Library Special Collections reading room only.

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 Processing Information

Processed by: Allison McPherson, 2025 October; Finding aid written by: Allison McPherson, 2025 October

 Biographical Note

Joan Pilsbury (1926-2016) was a scribe, calligrapher, and illuminator in England until retirement in 2006. Pilsbury worked on calligraphy commissions for clients such as the Royal Victorian Order, the Royal Society of Literature and the Crown Office, including Life Peerages and Royal Marriage Consents. In 2000, Pilsbury was awarded Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services as a calligrapher to the Crown Office. In a lecture given to the Society of Scribes and Illuminators in 2005, Pilsbury noted painting forty thousand blue claws on the seven lions in the Royal Arms on over four hundred Letters Patent.

The poem The Cat and the Moon was written in 1919 by W.B. Yeats. William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), also known as W.B. Yeats, was an Irish poet who won the Nobel prize in Literature in 1923.

 Scope and Contents

The Joan Pilsbury Calligraphic Manuscript of The Cat and the Moon by W.B. Yeats contains a singular page of a calligraphic manuscript done by Joan Pilsbury of the poem "The Cat and the Moon" written by W.B. Yeats. The lettering is done in predominantly black ink with accent colors of red, blue, and gold. It is written in English and was created in 1958.

 Pilsbury, Joan Yeats, W. B. (William Butler), 1865-1939 Calligraphy (visual works) Calligraphy--England--20th century Irish poetry Manuscripts (documents) Women calligraphers—England—20th century