Guide to the J. Otis Swift Papers, 1871-1989, undated

Josiah Otis Swift (1871-1948) was a nature columnist and founder of the Yosian Brotherhood of Nature Philosophers. The son and grandson of two leading newsmen from Maine, Swift began his career at the age of twelve as a reporter for the Lewiston Journal and became city editor soon after. He became a writer for the New York Evening World in 1900 where he started a daily nature column called "News Outside the Door" that was published with few interruptions from 1918 until his death in 1948. He organized nature walks with his friends in New York before he began writing "News Outside the Door," tapping into his roots growing up in Maine's great woods. These walks and his daily columns engendered the Yosian Brotherhood of Nature Philosophers. At their peak, the Yosians boasted more than 150,000 members worldwide and their movement was covered in magazines including the "New Yorker."

Papers (ca. 1871-1989) documenting the life and work of J. Otis Swift (1871-1948), nature columnist and leader of the Yosian Brotherhood of Nature Philosophers, including: articles, scrapbooks, memoirs, correspondence, biographical materials, and other writings. Includes published and unpublished poems and short stories. Also included are images from various sources, both of J. Otis Swift, his family, Yosian outings, flowers, insects, and the landscape. Additionally, personal materials of J. Otis Swift, such as his diary, confirmation and marriage certificates, as well as address and date books are included. His most voluminous work is the article series "News Outside the Door," which spans more than four volumes.

This collection is arranged in three series: Writings, Correspondence, and Biographical and Personal Materials. Writings contains two sub-series, Nature Writings and Other Writings. Nature Writings are primarily of articles written by J. Otis Swift, while Other Writings include his poems and short stories; both series are organized alphabetically and chronologically when applicable. The Correspondence series consists of letters written by J. Otis Swift and letters written to him organized chronologically. The Biographical and Personal Materials series is the most diverse in terms of materials, including autobiographies, journals, obituaries, and even music books.