HIST 218: Representations of World War I (BMC)

American who volunteered in World War I helping French orphans through the Committee France-America for the Protection of the Children of the Frontier and as a Red Cross Auxiliary Nurse in the American Red Cross Military Hospital No. 1 in Neuilly-sur-Seine. The collection includes her scrapbooks and letters from the war.

Lovat Fraser, a British artist and theater designer, served in the British army in France during World War I. The papers include his letters home from the front, and his sketchbooks with drawings made while serving in the army.

Grace de Laguna was a philosophy professor at Bryn Mawr College. Her collection includes letters written to her parents during a sabbatical in Europe with her husband and two children, written between 1914-1915, which document the impact of World War One around them.

Henrietta Baldwin Sperry was a student at Bryn Mawr from 1917-1921. This collection consists of approximately 1000 of her letters. Of those letters, most are written by her to her mother about her time applying to and attending Bryn Mawr College (1916-1921). The subjects of the letters include social life at Bryn Mawr, disease quarantines, the college war effort. The collection also contains letters to Henrietta from her friend and admirer, Sheldon Clarke, who wrote to her while he was serving in the 9th Balloon Division during the First World War.

Karl D. Jessen was a German-born professor of German Literature at Bryn Mawr College. His papers include evidence of anti-German sentiment early in World War I, as well as documentation of the growing Socialist movement in the United States before the Bolshevik Revolution.

The M. A. Irvine Papers contain letters, memorabilia, scrapbooks, and photographs from Bryn Mawr College alumnae Mary Agnes Irvine, class of 1910. The majority of the material in the collection relates to Irvine’s time as a member of the Y.M.C.A. Canteen Service in Le Mans, France in 1918-1919.

Margaret Hall, Bryn Mawr Class of 1899, worked as a Red Cross volunteer in France in 1918 and 1919. She maintained a diary throughout her service, and transformed it into a more polished scrapbook, with photographs and documents, shortly after the war.

Mary Thurman Martin graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 1919. This scrapbook documents her time at the college and includes materials related to WWI’s effect on Bryn Mawr’s campus—mainly through newspaper clippings—the Bryn Mawr farm, and comics regarding female college students.

Nathalie Gookin was a member of the class of 1920. Her letters home from Bryn Mawr document life on campus during World War I and her diaries capture her personal thoughts about the war.

Howard and Katharine Elkington were Philadelphia Quakers who did relief work in France from 1917 to 1919 as part of the American Friends Service Committee. The papers include their letters from France to their families. (From the Haverford College Special Collections)

Haines, an 1898 graduate of Haverford College,served in France and England from 1917 to 1921 as part of the Friends War Relief Committee. The papers consist of his letters to his father. (From the Haverford College Special Collections).

English and American Quakers were engaged in relief and reconstruction work in Europe during and following World War I involving civilians in Russia, Serbia, Austria, and Poland. In 1919 Friends extended their efforts to include a program of child-feeding in Germany. This collection of almost 1000 glass lantern slides assembled by the AFSC shows the damage caused by war, rebuilding efforts, hospitals and orphanages, and other projects.

This is a database of collection guides describing archival and manuscript collections at Bryn Mawr College, Haverford College, and Swarthmore College. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described are physically available in our respective reading rooms, and not digitally available through the web.

The collections of the 36 PACSCL member libraries include a total of more than 4,000,000 rare books, 260,000 linear feet of manuscripts and archival materials, and 9,000,000 photographs, maps, architectural drawings, and works of art on paper. PACSCL member libraries hold rich collections of materials on national, regional, and local history; the natural and social sciences; world history, literature and religion; art and architecture; and business and industry.

The Quaker and Special Collections, located in Magill Library, contain extensive holdings on the Society of Friends, including documentation on the anti-slavery, peace, and non-violence movements.

The Swarthmore College Peace Collection, located in McCabe Library, has extensive holdings of manuscripts and archives from individuals and organizations active in the peace movement, nonviolence, and refugee relief since the late 19th century.

The Friends Historical Library, located in McCabe Library, contains extensive holdings on the Society of Friends from the 17th century to the present, including much on anti-slavery, peace, and non-violence.