By Ella Frances Swain
Collection Overview
Title: Woman's Reading Club Records, 1905-1972
ID: 001/01/MSS 0000-166
Creator: Woman's Reading Club (Norfolk, Va.) (1905-1971)
Extent: 4.0 Boxes
Arrangement: Arranged in chronological order.
Date Acquired: 07/20/1972
Languages: English [eng]
Scope and Contents of the Materials
Minute books, bylaws, administrative records, yearbooks, correspondence, histories, speeches, poems, clippings, and memorabilia from the Woman's Reading Club in Norfolk, Virginia. The records date from 1905-1972, with gaps in the meeting minutes from 1916-1923 and 1928-1944.
Biographical Note
The Woman's Reading Club was first brought to fruition on January 28, 1905 at the home of Mrs. B. F. Reynolds, at the intersection of Brambleton Avenue and Park Avenue, in Norfolk, Virginia. Its purpose was to bring women together to discuss literature, world affairs, and culture. The Woman's Reading Club motto was, "We live to learn." The Club studied a variety of subjects including art, music, drama, poetry, history, and biography from all over the world. Due to low membership numbers, the Club dissolved in Fall 1971.
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions:
This collection is open to all researchers.
Use Restrictions:
The status of copyright for these materials is governed by Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U. S. C.). Copyright restrictions may apply.
Acquisition Source:
Woman's Reading Club by donation
Preferred Citation:
Woman's Reading Club Records, MSS 0000-166, Sargeant Memorial Collection, Norfolk Public Library, Norfolk, Virginia.
Processing Information:
Processed May-July 2018.
Box and Folder Listing
- Box 1
- Folder 1: Records, Club Constitution, By-laws and Amendments, 1905-1906
- Folder 2: Bylaws, 1959, 1969, undated
- Folder 3: Resolutions, circa 1937-1961
- Folder 4: Meeting Minutes, 1905
- Folder 5: Meeting Minutes, 1905-1908
- Folder 6: Loose Materials from Minute book, 1905-1908
- Includes a card featuring a “Game of Authors” dated 1905-1906, a program for March 1907, and 13 clippings covering a variety of topics including Czar Ivan’s temple, changing practices in public education polices in the United States, and the military career of Lieutenant General Helmuth von Moltke the Younger. Additionally, there is a political cartoon by artist Dowers dated November 19, 1914 regarding the USS Tennessee.
- Folder 7: Meeting Minutes, 1908-1910
- Folder 8: Meeting Minutes, 1910-1912
- Folder 9: Meeting Minutes, 1913-1915
- Folder 10: Loose Materials from Minute book, 1913-1915
- Clippings featuring Earl Curzon’s “New Year’s Prayer” to the German army in 1915, the use of “Fabian tactics” on the battlefields of northern France and on the country of Turkey, and the “sick man of Europe.”
- Folder 11: Meeting Minutes, 1924-1925
- Folder 12: Meeting Minutes, 1925-1927
- Box 2
- Folder 1: Meeting Minutes, 1945-1949
- Folder 2: Meeting Minutes, 1949-1953
- Folder 3: Loose Materials from Minute book, 1949-1950
- Includes loose copies of meeting minutes for September 15, 1949 and March 29, 1950, as well as a map, playbill, and clipping.
- Folder 4: Meeting Minutes, 1953-1957
- Folder 5: Loose Materials from Minute book, 1953-1957
- Includes meeting minutes for April 21 and December 16, 1953 and a 1957 resolution.
- Folder 6: Meeting Minutes, 1957-1961
- Folder 7: Loose Materials from Minute book, 1957-1961
- Includes a place card, clippings, and a memorandum.
- Folder 8: Meeting Minutes, 1961-1966
- Folder 9: Meeting Minutes, 1966-1971
- Box 3
- Folder 1: Ledger, 1933-1963
- Includes expenditures and disbursements.
- Folder 2: Yearbook, 1915
- Folder 3: Yearbooks, 1939-1947
- Folder 4: Yearbooks, 1947-1955
- Folder 5: Yearbooks, 1955-1961
- Folder 6: Yearbooks, 1961-1966
- Folder 7: Yearbooks, 1966-1971
- Box 4
- Folder 1: Booklet, History of the Woman's Reading Club, Norfolk, Virginia, 1905-1947, 1947
- Folder 2: Histories of Woman's Reading Club, circa 1917-1970
- Folder 3: Correspondence, 1912-1972
- Folder 4: Certificates, 1964-1970
- Folder 5: Speeches, circa 1949-1955
- Folder 6: Poems, circa 1906-1943
- Folder 7: Memorabilia, 1955, 1960, undated
- Folder 8: Clippings, 1922-1956
- Folder 9: Materials relating to the Virginia Federation of Women's Clubs, 1952-1966, undated
- Folder 10: Yearbook, Virginia Federation of Women's Clubs, 1965-1966
- Folder 11: Newsletters, Tidewater Tidings, Tidewater District, Virginia Federation of Women's Clubs, 1965-1966
- Folder 12: Gavel, Woman's Reading Club Records, undated
- Gavel is located inside the document spacer behind Folder 11.