Travel Writing, Spectacle and World History

Women's Travel Diaries and Correspondence from The Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University

There is a growing demand for sources for the study of travel and life writing and this project meets both of these needs.

It offers students and researchers a window to the past and transports them across continents. From the everyday to the extraordinary, these rare diaries and the supporting correspondence describe the travel experiences, destinations and desires of nineteenth and twentieth century American women.

The project has wide ranging interdisciplinary appeal, offering first hand accounts of major historical events as reported by eye witnesses, detailing key interests and themes in women’s lives, providing snapshots of cities, cultures and customs, and charting the rise of modern tourism and the travel industry.

Topics covered include:

Emigration and daily life
Missionary Work
World War I
World War II
Boxer War in China
Frontier Life in America
Personal Enlightenment through travel
Education and Finishing School
Sightseeing, Holidays and Tourism
Customs, culture and leisure

From the meticulous accounts of outings and sightseeing of the chaperoned young lady, to the impassioned descriptions of far continents by the determined explorer, these personal accounts are written by women of all ages, travelling for many different reasons, from all walks of life. They cover journeying for work, for pleasure, for charity, for enlightenment, by sea, air and land. The explorations range from vacations to intrepid adventures, and every type of trip in between.

Travel Writing, Spectacle and World History

Women's Travel Diaries and Correspondence from The Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University

Editorial Board:

Professor Tim Youngs (Nottingham Trent University)
Professor Patricia Lorcin (University of Minnesota)
Professor Linda Wagner-Martin (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill)
Marilyn Dunn (The Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University
Ellen Shea (The Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University)

Source Library:

The Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University

Nature of the Material:

Unique manuscripts, diaries, travel journals, correspondence, photographs, postcards and ephemera. All of the material has been indexed and the meta data includes regions, countries and places visited. Topics including the reason for travel have been captured and where available biographical information and a photograph of the traveller are included. All the printed and typescript items are full text searchable.

Scope of the Collection:

The collection covers a wide time period from c.1835 right through to the twentieth century, the latest document is from 1976.

The geographical area covered by these diaries is immense. It is a world history resource with travel to countries within the British, French, Chinese and American empires and discussion of empire and nationalism, as well as description of the post-colonial world. A great variety of modes of transport are covered, including sea voyages, road trips, wagon trains and air travel.

Themes explored in the documents are many and varied and include:

Empire
Tourism
The environment
Natural history
Politics
Spiritual enlightenment
Urban history
Cultural history
Education

Features & Highlights:

All the documents in the resource are beautifully presented in full colour
Simple and advanced search facilities
Browse through and sort lists of material by title, date, reference and traveller
Bespoke interactive maps showing the major destinations of all the travellers
Detailed case studies of several of the travellers showing their route and linking to the documents
Slideshow of stunning visual material including photographs and postcards
Essays by leading historians and the curators of the collections which contextualise the documents and bring them to life for students and researchers
Unparalleled resource for life writing and cultural history.

Profiles of a selection of women travellers, highlighting the variety of the material contained in the Collection:

Catherine Coyne: A news reporter for the Boston Herald in Europe, in 1944 Coyne was sent to England as a foreign war correspondent. In 1945 and 1946 she was transferred to work in France, Germany and The Netherlands. Her news articles were very popular with Boston audiences. Coyne records in her diaries her experiences when travelling and working in Europe during 1945-1947.

Elizabeth Cary Agassiz: Elizabeth Cary Agassiz was an American educator and was the co-founder and first president of Radcliffe College. She married the scientist Louis Agassiz whom she accompanied to Brazil on the Thayer expedition (1865-1866) and on the Hassler expedition, one of the first important government marine explorations (1871-1872). This collection of material contains letters, dairies and other personal and professional papers.

Eva Alberta Mooar: A graduate of Radcliffe College (1908), Mooar was a member of the Women’s Rest Tour Association and travelled extensively in Europe before returning to Radcliffe, where she received her M.A. in philology in 1913. She travelled around the world in 1926 and again in 1937. Her collection of papers include letters from Mooar to her family regarding her travels in Japan and Europe.

Evelyn Wendt: Drives to Alaska from Michigan in 1947 with her family as part of a resettling initiative promoted by the government. The journey took two months. In her travel account titled ‘Call of the Wilderness’ she describes her experiences of travelling along the Alcan Highway and the hard reality of life when in Alaska.

Grace Gallatin Seton-Thompson: An ardent suffragist, Seton-Thompson served as president of the Connecticut Woman Suffrage Association (1910-1920). She travelled widely during the 1920s and 1930s, visiting Japan, China, Egypt, India, South America and Indochina. This collection contains personal and professional correspondence, journals, legal documents and photographs relating to her work, travels and family life.

Ida Pruitt: Writer, educator, social worker and fundraiser, Ida Pruitt was born in China to American parents. A prolific writer and a keen observer of Chinese history, culture and society, Pruitt is the author of a number of books and articles about her experiences in China. Her diaries include notes and descriptions of various Chinese factories, schools and communes during the Japanese occupation of China from 1937-1945.

Mary Reed Eastman: Mary Reed Eastman was 26 years old when she got married to a minister, Ornan Eastman. She records in her diary a wedding journey she and her husband took in 1832. They travelled by sea and overland from New York to Charleston, South Carolina and back. They visit many places in North America including Georgia, New Orleans, St. Louis, Illinois, Kentucky and Cincinnati. Included in the diary are excerpts of sermons that Mr Eastman gave as they travelled, and reports of Women’s Missionary meetings that Mary attended.

Travel Writing, Spectacle and World History

"The importance of Travel Writing extends well beyond mere descriptions of other places. Politics, society, identity, alterity, gender and race, are just some of the many issues that the site can be used to explore"

Professor Patricia Lorcin, University of Minnesota Twin Cities