Catt, Carrie Chapman GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE World Center for Women’s Archives, Inc. New Milford, Connecticut October 31, 1936 Dear Mrs. Gott: More than a year ago, I know, MMe. Schwimmer and Miss Blake talked to you about this "project." They reported your consent to bestow your papers upon Word Center for Women's Archives if it ever materialized. Of course it must have seemd a fanciful dream to you. But now it has at least reached the stage of organization with many highly competent women as heads of basic committees. If you will overlook the word "historian" attached to my name as an absurdity for which I am not responsible, I shall make this appeal to you over Mrs. Irwin's signature in order to accompany the request for the right to use your name as sponsor with the inquiry as to whether we may say that you have promised us your papers. I am acting as Archives chairman for the present and I can assure you that when we are ready to accept papers--correspondence, diaries, journals, records of public work--we shall have the most expert care of them at hand and expert preparation of their use for student research. We have such expert women available in reserve, if I may use such a strange phrase. And it is partly because such expert women archivists rarely get the full recognition of their library work that we may secure their competent aid in this enterprise as well as because the women we want for this service are ardent feminists. The pledges we get of materials will help to determine the size and value of our Center of course. Hence the requests are going out even as financing proceeds. As soon as we can announce that we have the promises of major papers, we can be convincing to Foundations and private benefactors. Mrs. Nathan has pledged her Consumers' League Scrap Books, for instance--a good talking point. My deep regard for you- Mary R. Beard A list from you of other desirable archives would be of great help. WORLD CENTER FOR WOMEN'S ARCHIVES Invitations to accept Sponsorship are being extended to the following: Allen, Judge Florence Paul, Alice Astor, Mrs. Vincent Perkins, Frances Belmont, Mrs. August Reid, Mrs. Ogden Berry, Miss Martha Roche, Josephine Blair, Ms. Emily Howell Rockefeller, Mrs. John D. III Blackwell, Miss Alice Stone Robins, Mrs. Raymond P. Brady, Mrs. Nicholas F. Bori, MMe. Lucrezia Sabin, Dr. Florence R. Sims, Ruth Hannah McCormick Carnegie, Mrs. Andrew Solomon, Mrs. Hanna G. Catt, Mrs. Carrie Chapman Simkohvitch, Mrs. Vladimir Coolidge, Mrs. Calvin Tarbell, Miss Ida M. Derby, Mrs. Richard Van Kleeck, Miss Mary Earhart, Amelia Wald, Lillian Wambaugh, Dr. Sarah Finley, Mrs. John H. Warburg, Mrs. Felix M. Fisher, Mrs. Dorothy Canfield Gale, Miss Zona Gildersleeve, Dean Virginia Green, Miss Belle da Costa Harkness, Mrs. Edward S. Several of these women Hoover, Mrs. Herbert have already accepted. Hurst, Fannie Johnson, Mrs James Weldon Mary R. Beard Kohut, Mrs. Alexander Leach, Mrs. Henry Goddard Le Gallienne, Eva Lenroot, Katharine Lewis, Mrs. Dorothy Thompson Lindbergh, Mrs. Charles A. Longworth, Mrs. Alice Roosevelt McCormick, Anna O'Hare Millay, Edna St. Vincent Morrow, Mrs. Dwight O'Keefe, Mrs. Georgia Owen, Mrs. Ruth Bryan WORLD CENTER FOR WOMEN'S ARCHIVES, INC ROOM 236, BILTMORE HOTEL, NEW YORK MURRAY HILL 6-1986 May 13, 1938 Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt 120 Paine Avenue New Rochelle, N.Y. Dear Mrs. Catt: Your letter to Mrs. Irwin, with its generous promise to will duplicates of certain books to the World Center for Women's Archives with the provision that this organization is equipped to receive and care for these gifts, has made us all very happy. We believe that we will be able to fulfill the stated conditions and we will be more grateful than we can possibly express for the privilege of having these duplicates with which to serve those who come to us for informative material. Our progress is not swift but it is very steady and we feel that we are building securely. It will gather momentum as we move forward. We deeply appreciate your membership. Though you did receive a letter asking for a generous contribution in order to make up a big sum, we can readily understand the many demands there are upon your resources which are spread out among so many important causes. We feel that you are doing your share for us in carrying a membership. We shall keep you informed from time to time of our progress. Again, on behalf of the Board of Directors of the World Center for Women's Archives, may I extend our deepest thanks to you for your consideration for this organization. Sincerely yours, Glenna S. Tinnin Glenna S. Tinnin, Executive Secretary GST: J WORLD CENTER FOR WOMEN'S ARCHIVES, INC. ROOM 236, BILTMORE HOTEL, NEW YORK MURRAY HILL 6-1986 Mrs Clarence Day, Treasurer Marjorie White, Archives Secretary April 18, 1939 Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt 120 Paine Avenue New Rochelle, New York My dear Mrs. Catt: Thank you for your very interesting letter of April 13 and for your check for five dollars covering your annual membership dues in World Center for Women's Archives. We greatly appreciate your continued support of our program. I know Mrs. Beard, Chairman of the Archives Committee, would like to see your letter, and I am therefore forwarding it to her. The points you bring up really lie more in her province than in mine. Sincerely yours, Inez Hayes Irwin Inez Hayes Irwin MS Enc. WORLD CENTER FOR WOMEN’S ARCHIVES, Inc. Temporary Headquarters 40 East 42nd Street New York Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt, 120 Paine Avenue, New Rochelle, New York. My dear Mrs. Catt: This brochure by Mary Beard, the historian, reveals an astonishing and significant omission in recorded history, and suggests a remedy. One has only to consider, for a moment, the vital relation of history to the determining of contemporary life and culture to realize the importance of her proposal. Such consideration on the part of a small group has already resulted in the organization and incorporation of the World Center for Women’s Archives, with temporary headquarters in New York City. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I take pleasure in inviting you to become a Sponsor of this organization. In enlisting the cooperation of many groups and individuals in this undertaking, the names of a world-wide, representative list of Sponsors, prominent in varied walks of life, will be invaluable. We hope very much that you will wish to participate in this very helpful way. I should add that no necessary financial responsibility is involved, although it is hoped that our Sponsors will wish to become members of the corporation (annual membership dues are $10). Looking forward to receiving your acceptance in the near future, I am Sincerely yours, Inez Haynes Irwin Inez Haynes Irwin Chairman, Board of Directors *Mary R. Beard* *BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chairman Mrs. Inez Haynes Irwin, 240 West 11th St., New York. Vice-Chairman Miss Emma Hirth, 600 Lexington Ave., New York. Treasurer Miss Mina Bruère 40 East 42nd St., New York. Secretary Miss Ruth Savord, 45 East 65th St., New York. Directors Miss Mary Louise Alexander Mrs. Mary R. Beard Miss Bessie Beatty Mrs. Sidney C. Borg Miss Edna Brezee Mrs. Eleanor Herrick Mrs. Arthur C. Holden Miss Irene Lewisohn Dr. Kathryn McHale Mrs. Edward A. Norman Mrs. Caroline O’Day Miss Lena Madesin Phillips Dr. Lorine Pruette Mrs. Lionel Sutro Mrs. Frank Vanderlip Dr. Chart O. Williams* Concerning Bequest of Books September 28, 1937. Mrs. Mary R. Beard, New Milford, Conn. Dear Mrs. Beard: I am only trying to fill in some deficiencies in my library. There were some books which appeared before I arrived in this world that I have never seen and I am sure they would be only amusing and not in the least valuable, but I am sure that some of the old suffragists must have had some of these books and I am trying to chase them down. When and if I am able to complete my collection, I shall write and tell you what I have and we will consider what to do with them. I am very glad you got as good a start as you have. I think that our American history should remain in this country, but the women in Amsterdam have had such a remarkable start that I think their archives will turn out to be of great authority and importance in Europe. A bountiful space, for which there is no charge for rent, houses the Amsterdam archives. I shall make no disposition of my collection until I have consulted you. Sincerely, CCC:HW. Mary R. Beard New Milford Connecticut September 23, 1937 Mrs. Catt: From Oswald Villard and Harriot Blatch I learn that you are searching for women’s archives and the news pleases me enormously. May we take it for granted that you are intending to help the projected World Center for Women’s Archives in this way? Having become one of its sponsors, you are no doubt having this service in mind--a service of incalculable value. But I have been somewhat disturbed at Mrs. Blatch’s idea that you had some other disposition in mind. You will want to know the status of the project we have launched and I am glad to report that the year or more circulation of the plan is now really bearing fruit. We have enough on hand to open a positive, if modest, office in October and install competent executives for promoting the project. Mrs. John D. Rockefeller Jr. has become interested to the extent of pledging a sum, if small as a starter and on condition that we match it. We have it almost matched, one woman having given us three thousand dollars. We now have genuine hope of pushing forward with this thing and we of course retain the highest hope in your continued interest. Most cordially yours, Mary R. Beard November 10, 1936. Dear Mrs. Beard: I had a letter from Mrs. Irwin, requesting dues as a sponsor of the archives, and I have not yet answered it, because, when I did, I wanted to ask some questions. This summer, I took upon my shoulders a little job which I thought would mean very little work, but it has caused me hours, weeks, and months of work and, in consequences, my regular correspondence has been sadly neglected. Concerning the archives: the only papers that I have compose a library on feminism. There were astonishingly few books written on the woman question. Some were written in the long ago and I never attempted to get second-hand volumes which I might have done. The books I have are only those which were current during the years I was serving the woman movement, but that time covered sixty years. I earned my way through college by being an assistant librarian. When I married, my husband and I were agreed that we ought to be able to buy all the books in which we were especially interested. His books were in another direction, but mine were largely feministic. I had an ambition, for a time, to possess myself of the most complete library that could be obtainable, but the time came when books appeared altogether too frequently for the accommodation of my purse. The woman suffrage movement was then demanding so much attention and we had so little money on which to go, that I could not afford this book or that one and gave up my ambition. I did, however, buy the books which I thought I ought to have and which I thought I ought to read. I do not know how many there are, because some of them are packed and are in the attic of my home. When Rosika Schwimmer spoke to me about the archives many years ago, I told her that if the archives became a reality, I would be willing to contribute, but years passed and I heard nothing more about it, so I offered that library to the National League of Women Voters. The League accepted it and I think it would be very appropriately housed in their national headquarters. I have no doubt it would be used there to good advantage. However, the League, like most organizations, has found the necessity of curtailing its expenses and now is housed in the smaller quarters than at the time the library was accepted. The officers of the organization have changed and there is a possibility that the present officers do not know about my offer and its acceptance. I would feel that I could honorably withdraw from that offer and present the library to the archives, if that was a suitable thing to do. -2- I am now an old lady. I shall be seventy-eight in early January. I am not expecting to remain in this sphere a very long time and when I go, my library will have to go somewhere. The only thing I can do is to request that it be given to the archives, provided you tell me just what the appropriate name would be under which a bequest could be made and, in the event you are not prepared to receive it, that it should go to the National League of Women Voters, if that body should be ready to take it. Concerning this library, let me say that the books are very much like any other class of books. They were printed on poor paper, bound in a bungling way, and are in more or less dilapidated condition, although not one of them has ever been much used. I understand that really immortal books are now printed on other kinds of paper and bound in other ways in order that they may be rendered permanent. This feminist library of mine is out of date in every possible way. I do not think that the books, themselves, were very valuable at any time, but they were useful to us at one period and that is about all that can be said. Some time, within the next few months, I shall get those books out and ascertain how many there are and what they are. When the woman suffrage campaign was over there was a collection of material, which covered the period from 1848 to 1920, in the headquarters of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. I suppose that, at times, the headquarters had been limited as to space, but when the campaign came to an end, it covered two floors of a commercial building. There was a suitable research department in which relics of past years had been kept and this department was the first to be dismantled. We put all that was choice into file cases and, at this moment, I forget how many there were. There were four drawers to each file and there were a good many of those file cases. We selected good cases in which to put papers of importance. We had samples of our literature from our own organization and from The Woman's Party and we had an invaluable collection of anti-suffrage literature. We carefully considered what could be done with this material so as to make it of permanent value. We had talked with the librarian of the New York Public Library on West 42nd Street, New York, and the material was most hospitably received there. After it had been there for a time, some one, who wished to consult it, went to see it and found it was in a sort of store room and that evidently somebody, or several people, had been allowed to go into the room and help themselves to whatever they needed. It was in disorder and this person was unable to find the things she had left there. I think I could storm around and get those things away from the Library and give them to the archives, if they were in existence. We might put those files in order again, but there is no place in which they can be accommodated and I am sure there will be no one who will have any authority to get them away from the library when you do have the archives. Very many things have been destroyed which might have been useful if you had a place in which to keep them; however, I do not think that anything valuable has really been lost, because facts were recorded here and there. There certainly were little incidents that -3- that did not get recorded, but they were more amusing than strategic and had little to do with actual history. Under these circumstances, I do not feel like being a sponsor and paying some money to keep up something that has not a genuine prospect. You did not tell me what is likely to take place. Perhaps nothing ever can. I should say that a library of archives would require considerable money to keep it properly and that must be imaginary. Some one may arise who would endow such a thing and some movement, of which we do not now dream, may arise and have a history and our archives would make a place for its records. All of this is interesting, but it does not seem practical at this present moment. In other words, let me say, in closing, that I shall be passing out of this mundane sphere not long hence and there is little I can do. I am quite willing to cooperate, if there is anything to cooperate with. What I am asking for is more information. I might have saved you the trouble of reading this long letter had I simply asked in the beginning: - where do you expect to house the archives; how much will it cost per year, and what is there to put in it? Cordially, CCC:HW. *Library* April 22, 1938. Mrs. Inez Haynes Irwin, Room 236, Biltmore Hotel, New York City. Dear Mrs. Irwin: This is to say that I have definitely planned to put my own library, combined with that of the National American Woman Suffrage Association and such gifts as I may receive from others, in the Congressional Library where it has a promise of being kept intact and will be looked after in such way that one may hope it will not be lost. One of the most curious thefts is that of books from libraries. The librarian of the New Rochelle library tells me that they lose one thousand books a year from their public library. There must be ample clerks to protect a library after it is secured and we can get that in Washington. There will be some duplicates of books and I do not wish to rob myself of all authoritative sources, I shall keep the duplicates so long as I am here, but when I pass on, it is my expectation to leave to the Archives these duplicates which will include the History of Woman Suffrage, provided that at that time the Archives is equipped to receive such gifts and if not, I will ask my executors to find a suitable reception for these books. I received a letter from you, asking for a fairly large contribution to the Archives in order to make up a bigger sum. My surplus is exhausted at this time, due to other obligations. My Peace and War library has already gone to my College. A large number of the feminist books are being rebound and it is an additional cost which I must assume. I shall expect to place this library before the end of the summer. In the meantime, I have no fund from which to aid the Archives. This letter requires no reply. It is sent merely as a letter of information. Sincerely, Carrie Chapman Catt CCC:HW. WORLD CENTER FOR WOMEN'S ARCHIVES, INC. ROOM 236, BILTMORE HOTEL, NEW YORK MURRAY HILL 6-1986 February 10, 1938 Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt 120 Paine Avenue New Rochelle, New York My dear Miss Catt: At this important stage in the progress of the Women's Archives, will you, as a member, give to it a very special and necessary service? We deeply appreciate the promise of a friend -- who wishes her name withheld -- that she will contribute to this organization the sum of $1000 when we have added $1500 more to our present budget. It would seem advisable to avail ourselves of this promise without unnecessary delay. Lines have been, and are being laid for gifts in generous figures. The outlook is promising, but such results take time to encourage and develop. In the meantime it is suggested that an organized action on the part of our membership can bring in this required $1500 immediately -- that each member might perhaps add to the check for annual dues any special amount possible. Can you help in this way? Also will you not make an earnest effort to secure one other membership? If you and others will give this double service at this time, I believe that in a few days we can gratify you with a report of "Success" in return for your effort and generosity. Sincerely yours, Inez Hayes Irwin Inez Hayes Irwin Chairman [* Chairman Inez Haynes Irwin Vice-Chairman Emma Hirth Treasurer Anne Houstoun Sadler Secretary Ruth Savord Executive Secretary Glenna Smith Tinnin Membership Secretary Katherine P. Howard Directors Mary Louise Alexander Mrs. Mary R. Beard Bessie Beatty Mrs. Sidney C. Borg Edna Brezee Mrs. Elinore M. Herrick Mrs. Arthur C. Holden Irene Lewisohn Dr. Kathryn McHale Mrs. Edward A. Norman Mrs. Caroline O'Day Lena Madesin Phillips Dr. Lorine Pruette Mrs. Lionel Sutro Dr. Charl O. Williams Sponsors Judge Florence Allen Mrs. Vincent Astor Mrs. Dorothy Schiff Backer Charles A. Beard Alice Stone Blackwell Mrs. Emily Newell Blair Mrs. Harriet Stanton Blatch Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt Mrs. Dorothy Canfield Fisher Fannie Hurst Mrs. James Weldon Johnson Mrs. Alexander Kohut Robert D. Leigh Mrs. Dorothy Thompson Lewis Anne Morgan Jeannette P. Nichols Roy Nichols Georgia O'Keeffe Alice Paul Frances Perkins Josephine Roche Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt Margaret Sanger Prof. Richard H. Shryock Mrs. Ruth Hanna McCormick Simms Mrs. Hanna G. Solomon Ida M. Tarbell Mary Van Kleeck Lillian Wald*] WORLD CENTER FOR WOMEN'S ARCHIVES, INC. ROOM 236, BILTMORE HOTEL, NEW YORK MURRAY HILL 6-1986 April 24, 1939 Carrie Chapman Catt 120, Paine Avenue New Rochelle New York Dear Mrs. Catt: It seems as though I was a long time in answering your letter of April 13, but I had to wait until there was a meeting of the Board of Directors to discuss it with them before I could reply. We considered your letter, paragraph by paragraph, giving all our consideration to every idea you expressed. You asked if the World Center for Women's Archives would accept books. We will accept them gladly --- but always, of course, with this inevitable proviso. We seem to be a going concern. But we are in the midst of a great depression, and that depression may grow worse. War clouds thicken about us. It is not inconceivable that New York City might be bombed. So therefore, we accept the books with the understanding that --- if by any of these dire chances, our organization should go out --- we will place them with whatever institution seems to us best fitted to receive them and take care of them. [* Board of Directors MARY LOUISE ALEXANDER MARY R. BEARD BESSIE BEATTY EMMA HIRTH MRS. ARTHUR C. HOLDEN INEZ HAYNES IRWIN MRS. HENRY GODDARD LEACH IRENE LEWISOHN DR. KATHRYN MCHALE MARY MORRIS MRS. EDWARD A. NORMAN CAROLINE O'DAY LENA MADESIN PHILLIPS RUTH SAVORD MRS. LIONEL SUTRO DR. CHARL O. WILLIAMS Executive Secretary GLENNA S. TINNIN Sponsors JUDGE FLORENCE E. ALLEN MRS. VINCENT ASTOR DOROTHY SCHIFF BACKER ALICE BALDWIN DR. CHARLES A. BEARD ALICE STONE BLACKWELL EMILY NEWELL BLAIR HARRIET STANTON BLATCH MRS. SIDNEY C. BORG MRS. LOUIS D. BRANDEIS CARRIE CHAPMAN CATT MRS. PRESTON DAVIE DR. EDWARD C. ELLIOTT ANGNA ENTERS DOROTHY CANFIELD FISHER GRACE E. FRYSINGER MRS. GEORGE GELLHORN DR. META GLASS MRS. THOMAS N. HEPBURN MARJORIE HILLIS FANNIE HURST DR. ALVIN JOHNSON MRS. JAMES WELDON JOHNSON MRS. ALEXANDER KOHUT FOLA LAFOLLETTE MRS. JAMES LEES LAIDLAW FANNY HEASLIP LEA ROBERT D. LEIGH DOROTHY THOMPSON LEWIS DR. KATE CAMPBELL HURD-MEAD ANNIE NATHAN MEYER ALICE DUER MILLER ANNE MORGAN MRS. FREDERICK NATHAN JEANNETTE P. NICHOLS PROF. ROY NICHOLS RUTH NICHOLS GEORGIA O'KEEFFE ALICE PAUL FRANCES PERKINS RUTH BAKER PRATT RUTH BRYAN OWEN ROHDE JOSEPHINE ROCHE MRS. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT DR. FLORENCE R. SABIN MARGARET SANGER PROF. RICHARD H. SHRYOCK RUTH HANNA MCCORMICK SIMMS HANNA G. SOLOMON DORIS STEVENS GRACE E. STOERMER MR. LYMAN BEECHER STOWE MRS. LYMAN BEECHER STOWE IDA M. TARBELL JANE H. TODD OSWALD GARRISON VILLARD LILLIAN D. WALD CONSTANCE WARREN ELLEN WOODWARD MARY E. WOOLLEY*] We find your suggestion of the making of a catalogue of books on the woman question a very valuable one. We shall be interested to do that as time and income allow. Thank you for your highly suggestive and highly valuable letter. Very truly yours, [signed] Inez Hayes Irwin II:BL [second page] WORLD CENTER FOR WOMEN'S ARCHIVES, INC. 1270 SIXTH AVENUE, ROCKEFELLER CENTER, NEW YORK N.Y. CIRCLE 6-3480 KATHERINE J. JUDSON, TREASURER MARJORIE WARREN, ARCHIVES SECRETARY December 15, 1939 Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt 120 Paine Avenue New Rochelle, New York Dear Mrs. Catt: It was a regret to us all that you were unable to attend the Annual Meeting of the World Center for Women's Archives on November 13. But through this bulletin of our progress toward a distinguished collection of source materials on Women, you may keep in touch with this development at the Center. To see wanton destruction of the highest in human thought and effort is tragedy indeed. If, as might so easily happen, women's great part in that slow hard struggle toward something higher is to become lost to memory, that also will be tragedy. Yet it has happened before. Our task, and yours, is to see that it does not happen now. Hence the World Center for Women's Archives. With good wishes, I am Cordially, [signed] Mary R. Beard *Book Request* January 10, 1938. Miss Glenna S. Tinnan, Executive Secretary, World Center for Women’s Archives, Room 236, Biltmore Hotel, New York City. Dear Miss Tinnan: In reply to your query, I will say that my feminist library is not yet quite in order to report upon. There are at least five hundred volumes, some of which are of very great value and others of very little. There are some few items which will be combined with it. This library consists of my own collection and some books which I have gathered from others, and there will also be a contribution of books from the National American Woman Suffrage Association and from the Leslie Commission. I am anxious, if possible, that this library should be kept intact. Some of it will last quite a while and some of it will disappear in half a century. The paper, the binding, the ink, and everything that contributes to the making of a book in these days is of such poor quality that the book, itself, is far from immortal. If I can find any place at all where this library can be kept intact and a guarantee given that it will remain there permanently, that is the place I will want it to go. The Archives are too uncertain at present to be entrusted with such a collection, I fear, but I shall not dispose of it finally until I have given you a chance to tell me what you will do with it. At present, it is not ready for distribution. I cannot make you any definite promise. Very truly yours, Carrie Chapman Catt CCC:HW. WORLD CENTER FOR WOMEN'S ARCHIVES, INC. ROOM 236, BILTMORE HOTEL, NEW YORK MURRAY HILL 6-1986 January 3, 1938 Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt 120 Paine Avenue New Rochelle, N.Y. Dear Mrs. Catt: We are writing you for Mrs. Mary Beard on a very important matter. Mrs. Beard has conferred with you in the past about the possibility of having many of your papers and books deposited with the World's Center for Women's Archives, where they might serve an ever increasing public. The Women's Archives would be fortunate indeed to be a means whereby such papers and books would serve students and those seeking the valuable information they contain. Mrs. Beard is very eager at this time to have the possibility of this gift confirmed. We are at present composing our report of activities for the past year to be presented to the Internal Revenue Department for tax exemption. It will give the report great strength if we include the important list of archives promised as well as archives already received. The Women's Archives has made great strides, especially in the last few months and is moving steadily forward toward permanent establishment. Those of us closely associated with it realize keenly how great is the need for the world service it is preparing to give. Already we are acting as a clearing house and providing many seekers for historic truth material from our own files or pointing out to them where material can be found elsewhere. This is the result of excellent research work that has been done up to this time. May we have an early answer, for we eagerly await the confirmation of Mrs. Beard's understanding that these valued papers and books may come to us as soon as we can house them. With sincere appreciation, Faithfully yours, [signed] Glenna S. Tinnin [typed] Glenna S. Tinnin, Executive Secretary April 13, 1939. Mrs. Inez Haynes Irwin, Chairman, World Center for Women's Archives, Inc., Room 236, Biltmore Hotel, New York, N. Y. Dear Mrs. Irwin: During the last two years I have been spending a good deal of money on books and material for the feminist library sent to the Library of Congress. I have had to rebind many books and much of my surplus has gone in that direction. I have on hand quite a list of important books which I am keeping for a necessary reference library so long as I remain here. Most of these books are mine, but some belong to the National American Woman Suffrage Association. It is my intention to send you a list when I get around to it. I am leaving these books to my executors with the instructions to inquire of the Women's Archives if they are able to receive them, place them, and take care of them. If they are, they will go in that direction; if not, I am asking them to find another library in which to place them. In working upon these books, I have thought that a very useful kind of work which these archives might perform would be to secure a copy of the collections in various libraries. I find that suffragists, long passed by, left their libraries or collections of books to this or that college and it might be very useful if we knew where they were. I have found, also, that libraries get tired of books that are not much called for and I had a present from one library of six useful books for my collection which went to Washington. The library was going to throw them out. I am not sure but that a letter, directed to the chief libraries, might usefully inquire as to what books on the woman question their library includes. You might mention that some libraries throw out these books when they have passed their time, but you are willing to collect such books if they are willing to give them to you.. I think you may get some valuable material in that way. - 2 - The Archives in Holland, which are so fortunate as to have money, are now negotiating with a New York dealer for a collection which, in my judgment, is not at all valuable as a whole; at least, it is not worth the price asked, but it does contain some extremely valuable books which are not obtainable through regular sources now. In the course of this and similar procedures, a catalogue of books on the woman question might be made, together with the places where such books may be found. If ever a real student of the question should be there to secure facts by research, such a list would be of incalculable value. A further contribution would be an index of the status of women and the campaign for their relief. Enclosed find check for $5.00 - the dues which you request. Sincerely yours, Carrie Chapman Catt CCC:HW. April 7, 1939 Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt 1230 Paine Avenue New Rochelle, New York Dear Mrs. Catt: Your membership in the World Center for Women's Archives has been a source of financial support to the organization and of strength and encouragement to me. We have never needed these more than now. The last few months have doubled our work. Hundreds of letters are going out from the office asking for records and manuscripts from women of achievement and are meeting with the most interesting and encouraging results. We are getting in touch with new members and are forming state branches. I should greatly appreciate the renewal of you membership with is now due and am enclosing a membership blank in the hope that you may, because of our present urgent needs, increase your membership for the coming year. Sincerely yours, [[signature]] Inez Haynes Irwin Transcribed and reviewed by volunteers participating in the By The People project at crowd.loc.gov.