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COLLECTION Identifier: SC 103

Papers of Helen Peabody, 1921-1985

Overview

Unpublished writings by Helen Peabody, Radcliffe College Class of 1921.

Dates

  • Creation: 1921-1985

Language of Materials

Materials in English.

Access Restrictions:

Access. Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright. Copyright in the papers created by Helen Peabody as well as copyright in other papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns.

Copying. Papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures.

Extent

.42 linear feet (1 file box)

This collection contains drafts of Peabody's unpublished writings. Folder #10 was added in September 2014.

BIOGRAPHY

Helen Peabody, beauty expert and author, was born in Auburndale, Massachusetts, on August 9, 1898. She attended Miss Haskell's School in Boston, the Ecole Vivet, Lausanne, Switzerland, the Cambridge School for Girls, and received her A.B. from Radcliffe in 1921. She concentrated in History of Fine Arts and Painting.

In 1921-1922 she met Vera Pilat in the YWCA in San Francisco, and teamed up with her to create a traveling marionette show consisting of nine puppets and a fold-up stage. Traveling in a Model T Ford with camping equipment, they put on their shows in schools, clubs, and private homes.

Peabody was a graduate student in Fine Arts at Radcliffe from 1922-1923, studied painting in Paris in 1923, and then attended Yale Drama School (1923-1924). She played in off-Broadway productions and was a make-up artist. She taught make-up at the Cosmetic Institute in New York.

On her return to live in Cambridge, she did volunteer work at Metropolitan state Hospital for the mentally ill. She was also active in the Friends' Meeting in Cambridge, working on the Peace and Social Concerns Committee which established the Martin Luther King Camp Scholarships Fund used to recruit black children for private summer camps.

She eventually turned to writing, producing many unpublished short stories and Lift Up Your Face (1975), a book addressing beauty and character.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Accession numbers: R85-4, R85-5, R86-7, 2014-M134

The collection was given to the Radcliffe College Archives by Helen Peabody in August 1986; "Lift Up Your Heart" (#10) was given by John Ito in August 2014.

Processing Information

Processed: September 1988

By: Isabelle Bland Dry '35

Updated: September 2014

By: Anne Engelhart

Title
Peabody, Helen, 1898-1992. Papers of Helen Peabody, 1921-1985: A Finding Aid
Author
Radcliffe College Archives, Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
Language of description
eng
EAD ID
sch01103

Repository Details

Part of the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute Repository

The preeminent research library on the history of women in the United States, the Schlesinger Library documents women's lives from the past and present for the future. In addition to its traditional strengths in the history of feminisms, women’s health, and women’s activism, the Schlesinger collections document the intersectional workings of race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class in American history.

Contact:
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Cambridge MA 02138 USA
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