Papers of Charlotte, E. Carr, ca.1900-1956

The papers of Charlotte E. Carr, social worker, welfare advocate, labor supporter, and first salaried head of Hull-House, include correspondence; address books; scrapbooks, diaries; reports and essays written by Carr; biographical clippings; financial records; and photographs and photograph albums documenting Carr's personal and professional life. Most of the photographs in this collection are or will be cataloged in VIA, Harvard University's Visual Information Access database. Others, referred to as "uncataloged" photographs, are not of sufficient research interest to warrant cataloging and are simply treated as part of the documents they accompany; they are marked on the back with an asterisk in square brackets [*].

Series I, BIOGRAPHICAL AND PERSONAL, 1908-1956 (#1.1-2.11), contains address books, diaries, clippings, correspondence, awards, financial records, notes, writings, and scrapbooks documenting the life of Charlotte E. Carr. Clippings pertain primarily to Carr's professional life. Address books contain professional contacts; awards include her appointment as the Secretary of Labor and Industry, an honorary Master of Arts, and an unsigned draft of a letter awarding her an honorary doctorate in human letters. Items of note include a diary (1909) kept while Carr attended Miss Madiera's School in Washington, D.C. The diary recounts Carr's daily social activities, school work, and participation in extracurricular activities such as basketball and dramatic plays. They also faithfully record the daily weather. Other items of interest include an undated diary that Carr kept while traveling in England and Scotland, observing the organization of trade unions in the United Kingdom, and Carr's personal correspondence with New York City Mayor, Fiorello La Guardia, with whom she enjoyed a close friendship. Two scrapbooks (1933-1935) documenting Carr's life were compiled by Effie Reimensnyder of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry and given to Carr as gifts. Another scrapbook and clippings (found loose) document Carr's pioneering work at Hull House and the conflict that led to her resignation and return to New York City. The series is arranged alphabetically.

Series II, PHOTOGRAPHS, ca.1900-ca.1950 (#PD.1v-PD.12), includes formal portraits of Carr, photograph albums of family and friends, and images of Carr's professional acquaintances. Items of note include platinum prints in scrapbook documenting Carr's adolescence; these illustrate student life at Miss Madiera's School in Washington, D.C., and Vassar College. Photographs in the two photograph albums presumably created by Carr include group portraits of the Miss Madeira's basketball team for which Carr played; Carr and friends camping, dressed in Halloween costumes, and performing outdoor yoga and dance. They also include group portraits and candid shots of costumed casts for plays in which Carr stared (as described in her diary); graduation from Vassar, family and friends, and participation in student protests. The vast majority of photographs (both in albums and found loose) do not identify individuals by name. The series contains a number of photographs found loose; these document Carr's professional work. They include a number of images of unidentified children dressed in uniform and their teachers (presumably taken at Hull House, in Pennsylvania, and in New York); Carr discussed her intention to photograph children in her correspondence with Fiorello La Guardia. Other loose photographs depict Carr delivering talks or at work in her office; formal portraits of Carr; and individuals, including Fiorello La Guardia and Eleanor Roosevelt with whom Carr may have worked. The series is arranged chronologically.