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COLLECTION Identifier: A-157: M-99

Papers of Clara Littledale Savage, 1903-1982 (inclusive), 1903-1956 (bulk)

Overview

Correspondence, diaries, writings, etc., of Clara Savage Littledale, author, editor, and expert on child rearing.

Dates

  • Creation: 1903-1982
  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1903-1956

Language of Materials

Materials in English.

Conditions Governing Access

Access. Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright. Copyright in the papers created by Clara Littledale Savage is held by the President and Fellows of Harvard College for the Schlesinger Library. 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

2.09 linear feet (5 file boxes) plus 1 folio folder, 1 photograph volume, 5 folders of photographs, 1 folio photograph folder, 1 reel of microfilm (M-99)

This collection contains commonplace books, diaries, writings, speeches, radio talks, correspondence (personal and professional), clippings, and photographs of Littledale and others. The papers originally included five scrapbooks containing an assortment of items covering a wide variety of subjects. These volumes were in very poor condition; the contents were therefore removed by a previous processor and integrated into the collection. The clippings and other printed materials in #12o, 26o, and 45f were discarded after microfilming; they are available on microfilm number M-99. Additional material (accession number 91-M49) was added to the collection in January 2016. This material is located in Series IV (#94-104).

Series I, Personal and biographical, 1907-1982 (#1-24), begins with photographs, followed by commonplace books, material about Smith College, travel documents, biographical and genealogical information, and ten diaries. Each category is arranged chronologically. The series provides information about Littledale's family life, her adolescence, the 1941 air crash, and awards she received. The diaries (1914-1916) describe her life as a reporter in New York City, her job with the National American Woman Suffrage Association, and women she met or worked with (including Anna Howard Shaw, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Mother Jones, Ida Tarbell, Rose Schneiderman). The six travel diaries were written on four trips: to Great Britain with her family to take her daughter, Rosemary, to Dartington Hall School in England (1937); alone to France and England , to pick up Rosemary (1938); to Guatemala with Harold Aylmer Littledale (1940); and to Hawaii when Littledale and other journalists were guests of the United States Navy (1953). See also, Series IV.

Series II, Writings, radio talks, and speeches, 1907-1951 (#27-49), includes Littledale's poems, articles, and short stories, and one story by her daughter, Rosemary. The series is divided into two sections: writings, and radio talks and speeches; each section is arranged chronologically. The articles and talks are mostly advice to parents on child rearing; other subjects include working in an office, marriage, and France in 1918. See also, Series IV.

Series III, Correspondence, 1903-1956 (#50-93), is divided into two categories: personal, and professional and organizational: The personal section is arranged chronologically. The letters from Littledale's sisters, Grace Selden and Marion Sabin, and a large number of letters from Littledale to Sabin provide information about the Savage family, the relationship among the sisters and between Littledale and her mother, Littledale's childhood and adolescence, her experience as a foreign correspondent and traveler in Europe (1918-1920), her marriage and children, her years as a working mother and editor of Parents' Magazine, and her divorce. There is no correspondence with Harold Aylmer Littledale and there are no letters from Rosemary Littledale Rieser, with only two from Harold Aylmer Littledale, Jr. Littledale's letters to her daughter and son-in-law (#65) include information about the labor dispute at Parents' Magazine in 1947. (For additional documents about the dispute, see Series III and the papers of Frances Ullmann DeArmand in the Schlesinger Library.) Littledale also discusses Lillian Gilbreth in several of her letters (#65, 69) (see also Selected Index of Correspondents).

The professional and organizational correspondence includes many carbon copies of Littledale's letters; it is sub-divided into four parts, each arranged chronologically. The first, editorial, contains Littledale's correspondence with publishers, literary agents, editors and readers of her articles. Although Littledale used the Parents' Magazine address, this correspondence deals not with the business of the magazine but with Littledale's attempts to place her own stories in various publications. Letters from readers are in response to articles that appeared elsewhere. This collection includes almost no material dealing directly with Parents' Magazine, with the exception of the labor dispute. Littledale's letters to Mary E. Buchanan and other colleagues at the magazine (#75) are mainly about her transcontinental tour. Part two contains correspondence concerning the arrangements for Littledale's radio talks, chiefly the "G-E Circle" program. There are also many letters from listeners, some addressed to "Grace Ellis" (Dorothy Greig), the General Electric announcer, and Littledale's responses. Part three provides information about Littledale's participation in the National Council of American-Soviet Friendship, Inc.; it includes programs and press releases. The correspondence in part four deals, for the most part, with the program and membership activities of the Women's Conference Group, an organization of New York professional women.

Series IV, Addenda, 1918-1954 (#94-104), includes professional correspondence, clippings, writings, organizational material, etc. Material in this series overlaps with previous series content. Professional correspondence documents the labor dispute and subsequent strike (1946-1947) at Parent's Magazine (see Series III). Also included are a small amount of writings, a 50th reunion book from Smith College, several photographs of Littledale and others visiting the Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, etc..

BIOGRAPHY

The following chronology outlines most of the major events and affiliations in Clara Littledale Savage's life:

  1. 1891: Born in Belfast, Maine
  2. 1892: Family moves to Medfield, Massachusetts
  3. 1907: Family moves to Plainfield, New Jersey
  4. 1909: Graduates from high school
  5. 1913: Graduates from Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts; Reporter, then editor of the woman's page, New York Evening Post
  6. 1914: Head of press section, National American Woman Suffrage Association
  7. 1915-1918: Associate editor, Good Housekeeping
  8. 1917: Original cast member of Eugene O'Neill's one-act play, Ile, staged by the Provincetown Players in New York City, November 30
  9. 1918-1919: Special European correspondent, Good Housekeeping
  10. 1919-1920: Resigns from Good Housekeeping, travels in Europe
  11. 1919-1926: Free-lance writer and publicist
  12. 1920: Flies from New York to Cuba on first United States international airmail route; Marries Harold Aylmer Littledale
  13. 1922: Daughter Rosemary is born
  14. 1926-1956: Editor of Children, the Magazine for Parents (name changed to Parents' Magazine in 1929)
  15. 1927: Son Harold Aylmer, Jr. is born
  16. 1929-1933: Attends White House Conference on Child Health and Protection
  17. 1930: Lunch with President Herbert Hoover
  18. 1932: begins "G-E Circle" radio talks on bringing up children
  19. 1935: Addresses yearly meeting of the Friends' General Conference
  20. 1936: Addresses National League of American Pen Women
  21. 1937: Travels to Great Britain; Clara Savage Littledale article, "How to Behave in an Office," appears in Good Housekeeping
  22. 1937-1938: Member, Women's Council, The Committee for the Celebration of the President's Birthday
  23. 1938: Travels to France and England
  24. 1939: Teaches an adult education course on writing for publication
  25. 1940: Travels to Guatemala
  26. 1941: Injured in Georgia air crash; Honored by Atlanta Writers' Club
  27. 1943: Clara Savage Littledale article, "The Broadway Bus (Written After Reading Saroyan)," appears in Saturday Review of Literature
  28. 1945: Divorces Harold Aylmer Littledale
  29. ca. 1945: Active in Women's Conference Group
  30. 1947: Supports strike of Book and Magazine Guild members in Parents' Magazine labor dispute
  31. 1948: Participates in New York Times "What's on Your Mind Forum" on "How should youth be trained for national responsibility?"; Attends White House Conference on Family Life
  32. 1949: Visits Menninger Foundation; Speaks at Mental Hygiene Society Child Welfare Conference; Participates in "America's Town Meeting" discussion: "Are We Spoiling Our Children?"; Appears on "Quiz Kids" radio program
  33. 1950: Takes transcontinental tour
  34. 1951: Receives award from New York Alumnae Chapter of Theta Sigma Phi; Commencement speaker, Sarah J. Hale Vocational High School, Brooklyn, New York; Becomes ill with cancer
  35. 1952: Receives Public Education citation from Association for the Help of Retarded Children, Inc.; Commencement speaker, Goddard College, Plainfield, Vermont
  36. 1953: Travels to Hawaii as guest of United States Navy; Speaks on "Parental Responsibility for Better Race Relations" at Vermont Project reunion lunch, sponsored by Abyssinian Baptist Church
  37. 1956: Dies in New York City

In addition to the specific activities mentioned in this chronology Clara Savage Littledale made frequent appearances on radio and television programs and lecture platforms, and her articles and stories were printed in a variety of publications. She was a member of many organizations, including the Child Study Association of America, the National Commission for Mental Hygiene, the American Association for Adult Education, the National Council for American-Soviet Friendship, and the Advisory Council of the Experiment in International Living.

Additional biographical information is available throughout this collection. See also the articles in Notable American Women: The Modern Period (Cambridge, Mass., 1980) and Who Was Who in America (1951-1960).

ARRANGEMENT

The collection is arranged in four series:

  1. Series I. Personal and biographical, 1907-1982 (#1-24)
  2. Series II. Writings, radio talks, and speeches, 1907-1951 (#27-49)
  3. Series III. Correspondence, 1903-1956 (#50-93)
  4. Series IV. Addenda, 1918-1954 (#94-104)

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Accession numbers: 955, 82-M160. Accession number 91-M49 was added to the collection in January 2016.

The papers of Clara Savage Littledale, reporter, editor and writer, were given to the Schlesinger Library by her daughter, Rosemary Rieser, and her son, Harold Aylmer Littledale, Jr., between October 1965 and March 1991.

CONTAINER LIST

  1. Box 1: 6-10, 13-18v
  2. Box 2: 19v-36
  3. Box 3: 37-62
  4. Box 4: 63-87
  5. Box 5: 88-104

SELECTED INDEX OF CORRESPONDENTS

Researchers should refer to this index because there is correspondence throughout the collection, not only in Series III.

This index includes the names of all writers and recipients, with two exceptions. One is that little-known persons writing for organizations or as secretaries are not indexed (while the organizations and employers are). The second exception is that correspondence between readers/listeners and Littledale/"Grace Ellis" is not indexed. These letters are in #71-88. Individuals who are the subjects of letters are not indexed.

Key
  1. No symbol Writer
  2. * Writer and recipient
  3. + Recipient

The numbers refer to folders.

  1. Abbott, Grace 69
  2. Advertising and Selling 70*
  3. Agenda 74+
  4. Albright, Mrs. Leiland 92+
  5. Aldana, Angelita 92+
  6. The Aloha Camps 73*
  7. Alpenfels, Ethel J. 93*
  8. Anderson, John E. 8*
  9. Armes, Irene Headley 90+-92+
  10. Association for the Help of Retarded Children, Inc. 11f
  11. Atlantic Monthly 72*
  12. Barnard, Eunice Fuller 74+
  13. Barrell, Marie 91
  14. Batten, Barton, Durstine and Osborne, Inc. 76*-85*, 86+, 87*
  15. Baumgartner, Leona 90*, 92*
  16. Beamer, E.G. 73+
  17. Becht, Helen M. 91
  18. Beyer, Evelyn 8+
  19. Bishop, Dorothy 90+, 93+
  20. Blair, Gertrude 91*, 92+, 93+
  21. Blue Network 88*
  22. Brande, Dorothea 70
  23. Brandt and Brandt 71*
  24. Brockman, Helen 89+
  25. Bromley, Dorothy Dunbar 92+
  26. Bryant, Mary Hilwell 8
  27. Buchanan, Mary Elizabeth 8*, 75+
  28. Bucher, Jane 77, 78+, 79
  29. Buck, Pearl 92+, 93
  30. Bunche, Ralph 91+
  31. Burgess, Lee 91
  32. The Camping Magazine 73*
  33. Cate, Lucie S. 68*
  34. Cerf, Bennett 74
  35. Charles Scribner's Sons 33*
  36. Chicago Tribune - New York News Syndicate, Inc. 71*
  37. Child Study Association of America 71*
  38. Clark H. Getts 86*
  39. Cleveland, Reginald M. 72*
  40. Club Women of New York 90*
  41. Coleman, Marie 93+
  42. Collier's 74*
  43. Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. 63*, 77, 80*
  44. Country Gentleman 73*
  45. Cousins, Norman 74 -- see also Saturday Review of Literature
  46. Crawford, Ruth 8+
  47. Crook, Eleanor 92+
  48. Cumming, Adelaide Fish (Hawley) -- see Adelaide Hawley
  49. Cummings, Frances W. 92+, 93
  50. Curtis, Anna L. 69
  51. D. Appleton-Century Company 33*
  52. Dabney, Mary K. 92
  53. Dafoe, Allan Roy 71, 86
  54. Davis, Harriet Eager 92+
  55. Delanney, Mrs. L. 92+
  56. [Dell?], Floyd 67
  57. Douglas, Helen Gahagan 88+, 91*
  58. Drucker, Judith (Littledale's secretary) 75+
  59. Dunlop, Lillian C. 90+, 92+
  60. East and West Association 92
  61. Eberly, Mrs. Mation 92+
  62. Ehrlich, Clara E. 85
  63. Ellis, Annabel Williams 69
  64. Emerson, Edith E. 91*
  65. Epstein, Mrs. W. 92+
  66. Everett, Eleanore Holmes 78*
  67. Faegre, Marion L. 8+
  68. Fahs, Mrs. 70
  69. Farmer's Wife 71+
  70. Ferris, Helen 92
  71. Fort Wayne and Allen County, Indiana, Public Library 83
  72. Forum 72
  73. Fox, Ruth 90+
  74. Frank, Josette 74
  75. Franklin, Zilpha C. 8*
  76. Frederick A. Stokes Company 85*
  77. Gardner Advertising Company 63*
  78. Gauger, Marguerite 86*
  79. Gavit, John P. 8*
  80. The Gentlewoman 71*
  81. Gilbert, Christine B. 74
  82. Gilbreth, Lillian 8+
  83. Giles, Mike 74
  84. Good Housekeeping 69, 71*
  85. G.P. Putnam's Sons 84*, 85*
  86. Grossman, Jean Schick 74
  87. Hamman, Mary 88*
  88. Harper's Bazaar 74*
  89. Harper's Magazine 72+
  90. Hawley, Adelaide 88+
  91. Hecht, Elizabeth 79+
  92. Hecht, George J. 65*, 74+, 77+, 78+, 86+
  93. Henry Holt and Company 33*
  94. Hewlett, Irma 92+
  95. Hirsh, Elizabeth Smith 91*
  96. "Hodge" 8*
  97. Holland's 71*
  98. Hoover, Herbert 11f
  99. Household 70*, 72*
  100. Hubbard, John P. 8+
  101. Hudnut, Isabel 8+
  102. Independent Woman 71*
  103. Inman, Samuel G. 90+
  104. Jacobsen, Sybil V. 92
  105. Jacques Chambrun, Inc. 73*
  106. Johnsen, Grace M. 90
  107. Joseph, Nannine V. 69*-71*, 72
  108. Jurbak, Angela 92+
  109. Kenyon, Dorothy 74, 90*, 91+, 92+
  110. Khavkine, Mrs. Arnold 92+
  111. Klaw, Alma 92+
  112. Lamb, Beatrice P. 92+
  113. Landsberg, Eva 92+
  114. Ledger Syndicate 71*
  115. Lehman, Ann 92
  116. Leininger, Al R. 63*, 70+, 74
  117. Lenroot, Katherine F. 8+, 71, 72
  118. Lissance, Marjorie Fiske 92+
  119. Littledale, Clara (Savage) 8*, 11f+, 24+, 29, 33*, 50+,51+, 52-62, 63*-65*, 66, 67+, 68, 69*-74*, 75, 76*-93*
  120. Littledale, Harold Aylmer, Jr. 64*
  121. Littledale, Rosemary -- see Rosemary Rieser
  122. Littlefield, Frederic B. 64*
  123. Lucke, Elmina R. 93
  124. Macausland, Earle R. 88+
  125. McCall's 73*, 90
  126. McCann-Erickson, Inc. 86*
  127. McClosky, Mark A. 74
  128. McCormick, Anne O'Hare 91+
  129. McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. 33*
  130. MacLean's Magazine 71*
  131. McMullin, Virginia 88
  132. Mademoiselle 73*, 74* --see also Polly Weaver
  133. Marx, Virginia 90
  134. Masar, Mrs. Ilhami 92+
  135. Mayer, Marjorie M. 91
  136. Meerloo, Joost A.M. 93*
  137. Menden, Marjorie 8
  138. Menninger, William C. 8*
  139. Menon, Lakshmi N. 92+
  140. Middlebrook, L. Ruth 90
  141. Miller, Marion 93+
  142. Milligan, Lucy 90*
  143. Morse, Ruth E. 54
  144. Muller, Charles G. 8
  145. Myrdal, Alva 92
  146. National Association of Book Publishers 82, 83*
  147. National Committee for Mental Hygiene 80+
  148. National Council of American-Soviet Friendship, Inc., Committee of Women 89*
  149. National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs, Inc. -- see Independent Woman
  150. National Recreation Association 72*
  151. Neilson, William Allan 8*
  152. New Republic 74*, 90*
  153. New York Post 74*
  154. New Yorker 69*, 74+
  155. The News 71
  156. Norris, Kathleen 69
  157. North, Sterling 74*
  158. Nowell, Elizabeth 69*
  159. Osborne, Ernest G. 8+
  160. Pandit, Vijaya Lakshmi 74
  161. Page, Anne 92
  162. Parents' Magazine -- see Littledale, George J. Hecht, Mary E. Buchanan, Al R. Leininger
  163. Poris, Florence 11f
  164. Price, Burr 69
  165. Progressive Education Association 74*
  166. Promenade 74*
  167. Pruitt, Ida 92+, 93+
  168. Random House, Inc. -- see Bennett Cerf
  169. Richard G. Badger Publisher, The Gorham Press 81*
  170. Rieser, Leonard 65+
  171. [Rieser], Margaret and Leonard 66+
  172. Rieser, Rosemary 65+, 68+
  173. Roby, Elizabeth 74
  174. Russell, Bertrand 69
  175. Ruth Raphael - David Frederick McCord 72
  176. Ryan, Lilia 92+
  177. Sabin, Marion (Savage) 51, 52+-62+
  178. Sampson, Edith S. 92*
  179. Sanger, Margaret 90
  180. Saturday Review of Literature 29+, 74*
  181. Savage, Grace -- see Grace Selden
  182. Savage, John Arthur and Emma (Morrison) 50+
  183. Savage, Marion -- see Marion Sabin
  184. Shientag, Florence 90*
  185. Scribner's Magazine 72+
  186. Selden, Grace 50, 56+
  187. Sheehy, Emma D. 93+
  188. Simon and Schuster, Inc. 71*
  189. Simonds, Elizabeth 90+, 93
  190. Slesinger, Stephen 88+
  191. Smith, Lillian 91*
  192. Society for the Improvement of Children's Programs (Winnetka Public Schools) 86
  193. Speir, Mercedes 92+
  194. Sprackling, Helen 91, 92+
  195. Stevenson, George S. 8+
  196. Stoddard, George D. 8*
  197. Story 72*
  198. Sutch, Mrs. W. B. 92+
  199. Taft, Helen B. 93*
  200. Tax(?), Jerry 67
  201. Taylor, Toni 63*
  202. Teachers' College, Columbia University 74
  203. This Week 71*, 72*, 74*
  204. Toronto Star Weekly 71*
  205. Tousley, Clare M. 93
  206. Townsend, Mary 92*
  207. Trexler, Ruth 91*
  208. Tuxill, Virginia 90+
  209. Tysen, Dave 24
  210. Underhill, Charles 80+
  211. United Hospital Campaign Committee 86*
  212. United Nations Staff Association 92*
  213. United Nations Volunteer Services 92*
  214. United States Department of Labor, Children's Bureau -- see Katherine F. Lenroot
  215. Urban, Mary 90
  216. Wallace, Henry A. 90* -- see also New Republic
  217. Walther, Mrs. Francis 93+
  218. Warlick, Selma 91
  219. Washburn, Ruth W. 92
  220. Watkins, Ann 71*
  221. Watson, Mary Abell 92+
  222. Weaver, Polly 91*, 92+, 93+
  223. Weill, Blanche 77+
  224. Weiss, Carol 63+
  225. Whittlesey House -- see McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc.
  226. Who's Who in America 8+
  227. Woman's World 71*
  228. Women's Conference Group 90*-93*
  229. Wood, Garcia Pope 74*
  230. Zinsser, Mrs. Rudolph 8+

Processing Information

Reprocessed: October 1984

By: Bert Hartry

Updated and additional material added: January 2016

By: Mark Vassar

Title
Littledale, Clara Savage, 1891-1956. Papers of Clara Savage Littledale, 1903-1982 (inclusive), 1903-1956 (bulk): A Finding Aid
Author
Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
Language of description
eng
EAD ID
sch00098

Repository Details

Part of the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute Repository

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