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Harriet Burton Laidlaw scrapbooks

Call Number

MS 3195

Date

1910-1939, inclusive

Creator

Laidlaw, H. B. (Harriet Burton), 1873-1949

Extent

3.5 Linear feet in 4 boxes + 1 oversize folder

Language of Materials

The documents in the collection are in English.

Abstract

The collection primarily holds scrapbooks and ephemera related to woman suffrage and "white slavery" (prostitution) compiled by suffragist Harriet Burton Laidlaw, principally from the years leading to the enfranchisement of women in New York State in 1917.

Biographical / Historical

Harriet Burton Laidlaw (1873-1949) was a leader in the women's suffrage movement of the 1910s, especially within her home state of New York. Throughout the 1910s, she was an officer of the National American Woman Suffrage Association and the New York organization fighting for suffrage. The scrapbooks in this collection trace that fight, especially with regard to New York's passage of woman suffrage in 1917. Advocating for women's rights beyond suffrage, Laidlaw also wrote and spoke out against "white slavery," or prostitution, using that as a provocative example of the results forced on women by their subordinate and dependent social and economic position in the United States.

Harriet married James Lees Laidlaw (1868-1932) in 1905. James was a suffragist himself and president of the New York State Men's League for Women Suffrage from 1910-1920. The Laidlaws had a daughter, Louise, who was the donor of this collection, and was herself active in international women's rights.

(The above note was based on Wikipedia entries and on the biographical note for Harriet Laidlaw used at Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, which holds Laidlaw's papers.)

Arrangement

The collection is arranged by format.

Scope and Contents

The collection holds scrapbooks and other documents compiled by suffragist Harriet Burton Laidlaw, dating primarily from 1915-18. There are 13 scrapbooks, mostly of newspaper clippings, tracing the fight for woman suffrage, and Laidlaw's activities in that regard, in New York State. There are also 4 scrapbooks centered on "white slavery," or the coercion of women into prostitution. The collection also holds tickets, flyers, announcements, and other forms of ephemera concerning woman suffrage. The bulk of the collection consists of clippings, ephemera, and other forms of printed documents, with few letters, notes and other such documents.

Access Restrictions

Open to qualified researchers. Materials are stored offsite and advance notice is required for use. Please contact manuscripts@nyhistory.org prior to your research visit to coordinate access. Keep in mind that it will take between two (2) and five (5) business days for collections to arrive, and you should plan your research accordingly.

Use Restrictions

Taking images of documents from the library collections for reference purposes by using hand-held cameras and in accordance with the library's photography guidelines is encouraged. As an alternative, patrons may request up to 20 images per day from staff.

Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282.

Copyrights and other proprietary rights may subsist in individuals and entities other than the New-York Historical Society, in which case the patron is responsible for securing permission from those parties. For fuller information about rights and reproductions from N-YHS visit: https://www.nyhistory.org/about/rights-reproductions

Preferred Citation

The collection should be cited as: Harriet Burton Laidlaw scrapbooks, MS 3195, New-York Historical Society.

(Note: Between the collection's accession in 1955 and its cataloging in 2022, it was commonly referred to as the Louise Backus collection, using the donor name, so older citations might be found under that name.)

Location of Materials

Materials are stored offsite and advance notice is required for use. Please contact manuscripts@nyhistory.org prior to your research visit to coordinate access. Keep in mind that it will take between two (2) and five (5) business days for collections to arrive, and you should plan your research accordingly.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Louise Burton (Laidlaw) Backus (Mrs. Dana Converse Backus), December 19, 1955. Louise Backus was the daughter of Harriet and James Laidlaw.

Separated Materials

The accession record for the collection indicates that there were 31 suffrage-related scrapbooks and many newspapers and other publications of the 1910s donated. These were not found in December 2021 when the collection was inventoried for this finding aid and cataloging. At least one scrapbook appears likely to have been cataloged individually (see the record for call number F128 JK1896 .S37 1912 Oversize) and other publications may have been treated similarly.

Collection processed by

Larry Weimer

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 15:46:16 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Finding aid written in English

Processing Information

The collection was processed and described to a minimal extent by archivist Larry Weimer in December 2021.

Repository

New-York Historical Society
New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024