Scope and Content Note

The Lena Morrow Lewis Papers, 1899-1951, are organized into 20 subject files, including Billings correspondence, general correspondence, family and personal papers, lectures, memorabilia, memorials and biographical notes, notebook, notes, photographs, printed matter, radio talks, and nine scrapbooks. Each subject file has been given a frame number (i.e., XVII:1, where the roman numeral XVII indicates that the Lewis Papers are the 17th collection within the microfilm publication Socialist Collections in the Tamiment Library, 1872-1956). A list of the subject files and some of the items within specific files can be found in the complete reel list which follows this description of the arrangement of the collection.

The Billings correspondence (XVII:1) and the general correspondence (XVII:2) constitute the largest quantity of materials in this collection. The letters within these two subject files are arranged in chronological order, with undated items placed at the end of each file. Of special importance in the correspondence files is the extensive collection of letters from and about Warren K. Billings during 17 of his,23 years in prison. The letters, which are occasionally critical. of Tom Mooney, affirm Billings' innocence and concentrate on the numerous efforts to have him released from prison. The general correspondence includes numerous letters discussing contemporary political issues and socialist personalities. Much of this correspondence is from less prominent socialists, but there are letters from such important figures as Theodore Debs, James H. Maurer, James Oneal, Eugene V. Debs, Norman Thomas, and Charles Edward Russell. In this file, there are also a number of personal letters from Iva Ettor which offer some interesting insights into some of the socialist and labor organizing activities of her husband, Joe Ettor.

There are 27 photographs contained in the Lewis Papers (XVII:9). The photographs are arranged in chronological order and include both portraits of Lena Morrow Lewis and group photographs featuring Lewis and other socialists. Each photograph has been labeled with a number in the lower right hand corner of the picture. These numbers correspond with the description of the photographs in the complete reel list. (After being microfilmed, the photographs were separated to the Library's Photograph collection (see Separated Materials, below).

The nine scrapbooks (XVII:12 XVII:20) constitute another important segment of this collection. These scrapbooks, which consist primarily of newspaper clippings, focus upon specific aspects of Lewis, life, particularly her work with husband, Arthur Morrow Lewis; her experiences as a journalist and political candidate in Alaska; her involvement with the Socialist Party in California; and her writings about various personalities in the socialist and communist movements. Each scrapbook has been provided with an index which lists the title of each article, the page number(s) where each article is located, and the author of the article if the author is known. For each scrapbook, the index was filmed before the contents of the scrapbook.

There is also a variety of miscellaneous items in this collection. Prominent among these items are a small number of WEVD radio scripts (XVII:11) and speech notes (XVII:8) which pertain to Lewis' involvement with the Social Democratic Federation. Some interesting items are also contained in the memorabilia file (XVII:5), such as lecture announcements, Socialist Party dues books, a ticket to the International Socialist Congress at Copenhagen in 1910, a resignation card from the American Federation of Labor, and a certificate of nomination for the 22nd Assembly District of California.