Research Guides: Archives: Gilded Age & Progressive Era Collections: Primary Sources (Archives)

Primary Sources

Please note:

Most materials are not online, but can be accessed by contacting Special Collections.
some listed are large collections, and further relevant items can be located by browsing the finding aids with collection descriptions (linked from the title).

Labor

Conditions and wages of women in the men's clothing industry of St. Louis (1914)
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Thesis by student at WashU.
A study of one hundred cases of industrial lead poisoning in St. Louis / by Joseph E. Jeffery. (1912)
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Thesis by student at WashU. Studies lead poisoning in the city of St. Louis between 1907 and 1912 by examining 100 individual cases. The study tracks the morbidity and social conditions of the workers, as well as their occupational histories, in an attempt to discern the particular industries and circumstances of employment most likely to lead to lead poisoning.
1877 Labor Strike: David Burbank Papers
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David Burbank wrote "Reign of the Rabble, the St. Louis General Strike of 1877" (Augustus M. Kelley, Publishers, New York, 1966) and his collection includes microfilm copies of original newspapers and other research related to the strike.

African American community focused

Occupations of negroes in St. Louis, 1913
School of Social Economy Thesis, by William August Crossland, with handwritten notes & corrections. Includes survey data from residents of St. Louis gathered in 1911 and 1912. Thesis located at University Archives, Call No. LD5791.8 AM13 C884
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Used for publications of "Industrial conditions among negroes in St. Louis" by Crossland in 1914 - full text available online: http://books.google.com/books?id=hQQZAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ViewAPI#v=onepage&q&f=false
Industrial Conditions Among Negroes in St. Louis (1914)
Book published by Corsslands based on his thesis
Urban League of St. Louis, Series 09
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Records of the Committee for Social Service Among Colored People, formed in 1910, was a predecessor to the St. Louis Urban League.

Arts and Culture

Booklet: "St. Louis Through a Camera" 1882
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A promotional booklet published under the auspices of the Bureau of Information of the St. Louis Autumnal Festivities Association. Located at University Archives, Call No. F474.S2 C863 1892
Booklet "St. Louis Through A Camera" (1896)
digital version with slight changes from earlier edition
Booklet: "Illuminated official programme of the autumnal festivities" (St. Louis, 1886)
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Small pamphlet promoting the Autumnal Festival of 1886; includes mentions of Veiled Prophet, fraternal organizations, and business groups. At University Archives, call number GT4502.13.M8 G7 (not available online)
Eric Newman Collection of St. Louis Images and History
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Primarily depicting St. Louis and the surrounding areas in 19th and early 20th century. Many types of photographs, glass slides, and printed materials such as post cards and advertisements.
St. Louis Social Science Association Records
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The St. Louis Social Science Association (branch of the American Social Science Assoc) was formed in 1877 to promote social awareness in the areas of education, health, trade and finance, social economy, jurisprudence, and political science in the city of St. Louis. Ledger covers 1877 - 1881.
Motion Pictures (US-wide)
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The Black Film Promotional Material Collection includes advertisements from early films, including "BIRTH OF A NATION," 1915, located in S14B08 (Broadside) and S06B07 (Program).
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While most of this collection dates from the 1940s - 1980s, materials from a few earlier titles by African-American filmmakers are also in the collection:
GREEN-EYED MONSTER. (1919), LOVE BUG, THE. (1919), CRIMSON SKULL. (1921), REGENERATION. (1923), FLYING ACE. (1926), PALS FIRST. (1926), BLACK GOLD. (1928)

Business and Industry

Street pavements in St. Louis / by Earl B. Morgan. (1908)
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By WashU student. Includes traffic studies of several St. Louis intersections with photographs.
Views from St. Louis water works / Clinton Kimball. (1892)
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Collection of cyanotypes glued into album as part of the author's classwork in Civil Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. Images date from 1889-1892 and include the construction of Merchants Bridge, riverfront scenes, and the Cotter Dam.
Monsanto Company Records
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See Series 14 for information about company founder John Queeny, including work on the St. Louis city plan, labor relations, and business leaders in the early 20th century
St. Louis Car Company Records
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This collection includes materials that document the history and products of the St. Louis Car Company, including publicity materials, product specifications, job books, general office files, photographs, and drawings of cars produced by the St. Louis Car Company.

Education and Government

Manual Training School Collection
The Manual Training School in St. Louis (1879 – 1917) established by C. Woodward was a new model of schooling to provide practical training in manual and machine arts.
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The collection includes administrative files, alumni records, catalogues, artifacts, textbooks, and photographs. ALSO, search Google Books http://books.google.com/books "manual training Washington University"
WU Yearbooks
Washington University yearbooks start in 1903. Possible topics include: early college women, college life, society and social class in St. Louis.
Education, Temperance & Prison Reform: W.G. Eliot Personal Papers
Eliot is a co-founder of WashU. His papers include diaries, letters, his sermons, talks, & biographical info. See especially Series 01, Notebook 10 for the years 1877 - 1878.
Imperialism: Admiral Dewey Memorial, 1899
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Original souvenir programs about the 'Triumphal Arch' in honor of Admiral Dewey are located in the Gellhorn Papers, Box 05.

Social Work and Women Activists

Publications - School of Social Work
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Includes published reports on social conditions in St. Louis, created by the "St. Louis School of Social Economy," a predecessor to the Brown School.
Titles located in Box 03
“The St. Louis School of Social Economy: What it Attempts, What it Has Achieved, Why it needs Your Support” (1915)

“A Review of the Work of the St. Louis Juvenile Court” 1908-1913 (published 1914)

“Handbook: St. Louis School of Social Economy” 1910-11 and 1911-12

“Report of the Municipal Commission on Delinquent, Depended and Defective Children” (1911)

“The Newsboy of St. Louis” (1910)
Edna Gellhorn Papers
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This collection documents the civic work of Mrs. Washington E. Fischel in the early 1900s, and that of her daughter, Mrs. Edna Fischel Gellhorn.

Mrs. Fischel was active in the Wednesday Club, a St. Louis organization formed in 1880, the playground movement, the 1904 World Fair, and other civic ventures. (See especially box 16)

Her daughter, Edna Gellhorn, graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 1900, was active in the women's suffrage movement, becoming a founder and first vice president of the National League of Women Voters. During World War I, she served as regional director of the food rationing programs. And she remained active in civic reform efforts through the 1960s.

Primary Sources: 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis

Guide to Researching the 1904 World's Fair
A larger guide to researching the fair online, at University Archives, and at other local archives.
Charles H. Dixon Papers
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Includes tickets and memorabilia of the fair, which Dixon attended as student. Charles Dixon graduated from Manual Training (MTS) in 1906.
The World's Fair : comprising the official photographic views of the universal exposition held in Saint Louis, 1904 / introduction and descriptions by Stevens
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A large published folio; available at University Archives and Special Collection @ Olin. Request Call No. T 860 C1 S33 1904 (title is not available online)
The advancement of Saint Louis in and through art (1906)
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Plan for to build on the Art collections brought together for the 1904 Fair. Copies available at University Archives and Special Collections @ Olin. Request Call No. N730 .A48 (title not available online)

Online Primary Sources

America at Work, America at Leisure, 1894-1915 by Library of Congress
Work, school, and leisure activities in the United States from 1894 to 1915

Gilded Age
Primary documents such as songs, letters, photographs, cartoons, government documents, and ephemera. In addition, the collection features numerous critical documentary essays that provide scholarly commentary and annotations to selected primary sources.
HarpWeek: The Civil War Era, Reconstruction, and the Gilded Age (1857 - 1912)
Full text and full-page images, which contain numerous illustrations and maps. Indexed by subject, illustrations, literature & publishing, advertising, occupation, and literary genre.
World's Fairs: a Global History of Expositions
Explore the phenomenon of world's fairs from London's Crystal Palace in 1851 to North American exhibitions and twenty-first century expos. Through official records, monographs, publicity, artwork, artifacts and other primary sources, this resource provides access to digitized materials from multiple archives. Includes extensive documents about the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition / St. Louis World Fair. See Fair Directory for full list of 200+ events included, from 1821 - 2017.

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Network for the Society for Historians of the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era