The Pope-Horn papers (2.5 linear feet) consist primarily of letters exchanged by future United States Senator James Pinckney Pope and Pauline Horn during their courtship. Additional items include postcards, photographs, and other ephemera.
The Correspondence series is made up of letters and postcards between James Pinckney Pope and his future wife, Pauline Ruth Horn. Horn described her daily life in Des Plaines, Illinois, and often attended theatrical productions in nearby Chicago. Pope, who pursued careers in law and politics in Boise, Idaho, likewise shared details of his life, such as his work experiences and attendance at local sporting events. In one emotional letter, he expressed his feelings about the Titanic disaster (April 17, 1912). During the 1912 election cycle, the couple increasingly discussed political matters, sharing their views on Theodore Roosevelt and the dominant parties, including the fracturing of the Republican Party. Pope also paid attention to local politics, and wrote of a proposed Idaho law for regulating morality that would ban buttermilk ("a fermenting and intoxicating liquor") and bar women from wearing wigs or makeup, particularly during wedding ceremonies (February 23, 1913). The couple continued to write after their marriage, though less frequently, and often recounted news from their travels. Several letters throughout the series enclose newspaper clippings, and the series also holds 25 postcards Pauline and members of her family received from numerous acquaintances.
The collection's 22 Photographs and Photographic Postcards includes pictures of an unidentified woman and her family (1912), snapshots that appear to have originated much later than the other material in the collection, and unsent photographic postcards of an unidentified woman and her dog.
The Printed Items and Picture Postcards series contains the following items:
- Red envelope containing colored pictures of various sights from the American West, such as buffalo and scenes from Denver and Salt Lake City (November 5, [1905]).
- Business card advertising "Arthur Hodges For Mayor"
- Business card for Henry C. Doolittle
- Brochure advertising Des Plaines, Illinois
- Unused picture postcards
James Pinckney Pope was born in Louisiana on March 31, 1884. He graduated from the University of Chicago Law School in 1909 and moved to Boise, Idaho, where he started a private law practice. He became increasingly active in politics and held several political offices, including deputy collector of internal revenue (1916), city attorney (1916-1917), and Idaho assistant attorney general (1918-1919). He also served as Boise's mayor (1929-1933) and as a United States senator (1933-1938). As a senator, he helped direct the Tennessee Valley Authority. After leaving the Senate, he practiced law in Knoxville, Tennessee, and he moved to Alexandria, Virginia, in 1963. He died there on January 23, 1966. He and his wife, Pauline Ruth Horn (1887-1957), an Illinois schoolteacher, married on June 26, 1913, and had two children, Ross and George.
