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Collection

Geraldine Blair papers, 1959-1987 (majority within 1977-1987)

1 linear foot

Friend of peace activist Rebecca Shelley. Transcripts of oral history interviews with Rebecca Shelley conducted by Eric Hanson; correspondence regarding proposed movie about life of Rebecca Shelley; and miscellaneous collected Shelley materials, including photographs.

These papers contain transcripts of oral histories conducted with Shelley, biographical information on Shelley accumulated by Blair, and documentation of Blair's efforts to locate a biographer or actress interested in writing or enacting Rebecca Shelley's story. Unable to see the project through to completion, Blair donated these papers to the Bentley Library in April 1987.

The Papers of Geraldine Blair are divided into three series: Oral History Transcripts; Correspondence, 1973-1987; and Miscellaneous Materials Documenting Shelley's Life, 1959-1985.

Collection

Rebecca Shelley Papers, 1890-1984

21 linear feet — 1 oversize folder

Pacifist, participant in World War I peace movement and later peace activities, member of Fellowship of Reconciliation, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, and Women Strike for Peace. Papers include Correspondence, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, periodicals, reports, photographs, and other materials relating to the International Congress of Women, 1915, the Ford Peace Ship, the American Neutral Conference Committee, the Emergency Peace Federation, and the People's Council of America.

The papers of Rebecca Shelley (1887-1984) were donated by Shelley in several accessions between 1964 and 1984. The papers make up twenty-one linear feet of materials and cover the years 1890-1984, though only a few photographs and printed items predate 1910. Her anti-war activism, legal battles, writing career, and courtships with Franz Willman and Felix Rathmer are all well-represented. In addition to her personal papers, there are groups of material belonging to Emily Balch, Richard Olsen, Felix Rathmer, Paul Shelly, and William A. Shelly.

Many peace organizations are also documented in these papers through flyers, pamphlets, periodicals, newsletters, and correspondence. These include the American Neutral Conference Committee, Emergency Peace Federation, People's Council of America, Fellowship of Reconciliation, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Women Strike for Peace, and many others. As Shelley served as an officer in the Michigan Fellowship of Reconciliation (F.O.R.) through the 1950s and 1960s, many of the organization's official papers came to be in her possession. Therefore, an effort was made to remove most of these official papers to the separate Michigan F.O.R. collection.

The collection is arranged in eleven series: Biographical; Newspaper Clippings; Correspondence; Topical Papers; Miscellaneous Papers; Papers Of Other Individuals; Printed; Periodicals; Diaries And Notebooks; Photographs; and Writings.