Call Number:

RG9.B.Wood1952

Repository:

Bryn Mawr College

Extent:

0.5 linear ft.

Language:

English

Date:

1950-1952 (inclusive)

Creator:

Wood, Ellery Yale

Abstract:

Ellery Yale Wood graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 1952. Wood moved to England in the late 1950s and developed an extensive collection of children's books which was donated to Bryn Mawr College after her death in 2013. The Ellery Yale Wood class notes contains 3 rehoused binders of notes taken by Wood between Fall 1950 and Spring 1952, her Junior and Senior years. The notes are from several classes within the English and History departments and contain reading lists, exam details, and general lecture notes.

Ellery Yale Wood graduated from the Westtown (Pa.) School and then from Bryn Mawr College in 1952. Her course of study at Bryn Mawr was concentrated in the English and History departments. Wood moved to England in the late 1950s and worked in a London bookshop. Alongside her professional appreciation for books, she developed her own extensive collection (amounting to over 20,000 volumes of children's books). Wood passed in Spring of 2013 in Wisbech, England, after which her children's book collection was donated to Bryn Mawr College.

The Ellery Yale Wood Class Notes is composed of three binders worth of notes taken by Ellery Yale Wood, BMC class of 1952, for several classes within the English and History departments during her junior and senior years. The materials date from the fall 1950 semester to the spring 1952 semester, and the bulk of materials are handwritten reading and lecture notes on notebook paper, though there are some typed documents, such as syllabi and reading lists, as well. This collection of Ellery Wood's class notes from her junior and senior years provides a detailed glimpse into the structure and contents of upper-level English and History courses at BMC, as well as the required readings for both classes and English majors more generally. These notes would be useful to any researchers interested in the history of English and History curriculum at BMC in the mid-twentieth century.

For preservation purposes, all notes have been removed from their original binder and rehoused into six folders.

Notes from the "Medieval History, 18th c. Literature, and Miscellaneous" binder are solely from Fall 1950 and Spring 1951. A letter to Wood's aunt is tucked inside, giving insight into Wood's campus experience. The notes are on two main subjects, History 101: Medieval History which Wood took in Fall 1950, and English 305: The Eighteenth Century which Wood refers to as "18 Century Lit.," taken Fall 1950 and Spring 1951. The last section of the notes has a divider labeled "Miscellaneous," and includes some class notes, assignment planning, drawings, and a vacation packing list, among other things. The binder that once contained the notes now housed in these two folders is included in the collection box as Wood taped a school year calendar on the inside cover and labeled the spine with her initials.

The "English History and Reading, Lecture, Comp. Notes" binder is mainly composed of parts of Ellery Wood's class notes from two subjects. One subject is English 302a, a course titled The Drama from the Beginnings to 1642, which Wood took in Fall of 1950. The other is History 304a, titled English History in the Nineteenth Century, taken Fall 1950 and Spring 1951. The conclusion of these notes is marked by a separator labeled "Reading, Lectures, Comp. Notes." This section contains reading lists for a variety of classes (not all of which Wood's took) as well as notes from conferences and lectures that Wood attended while an undergraduate student. One such list is the "Reading List for Seniors Majoring in English" which outlines the required readings for the degree outside of those for specific courses. The last several pages of this section are notes from what appear to be several miscellaneous classes, dated Spring of 1952.

The contents of the "Victorians, Romantics" binder are dated from Fall 1950 up to Spring 1952. The content begins with two bluebooks. One contains flashcards and course notes folded inside, as well as examination questions from May 1952. The other blue book is graded, and the Fall 1950 exam question sheet is included. The notes appear to be from four different courses, beginning with what is likely more notes from Wood's The Drama from the Beginnings to 1642 class. There is a transition to what appears to be more English History in the Nineteenth Century notes. Then there are notes on English 204: The Victorian Period. The section begins with a reading list for the course, which is titled "Victorian Reading – Second Semester," and the notes are dated to Spring 1951. Within this section, Wood's has tucked in a syllabus and notes from "Harvard Summer School" from 1951 in which she took an English course. The next section of notes is from English 203: The Romantic Period. The notes in this section are dated from Fall 1951 to Spring 1952. Just before this section begins, there are some notes dated Spring 1952 on subjects and authors related to Romanticism, signaling that Wood placed these notes slightly out of order.