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Edith Forsythe Sharpless papers

Notifications

Held at: Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections [Contact Us]370 Lancaster Ave, Haverford, PA 19041

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

Call Number:
MC.950.161
Repository:
Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections
Extent:
0.17 linear ft.
Language:
English
Preferred Citation:
Edith Forsythe Sharpless papers (HC.MC.950.161), Quaker & Special Collections, Haverford College, Haverford, PA.
Date:
1910-1952 (inclusive)
Creator:
Sharpless, Edith Forsythe
Abstract:
This collection includes correspondence from when Edith Forsythe Sharpless was a missionary in Japan, an artbook, a commonplace book, and teaching certificiates, among other materials.

Edith Forsythe Sharpless (1883-1956) was a Quaker religious and educational missionary to Japan from 1910 to 1943, sent by the Mission Board of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting to work in Tokyo and Mito. She was the daughter of of Isaac and Lydia Cope Sharpless, and the sister and sister-in-law of Fred and Louise Sharpless.

This collection includes correspondence from when Edith Forsythe Sharpless was a missionary in Japan, an artbook, a commonplace book, and teaching certificiates, among other materials.

The Edith Forsythe Sharpless papers were donated to Special Collections, Haverford College in January, 1991 by Charles Perry and September, 2001 by Marianne Sharpless Potts. Accession # 6743, 5438.

Processed by Mary A. Crauderueff; completed March, 2016.

HC.MC.1153 Esther B. Rhoads papers

Organization
Subject
Place

Publisher
Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections
Finding Aid Author
Mary A. Crauderueff
Finding Aid Date
March, 2016
Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research use.

Use Restrictions

Standard Federal Copyright Laws Apply (U.S. Title 17).

Collection Inventory

Letters, 1941.
Box 35 Folder 1
Scope and Contents

Correspondents include Lydia Cope Sharpless, Fred and Louise Sharpless, and John and Edward Rich. They describe the way foreigners, inlcuding missionaries, were living, Japanese customs and culture, and Sharpless' efforts to apply the knowledge to her behavior. They also refer to Haverford College missions in China, her teaching responsibilties, the impact of a July 27, 1941 flood, thoughts about deciding to stay in Japan, the impact of the war on community of foreigners and living in Japan when most foreigners had left.

Artbook.
Box 35 Folder 2
Scope and Contents

Artbook created by 4th year students at Keisen Girls' School, depicting their week.

Commonplace Book.
Box 35 Folder 3
Scope and Contents

This album was a birthday album, primarily written by Edith to her mother, Lydia Sharpless in 1936. It also includes greetings from others, including Gurney Binford, Esther Rhoads, and Arishima Takeo (transcribed from Japanese about Haverford College and Isaac Sharpless), and a water color drawing by Anna Cope Hartshorne, a signed print by Mary Vaux Walvott, and photographs of other Quaker missionaries.

Print, Suggest