Caroline F. Schimmel collection of artifacts relating to women in the American wilderness

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the School of Library Service at Columbia University, Caroline Schimmel has gathered almost 24,000 narratives and representations of women in the American wilderness, from the North Pole to the South, over the past forty-five years. While the bulk of her collection consists of books (including novels, short stories, poetry, works by Native American authors, travel writings, narratives of polar expeditions, captivity narratives, and works for children), she has also collected manuscripts and archives, art, and artifacts.

Most of the artifacts in this collection were a part of the traveling exhibit, "OK, I'll Do It Myself: Narratives of Intrepid Women in the American Wilderness: Selections from the Caroline F. Schimmel Collection," which was exhibited at Saint Louis Mercantile Library, at the University of Missouri (2017 August 27 to October 27); the DeGolyer Library at Southern Methodist University (2018 January 18 to March 29); and at the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries (2018 August 23 to November 11). John Hoover and Russell L. Martin, III describe Schimmel's collection as "meticulously assembed over decades of effort to show the ways in which women grappled not only with day to day circumstances in remote, frontier areas and times across America and covering the sweep of its history, but how they also struggled to assure that their accounts saw the light of day in print." Regan Kladstrup stated that Schimmel "gives voice to the unknown, forgotten, nortorious, or renowned women."

Schimmel continues to collect books, manuscripts and archival collections, art, and artifacts.

Works cited:

Hoover, John an Russell L. Martin, III. "Introduction," OK, I'll Do It Myself: Narratives of Intrepid Women in the American Wilderness: Selections from the Caroline F. Schimmel Collection, 2017.

Kladstrup, Regan. "Introduction," OK, I'll Do It Myself: Narratives of Intrepid Women in the American Wilderness: Selections from the Caroline F. Schimmel Collection, 2018.

This collection consists of artifacts collected by Caroline F. Schimmel which document the experiences and lives of women in the American wilderness, the interpretation of which altered dramatically over the course of the continent's history. The collection is organized into three series: I. Clothing and accessories; II. Games and toys; and III. Household items.

I. Clothing and accessories includes items worn or used by prominent women, including Ann E. Bancroft (born 1956), arctic explored; Constanza Ceruti (born 1973), anthropologist and mountaineer; Elizabeth "Libbie" Bacon Custer (1842-1933), author and wife of George Armstrong Custer; Dale Evans (1912-2001), actress and singer; and Annie Oakley, born Phoebe Ann Mosey (1860-1926), sharpshooter. In addition, the collection includes moccasins that are representative of garments worn by the Arapaho women on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming. Items are arranged in chronological order.

II. Games and toys includes board games and a costume kit which document the popularization and fascination with the wilderness and "the West." Items are arranged in chronological order.

III. Household items includes a picture frame that housed a photograph of Martha Jane Cannery, also known as Marthy C. Burke and more commonly as Calamity Jane (1842-1933), explorer, pioneer and sharpshooter. The original photo has been replaced by a photocopy of the studio portrait. There is also a Navaho rug, woven by Mary Yanabah Curley (1877-1977) of the Bear Clan.

IV. Audiovisual material includes a film, "Washoe," which documents the Washoe Native American tribe outside Dresslerville, Nevada, revealing customs, rituals and celebrations and the Washoe culture and ways of life.

Gifts of Caroline Schimmel (CW'67), 2018 and 2024

At the University of Pennsylvania Libraries: https://www.library.upenn.edu/collections/notable/caroline-f-schimmel-fiction

Use

Copyright restrictions may exist. For most library holdings, the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania do not hold copyright. It is the responsibility of the requester to seek permission from the holder of the copyright to reproduce material from the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts.

Preferred Citation

Caroline F. Schimmel collection of artifacts relating to women in the American wilderness, circa 1846-2001, Realia 2, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Publisher

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Finding aids author

Holly Mengel

Date

2024 May 24

Creator

Schimmel, Caroline F.

Subject

Clothing and dress

Women -- History

Frontier and pioneer life

Organization

Caroline F. Schimmel Collection of Women in the American Wilderness (University of Pennsylvania)

Place

West (U.S.)

Language

English

Form

Artifacts (object genre)

board games (game sets)