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Guide to the Addie Viola Smith papers
M000090
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Collection Title: Addie Viola Smith papers
Dates: 1763-1975
Identification: M000090
Language of Materials:
English
Chinese
Thai
Spanish;Castilian
French
Repository:
Sutro Library, California State Library
1630 Holloway Avenue
5th floor
San Francisco, CA, 94132-4030
URL: http://www.library.ca.gov/about/sutro_main.html
Email: sutro@library.ca.gov
Phone: 415-469-6100
Addie Viola Smith, otherwise known as 施芳蘭 (Shi Fanglan), ‘Viola,’ ‘Auntie Vee,’ 'Vee,’ 'Elephant Child,' or 'Elfie,' was born
in Stockton, California on November 14, 1893. At the height of her career in 1928, she served as a trade commissioner in Shanghai,
China. However, throughout the years leading up to her international career, Smith spent the years prior pursuing education
and gaining work experience. In 1908, she studied business administration at Heald’s Business College, San Francisco, and
by 1910, Smith worked in the import and export department at a large merchandising firm in California. In 1917, she moved
on from her previous job to work for the United States Department of Labor in Washington, D.C. while simultaneously pursuing
an LL.B. degree at the American University Washington College of Law. During her time at the United States Department of Labor,
she held several positions such as confidential clerk to assistant secretary, assistant chief of the women’s division of the
United States employment service, chief of the information division of the United States training and dilution service, clerk
to the employers group of the President’s first industrial conference in 1919, and assistant editorial clerk to the first
international labor office conference at Washington in 1919. Finally, in October 1920, she was assigned as clerk to the trade
commissioner in Beijing, China, making her the first woman to join the Foreign Service of the United States Department of
Commerce and perhaps one of the most important people who helped facilitate trade between the United States and China. After
taking the civil service examinations in October 1922, she was promoted to assistant trade commissioner in Shanghai and finally
to trade commissioner in 1928.
Her work in China extended beyond her role as trade commissioner. In addition to serving as registrar of the 1922 China Trade
Act and being admitted to practice in the United States Court for China in 1934, Smith specialized in automotives and highways
in China, practiced genealogy during her spare time, and was an international activist and feminist. Even during the earlier
years of her career, Smith was an advocate for women’s rights in the United States, and her activism broadened to the international
stage during the later years of her life as she participated in and greatly contributed to several women's organizations such
as the Australian Federation of University Women, the International Alliance of Women and Australian Federation of Women Voters,
the Australian Local Government Women's Association (ALGWA), the International Federation of Women Lawyers (IFWL), and the
American Women’s Club of Shanghai.
Though Smith is primarily remembered for her professional career and international activism, she was also a dedicated friend
and lover. Her collection at Sutro Library contains an abundance of letters, scrapbooks, and collected memories that display
her continuous devotion to many people in her life. Smith died in Sydney on December 13, 1975.
The items included in this collection were personally curated by Smith. As such, it is worth noting that the collection is
primarily in her perspective as well as the one she seeks to portray herself in. While the collection is largely painted in
her favor, it is still a valuable account on how women, like Smith, navigated and found their place in the world. Smith was
indeed both a product of her time and a facilitator of that time's agenda. However, her personal experiences complicates her
character and extends it beyond a product or facilitator of American imperialism.
There were earlier attempts at processing this collection. When it was reprocessed in 2023, few changes to the order were
made. The entire collection was reboxed and rehoused.
Due to space and conservation concerns, the scrapbook binders were dismantled. However, before the scrapbooks were removed
from their binders, the scrapbook pages were numbered with pencil and scanned in their entirety. The genealogy scrapbooks
were placed in "series" 7 along with the Original and Duplicate scrapbooks.
No original order was found for the photographs. Within the photograph "series" ("series" 8), negatives and postcards that
were found with the photographs were separated and placed in their own folders. The negatives were kept in the same "series"
as the photographs ("series" 8); however, the postcards were placed in the misc. "series" ("series" 5).
The collection was processed by student assistant Thai-Van Stanoff and Sutro Library staff in 2023.
The publications that came with the collection were removed and catalogued separately. There are published items by Smith
as well as ones from her personal collection. Publications include:
Alley, Rewi.
An Anhuei Motor Tour. S.l: s.n., n.d. Call number: DS793.A6 A44
Alley, Rewi.
New Routes from Shanghai to Soochow. S.l: s.n., n.d. Call number: DS793.K45 A44
Annual Report for the Fiscal Year ... New York, N.Y: The Council, 1900. Call number: HF296.A29 C54 1944/45 [includes a typed label on the cover and annotations
by Smith]
Annual Report for the Fiscal Year ... New York, N.Y: The Council, 1900. Call number: HF296.A29 C54 1945/46 [includes a typed label on the cover and annotations
by Smith]
Arnold, Julean Herbert.
China through the American Window =
Chung Mei Kuan Hsi Chih Li Ts’ê. Shanghai, China: American Chamber of Commerce, 1932. Call number: HC106 .C352 [includes Smith’s signature, a typed label
on the cover, annotations by Smith, and an annotated pamphlet for “American Foreign Trade Week”]
Arnold, Julean Herbert.
Commercial Handbook of China. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1919. Call number: HF3836 .A7 1919 V.1 [includes annotations (may or may not be
done by Smith)]
Arnold, Julean Herbert.
Commercial Handbook of China. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1920. Call number: HF3836 .A7 1920 V.2 [includes annotations (may or may not be
done by Smith)]
Arnold, Julean Herbert, Ming-Shih. Tan, and Shi Hu.
Some Bigger Issues in China’s Problems. Shanghai, China: Commercial Press, 1928. Call number: HC427 .A74
Bulletin. Shanghai: The Joint Committee, 1927. Call number: HQ1766 .J6 [includes a typed and annotated document attached to cover,
Smith’s signature on multiple pages, a handwritten note from Eleanor Hinder to Smith, and annotations by Smith]
Chao, Fung-chiai.
Chung kuo fu nü tsai fa lü shang chi ti wei. Shanghai, China: Shang wu yin shu kuan, 1928. Call number: MISC002352 [includes Smith’s signature on cover and annotations
(may or may not be done by Smith)] [English title: The Woman’s Position in Chinese Law]
The Conduct of Business with China. Washington: Govt. Printing Office, 1919. Call number: HF3120 .A4 1919 [includes Smith’s signature and annotations (may or
may not be by Smith)]
“First National Good Roads Conference and Exhibition : Shanghai, China, September 12 to October 2, 1931.” Shanghai, China:
s.n., 1931. Call number: MISC002351
Fischer, Emil Sigmund, and A. Viola. Smith.
From Shanghai to Changsha in an Automobile : Interesting Account of a Test Journey by Mr. Emil Fischer, Who Accompanied by
Miss A. Viola Smith as Her Pilot
. Shanghai?: s.n.], 1935. Call number: DS710 .S48 1941
Fischer, Emil Sigmund.
Travels in China, 1894-1940. Tientsin: Tientsin Press, 1941. Call number: DS710 .F48 1941 [includes a copy of
From Shanghai to Changsha in an Automobile: Interesting Account of a Test Journey by Mr. Emil Fischer, who accompanied Miss
A. Viola Smith as her Pilot
, annotations by Smith, and Smith's signature]
Fitch, Robert F.
Hangchow-Chekiang Itineraries. 4th, rev. and enl. ed. Shanghai: Kelly & Walsh, Ltd., 1935. Call number: DS793.C3 F57 1935 [includes Smith's Australian
address stamped on inside]
Gould, Randall.
Chungking Today. Shanghai: The Mercury Press, 1941. Call number: DS777.53 .G67 1941 [includes a handwritten message from Randall to Smith]
The Hangchow-Hweichow Highway Upon the Occasion of Its Opening to Traffic =
Hang-Hui Kung Lu Tung Ch’ê Chi Nien K’an. Nanking, China: Bureau of Public Roads, National Economic Council, 1933. Call number: MISC002350 [includes a handwritten
note addressed to Smith from Mr. Chao and a typed label on cover]
Hinder, Eleanor M.
Life and Labour in Shanghai’s International Settlement : Problems of Administration and Reform. Shanghai: Shangai Municipal Council, 1942. Call number: MISC002356 includes Smith’s Australian address stamped on the cover]
Hinder, Eleanor M.
Women in the Pacific: A Contribution to the Pan-Pacific Women’s Conference, Honolulu, August 9-19,1928. Shanghai?: s.n., 1928. Call number: MISC002355[includes Smith’s signature on cover]
Moser, Charles Kroth.
Where China Buys and Sells. Washington: U.S. Govt. Print. Office, 1935. Call number: MISC002359 [includes some annotations on the cover (may or may
not be by Smith) and a typed insert]
The Nanking-Wuhu and Süancheng-Changhing Highways Upon the Occasion of Their Opening to Traffic =
Chin-Wu Shuan-Chang Êrh Kung Lu Tung Ch’ê Chi Nien K’an. Nanking, China: Bureau of Public Roads, National Economic Council, 1933. Call number: TE102.N3 A5 1933
“National Good Roads Exhibition: Official Catalogue.” Shanghai, China: s.n., 1931. Call number: MISC002351 [includes typed
label on cover and annotations by Smith]
The New Shanghai Hangchow Highway. Shanghai: Printed by the China Science Corp., 1932. Call number: TE102.S5 A5 1932
Smith, A. Viola., and Chuh, Anselm.
Motor Roads in China. Washington: U.S. Govt. Print. Office, 1931. Call number: MISC000745 [includes Smith’s signature and a handwritten caption
on cover]
Smith, A. Viola.
Motor Touring in China: through Kiangsu, Chekiang, Anhwei, Kiangsi and Around Shanghai. 1st ed. Shanghai: Kelly & Walsh, Ltd., 1934. Call number: MISC002354 [includes some annotations (may or may not be done
by Smith)]
Smith, A. Viola.
Trade Promotion Facilities. S.l: United Nations, 1949. Call number: HF3751.8.A48 U5 [includes Smith’s signature and a typed label on the cover]
Smith, A. Viola.
Women’s Club Movement in China. Shanghai?: s.n., 1926. Call number: MISC002357 [includes Smith’s signature on cover, annotations by Smith, and annotations
that may not have been done by Smith]
Sokolsky, George Ephraim.
China, a Sourcebook of Information. Shanghai: Pan-Pacific Association, 1920. Call number: MISC002358 [includes Smith signature on cover]
The Soochow-Kashing Highway Upon the Occasion of Its Opening to Traffic =
Su Chia Kung Lu Tung Ch’ê Chi Nien K’an. Nanking, China: Bureau of Public Roads, National Economic Council,cre *3., 1933. Call number: MISC00353
Tcheng, Soumay.
My Revolutionary Years: The Autobiography of Madame Wei Tao-Ming. New York: Scribner, 1943. Call number: DS778.W4 A3 [includes signature by author, a typed description about the author by
Smith, annotations (may or may not be by Smith)]
Williamson, Isabelle.
Old Highways in China. London: Religious Tract Society, 1884. Call number: DS709 .W73 1884 [includes a typed and signed memo by Smith, which includes
a brief review. Also includes an additional anonymous signature]
Wong, Dorothy T.
Chinese Women of Today. Shanghai, China: [s.n.], 1928. Call number: MISC001492 [includes annotations by Smith]
Property rights reside with the repository. Any applicable literary rights would reside with the creators of the documents
or their heirs. To obtain permission to publish or reproduce, please email sutro@library.ca.gov
The collection is open for research. Please page materials three business days in advance of your visit by email: sutro@library.ca.gov
[Identification of item], Addie Viola Smith papers, 1763-1975, M000090, Sutro Library, California State Library, San Francisco,
Calif.
The papers of Addie Viola Smith's partner, Eleanor M. Hinder, are found in the Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection,
MLMSS770, State Library of New South Wales. There are papers from Smith in Hinder's collection but also in a collection called
A. Viola Smith, further papers, 1957-1975, MLMSS7032.
Information about related materials is available at https://www.womenaustralia.info/archives/AWH001788.htm
This collection is arranged into eight different "series":
"series" 1: Correspondence, 1923-1975
"series" 2: Reports, 1917-1975
Sub-"series" 1: China, 1971-1972
Sub-"series" 2: Women's movement, 1928-1975
Sub-"series" 3: Women in the legal profession, 1920-1973
"series" 3: Speeches, 1918-1962
"series" 4: Field reports, 1920-1971
"series" 5: Miscellaneous, 1918-1975
"series" 6: Genealogy and honors of Smith, 1893-1973
"series" 7: Scrapbooks, 1763-1973
Sub-"series" 1: Original Scrapbooks, 1893-1969
Sub-"series" 2: Duplicate Scrapbooks, 1893-1969
Sub-"series" 3: Genealogy Scrapbooks, 1763-1973
"series" 8: Photographs and negatives, 1903-1971
Sub-"series" 1: China, 1921-1940
Sub-sub-"series" 1: Motorning/Transportation and highway development in China, 1929-1933
Sub-sub-"series" 2: Provinces and municipalities in China, 1921-1940
Sub-"series" 2: Asia [excluding China], 1923-1950
Sub-"series" 3: Canada, the United States, and Mexico, 1918-1957
Sub-"series" 4: Europe, 1954-1971
Sub-"series" 5: Australia, 1959-1970
Sub-"series" 6: Misc., 1903-1971
Sub-"series" 7: Negatives, n.d.
This collection consists primarily of Addie Viola Smith's correspondence, reports, scrapbooks, genealogy, speeches, newspaper
clippings, photographs, and notebooks. Topics include trade and commerce in Shanghai, motors and highways in China, international
and Chinese law, the United Nations, tourism development in China and promotion in Asia and the Far East, international women’s
movements and organizations, Smith's personal recollections, and Eleanor Hinder. Highlights include Smith's work with E.C.A.F.E.
(the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East), correspondence from former First Lady Lou Henry Hoover
and Judge Florence Ellinwood Allen, manuscripts on the China Trade Act (1922), Smith's work as trade commissioner in Shanghai,
and censored love letters written by Smith's partner, Eleanor Hinder, to Smith.