Lillian Eugenia Smith papers, 1943-2005

Printable guide [HTML]
Request items

Summary

Creators:
Smith, Lillian (Lillian Eugenia), 1897-1966
Abstract:
A collection of material related to Lillian Eugenia Smith, a 20th century writer and social critic of the American South.
Extent:
1.5 Linear Feet (1 box, 1 oversize folder)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Lillian Eugenia Smith papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

The papers consist of manuscripts, correspondence, photocopies, photographs, printed material, a VHS tape, four audio cassettes, an LP record and ephemera. The collection contains material written by Margaret Rose Gladney, Marylou Hadditt, Betty Kaufman (Hadditt's first cousin), Suzanne Niedland and Lillian Smith.

Biographical / historical:

Lillian Eugenia Smith (1897-1966) was a white writer and social critic of the American South. She wrote numerous works criticizing segregation and Jim Crow laws, including her best-selling novel Strange Fruit. In 1925, she took over the running of the Laurel Falls Camp for Girls (Clayton, Georgia), an innovative educational institution for young, white girls with instruction in the arts, music, drama and modern psychology. Lillian Smith formed a lifelong relationship with Paula Snelling, one of the camp's school counselors; they remained closeted as a same-sex couple for the rest of their lives. Together they published a small, quarterly literary magazine that came to be known as South Today. Smith battled breast cancer for over 10 years before she died on September 28, 1966.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Marylou Hadditt, April 2006.
Processing information:

Processed by Gayle M. Richardson in 2016; in November 2024, a finding aid was created.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

NOT AVAILABLE. Audiovisual materials, including a VHS tape, audio cassettes and an LP record, are not available for paging until reformatted. Please contact Reader Services for more information.

Terms of access:

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

All photocopies, for which the Huntington does not own the original manuscript, may not be copied in any way as noted on the folders; the original material is held by the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia (Athens, Ga.).

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Lillian Eugenia Smith papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Website