San Diego Browning Society Records, 1946-1992

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Summary

Title:
San Diego Browning Society Records
Dates:
1946-1992
Creators:
San Diego Browning Society.
Abstract:
This collection contains items pertaining to the San Diego Browning Society, whose members read and analyzed the writings of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
Extent:
1.5 Linear feet (3 boxes)
Language:
Preferred citation:

San Diego Browning Society Records, MS 265, San Diego History Center Document Collection, San Diego, CA.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection contains items relating to the administration and activities of the San Diego Browning Society. Administrative items include by-laws, membership listings, meeting minutes, financial reports, and correspondence. Many of the meeting minutes records books have newspaper clippings and other miscellaneous items pasted into the books. Activity-related items include program booklets, program notices and event programs.

Biographical / historical:

The San Diego Browning Society was founded in 1946 by Mrs. Oliver W. (Estelle Grace) Pierce, a retired speech coach from Minneapolis who moved to San Diego in 1931. According to the society’s by-laws, its purpose was to “promote the study, understanding and appreciation of the works of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and to relate them to the Victorian Age in which they were a vital influence.” Its members consisted of college faculty, prominent local citizens of varied professions, and any San Diegans who simply enjoyed poetry and were interested in its promotion. During the Society’s monthly meetings, members delivered readings of Browning poems and original papers about aspects of the Brownings’ lives and the time and environment in which they lived. Some meetings included lectures given by guest speakers. They also held events, such as annual holiday dinners, birthday parties for the Brownings, and special programs such as a Browning-related movie screening and an interpretive music concert based on a Robert Browning poem. Due to decline of membership and interest in this literary period, the society disbanded in 1992.

Acquisition information:
Accession number 920929.
Processing information:

Collection processed by Jennifer Ho on November 16, 2011.

Collection processed as part of grant project supported by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) with generous funding from The Andrew Mellon Foundation.

Arrangement:

Items in the collection are arranged by subject.

Physical / technical requirements:

Some notebooks have loose pages. All loose materials from meeting minutes record books have been removed, but are retained in the same folder with the original book. (November 16, 2011)

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid prepared by Jennifer Ho
Sponsor:
Collection processed as part of grant project supported by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) with generous funding from The Andrew Mellon Foundation.
Date Prepared:
November 16, 2011
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2012-05-10T16:50-0700

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The San Diego History Center (SDHC) holds the copyright to any unpublished materials. SDHC Library regulations do apply.

Preferred citation:

San Diego Browning Society Records, MS 265, San Diego History Center Document Collection, San Diego, CA.

Location of this collection:
1649 El Prado, Suite 3
San Diego, CA 92101, US
Contact:
(619) 232-6203
Website