Frances Perkins papers, 1895-1965

Summary Information

At a Glance

Arrangement

Arrangement

Selected materials cataloged; remainder arranged. Box 1-30: Cataloged & uncataloged correspondence; Box 31-41: Documents; Box 42-59: Speeches & articles; Box 60-63: FDR - Letters, memos& documents; Box 64-65: Desk calendars, 1931-1946; Box 66: Misc. documents, 1919-1933; Box 67-69: THE ROOSEVELT I KNEW, manuscripts; Box 70-93: Subject files; Box 94-99: Clippings; Box 100-101: Photographs; Box 102: Scrapbooks; Box 103: Telegrams, etc.; Box 104: Biographical materials; Box 105: Pamphlets, etc. COGGESHALL ADDITION: Box 106-106C: Cataloged correspondence; Box 107: Cataloged manuscripts & documents; Box 108-118B: Uncataloged correspondence; Box 119-133: Speeches & articles; Box 134: Unidentified manuscripts; Box 135: FDR; Box 136-137: THE AL SMITH I KNEW; Box 138-139: Subject files; Box 140-141: Colleges & universities; Box 142-148: Personal materials; Box 149-150A: Photographs; Box 151-161: Printed materials & audio tapes; Box 162: Address cards; Box 163: Books, Clippings and Scrapbook re: Frances Perkins; Flatbox 668, Oversize folder: Photographs & drawings by Frances Perkins

The Coggeshall addition must be checked in addition to the main sequence

• Part I: Cataloged correspondence--Letters to Frances Perkins
• Part II: Correspondence files, Uncataloged--Letters to Frances Perkins
• Part III: Cataloged Correspondence--Letters from Frances Perkins
• Part IV: Cataloged Correspondence--Letters from F. Perkins--Typed Letters and Typed Letters Signed (t.l. and t.l.s)
• Part V: Uncataloged Correspondence--Letters from F. Perkins--Carbons
• Part VI: Cataloged Documents
• Part VII: Speeches and Articles, 1908-1963
• Part VIII: Franklin Delano Roosevelt--Letters, Memos, and Documents
• Part IX: Desk Calendars
• Part X: Frances Perkins--Miscellaneous Documents
• Part XI: The Roosevelt I Knew--Manscript
• Part XII: Subject Files
• Part XIII
• Oversized
• Coggeshall Additions
• Cataloged Manuscripts and Documents
• Correspondence
• Speeches and Articles
• Franklin Delano Roosevelt
• The Al Smith I Knew
• Subject File
• Colleges and Universities
• Personal (Frances Perkins)
• Photographs
• Printed Materials and Audiotapes
• Address Cards
• Perkins Papers Available on Microfilm (Parts I-V, VIII)
• Part I: Cataloged Correspondence--Letters to Perkins from:
• Part II: Uncataloged Correspondence--Letters to Perkins from:
• Part III: Cataloged Correspondence--Letters from Perkins to:
• Part IV: Cataloged Correspondence (t.l. and t.l.s.)--Letters from Perkins to:
• Part V: Uncataloged Correspondence (Carbons)--Letters from Perkins to:
• Part VIII: Franklin Delano Roosevelt
• Errata List for Microfilm

Description

Summary

Correspondence, manuscripts, notes, drafts of speeches, appointment books, subject files, documents, photographs, memorabilia and printed materials. There are notes from her lectures on Sociology at Adelphi College in 1911-1912; papers from 1912-1932, when Perkins served on the Commission for Safety and on the Industrial Commission of New York State; the main body of the material is from the period of her cabinet office, 1933-1945; and some items from her days on the Civil Service Commission, 1946-1953. Also included are personal and family papers.

Major correspondents in this collection are: Grace Abbott; Arthur J. Altmeyer; Robert T. Amis; Clara M. Beyer; Maty W. Dewson; James A. Farley; Felix Frankfurter; Warner W. Gardner; Carter Goodrich; William Green; Sidney Hillman; Albert Ford Hinrichs; Cordell Hull; Harold Ickes; Hugh S. Johnson; Paul Kellogg; Mary LaDame; Herbert H. Lehman; Katharine F. Lenroot; John L. Lewis; Isador Lubin; Daniel W. McCormack; Frank W. Persons; Gerard D. Reilly; Eleanor Roosevelt; Franklin Delano Roosevelt; John R. Steelman; Lillian Wald; Henry A. Wallace; L. Metcalf Walling; Leo Wolman; and Mary E. Woolley.

• Part I: Cataloged correspondence--Letters to Frances Perkins

• Part II: Correspondence files, Uncataloged--Letters to Frances Perkins

  For a list of names of correspondents found in Part II, consult the box with catalog cards that is shelved with the collection (Box A).

• Part III: Cataloged Correspondence--Letters from Frances Perkins

• Part IV: Cataloged Correspondence--Letters from F. Perkins--Typed Letters and Typed Letters Signed (t.l. and t.l.s)

• Part V: Uncataloged Correspondence--Letters from F. Perkins--Carbons

  For a list of names of correspondents found in Part V, consult the box with catalog cards that is shelved with the collection (Box A).

• Part VI: Cataloged Documents

• Part VII: Speeches and Articles, 1908-1963

• Part VIII: Franklin Delano Roosevelt--Letters, Memos, and Documents

• Part IX: Desk Calendars

• Part X: Frances Perkins--Miscellaneous Documents

• Part XI: The Roosevelt I Knew--Manscript

• Part XII: Subject Files

• Part XIII

  Part XIII contains additional subject files, as well as clippings, photographs, scrapbooks, telegrams, biographical materials, and printed materials.

• Oversized

• Coggeshall Additions

• Perkins Papers Available on Microfilm (Parts I-V, VIII)

  Parts I-V, VIII are also available on microfilm.

Using the Collection

Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Restrictions on Access

You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

This collection is located on-site.

This collection has no restrictions.

Some materials in this collection have been digitized and available: Frances Perkins: The Woman Behind the New Deal and Digital Library Collection

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Preferred Citation

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Frances Perkins papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Selected Related Material-- at Columbia

Reminiscences of Frances Perkins, 1955, Oral History Archives, Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

Reminiscences of Frances Perkins, 1955, Columbia University Libraries' Digital Collections. This interview is a digitized version of the interview held by the Oral History Archives, Rare Book & Manuscript Library, and includes both audio files and the transcript.

Accruals

Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.

Alternate Form Available

Parts I-V, VIII are also available on microfilm.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Papers: Source of acquisition--Perkins, Frances & Susanna Coggeshall. Method of acquisition--Gift.

Papers: Source of acquisition--Coggeshall, Susanna. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--11/17/1992. Accession number--M-92-11-17.

Gift of Frances Perkins, 1955.

Gift of Susanna Coggeshall, 1970-1983, 1985, 1988 & 1992.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Processing Information

Papers Entered in AMC 11/26/1990.

Papers Processed HR 02/16/1993.

Revision Description

2018-07-11 Restriction on family papers removed KWS

2020-12-04 EAD document created by CCR.

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches at Columbia University through the Archival Collections Portal and through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, as well as ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

All links open new windows.

Genre/Form

Subject

History / Biographical Note

Biographical / Historical

Government official for New York State and the federal government, including Industrial Commissioner of the State of New York, 1929-1932, and United States Secretary of Labor, 1933-1945.