Roberta W. Yerkes correspondence

The Roberta W. Yerkes Blanshard papers house the correspondence of Roberta W. Yerkes (later Blanshard), Bryn Mawr College class of 1929 and associate editor at Yale University Press. She was also the daughter of Harvard/Yale Psychology professor Robert M. Yerkes. The collection comprises the letters written during Yerkes’ freshman and sophomore years at Bryn Mawr, 1925-1927. The bulk of the collection is Yerkes’ correspondence with her family.

The collection is housed in one box containing 8 folders. Folder 1 contains a letter to the Alumnae office, written November 10, 1964, concerning the death of Marion Parris (Smith). There are also notes excerpting letters to be read at the 62nd reunion, May 31- June 2, 1991. Folders 2-7 constitute letters from her freshman year. These letters are organized chronologically. Folder 8 contains all of her letters from sophomore year. Yerkes retroactively added notes to her letters to provide context for the contents of letters. She identified people mentioned, gave background information for people places and events, and often supplemented the letter with further recollections.

This correspondence collection is small, but it provides a good overview of student life in the mid-1920s. The letters are benefitted by the addition of Yerkes’ later notes, which clarify and add to the contents. This collection would be of value to anyone interested in Bryn Mawr College student life in the 1920s or the Yerkes family. It should be noted that Roberta Yerkes photo albums are with her father’s at Sterling Library.