Mary Thurman (Martin) scrapbook

The Mary “Tip” Thurman scrapbook contains the one volume scrapbook of Mary Thurman, Bryn Mawr College class of 1919. The scrapbook contains materials from the four years during which Thurman was a student at Bryn Mawr, from 1915-1919. It consists primarily of correspondence and newspaper clippings.

The scrapbook is housed in one volume, which consists mainly of materials and correspondence relating to class play performances and memorabilia from inter-class events. It contains many letters and notes regarding preparations for welcoming freshman (from Thurman’s sophomore year) and planning play performances. Materials also concern WWI’s effect on Bryn Mawr’s campus—mainly through newspaper clippings—the Bryn Mawr farm, and comics regarding female college students, including one detailing Bryn Mawr’s short hair fad. Some other notable materials include: letters and a notebook concerned with 1919’s Sophomore Show (apparently some members of the class found it immoral, and there were problems with the cost of the scripts); letters concerning the great lengths to which Mawrters have gone to steal the Freshman Parade Night Song; and a number of letters from incoming freshman, including Fumi Uchida. Some of the correspondence is difficult to understand sans context, but an explanation has been provided in the form of Thurman’s speech at the 50th reunion of her class. Unfortunately, it is unclear where this speech currently resides.

Thurman’s scrapbook is a large and lively volume that paints a striking picture of both world and campus events. It would be of most value to anyone interested in the way in which Bryn Mawr was affected by World War I, student life, Bryn Mawr traditions, the Bryn Mawr farm, and, to a lesser extent, the 1918 flu pandemic and women’s suffrage.