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Archival Collections Portal > Avery Drawings & Archives Collections > Finding Aid: Edith Elmer Wood papers
Edith Elmer Wood papers,
1889-1945.
Preferred Citation
Edith Elmer Wood papers, 1889-1945, Department of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University.
COinS Metadata
available (e.g., for Zotero).
Summary Information
Abstract
Edith Elmer Wood (1871-1945) was a US housing reformer. As lobbyist, writer, and government consultant, she helped define New Deal housing policy. After graduating from Smith College in 1890, she wrote fiction and undertook settlement house work before launching her influential, life-long career in housing reforms. The bulk of the collection is letters but other kinds of material is included, such as drawings, blueprints, manuscripts, maps, photographs, pamphlets, news clippings and hotel receipts.
At a Glance
| CLIO record: | View CLIO record |
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| Creator(s): | Wood, Edith Elmer, 1871-1945. |
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| Title: | Edith Elmer Wood papers,
1889-1945.
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| Physical description: | 30 linear feet (72 manuscript boxes)
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| Language(s): | In English, French, Spanish, and German.
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| Access: |
This collection is
available for use by qualified readers by appointment in the Dept. of Archives & Drawings' Reading Room, Avery Architectural
and Fine Arts Library at Columbia University. The majority of this collection is maintained in off-site storage and must retrieved with advance
notification. For further information and to make an appointment to use this collection, please call (212) 854-4110 or email avery-drawings@libraries.cul.columbia.edu.
More information » |
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Arrangement
Arrangement
This material is arranged in six series:
Return to top Description
Scope and Content
The Edith Elmer Wood Collection covers a short but important period in the housing field.
The bulk of the collection spans from 1917-1943. Papers consist primarily of correspondence,
architectural drawings and blueprints, manuscripts, maps, photographs, clippings, pamphlets,
press releases, reports, notebooks, legal documents, and miscellaneous documents are also included.
The collection documents, among other things, Wood's involvement as member, officer, or consultant with
the U.S. government housing
agencies, and national, regional, state, city, and international housing organizations.
Organizations include United States Public Works Administration, 1930s-1940s; U.S. Housing
Authority, 1930s-1940s; President's Conference on House Building and Home Ownership, 1930s;
U.S. Dept. of Commerce, 1920s-1940s; New Jersey State Housing Authority, 1930s-1940s;
National Association of Housing Officials, 1930s-1940s; National Housing Association,
1910s-1930s; National Public Housing Conference, 1930s-1940s; International Housing Association,
1920s-1940s; organizations in California, Massachusetts, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C.,
and particularly New York and New Jersey. Wood's correspondence, circa 1900s-1930s, with housing
groups in Belgium, Italy, France, Germany, Holland, Norway, Spain, and particularly Great Britain, is included.
The collection also includes correspondence (with related legal documents, clippings, and reports)
relating to housing legislation
in the U.S., New York, New Jersey (including the Wagner-Ellenbogen bill); course outlines,
reading lists, examinations, correspondence, notes, and other instructional material from
courses Wood taught at Teachers College, Columbia University, and the Dept. of Home Economics at
Iowa State College; manuscripts of lectures and speeches with related correspondence; and photographs,
biographical essays, and miscellaneous documents.
When the collection was donated to Avery Library descriptive labels were on the manuscript boxes.
It was discovered though that the labels did not necessarily correspond to the contents of the boxes.
More concise identifying labels were needed. In some instances, attempts had been made to organize
material within the boxes. When possible, the original arrangement was used.
When several pieces of correspondence were found clamped together or enclosed in the same envelope,
they were usually left that way. This was due to the assumption that Dr. Wood or her secretary
had arranged them in that manner because of some kind of relationship between the pieces of material.
If the date was lacking on the correspondence, the postmarked date from the envelope was bracketed on
the letter in pencil.
Return to top Using the Collection
Access Restrictions
 This collection is
available for use by qualified readers by appointment in the Dept. of Archives & Drawings' Reading Room, Avery Architectural
and Fine Arts Library at Columbia University. The majority of this collection is maintained in off-site storage and must retrieved with advance
notification. For further information and to make an appointment to use this collection, please call (212) 854-4110 or email avery-drawings@libraries.cul.columbia.edu.
Restrictions on Use
Columbia University is providing access to the materials
in the Library's collections solely for noncommercial educational and research purposes. The unauthorized use, including,
but not limited to, publication of the materials without the prior written permission of Columbia University is strictly prohibited.
All inquiries regarding permission to publish should be submitted in writing to the Director,
Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University. For additional guidance, see
Columbia University Libraries' publication policy.
In addition to permission from Columbia University, permission
of the copyright owner (if not Columbia University) and/or any holder of other rights (such as publicity and/or privacy rights) may also be required for reproduction, publication, distributions, and other uses. Responsibility for making an independent legal
assessment of any item and securing any necessary permissions rests with the persons desiring to publish the item.
Columbia University makes no warranties as to the accuracy of the materials or their fitness for a particular purpose.
Preferred Citation
Edith Elmer Wood papers, 1889-1945, Department of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University.
For Further InformationFor more information about using the collections and conducting research in the Department of Drawings & Archives, please see our FAQ. Return to top About the Finding Aid / Processing Information
Columbia University Libraries. Avery Architecture and Fine Arts Library. Department of Drawings and Archives; machine readable finding
aid created by Columbia University Libraries Digital Library Program Division
Processing Information
Inventory arranged and finding aid written by Mattye Laverne Brandon in 1973. The collection was rehoused in 2011.
Machine readable finding aid generated from MARC-AMC source via XSLT conversion June 25, 2009
Finding aid written in English.
CLIO ID: 3460606 View CLIO record Return to top Index Terms
The names and terms listed below are represented 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 consortial/union catalog offered by OCLC that allows users to search the holdings of multiple archives and libraries. All links open new windows.
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Return to top History / Biographical Note
Biography
Edith Elmer Wood, born in Portmouth, New Hampshire, on September 24, 1871, was the daughter of U.S. Navy Commander Horace and Adele (Wiley) Elmer. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Smith College in 1890 and was awarded the M.A. degree and the Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1917, 1919, respectively. She also graduated from the New York School of Social Work in 1917.
Edith Elmer was married to U.S. Navy Lt. Albert Norton Wood on June 24, 1893. He died in 1933. Two of their sons, Horace Elmer and Thurston Elmer also died during Dr. Wood’s lifetime. The remaining two, Horace Elmer II and Albert Elmer succeeded her.
Dr. Wood was considered a professional writer as of 1890. Activities for which she is known today began in 1906 when she founded and presided over the Anti-Tuberculosis League of Puerto Rico in 1906, 1907, 1909. She became the honorary president of the League in 1908 and was also a delegate to the International Tuberculosis Congress during that year.
She was chairman of the National Committee on Housing of the American Association of University Women from 1917-1929. She was in charge of courses on housing at the Columbia University extension from 1926-1930, 1936, 1937. She was a consultant to the Housing Division of the Public Works Administration from 1933-1937; a consultant of the United State Housing Authority from 1934-1937; Vice-president of the National Public Housing Conference from 1932-1936 and a director from 1936-1945; a member of the executive committee of the International Housing Association from 1931-1937, and she belonged to academic fraternities including the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society.
Publications Dr. Wood authored are:
Her Provincial Cousin,
1983,
Shoulder Straps and Sunbonnets,
1901,
The Spirit of the Service,
1903,
An Oberland Chalet,
1910,
The Housing of the Unskilled Wage Earner,
1919,
Housing Progress in Western Europe,
1923,
Recent Trends in American Housing,
1931,
Slums and Blighted Areas in the United States,
(P.W.A. Housing Division Bulletin), 1935 and
Introduction to Housing Facts and Principles,
1939.
She also contributed material to magazines and newspapers.
Although Dr. Wood traveled extensively, she considered her permanent home to be Cape May Court House, New Jersey.
She died on April 29, 1945 and was buried in the U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery in Annapolis, Maryland.
(Information taken from the January, 1947 issue of
International Who's Who.
)
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