Newcomb Archives
Boyer, Harriet
2007-13
Table of Contents
Summary Information
- Repository
- Newcomb Archives
- Creator - Compiler
- Boyer, Harriet
- Title
- Harriet Boyer Papers
- ID
- 2007-13
- Date [inclusive]
- Between 1910 and 1918
- Extent
- 0.75 Cubic feet 2 boxes
- Language
- English
Biographical/Historical note
Harriet Boyer was an assistant professor of Domestic Science at Newcomb College in the period of this collection (1910-1918). Ms. Boyer's discipline focused on the study and teaching of the many aspects of food preparation, including purchasing food, canning food, and the choosing of proper kitchen equipment. Her study was highly scientific and serious. Evidence of her attitude are illustrated by her correspondences with various federal and state offices, including the Department of Agriculture, the Department of the Interior, and the Department of Justice. However she was as personable as she was serious; her students were quite fond of her. This balance is particularly evident in a collection of letters responding to Ms. Boyer's inquiry into the state of Domestic Science in Louisiana's secondary schools. Although these letters offer detailed information, they are often candid and betray a fondness and a respect for Ms. Boyer, for Newcomb College, and for the practicality of domestic science.
Scope and Contents note
This collection consists entirely of letters received by Boyer. With the exception of a few personal letters (perhaps from former students), the papers contain mostly business letters from various government agencies or consultants in Domestic Science, such as Claudia Quigley Murphy. They also contain things such as responses to requests for specific information on subjects like canning and food dehydrating. Boyer was active in soliciting food product samples and new equipment for preliminary testing in her classroom. Her papers include her standard business goings-on: committees, meetings, organizations, subscriptions, class lists, and lists of equipment manufacturers. As a college professor of domestic science, Boyer follows a tradition of household efficiency associated with Catherine Beecher in the late nineteenth century; the movement emphasized the importance of household work for women and society as a whole. In the second decade of the twentieth century, one finds Ms. Boyer concerned with the beginnings of modernization of the household. She was particularly concerned with the increased mechanization of the kitchen and the standardization of electricity in the household. Her collection provides insight into the general attitude toward domestic science in the state of Louisiana, as well as the practical knowledge of her classes.
Organization and Arrangement
Papers have been removed from plastic sleeves and placed in acid-free folders, then interleaved with acid-free paper. The folder titles have been taken from the approximate organization of the letters as they were received.
Administrative Information
Publication Information
Newcomb Archives
Newcomb Center for Research on WomenSeltzer-Gerard Reading Room
62 Newcomb Place
New Orleans, Louisiana, 70118
504 865 5762
vorhoff@tulane.edu
Controlled Access Headings
Personal Name(s)
- Cohen, Joseph, Dr.
- Murphy, Claudia Quigley
Collection Inventory
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NAB-052 Box 1 of 1 1.0 Cubic feet 1 box General noteBooks, Subscriptions, Equipment Committees, meetings, organizations Class lists 1910-1911 Cooking Information, Questions Inquiry on domestic science in Louisiana high schools 1917 Correspondence with Lousiana Department of Education 1912-1914 Correspondence with "Louisiana School Work" journal 1915 Correspondence with Louisiana State University 1912-1918 Miscellaneous correspondence Letters from Claudia Quigley Murphy 1913-1917 Correspndence with National Canner Company Product Sample Letters Recommendations and Job Offers 1914-1918 Correspondence with US Department of Agriculture Correspondence with US Department of the Interior Correspondence with US Department of Justice Correspondence with US Food Administration |
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NAB-053 Box 2 of 2 -- Addendum 1.0 Cubic feet 1 box General noteAmerican Home Economics Association Class visits Classroom supplies Cooking information/questions Domestic Science in Louisiana Domestic Science outside Louisiana Equipment information/testing Information from university archives Job offers/information Miscellaneous correspondence Personal correspondence Product information/testing References Report of Committee of Home Economics Requests for information on Domestic Science program at Newcomb Ellen Richards memorial fund Summer school Teachers agencies Visitors to Newcomb Domestic Science department Writings on domestic science |
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