[African Americana]. [Women]. Lacey, Patricia

[Small Archive of Items Belonging to a Female Student at Howard University During the Late 1930s]

[Washington, D.C. 1938-1939]. Six items. Some marginal chipping to documents, otherwise in nice shape. Very good. Item #3831

A small archive consisting of half a dozen items retained by Howard University graduate Patricia Lacey from her time at the school in the late 1930s. In addition to the university-related items, the present collection includes a handful of family paper items belonging to Patricia's parents John and Alberta Lacey of Newark, New Jersey. According to the 1940 census, Patricia was still living at home in Newark; by the 1950 census, her father had died or left the household, as Patricia is identified as a public school teacher living with her mother, Alberta. The items present here are as follows:

1) The Students' Handbook Howard University for 1938-1939, which bears Lacey's ownership signature on the front pastedown. This pocket-sized handbook includes the rules and regulations for Howard students, special information for female students, information on clubs and campus activities, a football schedule, partially-printed weekly calendar pages, and more, along with some advertisements for local businesses. No separately-reported records for this handbook in OCLC, though some may reside in archival collections.

2) Sepia-toned photograph of Patricia Lacey, 4 x 6 inches, corner-mounted in a Lorstan Studio paper portrait folder. The photograph features Lacey in her graduation cap and gown. The image was produced by a Newark-area studio.

3) Schedule Card for Lacey's Second Semester, 1938-39. A partially-printed card completed in pencil by Lacey, listing her weekly course schedule for the 1939 Spring semester, where she took Spanish, Education, Philosophy, Sociology, Psychology, and Dancing. The card is signed by Lacey, and indicates her total tuition of $77.50.

4) "Negro Health." 4pp. of mimeographed text, stapled. Presumably a school or class handout offering a concise study of health and wellness issues among the African American population such as life span, prevalent diseases, infant mortality, hospitalizations, and more. The short work contains a number of striking assertions, such as "The rural Negro seldom commits suicide. However, Negro suicide rate is three-fourths as high as the white."

5) Howard University Department of Education. "Education I. Problems of Democracy." 3pp. of mimeographed text. A course outline or syllabus for one of Lacey's classes, consisting mainly of a long list of wide-ranging subjects and talking points to be covered in the class, including "Preservation of social and racial heritage," "Gospel of Social Justice," "Some profess that women are too independent," and "Freedom is being suppressed by Communism, Fascism, and Socialism."

6) "Get Acquainted Week" Luggage Tag. 3 x 5.75 inches. A small luggage tag belonging to Lacey signed by a couple dozen fellow students, presumably during the first week of Lacey's time at Howard University. A couple of students note Greek affiliations below their names.

A small but informative group of items belonging to an African American woman studying at Howard University in the 1930s.

Price: $1,250.00