Lenora Purdy papers, 1850-1990 | Augustana College

The Lenora Purdy papers collection dates from c. 1850 to 1990 and measures 3.75 linear feet, not including one oversized diploma. Because this collection consists of two different accessions, each accession has been kept separate. The first accession consists of education, geneological research, pictures and scrapbooks. The second accession contains pictures, drawings and scrapbooks.

In the first accession, the Education series (1919-1952) contains various report cards, diplomas, pictures and works that highlight Lenora's scholastic career as she attended various local schools and colleges. Additionally, one can find newspaper articles and other artifacts about Lenora Purdy as a teacher in Illinois schools.

The Geneological Research series (c. 1850-1990) is a compilation of research and correspondence that Lenora gathered while investigating her family geneology. She gathered numerous newspaper clippings, correspondence and legal documents, among other artifacts.

The Pictures series (1919-1993) has a variety of photographs of Lenora Purdy's relations, as well as photographs she had taken throughout her lifetime. Many of these are small snapshots, but some are professional portraits as well.

The Scrapbooks series (c. 1929-c. 1940) consists of two scrapbooks made by Lenora, one during her time at Augustana College and one documenting her travelling with family and friends. While the former mostly consists of pictures, the latter contains more postcards and travel artifacts.

In the second accession, the Pictures series (c. 1900-1941) contains photographs, many professionally-done, of different members of Lenora's family and of herself. Many of these photographs are of unrecognizable subjects.

The Drawings series (c. 1900) consists of preserved drawings and drawing instruction books. In particular, there are antiquated drawing books owned and used by Antoinette Blaser-Purdy that date from the late 1800s.

The Scrapbooks series (c. 1930-c. 1940) in the second accession only contains one scrapbook. Within its pages are pictures of her life, family and friends around the 1930s and 1940s.