Guide to the Anna Eleanor Wallace papers, 1874-1982

(bulk 1902-1936)

John Hay Library
Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Tel: 401-863-2146
Fax: 401-863-2093
email: hay@brown.edu

Published in 2012

Collection Overview

Title:	Anna Eleanor Wallace papers
Date range:	1874-1982, (bulk 1902-1936)
Creator:	Wallace, Anna Eleanor, 1886-1982
Extent:	3.0 Linear feet
Abstract:	Anna Eleanor Wallace (1886-1982) was a dancer and elocutionist from Providence, Rhode Island. She taught dance, dramatics, elocution and physical education to students of all ages in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Most of her papers consist of copies of recitation pieces, instructions for dances, and photographs. The papers also include some of her personal belongings, catalogs from schools of dance and oratory, and ephemera such as brochures and programs of her students' recitals. The material in the papers is dated between 1874 and 1982, with most dated between 1902 and 1936.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	John Hay Library
Collection number:	Ms. 90.17

Scope & content

The Anna Eleanor Wallace papers contain some of her personal belongings such a diary and birthday book, material regarding her education, and material used in her career as a performer and teacher of dance, dramatics, elocution and physical education. Most of the material consists of recitation pieces, instructions for dances, and photographs. All the newspaper clippings in the papers have been photocopied with the exception of those that are pasted into photograph albums. The material in the papers is dated between 1874 and 1982, with most dated between 1902 and 1936.

The papers have been organized into the following series:

Series 1. Personal papers consists mostly of material related to Miss Wallace's elementary and secondary education and catalogs from the schools she attended to study dance, eloction and physical training. This series also includes some of Miss Wallace's personal belongings, such as her diary, birthday book and reading glasses; her Rhode Island Teacher's certificate, a copy of her obituary from The Providence Journal, her sister Margaret's undated school copybook, and ephemera such as her Rhode Island Public Transit Authority bus pass and menus from a hotel in New Hampshire. Very little correspondence is included in this series. The material is dated between 1874 and 1982, with most dated between 1902 and the mid-1930's.

Series 2. Teaching and performance materials contains dance books, which are written instructions for various dances; copybooks of recitations, games and calesthenics; and sets of recitations used by Miss Wallace in her classes. This series also includes the roster of her students from 1906 to 1949, certificates of accomplishment for her students, programs of her students' recitals, and publicity material such as cards and flyers advertising her classes.

Most of the copybooks containing recitations are not numbered. They are identified by the title of the recitation that appears first. Miss Wallace compiled an "Elocution Index" which contains an alphabetical list of dances as well as the titles of recitations that she had arranged into four sets. Her original arrangement of this material has been retained. Titles beginning with "A" or "An" are filed under "A" and titles beginning with "The" are filed under "T". Many of the recitations appear in more than one set.

The material in Series 2 is dated between 1904 and 1949.

Series 3. Photographs contains loose photographs as well as eight photograph albums. While most of the photographs are not dated, those that are were taken between 1908 and 1958. Most of the identified loose photographs are of Anna Wallace and her sister Margaret. The albums contain newspaper clippings as well as photographs. Most of the newspaper clippings are about Miss Wallace's programs and students' recitals or about people who were probably known to her. Many of the photographs are of Miss Wallace and her friends on various trips in the United States and abroad. Very few of the people in the albums are identified, and only a few of the newspaper clippings are dated.

The names of the people in the photographs of the Branch Avenue Grammar School commencement and the Wallace school recital are written on the back of the photograph.

Access Points

Subject Names

• Owen, Veronica E.
• Sullivan, William J., Jr.

Subject Topics

• Choreographers
• Choreography
• Copybooks
• Dance teachers
• Dance--United States
• Dancers

Subject Topics

• Rhode Island/Local Interest

Document Types

• Artifacts
• Catalogs
• Ephemera
• Letters (Correspondence)
• Photograph albums
• Photographs
• Programs
• Clippings (Information artifacts)

Arrangement

• Personal papers

• Teaching and performance materials

• Photographs

Biographical/Historical note

Anna Eleanor Wallace was born in Providence, Rhode Island on August 5, 1886. Her parents, John and Margaret J. Hawkins Wallace, were both born in Ulster County, Ireland. Anna had an older sister, Margaret Josephine (1884-1975). Anna was a lifelong resident of Providence, Rhode Island. She attended the Branch Avenue Grammar School and Hope Street High School (now Hope High School). She began her professional training as a dancer, dance instructor, and elocutionist while she was still in high school. In 1903 she was the first graduate of Miss Lottie M. Largan Forbes' dance school in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. She attended many schools of oratory and dance, among them the Samuel B. Kelley School of Oratory (later named the Elizabeth Flower Willis School of Elocution) in Boston; the Chalif Russian Normal School of Dancing and the Vestoff-Serova Russian School of Dancing in New York, New York.; and the Harvard Summer School of Physical Training in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

By the time she graduated from high school in 1906, Miss Wallace had produced her own publicity flyer and was appearing as a elocutionist in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. She had established her own school by 1907, where she taught dancing, dramatics, physical training and elocution. In addition to giving private lessons to students of all ages, she directed plays and pageants in local Catholic schools and churches and appeared in fund-raising events for organizations such as the Roger Williams Eye and Ear Infirmary and the Knights of Columbus.

Miss Wallace retired from teaching about 1955. She was not married. She passed away on September 12, 1982 at the age of 96.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested.
Use of the materials:	Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. Researchers should note that compliance with copyright law is their responsibility. Researchers must determine the owners of the literary rights and obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Preferred citation:	Anna Eleanor Wallace papers, Ms. 90.17, Brown University Library.
Contact information:	John Hay Library Box A Brown University Providence, RI 02912 Tel: 401-863-2146 Fax: 401-863-2093 email: hay@brown.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	The Anna Eleanor Wallace papers were given to the Brown University Library on July 18, 1988 by Veronica E. Owen, agent of the Anna Wallace estate, and William J. Sullivan, Jr., executor of the Anna Wallace estate.
Accruals:	No further materials are anticipate for this collection.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Mary A. Harrison
Encoding:	This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2012-03-02
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Separated material:

The following titles, originally in Anna Wallace's library, have been separated from the collection: Baker, George Melville The Champion of Her Sex. Boston : W.H. Baker, 1902; Bechtel, John H. Sunday School Selections Comprising a Wide Range of Readings and Recitations Adapted to Church and Sunday School Entertainment and to All Gatherings of a Moral or Religious Character. Philadelphia : Penn Publishing Company, 1897 Temperence Selections. Philadelphia : Penn Publishing Company, 1902 Bridgham, Gladys Ruth Leave It to Polly. Boston : W.H. Baker, 1913 Burdett, James S. Burdett's Dutch Dialect. New York : Excelsior Publishing House, 1884 Burdett's French and Yankee Dialect. New York : Excelsior Publishing House, 1886 Camp, Walter The Daily Dozen. New York : P.J. Collier and Son, 1920 A Man's Greatest Possession. New York : Health Builders, Inc., n.d. Carey, T.J. Brudder Gardner's Stump Speeches and Comic Lectures. s.l. : s.n., 18-? Clarke, Harold Asa The Missing Miss Miller. Boston : W.H. Baker, 1907 Cormack, Beale Comical Country Cousins. Boston : W.H. Baker, 1920 Crane, Eleanor Maud When a Man's Single. New York : Dick and Fitzgerald Publishing Co., c.1905 Crosse, Theodosia The "Do" and "Don't" of Social Usage. s.l. : s.n., 192-? Daly, Augustin Leah, the Forsaken. Boston : W.H. Baker, 1890 The Defeat of Major Fire Destruction: A Playlet. New York : The National Board of Fire Underwriters, n.d. Denton, Clara J. Little People's Dialogue. Philadelphia : Penn Publishing Company, n.d. Dickens, Charles A Christmas Carol. New York : Robert K. Haas, n.d. Dickerson, Penelope Maria's Marriage: A Monologue. Boston : W.H. Baker, 1913 Dick's Quadrille Call-Book and Ball-Room Prompter. Danbury, Conn. : Behrens Publishing Company, n.d. Duryea, Oscar How to Dance. New York : Tousey and Small, 1878 Encore Pieces and Other Recitations. Boston : W.H. Baker, 1909 Griffin, C.S. Little Primary Pieces. Philadelphia : Penn Publishing Company, 1909 Griffith, Helen Sherman The Burglar Alarm. Philadelphia : Penn Publishing Company, 1908 The Minister's Wife: A Farce in One Act. Philadelphia : Penn Publishing Company, 1913 Hoxie, Evelyn Thirty-two School-room Dialogues for Every Grade in School. Boston : W.H. Baker, 1926 Kellog, Alice M. New Year and Midwinter Exercises for Children of Ten to Fifteen Years. Philadelphia : Penn Publishing Company, 1907 Kellog, Amos Practical Recitations: Short Pieces for School Entertainment. Philadelphia : Penn Publishing Company, 1907 Key of Heaven: A Selection of Prayers. Philadelphia : H.L. Kilner and Co., 1903 Locke, Billy Marshall Billy Marshall Locke's Original Monologues and Sketches. Boston : W. H. Baker, 1903 Lovell, Maria Ingomar, The Barbarian. New York and London : Samuel French, n.d. Lovett, Benjamin B. "Good Morning": After a Sleep of Twenty-five Years, Old-Fashioned Dancing Is Being Revived. Dearborn, Mich. : Dearborn Publishing Co., 1926 McNaught, Rosamund Livingstone Christmas Selections. Philadelphia : Penn Publishing Company, 1906 Murray, Arthur New Easy Way to Success in the Dancing Profession. New York : National Institute of Social Dancing, n.d. Norcross, Katherine Brooks Worthwhile Monologues and Readings. Boston : W.H. Baker, 1932 Norton, Captain A.Q. Comrades. Needham, Mass. : Chronicle Press, n.d. One Hundred Choice Selections. Philadelphia : Penn Publishing Company and P. Garrett and Co., 1871-1914 Numbers 3, 9, 13-18, 21, 26-27, 31-33, 35-40. Parlor Selections. s.l. : s.n., n.d. Phelps, Pauline As the Moon Rose. s.l. : s.n., n.d. Pauline Phelps' Pieces. New York : Edgar S. Weiner and Co., 1906 Quinn, Richard Innisfail or the Wanderer's Dream. Boston : W.H. Baker, n.d. Rook, Emma Cecila Child's Own Speaker. Philadelphia : Philadelphia : Penn Publishing Company, 1920 Young People's Speaker. Philadelphia : Penn Publishing Company, 1908 Sheridan, Don Acts for Between Acts: Sixteen Short Vaudeville Numbers. Chicago : Dramatic Publishing Co., 1931 Shoemaker, Charles Chalmers Choice Humor for Reading and Recitation. Philadelphia : Philadelphia : Penn Publishing Company, 1926 Holiday Entertainments. Philadelphia : Penn Publishing Company, 1893 Young Folks' Dialogues. Philadelphia : Penn Publishing Company,, 1885 Shoemaker, Mrs. J.W. Elocutionary Studies. New York : Edgar S. Werner, n.d. Little People's Speaker. Philadelphia : Penn Publishing Company, n.d. Practical Elocution. Philadelphia : Penn Publishing Company, 1886 Shoemaker's Best Selections for Readings and Recitations. Philadelphia : Penn Publishing Company, 188-?-c. 1912. Numbers 2-4, 7, 7a, 10, 13-14, 17-20, 22, 26. Silsbee, Mrs. H.M. and Mrs. M.B. Horne Jolly Joe's Lady Minstrels. Boston : W.H. Baker, n.d. Southwich, F. Townsend Elocution and Action. New York : Edgar S. Werner, 1894 Story, William Wetmore The Confessional: Monologue for Women. New York : Edgar S. Werner, n.d. Swartout, Norman Lee The Arrival of Kitty. Boston : W.H. Baker, 1914 The Thistle (v.1). Gnadenhutten, Ohio.: Samuel Begland, 1908 Waldauer, Augustus Fanchon, The Cricket. Boston : W.H. Baker, n.d. Watkins, Lura Woodside Buried Treasure. Boston : W.H. Baker, 1933 Wehman, Henry J. Irish Dialect. s.l.: s.n., n.d. Werner's Readings and Recitations. New York : Edgar S. Werner, 1896 What Are the Most Interesting Subjects in the World to Women? (book advertisement). s.l. : Social Mentor Publications, n.d. Whiting, Maisie B. The Pink Swan Pattern. Boston : W.H. Baker, 1905 Wills, Anthony E. A Regiment of Two. Boston : W.H. Baker, 1907 Wilson's Book of Plays and Recitations. s.l. : s.n., n.d. Wood, Henry Firth Good-Humor for Reading and Recitation. Philadelphia : Penn Publishing Company, 1893 Y.C. T.U. Pieces. s.l. : s.n., n.d. Young People's Recitations. Philadelphia : Penn Publishing Company, n.d.

Inventory

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