Helen Keller and Arthur Gilman collection

Creator:

Unknown

Date Range:

1887-1904, bulk 1896-1900

Call Number:

AG29

Abstract:

This collection spans the period from Anne Sullivan’s arrival in Tuscumbia, Alabama in 1887 through her studies at the Cambridge School for Young Ladies under the supervision of Arthur Gilman in 1896, and her entrance to Radcliffe College in 1899. Included are correspondence, writings and journals, exam and academic materials, clippings, and publications. Contains some of the earliest letters from Helen Keller beginning in 1887 to Michael Anagnos and others, correspondence to and from Anne Sullivan and other members of the Keller family, and a large collection of Arthur Gilman correspondence. Gilman’s correspondence includes hundreds of letters from William Wade, Keller’s benefactor, in addition to correspondence to and from heads of schools and organizations for the blind and deaf, and other prominent individuals, including Edward E. Allen, Thomas Humason, Thomas Gallaudet, and Alexander Graham Bell. The collection covers a concern related to Helen Keller’s purported overwork and exhaustion, and an attempt by Gilman to have Anne Sullivan separated from Keller. The collection also contains journal entries Keller may have composed while at the Wright-Humason School for the Deaf and materials related to Keller’s Radcliffe College entrance exams.

Extent:

2.25 linear feet

Language:

English

Processed by:

Molly Stothert-Maurer, 2013. ; Biography updated by Susanna Coit, 2022

Processing note:

This collection was processed with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Division of Preservation and Access, Washington, D.C., 2012-2015.

Biographical/Historical note:

Helen Keller (1880-1968) was born on June 27, 1880, in Tuscumbia, Alabama to retired army Captain Arthur Keller and his second wife, Kate. Helen had a younger brother (Phillips Brooks) and sister (Mildred), and two older half brothers. When she was nineteen months old, she became ill with a very high fever that ultimately left her deaf and blind. Doctors at the time diagnosed this as “brain fever” or “brain congestion,” but experts today believe that she most likely suffered from scarlet fever or meningitis.

Helen Keller developed her own system of hand gestures to communicate with her family and by the time she was seven she had nearly 60 such gestures.  Nonetheless, she was frequently frustrated by the inability to express herself.  When Anne Sullivan arrived to teach her in 1887, Keller quickly learned to fingerspell, as well as to read braille and raised type, and to write in block letters.

After a year and a half of homeschooling, Sullivan decided that Keller would benefit from the resources of a school. In 1888, Sullivan brought Keller to study at Perkins Institution and Massachusetts School for the Blind (now Perkins School for the Blind). She became a student at the Wright-Humason School for the Deaf in New York in 1894 before attending the Cambridge School for Young Ladies in 1896 to prepare for Radcliffe College. In 1904 she graduated cum laude from Radcliffe and became the first person with deafblindness to receive a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Helen Keller was a prolific writer, publishing 14 books and numerous articles.  She traveled across the globe, advocating for social issues, such as women’s suffrage and rights for people who are blind or deafblind. She received numerous awards throughout her life for her humanitarian efforts.

Arthur Gilman was the headmaster of the Cambridge School and helped prepare Keller for college. 

Restrictions:

The Perkins Archives reserves the right to deny physical access to materials available in a digital format. 

Copyright:

It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record, the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Perkins School for the Blind, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of copyright.

Credit line/Citation:

AG29 Helen Keller and Arthur Gilman Collection. Perkins School for the Blind Archives, Watertown, MA.

Scope/Contents:

The collection holds correspondence, writings and journals, exam and academic materials, clippings, and publications spanning from 1887 to 1899. Topics include Anne Sullivan’s arrival in Tuscumbia, Alabama to teach Helen Keller, Keller’s studies under the supervision of Arthur Gilman at the Cambridge School for Young Ladies, and Keller’s entrance to Radcliffe College. The collection contains some of the earliest letters from Helen Keller beginning in 1887 to Michael Anagnos and others, correspondence to and from Anne Sullivan and other members of the Keller family, and a large collection of Arthur Gilman correspondence. The collection also contains journal entries Keller may have composed while at the Wright-Humason School for the Deaf and materials related to Keller’s Radcliffe College entrance exams.

Arrangement:

7 Boxes, 7 Series

• Series 1: Helen Keller and family correspondence, 1887-1897
  • Subseries 1: Helen Keller to Michael Anagnos, 1889-1891
  • Subseries 2: Helen Keller to others, 1887-1897
  • Subseries 3: Letters to Helen Keller, 1896-1898
  • Subseries 4: Other correspondence, 1897
• Series 2: Letters to Anne Sullivan, 1896-1897
• Series 3: Anagnos, correspondence and writings about Helen Keller, 1887-1899
• Series 4: Helen Keller’s Journals, 1895
• Series 5: Arthur Gilman
  • Subseries 1: Letters to Gilman, 1886-1904
  • Subseries 2: William Wade correspondence to Gilman and others, 1892-1904
  • Subseries 3: Correspondence from Arthur Gilman and personal papers and research materials, 1896-1899
• Series 6: Helen Keller’s Exams and School Work
• Series 7: Clippings, Publication, Photographs

Related collections:

• List of digital collections related to Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan that are available online.
• AG9 Michael Anagnos Collection. Perkins School for the Blind Archives, Watertown, MA.

Container List:

Series 1: Helen Keller and family correspondence

Subseries 1: Helen Keller to Michael Anagnos, 1889-1891

• Folder 1: May 18, 1889
• Folder 2: Nov. 7, 1889
• Folder 3: Feb. 1, 1890, (in French)
• Folder 4: July 4, 1890
• Folder 5: Sept. 6, 1890 (typed)
• Folder 6: n. d. [1890]
• Folder 7: Aug. 8, 1891
• Folder 8: Sept. 29, 1891
• Folder 9: Nov. 4, 1891
• Folder 10: June 2, undated
• Folder 11: undated
• Folder 12: April 21, 1895

Subseries 2: Helen Keller to others, 1887-1897

Box 1

• Folder 13: Unknown recipient, HK’s first letter, June 17, 1887
• Folder 14: Unknown recipient, fragment, undated
• Folder 15: Unknown recipient, fragment, undated
• Folder 16: Whittier, John Greenleaf (poet), Dec. 17, 1890
• Folder 17: Keller, Mildred, Oct. 24, undated
• Folder 18: Unknown recipient in Boston, Oct. 29, undated
• Folder 19: Richards, Laura E., Dec. 24, 1891
• Folder 20: Grace S. White, 3 letters (one a copy- not original), 1892
• Folder 21: Mr. Chaney, re: planetarium, transcript of letter- not original, May 4, 1897
• Folder 22: Gilman, Arthur, 4 letters, 1896-1897
• Folder 23: Wade, William, Nov. 6, 1898
• Folder 24: “Dear Friends”, letter in preface to The Story of My Life, circa 1903
• Folder 25: Allen, Edward E. 10 letters, 1893-1923

Subseries 3: Letters to Helen Keller, 1896-1898

Box 1

• Folder 26: 1896
  • Wilson, E. Allen, Architectural Draughtsman
  • Grant, Fanny
  • Parks, [I. L.], The Associated News Bureau
  • Simmickson, Robert
  • West, Pastor C. E.
  • Sebring, Will H., The East Palestine Pottery Co.
  • Murray, Annie S.
  • Kelley, William F.
  • Ambler, W. E.
  • Hyatt, Elizabeth M.
  • Brown, G. R.
  • Pratt, Evaline E.
  • McHenry, Louise

• Folder 27: 1896
  • Macfarlane, N. H.
  • The Dominion Co., Facts and Fictions
  • Marston, C. E.
  • Semple, Frank/ Thaw, Mrs. William
  • [Mercury, Paul], Associated News Bureau
  • Armstrong, Annie and Marshall Wilson, Annie, psychology class, Marion, Alabama
  • Vaughan, A. C.
  • Holbrook, Ella Mae
  • Jas. J. Shannon & Co., Bar-Lock Typewriter

• Folder 28: 1897
  • Dennis, Ruth W.
  • Horton, Elizabeth R.
  • Pendergast, Sophie M., The Ariel, University of Minnesota
  • Leathrop, A. B.
  • Masterson, Kate
  • Charrey, J. M.
  • Perry, Willis R.

• Folder 29: Keller, D.H. (HK’s cousin), 1897

• Folder 30: 1897
  • Engle, Katie G.
  • Hamilton, Alice
  • Agassiz, Mrs. Louis, The Society for the Collegiate Instruction of Women
  • Hendricks, Fanny
  • Adams, Pearl
  • Eads, Edna
  • Banta, Emma

• Folder 31: 1897
  • [McHomes], Ellie, Ave, William, Mary
  • Machias Grammar School, Maine
  • Elmer, E. R., Portrait Artist
  • Barnes, Mrs. Albert
  • Gardner, [Vilim], New England Conservatory of Music

• Folder 32: 1897
  • Masterson, Kate
  • Gilbert, Philip G.
  • Gordon, Joseph

• Folder 33: 1897
  • Macpherson, D.
  • Lovell, Mary Elizabeth
  • Walker, Jennie L.
  • Whiteside, Mary K.
  • Welch, Edgar G.
  • Spencer, Robert C., Wisconsin Phonological Institute
  • Brown, Annie M.
  • Owens, Linna A.

• Folder 34: 1897
  • Hagen, Mary C.
  • McDougle, Ernest C.
  • Smith, The Hammond Typewriter Co.
  • Ladd, Rachel E.

• Folder 35: Wade, William, 4 letters, 1897-1899

Subseries 4: Other correspondence, 1897-1925

Box 1

• Folder 36: letter to A. H. Keller from Metropolitan Magazine, 1897
• Folder 37: envelope
  • Letter from Helen Keller to Allen, 4 letters, 1895, 1903
  • Letter from Helen Keller to Miss White, undated.
  • Letter from Anne Sullivan to Allen, 1895

Series 2: Letters to Anne Sullivan, 1896-1897

• Folder 1: 1896
  • Masterson, Kate
  • Brisbane, A., The Sunday World
  • Sargent, Louise Peabody
  • [Judlin or Judson], Elizabeth G., The World, 1896
  • Ellis, William J.
  • Smith, Minor C.
  • Morris, Julia
  • Gilder, Joseph B., The Critic
  • Thrasher, Mary, Catt Co.
  • Crane, [Coruchin]
  • Stanga, Fanny
  • Rikansrud, Ole T., Co. Recorder, Iowa, 2 letters
  • Ware, Miss E. L.
• Folder 2: 1896
  • [Goodafeed], G. S., University of Chicago
  • The Dominion Co., Facts and Fiction
• Folder 3: 1897
  • Sheeleigh, M., Pastor
  • Skinner, Charles R., National Educational Association of the United States, 2 letters
  • Sally, Mrs. M. J.
  • Chidester, Davitt D.
  • Wade, William
  • Fernie, B. J., Christian Herald
  • Murphy, Mary
  • [Whulite], Gilberta S.
  • Marshall, A.
  • Wiggins, Noble B., Leland Hotel
  • Hitz, John, Volta Bureau
  • Ferris, Walter Rockwood, Pastor, The Bay Ridge Presbyterian Church
  • Bell, Alexander Graham
  • [Judlin or Judson], Elizabeth G., The Sunday World

• Folder 4: 1897
  • Gilman, Arthur
  • Hutton, Eleanor V.
  • McDougle, Ernest C.
  • Anderson, T. L., County and District Clerk, Briscoe County
  • Knorring, Agathe von

Series 3: Anagnos, correspondence and writings about Helen Keller, 1887-1899

Box 2

• Folder 5: from Anne Sullivan to Anagnos, June 19, 1887
• Folder 6: from Anne Sullivan to Anagnos, Aug. 23, 1887 (copy)
• Folder 7: from Anne Sullivan to Anagnos, March 2, 1890
• Folder 8: from Capt. Arthur Keller to Anagnos, Feb. 23, 1890
• Folder 9: unknown to Anagnos, 1899
• Folder 10: manuscript/notes/ or transcription about HK, pages 114-129, likely authored by Anagnos, undated
• Folder 11: manuscript with portion printed in Perkins 68th Annual Report, likely written by Anagnos, pages 170-192

Series 4: Helen Keller’s Journals, 1895

Box 2 

Folder 12: Five college examination blue books, labeled Volume I-V, probably composed while HK was at the Wright-Humason School for the Deaf, likely handwritten by Anne Sullivan Macy 1895

Series 5: Arthur Gilman

Subseries 1: Correspondence: Letters to Gilman, 1896-1904

• Folder 1: Allen, Edward E., Director Pennsylvania Institution for Blind, 20 letters, 1896-1899 
• Folder 2: Anagnos, Michael, Director Perkins Institution, 11 letters, 1896-1899 
• Folder 3: “B” correspondence
  • Barr, Martin W., Pennsylvania Training School for Feeble-Minded Children, 2 letters, 1896 
  • Brown, G. V., 1896 
  • Byerly, W. E. 1897 
  • Bridgman, Rev. H. A., The Congregationalist, 1897 
  • Bennett, John A., Attorney, 1898 
  • Bonestute, Sarah H., 2 letters, 1899 
  • Baker, Mattie C., 1901 
• Folder 4: Balis, Sylvia Chapin, 1896-1898 
• Folder 5: Barnes, Anna Sands, 2 letters, n. d. 
• Folder 6: Bell, Alexander Graham, and Arthur W. McCurdy (private secretary), 9 letters, 1897-1898 
• Folder 7: Bennett, Gazella, 3 letters, 1897-1899, n. d. 
• Folder 8: Booth, F. W., The Pennsylvania Institute for the Deaf and Dumb, 1896 
• Folder 9: Boyle, G. R., The British and Foreign Blind Association, 7 letters, 1896-1897
• Folder 10: “C” correspondence
  • Cardemann, B. F. (Miss), 1896 
  • Columbia Typewritter Co., 1896 
  • Chase, Harriet R., Mrs. Fielden & Miss Chace’s School, 1997 
  • Chamberlin, J. E., The Youth’s Companion, 4 letters, n. d.
  • Chase, S. A., The Hammond Typewriter Co., 2 letters, 1897
  • Carson, J. C., Syracuse State Institution for Feeble Minded Children, 1899
  • Coes, Mary, Radcliffe College, 1899
  • Crouter, A. L. E., The Pennsylvania Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, 3 letters, 1 with typed response from Gilman on verso, 1899
  • Crouse, Laura M., 1901
• Folder 11: Clarke, Francis D., Michigan School for the Deaf, 7 letters, 1896-1898
• Folder 12: “D” correspondence
  • Donnelly, T. F., American Book Co., 2 letters, 1890-1891
  • Dodge, Mary Mapes (dictated), 2 letters, 1897
  • Davenport, Mary A., Wright-Humason School for the Deaf, 2 letters, 1897
  • Drown, Rebecca, 1897
  • Dudley, D. C., Colorado School for the Education of the Deaf and the Blind, 1898

• Folder 13: Eliot, Dr. Samuel, 3 letters, one with typed response from Gilman, 1897
• Folder 14: Ellis, William T., The Golden Rule, 9 letters, one with typed response from Gilman, 1896-1897
• Folder 15: “F” correspondence
  • Fuller, Sarah, 3 letters, 1898-1903
  • Fernie, B. J., Christian Herald, 2 letters, 1897
  • Fosdick, Sarah N., 1897
  • Fuller, Samuel Richard, 2 letters, 1897
  • Frost, George H., Engineering News, 1897
  • Ferris, Walter Rockwood, Pastor, The Bay Ridge Presbyterian Church, 1897
  • Fickering, L. S., n. d.
  • Frowine, Fannie, 1898

• Folder 16: Fay, E. A., The American Annals of the Deaf, 6 letters, 1897-1898
• Folder 17: Fish, Anna Gardner, 2 letters, 1897
• Folder 18: “G” correspondence
  • Gilder, J. B., The Critic, 1896
  • Gordon, J. C., Gallaudet College, 1897
  • Gilman, Julia B., 1897
  • Gilder, R. W., The Century Magazine, 3 letters, 1897

• Folder 19: Gaulladet, Virginia B., 2 letters, 1896
• Folder 20: “H” correspondence
  • Heliotype Printing Co., 1889
  • Henry, [Souise] M., 1896
  • Hagen, Mary C., 1897
  • Howell, M. D., 1898
  • Hall, M. T., Harvard University, 1899
  • Hall, Frank H., Illinois Institution for the Education of the Blind, 2 letters, 1899
  • Hass, Robert T., undated
  • Hodgson, E. A., Deaf-Mutes Journal, 1901
• Folder 21: Hastings Photographers: J. E. Purdy & Co., von Wachenhusen, P. F., 5 letters, 1896

• Folder 22: Hitz, John, Dr. Bell’s secretary, Volta Bureau, 12 letters, 1896-1899
• Folder 23: Hopkins, Sophia L., 9 letters, 1896-1897
• Folder 24: Houghton, Mifflin and Co., 3 letters, 1888
• Folder 25: Humason, Thomas Arthur, The Wright Humason School, 7 letters, 1896-1900
• Folder 26: Hutton, Eleanor Varnum, 8 letters, one letter to Mrs. Hutton from St. Bartholomew’s one letter to Mrs. Hutton from St. Bartholomew’s Rectory, 1896-1897, n. d.
• Folder 27: Huntoon, B. B., American Printing House for the Blind, 15 letters, 1891-1899
• Folder 27a: Irons, J. [D. or G.], 1896
• Folder 28: “J” correspondence
  • Johnson, R. U., The Century Magazine, 2 letters, 1896
  • [Judlin or Judson], Elizabeth G., The Sunday World, 1896
  • Jenkins, Westin, 4 letters, New Jersey School for Deaf Mutes, 1897, 1898, 1904
  • Jenkins, Ruth L., 2 letters, 1897

• Folder 29: Jas J. Shannon & Co., 8 letters, 1896-1897
• Folder 30: Keller, Kate A., Mildred, and Arthur, 14 letters, 1897
• Folder 31: Kellogg, Lucy Chandler, 1897
• Folder 32: Knorring, Agathe von, 8 letters, 1897-1900
• Folder 33: “L” correspondence

• Leffingwell, Rev. C. W., St. Mary’s School, 1897
• [Liorustein], 1897
• Ladd, Rachael, 1897
• Lane, A. W., 2 letters, 1900
• Leslie’s Weekly, B. [Arkee, Orkell], 1897

• Folder 34: “M” correspondence
  • [Mirchorsby, R. B. C., 1888
  • Martin, A., Cambridge School for Young Ladies, 2 letters, 1897
  • Mowry, Carrie L., 1897
  • Mason, Perry, The Youth’s Companion, 1897
  • Munsey, Frank A., Munsey’s Magazine, 1897
  • Marshall, Henry Rutgers, architect, The Century Assoc., 1898
  • Marden, Orison Swett, The Success Company (publishers), 2 letters, 1899
  • Mounette, Rachel, 1899
  • McFarland, J. T., 3 letters, 1896
  • McTurnan, Lawrence, County Superintendent Madison County, 1899

• Folder 35: Macy, John A., 3 letters, 1902
• Folder 36: Murray, Annie S., 4 letters, 1897
• Folder 37: “N” correspondence
  • Nichols, Myra Hall, undated
  • Notman, A. F., Notman Photographic Co., 1897
• Folder 38: Osgood, Robert T., 1897
• Folder 39: “P” correspondence
  • Parks, J. L., The Associated News Bureau, 1896
  • Parker, Francis W., Chicago Normal School, 1897
  • Pickering, L. L., n. d.
  • Perkins Institution, Salesroom invoice, 1897
  • Peabody Education Fund, [McBurry, I. S.], 1897

• Folder 40: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, about 28 letters, 1888-1893

• Folder 41: “R” correspondence
  • Rodgers, [M. P.], The Typewriter Exchange, 1897
  • Reardon, D. A., receipt, 1897
  • Riggs, G. L., The Standard Electric Time Co., 2 letters with pamphlets, 1898
• Folder 42: Rigsby, Cora, 4 letters, 1897
• Folder 43: Rogers, Emilie and Henry H., 7 letters, 1897
• Folder 44: “S” correspondence
  • Stark, James H., Photo-Electro-Engraving, 2 letters, 1889
  • Short, W. F., State of Illinois Institution for the Education of the Blind, Jacksonville, 2 letters, 1897
  • Slocum, Grace L., Providence Journal Co., 1898
  • Sizer, Wells B., W. M. Welch & Co., 1900
• Folder 45: Skinner, Charles R., National Education Association, 4 letters, 1897
• Folder 46: Smith, J. W., 3 letters, 1898
• Folder 47: Smith, Minor, 5 letters, 1896-1904
• Folder 48: Smith, Minna Caroline, editorial staff at the Boston Transcript, 2 letters and one response from Gilman, 1897-1898
• Folder 49: “T” correspondence
  • Ticknor, Benjamin H., Ticknor & Co. Publishers, 1888
  • Terhune, Mary Virginia, 2 letters, 1897
  • Talbot, [Emory] H., Boston Journal, 1897
  • Thrasher, M. B., The Boston Journal, short note, 1898
  • Folder 50: Vining, Eugene C., 5 letters, 1899-1900
• Folder 51: “W” correspondence
  • Wulff, R., Konigliche Blindenanstalt, 2 letters, 1896
  • Winchell, S. R., The Winchell Academy, 2 letters, 1896
  • Warner, Charles Dudley, J. A. Hill & Co. Publishers, 4 letters one with response from Gilman, 1896
  • Westervelt, Z. F., Western New York Institution for Deaf-Mutes, 2 letters, 1896-1897
  • W. A. Wilde & Co., Sunday-School Literature, 2 letters, [189-]
  • Wheeler, Rev. H. L., 2 letters, 1897
  • Wingate, C. E. L., managing editor Boston Journal, 1897
  • Williams, Henry G., Office of Superintendent of Schools, Bellair, 2 letters, 1897-1898
  • Whitney, James L., The Public Library of the City of Boston, 1901
  • Whiteside, Mary, notecard no letter, n. d. Wright, Helen A., 1896
• Folder 52: Williams, Job, The American School for the Deaf, 4 letters, 1897-1901
• Folder 53: Young, Charlotte W., 1897

Subseries 2: William Wade Correspondence

Correspondence from William Wade predominantly to Arthur Gilman, including many letters written to Wade by others and then forwarded to Gilman. A few are addressed to Miss Gilman.

• Folder 54: 1892, 1896-1897, about 40 letters
• Folder 55: 1898, about 50 letters
• Folder 56: Jan.-Oct., 1899, about 40 letters
• Folder 57: Oct.-Dec., 1899, about 30 letters
• Folder 58: 1900, about 20 letters
• Folder 59: 1901-1904, about 25 letters

Subseries 3: Correspondence from Arthur Gilman and personal papers and research materials, 1896-1899

Box 5

• Folder 60: Correspondence from Gilman, 1896-1899
  • J. J. Shannon and Co., 1896
  • Huntoon, B. B., 1896
  • Gilder, R. W., copy, 1897
  • Skinner, Charles, R., 1897
  • Eliot, Dr. Samuel, 2 letters, 1897
  • Gordon, Dr. J. C., 2 letters, 1897
  • Wade, William, 2 letters, 1897-1898
  • Hopkins, S. C., 2 letters, 1897
  • Hutton, Eleanor Varnum, 1897
  • Keller, Kate A. 2 letters, 1897
  • Fuller, Samuel Richard, 2 letters (one a copy), 1897
  • Chamberlin, Joseph Edgar, 2 letters, 1897
  • University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1897
  • Bell, Alexander Graham, 1898
  • Rogers, Emilie, 1898
  • Bennett, John A., 2 letters, 1898
  • Sangster, Margaret, 1899
  • Crouter, Dr. A. L. E., 2 letters, 1899
  • Hitz, John, Dr. Bell’s secretary, Volta Bureau, 2 letters (transcripts), 1899
• Folder 61: Personal papers and research materials drafts/transcripts of correspondence, notes, timelines, private extracts, invoices, chronologies, and publication notes, many related to HK’s exhaustion and the removal of Anne Sullivan, 1897-1899
• Folder 62: “Blotter/ Miss Helen Adams Keller/1896-”, chronology, daily notes about HK in what appears to be Arthur Gilman’s hand, 1896-1900
• Folder 63: “Notes on Miss Keller”, Nov. 5, 1896, signed “Secretary”, pages removed from “Blotter/ Miss Helen Adams Keller/1896-”, 1896-1900
• Folder 64: Statement by Helen Keller about Gilman-Sullivan dispute and her view on her alleged “overwork”, with annotations by Gilman, Dec. 27, 1897

Box 8: Gilman’s notes on Helen Keller’s Work at The Cambridge School, 1896-1897

Series 6: Helen Keller’s Exams and School Work

• Folder 1: Essay by Helen Keller about studies at the Wright-Humason School for the publication Round Table, undated
• Folder 2: Essay: “What Qualifications Make a Noble Man, and a Great King”, Oct. 22, 1896
• Folder 3: Empty envelope: “Miss Keller’s Paper”, 1896
• Folder 4: Harvard Entrance Exam: English: short essays on Silas Marner by George Eliot, The
  • Merchant of Venice, by Shakespeare, Sept. 30, 1896
  • Harvard Entrance Exam: French and German: Translation, June, 1896
  • Harvard Entrance Exam: History of Greece and Rome, Oct. 2, 1896
  • Harvard History Paper: on Greece and Rome, labeled Sept. 1896 and Oct 3, 1896
• Folder 5: Essay: “As You Like It”, Shakespeare, Oct. 12, 1896
  • Essay: “Sketch of Shakespeare”, Oct. 12, 1896
  • Exam: Short answers, American Revolution, March 17, 1897
  • List of Biblical references, undated
  • Outline: Burke and English History, April 15, 1897, undatedExam: short answer English history, April 15, 1897, with typed note from Gilman
  • Essay: “The Character of the English Colonies”, April 5, 1897
  • Translation: French, June 2, 1897
  • Essay: Napoleon Bonaparte, May 24, 1897
  • Essay: “The four English Kings, from 1689 to 1820”, May 25, 1897
• Folder 6: Essay: “Two Ancient Love-Letters”, about letters written by Margaret Brews to John Paston, [1896]
  • Essay: “Thomas More”, about his work Utopia, [1896]
  • Essay: “Henry Hereford Makes Himself Master of England”, [1896]
  • Essay: “Cardinal Wolsey”, [1896]
  • Essay: “The Renaissance”, section on the Reformation, [1896]
  • Writings in French, [1896]
• Folder 7: Essay: “Character of Rosalind”, Oct. 2, 1896
  • Latin Exam, Nov. 5, 1896
  • Essay: “The Speech of the Bishop of Canterbury”, Feb. 1, 1897
  • Essay: “Margaret Brews’ Letters to John Paston”, Feb. 1, 1897
  • Short answer exam about Samuel Johnson, Macaulay and Boswell, June 15, 1897
  • Translation: German, June 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 1897
  • Admission Examinations: Elementary English, June 22, 1897
• Folder 8: Translation: Elementary French, June 10, 1897
  • Elementary French exam questions, June 10 and 15, 1897
• Folder 9: Advanced German exam for Radcliffe with signed certificate by Gilman regarding the manner in which exam was given, June 29, 1897
  • Printed exam questions, Radcliffe exam, June 29, 1897: Advanced German, Elementary Latin, History of Greece and Rome, Elementary English, Elementary French, History of United States and England
  • Radcliffe exam score card, July 7, 1897
  • Essay: Greek and Roman History, July 2, 1897
  • Elementary French exam, July 3, 1897
• Folder 10: Translation: Elementary Latin, June 28, 1897
  • French composition, many pages, undated
  • Empty Radcliffe envelope “Miss Helen Keller”, undated
• Folder 11: Translation: Elementary French, May 26, 1897
  • Essay: Samuel Johnson, May 27, 1897
  • Essay: “The Reform Bill”, June 7, 1897
  • Translation: French, June 7, 1897
  • Essay: “The Speech of the Archbishop of Canterbury”
  • Excerpt Greek history, June 28, 1897
  • Essay: “A Brief Sketch of Francis Bacon’s Life” (2), Oct. 14 and Oct. 28, 1897
  • Essay: “The Ptolemaic System”, Oct. 18, 1897
• Folder 12: Mathematical model (pinprick relief with braille numbers), Nov. 1, 1897
• Folder 13: list of typewritten Greek words, undated

Series 7: Clippings, Publication, Photographs

• Folder 1: Clippings, 1896-1898
• Folder 2: Clippings, 1897-1900
• Folder 3: Clippings, undated
• Folder 4: Clippings, D. H. Keller (HK’s cousin), 1897
• Folder 5: Translation of articles, “Verdens Gang” (Norwegian) and 1 other
• Folder 6: Article summary, Boston Transcript, 1898
• Folder 7: Photocopies of clippings on archival paper
• Folder 8: Publication, Helen Keller Literary Library Assoc., Tuscumbia, AL, 1897
• Folder 9: Publication, Nat’l Education Committee Bulletin, 1897
• Folder 10: Publication, “Progress”, Wright-Humason School newsletter, Feb. 1895
• Folder 11: Publication, “The Story of Helen Keller”, by Sallie Joe White, 5 copies, 1888
• Folder 12: Publication from Finland sent to Gilman by Agathe von Knorring, 1898
• Folder 13: Publications: The American School for the Deaf, Hartford, pamphlet, n. d., Math curriculum, 1899, and “Journal for Deaf-Mutes” (Norwegian), 1897
• Folder 14: Photographs: 1 image of a desktop planetarium, 6 with no visible information, undated

Subject headings:

• Perkins School for the Blind.
• Perkins School for the Blind-–History.
• Radcliffe College
• Wright-Humason School
• People who are deafblind–Education
• Teachers of people who are deafblind
• Children who are deafblind
• Allen, Edward E. (Edward Ellis), 1861-1950
• Anagnos, Michael, 1837-1906
• Bell, Alexander Graham, 1847-1922
• Sullivan, Anne, 1866-1936
• Keller, Helen, 1880-1968
• Keller, Kate Adams
• Gilman, Arthur, 1837-1909

Existence and Location of Copies

Links to digitized reproductions of the collection on the Internet Archive and select digital reproductions with full transcriptions on Perkins Archives Flickr are available on the digitized Helen Keller and Arthur Gilman Collection guide.