Committee on Christian Literature For Women and Children in Mission Fields, Inc. Records
Collection
Call Number: RG 90
Scope and Contents
These archives document the work of the Committee in a thorough way. An historical awareness on the part of Committee members regarding the originality, integrity and success of this work for women by women is evident in the archives. The available records would support study of the Committee as a type of woman's movement emerging in the early twentieth century, as well as study of its strong-minded woman leaders, such as Clementina Butler, Helen Barrett Montgomery and Marion Van Horne. The archives contain valuable primary data documenting Christian literature initiatives and discussion regarding issues of indigenous language and art pertinent to the Christian literature enterprise.
The Organization and Policy Records of Series I provide systematic chronological documentation of the programs and status of the Committee. The bulk of the Series consists of the contents of "minute books" compiled by the Committee - notebooks including not only minutes of meetings but also pertinent memoranda and related documents.
The Committee did not have a full-time salaried executive director during the early years of its existence, but there was always a "chairman" of the Committee or prominent shaper and mover in the organization. The Executive Files of Series II are the files available for eight of these leaders. No files were available for Mrs. Henry W. Peabody who served as chairman from 1913 to 1919, but early documentation regarding the Committee is available in the files of Clementina Butler. Most extensive are the files of Marion Van Horne, who served as Executive Director from 1957 to 1981.
The Histories and Publications of Series III document the origins, development and program of the CCLWCMF. Narrative histories of the Committee, program booklets, and publicity brochures are included, as well as samples of periodicals sponsored by the Committee and a complete run of The Word at Work, which began as a publication of the World Literacy and Christian Literature Committee.
The core of the Committee's work was its financial support of publications and projects. Central to Series IV, Financial Records and Correspondence, is the so-called "Red Book" compiled by Sue Weddell in 1958. Through it, one can trace the operations of the Committee during its first five decades. The majority of the correspondence in this Series concerns two bequests received by the Committee. A bequest from Helen Barrett Montgomery was received before the Committee was incorporated and had to be placed under the aegis of another organization. This led to various complications.
The Surveys and Studies of Series V provide valuable documentation regarding indigenous Christian literature programs throughout the world during the 1960s and 1970s.
The Photographs of Series VI date primarily from the 1970s.
The Addendum consists of files that were transferred to the Yale Divinity Library from the Baldwin Library of Historical Children’s Literature at the University of Florida. These files had been donated to Baldwin Library at some point in the past, without clear provenance. The material in the addendum dates primarly from the tenure of Marion Van Horne, who served as Executive Director from 1957 to 1981, with some minutes from earlier and later years.
The Organization and Policy Records of Series I provide systematic chronological documentation of the programs and status of the Committee. The bulk of the Series consists of the contents of "minute books" compiled by the Committee - notebooks including not only minutes of meetings but also pertinent memoranda and related documents.
The Committee did not have a full-time salaried executive director during the early years of its existence, but there was always a "chairman" of the Committee or prominent shaper and mover in the organization. The Executive Files of Series II are the files available for eight of these leaders. No files were available for Mrs. Henry W. Peabody who served as chairman from 1913 to 1919, but early documentation regarding the Committee is available in the files of Clementina Butler. Most extensive are the files of Marion Van Horne, who served as Executive Director from 1957 to 1981.
The Histories and Publications of Series III document the origins, development and program of the CCLWCMF. Narrative histories of the Committee, program booklets, and publicity brochures are included, as well as samples of periodicals sponsored by the Committee and a complete run of The Word at Work, which began as a publication of the World Literacy and Christian Literature Committee.
The core of the Committee's work was its financial support of publications and projects. Central to Series IV, Financial Records and Correspondence, is the so-called "Red Book" compiled by Sue Weddell in 1958. Through it, one can trace the operations of the Committee during its first five decades. The majority of the correspondence in this Series concerns two bequests received by the Committee. A bequest from Helen Barrett Montgomery was received before the Committee was incorporated and had to be placed under the aegis of another organization. This led to various complications.
The Surveys and Studies of Series V provide valuable documentation regarding indigenous Christian literature programs throughout the world during the 1960s and 1970s.
The Photographs of Series VI date primarily from the 1970s.
The Addendum consists of files that were transferred to the Yale Divinity Library from the Baldwin Library of Historical Children’s Literature at the University of Florida. These files had been donated to Baldwin Library at some point in the past, without clear provenance. The material in the addendum dates primarly from the tenure of Marion Van Horne, who served as Executive Director from 1957 to 1981, with some minutes from earlier and later years.
Dates
- 1909-1989
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of the Committee on Christian Literature for Women and Children in Mission Fields, Inc., 1989. Gift of the Baldwin Library of Historical Children’s Literature at the University of Florida, 2013
Arrangement
- I. Organization and Policy Records, 1918-1989
- II. Executive Files, 1909-1986
- III. Histories and Publications, 1927-1983
- IV. Financial Records and Correspondence, 1912-1989
- V. Surveys and Studies, 1964-1973
- VI. Photographs, 1966-1980
- VII. Addendum, 1918-1986
Extent
7.5 Linear Feet (18 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Overview
The archives document the work of an organization run by women for women. They provide insight into developing concepts of the role of Christian literature and related artwork overseas. The Committee was formed in 1912 under the sponsorship of the Federation of Women's Boards of Foreign Missions. Its goal was to provide Christian literature to women and children overseas. In the first fifty years of its existence the Committee supported 27 magazines, nine of which were originated by the Committee. Beginning in the 1940s, the Committee began to make grants for literacy projects as well. The Committee had an increasingly cooperative relationship with the Committee on World Literacy and Christian Literature (formed in 1942 by the Foreign Missions Conference of North America) and with its successor, the Intermedia Committee of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. In 1989 the Committee on Christian Literature for Women and Children ceased to exist as a separate entity and became a Standing Committee within Intermedia.
Biographical / Historical
Traveling in the Far East in the early years of the twentieth century, three women were impressed by the need for Christian outreach to women and children. Upon their return to the United States, Miss Clementina Butler, Mrs. Henry W. Peabody and Mrs. Helen Barrett Montgomery worked together toward the formation in 1912 of the Committee on Christian Literature for Women and Children in Missions Fields. The CCLWCMF was formed under the sponsorship of the Federation of Women's Boards of Foreign Missions and members of the Committee were appointed by Mission boards. The initial goal of the CCLWCMF was to print books but it was soon decided that periodicals were a more expedient method of assisting women and children in the mission fields. The Committee's first project, in 1913, was support of The Woman's Messenger, a magazine in China. Three other magazines were supported during the first decade of the Committee's existence: Happy Childhood (China), Light of Love (Japan) and Women's Magazine (Latin America).
During the next decades, numerous magazines received CCLWCMF support. In most cases the magazines were published by missionaries or national groups and received primarily financial support from the Committee. The Committee received financial support from the World Day of Prayer, beginning in the early 1920s, as well as from individual donors.
The magazines sponsored by the Committee were not entirely religious in nature. The Treasure Chest, for example, published in India in both English and local languages, contained articles on science and health, games, puzzles and fiction, as well as Christian teachings. El Taliba was published in Egypt in Arabic and distributed jointly by the Egyptian Y.W.C.A. and the United Presbyterian Mission. It was not labeled as a Christian publication, so as to be acceptable in Islamic homes. The magazine Listen in Africa was another of the Committee's major projects, financed by CCLWCMF funds and sponsored by the International Committee on Christian Literature for Africa. It contained articles on health, school subjects, art, world history as well as religious stories, and placed special emphasis on encouraging Africans in art and in writing. From its early days, the CCLWCMF sought to support indigenous Christian artists and spared no expense in securing colorful covers for the magazines it sponsored. In later years, it also sponsored the publication of picture books for children and illustrated booklets.
In the first fifty years of its existence the CCLWCMF supported twenty-seven magazines; nine of these were started by the Committee. Beginning in the 1940s, the Committee began to make grants for literacy projects in addition to the continued support of periodical publications. The CCLWCMF had an increasingly cooperative relationship with the Committee on World Literacy and Christian Literature ("Lit-Lit"), formed in 1942 by the Foreign Missions Conference of North America. In 1955 a survey of the world program of Christian literature was jointly proposed by the CCLWCMF and "Lit-Lit". This survey and a full-time executive director of the CCLWCMF were made possible by a generous bequest from Marguerite Doane in 1956.
A formal "Basis of Cooperation" was signed between the CCLWCMF and "Lit-Lit" in 1958, and again between the CCLWCMF and the Intermedia Committee, into which "Lit-Lit" had merged in 1970. During the two decades after the appointment of full time Executive Director Marion Van Horne, workshop programs to train writers were emphasized and cooperation with other groups and agencies stressed. The Children's Book Fund, launched in 1964, and the "80 Miles of Children's Books" project brought about the production of hundreds indigenous children's books. In 1970 a new program of developmental literature for women was begun to undergird programs of public health, nutrition, community development, vocational training and economic justice. Scholarships were granted to indigenous writers and artists to enable them to obtain further training.
Marion Van Horne retired from full-time service in 1981 and David Bridwell of Intermedia served as Acting Director of the CCLWCMF on a part-time basis. In 1989 the CCLWCMF ceased to exist as a separate entity and became a Standing Committee for Women and Children within the Intermedia Committee.
During the next decades, numerous magazines received CCLWCMF support. In most cases the magazines were published by missionaries or national groups and received primarily financial support from the Committee. The Committee received financial support from the World Day of Prayer, beginning in the early 1920s, as well as from individual donors.
The magazines sponsored by the Committee were not entirely religious in nature. The Treasure Chest, for example, published in India in both English and local languages, contained articles on science and health, games, puzzles and fiction, as well as Christian teachings. El Taliba was published in Egypt in Arabic and distributed jointly by the Egyptian Y.W.C.A. and the United Presbyterian Mission. It was not labeled as a Christian publication, so as to be acceptable in Islamic homes. The magazine Listen in Africa was another of the Committee's major projects, financed by CCLWCMF funds and sponsored by the International Committee on Christian Literature for Africa. It contained articles on health, school subjects, art, world history as well as religious stories, and placed special emphasis on encouraging Africans in art and in writing. From its early days, the CCLWCMF sought to support indigenous Christian artists and spared no expense in securing colorful covers for the magazines it sponsored. In later years, it also sponsored the publication of picture books for children and illustrated booklets.
In the first fifty years of its existence the CCLWCMF supported twenty-seven magazines; nine of these were started by the Committee. Beginning in the 1940s, the Committee began to make grants for literacy projects in addition to the continued support of periodical publications. The CCLWCMF had an increasingly cooperative relationship with the Committee on World Literacy and Christian Literature ("Lit-Lit"), formed in 1942 by the Foreign Missions Conference of North America. In 1955 a survey of the world program of Christian literature was jointly proposed by the CCLWCMF and "Lit-Lit". This survey and a full-time executive director of the CCLWCMF were made possible by a generous bequest from Marguerite Doane in 1956.
A formal "Basis of Cooperation" was signed between the CCLWCMF and "Lit-Lit" in 1958, and again between the CCLWCMF and the Intermedia Committee, into which "Lit-Lit" had merged in 1970. During the two decades after the appointment of full time Executive Director Marion Van Horne, workshop programs to train writers were emphasized and cooperation with other groups and agencies stressed. The Children's Book Fund, launched in 1964, and the "80 Miles of Children's Books" project brought about the production of hundreds indigenous children's books. In 1970 a new program of developmental literature for women was begun to undergird programs of public health, nutrition, community development, vocational training and economic justice. Scholarships were granted to indigenous writers and artists to enable them to obtain further training.
Marion Van Horne retired from full-time service in 1981 and David Bridwell of Intermedia served as Acting Director of the CCLWCMF on a part-time basis. In 1989 the CCLWCMF ceased to exist as a separate entity and became a Standing Committee for Women and Children within the Intermedia Committee.
- Title
- Guide to the Committee on Christian Literature For Women and Children in Mission Fields, Inc. Records
- Author
- compiled by Martha Lund Smalley and Jon Kara Shields
- Date
- 1992, 2013
- Description rules
- Finding Aid Prepared According To Local Divinity Library Descriptive Practices
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Yale Divinity Library Repository