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Women's Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals records
Caroline Earle White, a Philadelphia activist, and about thirty other women founded the Women’s Branch of the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (WPSPCA) in 1869 after White had been shut out of a leadership role of the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to...
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| Collection: | Women's Pennsylvania Society For the Prevention of Cruelty To Animals Records |
| Collection Number: | 3156 |
| Format: | Manuscript |
| Language: | English |
| Subjects and Genres: | |
| Online Access: | Link to finding aid |
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| Item Description: |
Processing Information: Two scrapbook volumes have been dismantled and rehoused in folders in order to preserve the materials within. Old Volume 3 is now housed in Box 3 folders 8-15, and old Volume 4 is now housed Box 2 folders 5-8. Volume 40, Call log, has been treated for mold, and researchers should exercise caution when handling this item. Researchers are advised that this collection contains many graphic descriptions of animal cruelty and trauma. Many occur in Volumes 39 and 40 and in the early decades of annual reports. |
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| Physical Description: |
18.1 Linear feet ; 12 boxes, 106 volumes |
| Access: |
Payroll and compensation records are closed to researchers for 75 years from the date of creation. Please see inventory for restriction information for specific items. |
| Summary: |
Caroline Earle White, a Philadelphia activist, and about thirty other women founded the Women’s Branch of the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (WPSPCA) in 1869 after White had been shut out of a leadership role of the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Originally, the WSPCA's purpose was to provide for the inspection of and care of working horses in Philadelphia, but the scope quickly expanded to include livestock and small animals. Despite the nominal designation as a branch of the Pennsylvania SPCA, the society was fully independent from the beginning, and White served as president until her death in 1916. The group promoted animal welfare through youth education and legislative reform, providing fountains and drinking stations for horses and cattle, and by addressing individual cases of cruelty. Now legally known as Women’s Humane Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals the organization does business as the Women’s Animal Center, continuing the work started in 1869. It is a member of the Philadelphia No-Kill coalition and operates out of Bensalem, Pennsylvania. The collection includes photographs, correspondence, annual reports, minutes, their publication ("The Guardian"), newspaper clippings, business records, and other printed matter. The collection spans 100 years of the organization's history, with material dating from the 1870s to the late 1970s. Series 1, Administrative records (1870-1971) includes minutes, annual reports, publicity materials, and a few miscellaneous items. The minutes, which span nearly a century, and the annual reports dominate the series. The annual reports contain much information about operations and activities of the organization. There is very little correspondence. The miscellaneous material includes a call log (Volume Series 2, Financial records (1886-1977) contains mostly ledgers and account books. There are a few volumes of financial reports. Three volumes of payroll and compensation records are closed to researchers for 75 years from the date of creation. Please see the inventory for more information. Series 3, Scrapbooks, images, and clippings (1888-1932) contains nine scrapbooks, and a modest amount of prints, photographs, and various clippings. The scrapbook dates range from 1871 to 1966 with some gaps in coverage. Images include Audubon bird prints and horse prints. A small number of photographs are present, mostly unlabeled and undated, but there is a portrait of first president, Caroline Earle White. A few folders of newspaper and magazine clippings round out the series. |