Lucy Sachsenheimer collection of World War I letters and memorabilia

As a teenager, Lucy Sachsenheimer, whose family lived in Philadelphia from the 1890s to the 1920s, worked at Brown's Hosiery Company, which was once located in Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood. When many of the men who also worked for the company were called away during World War I,...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Sachsenheimer, Lucy. (Creator)
Contributors: Rozanski, Karen. (Donor (dnr))
Collection:Lucy Sachsenheimer Collection of World War I Letters and Memorabilia
Collection Number:4326
Format: Manuscript
Language:English
Subjects and Genres:
Online Access:Link to finding aid
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LEADER 04092ntc a2200289 u 4500
001 ead-4326
008 220127i xx eng d
040 |e dacs 
041 0 |a eng 
099 |a 4326 
100 1 |a Sachsenheimer, Lucy.  |e creator 
245 1 |a Lucy Sachsenheimer collection of World War I letters and memorabilia  |f 1916-1919, undated 
300 |a 0.6 Linear feet  |f ; 2 boxes 
500 |a Processing Information: Several small artifacts were removed from the collection for conservation and rehousing. When they are returned to the collection, this finding aid will be updated accordingly.  
506 |a The collection in open for research. 
520 |a As a teenager, Lucy Sachsenheimer, whose family lived in Philadelphia from the 1890s to the 1920s, worked at Brown's Hosiery Company, which was once located in Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood. When many of the men who also worked for the company were called away during World War I, they wrote to her back home. The bulk of this collection is comprised of these letters, which she received between 1916 and 1919. Save for a couple discreet authors, the identities of most the writers is not explicit, though most were from Philadelphia, as they often refer to “home.” Several writers give their regards to Lucy’s mother. Most sign the notes with “Friend.” There are no letters in the collection written by Lucy, except for four postcards that were written by her but apparently not sent. The enlisted men told Lucy of feeling lonely and missing Philadelphia. Some men were stationed in the States, and others were in France. One letter mentions that the writer was away for a year and a half. Another soldier speaks of having a serious illness. One young man notes that he was “as sick as he had ever been,” and that upon waking up one morning, he saw that the soldier in the next bed had died. Many write about how thankful they are to receive letters from Lucy, and they often close with pleas for her to keep writing. The letters are short and do not contain much self-revelation; few letters record day-to-day comings and goings. It is occasionally mentioned that censors are reading the letters. Notably, many of the men expressed deep affection for Lucy, and some appeared to hope to have Lucy’s hand in marriage eventually. Besides the incoming letters, the collection also contains photographs that some soldiers sent to Lucy; souvenir photographs of Panama City, Florida; and miscellaneous newspaper clippings. There are also four small artifacts: a bullet; a booklet titled “New Testament Ideals for the Present World Task,” 1919; a sachet from France; and a box of doilies.  
524 8 |a Cite as: [Indicate item or series here], Lucy Sachsenheimer collection of World War I letters and memorabilia (Collection 4326), Historical Society of Pennsylvania. 
541 1 |a Gift of Karen Rosanski, 2019. Accession number 2019.055. 
544 |a At the Historical Society of Pennsylvania: Edward James Baker letters (Collection 3665) Isidore Baylson papers (Collection 2072) Clark Family papers (Collection 3217) Margaret Clark scrapbook of World War I Memorabilia (Collection 4253) Gibbon Family correspondence (Collection 3272) Jones and Taylor family papers (Collection 2037) Albert Lerner papers (Collection 1974) John F. McCloskey World War I letters (Collection 3714) Clair Miles Rickard World War I letters and memorabilia (Collection 3867) Karl Freiherr Von Nagel Zu Aichber letterbooks (Collection 3164)  
555 |a Finding Aid Available Online:  
650 0 |a Correspondence--United States--1910-1920. 
650 7 |a Personal Correspondence.  |2 Local sources 
650 0 |a Soldiers--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia--20th century. 
650 7 |a World War, 1914-1918--Personal correspondence.  |2 Local sources 
700 1 |a Rozanski, Karen.  |e Donor (dnr) 
852 |a The Historical Society of Pennsylvania  |b Lucy Sachsenheimer Collection of World War I Letters and Memorabilia  |l 4326 
856 4 2 |y Link to finding aid  |u http://www2.hsp.org/collections/manuscripts/s/Sachsheimer4326.html