Erving Winslow Papers 1844-1962; bulk: 1890-1923 Guide to the Collection The Erving Winslow papers are stored offsite and must be requested at least one business day in advance. Contact the Library at library@masshist.org or (617) 536-1608 to request materials. Please discuss your request with the reading room staff before requesting cartons by barcode.

Table of Contents Collection Summary Biographical Sketch Collection Description Acquisition Information Restrictions on Access Detailed Description of the Collection Preferred Citation Access Terms

Collection Summary

Biographical Sketch

Erving Winslow was born in 1839, the son of Benjamin Pollard Winslow and Mary Timmons Quincy (Hill). He graduated from the Lawrence Scientific School, Harvard University, and served on the United States Coast Survey and the United States Sanitary Commission during the Civil War. In 1861, Winslow married Catherine Mary Reignolds (1837-1911), an English actress. The couple had one son, Charles-Edward Amory Winslow, born in 1877.

Following the Civil War, Winslow entered the commission business in Boston in 1868. He became prominent in Boston society as an editorial writer and poet, and the member of many clubs and organizations. In particular, he was the Secretary of the Anti-Imperialistic League, and worked all his life to oppose United States imperialistic policies. He also worked many years in Boston to raise funds for a statue to Anne Hutchinson by the sculptor Cyrus Dallin. Winslow died in 1922.

Collection Description

Winslow's correspondence contains letters from family and friends, and many papers relating to his activities in various organizations. They include materials on the Anti-Imperialist League, the Free Trade League, the Single Tax League, Irish Republicanism and Sinn Fein, the Russian Information Bureau, the Episcopal Church, and the World Peace Foundation. As Winslow was apparently an autograph collector, the correspondence also contains many short letters from prominent men of the time.

Among the correspondence are letters written by Erving and Catherine to their son Charles-Edward Amory Winslow, 1895-1917, while a professor of Sanitary Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and serving with the American Red Cross in Russia, 1917, discussing family matters.

The collection also contains printed material from the various organizations Winslow was involved with and news clippings on many subjects; writings by Winslow and his wife; scripts of plays and readings, with printed material on the theatre; a scrapbook of clippings on Catherine Mary Reignolds Winslow and her readings of Henrik Ibsen; and three autograph books.

In the first box there are nine issues (1892-1894) of a "Lampoon-type" journal (in manuscript) by Charles A. E. Winslow and his friends, written while they were in High School, called "The Grandfather's Hat."

Acquisition Information

The collection was donated by Anne R. Winslow in 1968; with additions added in 1993.

Restrictions on Access

The Erving Winslow papers are stored offsite and must be requested at least one business day in advance. Contact the Library at library@masshist.org or (617) 536-1608 to request materials. Please discuss your request with the reading room staff before requesting cartons by barcode.

Detailed Description of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Erving Winslow papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.

Access Terms

This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.