So what did we find?

After a short but intense week of searching through databases, online archives, digital repositories, library catalogs, Wikipedia, and some scattershot Googling, the tally is in: over 320 works published by the 250-odd members of the Woman’s Literary Club of Baltimore during its 50 years in existence. It’s an astounding total by any measure, especially since we also know that we are not finished finding their works.

What did they write? Poetry and fiction, to be sure. But also lots of history, plays, anthropological works, translations (from Italian, German, French, Russian, and Hebrew), scientific treatises, songs, operas, children’s books, recipes, even some political commentaries. Despite the fact that many of these women embraced their domesticity—as well as their gentility—their creativity seemed boundless.

In the next few weeks, the class will be diving deeper into the world of American print culture between 1890-1940, looking especially in magazines, newspapers, and bricks-and-mortar archives for additional publications, reviews, and biographical information about these women. Some were well-known society figures; others were recognized intellects, scientists, and authors; and some remained obscure, sharing their writing within the friendly confines of the Academy of Sciences assembly room, where the Club met on Tuesdays for over 40 years, but hidden to the world outside those walls. We hope to bring these works, especially, to the light of day.

Clara, Megan, and I will be building a user-friendly online Virtual Library; for now, you can browse through the listings and do some basic sorting and searching of these texts. Over the next few weeks the class will be reading these works and deciding which ones to publish in an anthology of Club writings. We are also continuing to transcribe the minutes from Club meetings, and will be continuing to post about those oddly fascinating documents too.