The Dorothy Canfield Fisher Correspondence to Catherine (Mrs. James B.) Pratt is arranged chronologically by month within the year. There is one folder of correspondence dated 1940 with no month because the month on the letter is torn away; the folder is listed after the other folders dated from 1940. There is one folder of undated material that is listed at the end.
Accession No. RARE.2019.0083: Purchased, July 2019
[identification of item], Dorothy Canfield Fisher Correspondence to Catherine (Mrs. James B.) Pratt, SPEC.RARE.0275, Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, Ohio State University
Materials in this collection are available for use, but may be used in the Thompson Library Special Collections reading room only.
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyright, and are made available for research and educational purposes. In general, the OSU Libraries do not own the copyright for materials from our collections and cannot grant copyright permissions for these materials. The user is responsible for making a final determination of copyright status. If copyright protection applies, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exceptions to the law. Works in the public domain are not protected by copyright and do not require permission to use.
Processed by: ADA students, 2020 September; Finding aid written by: Nicole Miller, 2019 July; Courtney Bishop, 2020 September
Dorothy Canfield Fisher (1879-1958) was born Dorothea Frances Canfield in Lawrence, Kansas. She was an author, social activist, and education reformer. Canfield Fisher was also a proponent of women’s rights, racial equality, and lifelong education. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Ohio State University, and then her doctorate degree from Columbia University in 1904. Between 1907 and 1959, Canfield Fisher wrote 15 novels, 6 short story collections, and 22 non-fiction books. She was appointed to the State Board of Education in Vermont and was tasked to improve rural public education. From 1926-1951, she was a member of the Book of the Month Club Committee of Selection, a subscription-based book club in the United States, based in New York City, that is still active as of 2020. In 1935, Canfield Fisher was part of the Honorary Committee of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. From 1936-1940, she was part of the American Youth Commission of the American Council of Education.
Catherine Pratt, who was a friend of Dorothy Canfield Fisher, was born in Italy in 1887, as Erminia Caterina Beatrice Giussehpina Maria. She married the philosopher and author James B. Pratt in 1911.
The Dorothy Canfield Fisher Correspondence to Catherine (Mrs. James B.) Pratt contains 64 letters from Canfield Fisher to her friend, Catherine Pratt, in which she discusses her day to day life. The correspondence consists of pleasantries, the weather, plans to meet, and health and family updates. Other topics include things going on in the world regarding World War II and in Canfield Fisher's life, such as the books she wrote, and Canfield Fisher's involvement in committees, including the Book of the Month Club selection committee. The materials date 1934-1946.