Summary Information

Title: Edith Tait Deedrick Photograph Collection of the Socialist Party
Collection Number: AIS.1978.20
Creator: Deedrick, Edith Tait

Collection Dates: ca. 1910-1920
Extent: 85.0 items (83 photographic prints; 2 safety negatives)

Language: English

Abstract:

The Edith Tait Deedrick Photograph Collection of the Socialist Party contains 83 gelatin silver photographic prints of varying sizes plus two copy negatives that document the members of the Socialist Party in Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania circa 1910 to 1920.

Publisher:

ULS Archives Service Center
University of Pittsburgh Library System
7500 Thomas Boulevard
Pittsburgh, PA, 15260
412-648-3232
archives-ref@mail.pitt.edu

Date Published:

February 2011

Author:

Finding aid prepared by Miriam Meislik.

Biography

Edith Tait Deedrick was the youngest of four sisters. Two sisters, Jane and Ethel Tait, were prominent in the Socialist party with Ethel serving as Secretary of the Socialist Party of Pa. Many important people visited the family, including Willam J. Van Essen who ran as the Socialist candidate in the 1922 senate race.

Collection Scope and Content Notes

The collection contains 83 gelatin silver photographic prints of varying sizes plus two copy negatives that document the members of the Socialist Party in Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania circa 1910 to 1920. While the subjects of the photographs often show outings such as camping, fishing, and picnics, there are several photographs where pennants are visible bearing the word "Socialism." Of particular note in the collection are three photo-postcards depicting members posing with the newspaper, The New Era, and wearing bags bearing the words "Votes for Women." Also contained within the collection are two Panoramic photographic prints: one is a group photograph taken by Kaufmann and Fabry Co. of attendees at the 1919 National Emergency Convention of the Socialist Party held in Chicago, Illinois; the other is a 1915 group photograph of what is, presumably, the first Northwest Pennsylvania Socialist Encampment in Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania, taken by G. O. McGranaham of Youngstown, Ohio. Research indicates the third meeting took place in 1917. According to the The International Socialist Review (Volume 16) edited by Algie Martin Simons and Charles H. Kerr, there were over 5,000 attendees during the three-day conference.

Persons depicted in the photographs include Jane Tait, Willam J. Van Essen, Anna Van Essen, and Tillie Geisler,

Arrangement

Photographs are arranged in acid-free envelopes within file folders and stored in the media room vertical file according to the collection accession number.

Subject Terms

Topics

• Recreation -- Pennsylvania -- Photographs
• Suffrage -- United States
• Women -- Suffrage -- United States

Corporate Names

• Socialist Party-Democratic Socialist Federation (U.S.). -- Photographs

Personal Names

• Deedrick, Edith Tait

Locations

• Chicago (Ill.)
• Conneaut Lake (Pa.)

Genres/Forms

• Gelatin silver prints
• Negatives (Photographic)

Category

• Personal papers
• Women

Access and Use

Access Restrictions:

No restrictions.

Acquisition Information:

Gift of Pat Lynch on August 1, 1978.

Preferred Citation:

Edith Tait Deedrick Photograph Collection of the Socialist Party, ca. 1910-1920, AIS.1978.20, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh

Copyright:

The University of Pittsburgh holds the property rights to the material in this collection, but the copyright may still be held by the original creator/author. Researchers are therefore advised to follow the regulations set forth in the U.S. Copyright Code when publishing, quoting, or reproducing material from this collection without the consent of the creator/author or that go beyond what is allowed by fair use.