Beal Papers. 1905-1984.

Beal Papers., 1905-1984.

3 boxes (12.5 linear in.)

Collection number: MS 0630 (LD 7096.6 1912 Brugger)

Abstract:

Beal, Helen Brugger, 1890-1984; Secondary school teacher and art collector. Mount Holyoke College graduate, 1912. Papers consist of correspondence, clippings and memorabilia including a herbarium made in botany class. Chiefly documents her experience at Mount Holyoke including her letters to alumnae members of the Psi Omega secret society and later, her letters to antique dealers. Researchers should note that the Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections also has the papers of Beal's younger sister, Florence Brugger, who graduated from Mount Holyoke in 1922. This material contains items relating to Helen Brugger Beal, including joint letters that the sisters wrote concerning their world travels.

Terms of Access and Use:

Unrestricted

Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections
South Hadley, MA

Biographical Note

Helen Frances Brugger was born on April 15, 1890 in Columbus, Nebraska. She attended Oberlin College from 1908-1909. She graduated from Mount Holyoke in 1912 with a double major in English Literature and Botany. After graduating, she taught botany, zoology, hygiene, and violin at Brownell Hall in Omaha, Nebraska. On November 27, 1915 she married Daniel M. Beal. She was an avid collector of antiques and works of art and traveled extensively with her sister Florence Brugger in Europe, South America, the Soviet Union, Afghanistan, China, and elsewhere. She died on September 12, 1984 in the same house where she was born in Columbus, Nebraska.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Helen Brugger Beal Papers contain correspondence, photographs, clippings, and Mount Holyoke memorabilia, including a herbia she made for Botany classes. Among the memorabilia are notes she received on Senior Mountain Day and programs of events such as Commencement and music recitals. The correspondence contains letters written to Beal by alumnae members of the secret society Psi Omega when Beal became a member. Beal was an antique collector of pieces of glass and silver, paintings, and furniture. Included in her papers is correspondence with various antique dealers, information on and clippings about her collections, and photographs. There is also information regarding a piece of furniture she donated to the college. Beal and her sister, Florence Brugger, traveled together to various destinations across the globe. As a result, there are many postcards related to their destinations, as well as a scrapbook collection of postcards she received while she was at Mount Holyoke. Also included in this collection is a scrapbook that contains programs, receipts, schedules, tickets, and notes from when she was a student at Oberlin and Mount Holyoke, and her diploma.

This collection is organized into seven series:

Correspondence
Herbia
Art and Antique Collecting Records
Postcards
Memorabilia
Biographical Material
Photographs

Information on Use

Terms of Access and Use

Restrictions on access:

Unrestricted

Preferred Citation

Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:

Helen Brugger Beal Papers, Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections, South Hadley, MA.

History of the Collection

Additional Information

Contact Information

Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections

8 Dwight Hall
50 College St.
South Hadley, MA 01075

Phone: (413) 538-2013
Fax: (413) 538-2370

Email Reference Form: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/lits/library/arch/forms/areq.htm
URL: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/lits/library/arch/

Language

English.

Correspondence,	1904-1982	1 folder
Arrangement: Chronological Restrictions on access: Unrestricted Scope and content: Contains correspondence to and from Helen Brugger. Some of the letters are from Florence Brugger ('22) while Beal was at Mount Holyoke. There are also letters from alumnae members of the secret society Beal belonged to at Mount Holyoke. There is a small number of letters from Beal while she was a student. Also included in the series are letters regarding Beal's teaching career, primarily acceptances and offers of positions. The remaining portion of the correspondence is letters written by Beal to the Alumnae Association regarding her sister Florence Brugger ('22). There is one Christmas letter that both Beal and Brugger wrote after their travels. The majority of those letters are found in the Florence Brugger Papers, MS 0511.
Correspondence			Box 1: folder 1

Herbia,	1910-1911	2 folders
Restrictions on access: Unrestricted Consists of two herbia that Beal made for a Botany class at Mount Holyoke. They are pressed flowers and plants, which are labeled with the Latin and common names, and where they were located on campus.
Herbia			Box 1: folder 2

Herbia			Box 1: folder 3

Art and Antique Collecting Records,	1930-1989	4 folders
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically. Restrictions on access: Unrestricted Scope and content: Contains correspondence to various art and antique dealers, clippings on pieces of her collections, photographs, and information on and correspondence regarding a piece of furniture she owned that was donated to the college by Barbara L. Brugger.
			Box : folder 1

Correspondence			Box 1: folder 4

Photographs			Box 1: folder 5

Clippings			Box 1: folder 6

Donation Information			Box 1: folder 7

Postcards,	4 folders
Restrictions on access: Unrestricted Contains loose postcards collected by Beal and a scrapbook of postcards she received and/or collected between ca 1903-1911.
Postcards		Box 1: folder 8

Postcards		Box 2: folder 1

Postcards		Box 2: folder 2

Scrapbook		Box 2: folder 3

Memoriabila,	1908-1914	1 linear foot, 7 folders
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically. Restrictions on access: Unrestricted Scope and content: Contains memorabilia from Oberlin College, Mount Holyoke College, and Brownell Hall. There is a scrapbook of programs, tickets, receipts, and schedules related to Mount Holyoke and Oberlin College. There are also loose programs from Mount Holyoke, including a initation banquet program for a Mount Holyoke Secret Society and notes she received on Senior Mountain Day. There is also her diploma from Mount Holyoke.
Memoriabila			Box 2: folder 4

Diploma			Box 2: folder 5

Mount Holyoke College			Box 2: folder 6

Mount Holyoke College			Box 2: folder 7

Mount Holyoke College			Box 2: folder 8

			Box : folder 3

Mount Holyoke College			Box 3: folder 1

Brownell Hall			Box 3: folder 2

Biographical Materials,	1912-1984	1 folder
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically. Restrictions on access: Unrestricted Scope and content: Contains biographical information from the Alumnae Association surveys, clippings about her engagement and marriage, and funeral programs of her husband and herself.
Biographical Material			Box 3: folder 3

Photographs,	1905-1979	1 folder
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically. Restrictions on access: Unrestricted Scope and content: Contains photographs of Beal, mainly portraits. These date from 1905 to 1979. Also includes photographs of some of the furniture she collected.
			Box : folder 3

Photographs			Box 3: folder 4