Witchcraft Collection, 1857-2007

4 boxes (3.5 linear ft.)

Collection number: MS 647

Abstract:

This subject collection contains primarily printed materials on the history of witches and witchcraft in the U.S. The bulk of the collection consists of research files and published sources collected by Virginia Clegg Gamage pertaining to the history of witches and witchcraft; the European witch hunts and witch trials of Salem, Massachusetts; and the practice of witchcraft in the 20th century.

Terms of Access and Use:

Restrictions on access:

The collection is open to research according to the regulations of the Sophia Smith Collection. Access to audiovisual materials is restricted, due to the need for production of research copies.

Restrictions on use:

The SSC owns copyright to Virginia Gamage's unpublished writings. Copyright to materials by persons other than Gamage is owned by those individuals or their heirs or assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights.

Sophia Smith Collection
Smith College
Northampton, MA

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Witchcraft Collection contains primarily printed materials on the history of witches and witchcraft in the U.S. The bulk of the collection consists of research files and published sources collected by Virginia Clegg Gamage pertaining to the history of witches and witchcraft; the European witch hunts and witch trials of Salem, Massachusetts; and the practice of witchcraft in the 20th century. Types of materials include books, pamphlets, articles, clippings, notes and writings by Virginia Gamage and audio recordings of a lecture and a play on witchcraft. The collection is arranged in three sections: Pamphlets, Virginia Clegg Gamage research and writings, and Books. Miscellaneous pamphlets date from 1857-1903. Research and Writings is divided into three subseries: Research files, Writings, and Audiocassettes. Books are on the subject of witchcraft and inlcude fiction that features witches.

Information on Use

Terms of Access and Use

Restrictions on access:

The collection is open to research according to the regulations of the Sophia Smith Collection. Access to audiovisual materials is restricted, due to the need for production of research copies.

Restrictions on use:

Preferred Citation

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

"Witchcraft Collection, Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, Northampton, Mass."

History of the Collection

Items in this collection were either purchased or given by various donors. Peter Gamage, at the request of his mother Virginia Gamage, donated the bulk of the collection in 2009. Virginia Gamage was an alumna of Smith College, and worked for years as a historian of Marblehead, Massachusetts.

Processing Information

Processed by Nichole Calero, 2012

Additional Information

Contact Information

Sophia Smith Collection

Smith College
Northampton, MA 01063

Phone: (413) 585-2970
Fax: (413) 585-2886

Email Reference Form: http://www.smith.edu/libraries/libs/ssc/emailform.html
URL: http://www.smith.edu/libraries/libs/ssc/

Language

English

Contents List

Pamphlets	1857-1903		Box 1: folder 1

Virginia C. Gamage Research Files and Writings	circa 1969-2007, n.d.

Research Files

Sources		Box 1: folder 2

Pamphlets and programs		Box 1: folder 3

Salem Witch Trial pardons		Box 1: folder 4

Marblehead churches		Box 1: folder 5

Salem		Box 1: folder 6

Misc. articles on witchcraft		Box 1: folder 7

Misc. articles		Box 1: folder 8

The Witches Newsletter		Box 1: folder 9

General background, customs & early histories of New England		Box 1: folder 10

Lecture Notes		Box 1: folder 11

Personal		Box 1: folder 12

Research notes on people, places, and misc.		Box 1: folder 13-17

Correspondence		Box 1: folder 18

Writings

Copies of Esther Forbes papers from Essex Institute Library		Box 2: folder 1-11

Misc notes and typed pages		Box 2: folder 12

Untitled typescript authorship unknown		Box 2: folder 13

Audiocassettes

Witchcraft lecture by VCG	1992	Box 2: folder 14

Witchcraft play	n.d.	Box 2: folder 15

Books

A Cauldron of Witches by Clifford Lindsey Alderman	1973	Box 3

Chronicles of Old Salem by Frances Diane Robotti	1968	Box 3

The Crucible by Arthur Miller	1953	Box 3

Cures and Curses by Dorothy Jacob	1967	Box 3

The Dark World of Witches by Eric Maple	1962	Box 3

A Delusion of Satan: The Full Story of the Salem Witch Trials by Frances Hill	1995	Box 3

Demonology and Witchcraft: letters addressed to J.G. Lockhart Esq. by Sir Walter Scott	1970	Box 3

A Destroying Angel: The Conquest of Smallpox in Colonial Boston by Ola Elizabeth Winslow	1974	Box 3

Dialogues with the Devil by Taylor Caldwell	1967	Box 3

Dictionary of Witchcraft by Collin de Plancy; edited and translated by Wade Baskin	1965	Box 3

An Echo from Salem by Mona Etsy Worsencroft	1981	Box 3

The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology by Rossell Hope Robbins	1970	Box 3

Entertaining Satan: Witchcraft and the Culture of Early New England by John Putnam Demos	1982	Box 3

Famous and Curious Cemeteries by John Francis Marion	1977	Box 3

In the Devil's Snare by Mary Beth Norton	2002	Box 3

Lectures on Witchcraft by Charles W. Upham	1831	Box 3

Meetinghouse Hill: 1630-1783 by Ola Elizabeth Winslow	1952	Box 4

Never on a Broomstick by Frank Donovan	1971	Box 4

Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft by Paul Boyer and Stephan Nissenbaum	1974	Box 4

Salem Village Witchcraft; Mrs. Elizabeth Howe's Trial by M.V.B. Perley	1911	Box 4

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne	1955	Box 4

Spirit of '76 Lives Here: Marblehead by Priscilla Sawyer Lord & Virginia Clegg Gamage	1972	Box 4

The Tall Man from Boston by Marion L. Starkey	1975	Box 4

A Treasury of Witchcraft by Harry E. Wedeck	1961	Box 4

The Visionary Girls: Witchcraft in Salem Villageby Marion Starkey	1973	Box 4

What Happened in Salem by David Levin	1960	Box 4

Witchcraft and the Gay Counterculture by Arthur Evans	1978	Box 4

A Witch's Guide to Gardening by Dorothy Jacob	1964	Box 4

The Witchcraft Hysteria of 1692 by Leo Bonfanti (3 copies)	1971	Box 4

The Witches Almanac Edited by Elizabeth Pepper and John Wilcock	1972	Box 4

A Witches Brew by Adelina Grenier Simmons	n.d.	Box 4

Witches' Potions and Spells edited by Katherine Paulsen	1971	Box 4

Witches, Wraiths, and Warlocks: Supernatural Tales of the American Renaissance edited by Ronald Curran	1971	Box 4

Search Terms

The following terms represent persons, organizations, and topics documented in this collection. Use these headings to search for additional materials on this web site, in the Five College Library Catalog, or in other library catalogs and databases.

Subjects

Paganism -- History -- 20th century
Spirituality -- United States -- History -- 20th century -- Sources
Witchcraft -- History -- Sources
Witchcraft -- Massachusetts -- Salem

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