Elizabeth Johnson Perry, born 1900, was a woman of African-American descent. From the 1930s through the 1960s, she was employed as a domestic worker in New York City. She died in 1986. No other information is currently available about her life.
There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested.
Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. Researchers should note that compliance with copyright law is their responsibility. Researchers must determine the owners of the literary rights and obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Elizabeth Johnson Perry papers, Ms. 89.16, Brown University Library.
The Elizabeth Johnson Perry Papers, 1937-1967, consist of incoming letters, greeting cards, financial records, photographs, a scrapbook, and museum objects relating to her life in New York as an African-American domestic worker. Materials of interest are greeting cards and a souvenir from the New York World’s Fair, a wooden dustpan and brush. The correspondence received from her friend Mabel (Jean Clarke Madison) gives a snapshot of life as a domestic worker in Los Angeles, California. Perry also collected clippings on African-American pop icons such as: Joe Lewis, Lena Horne, Eartha Kitt, Fats Waller, and Josephine Baker.
The Elizabeth Johnson Perry papers were given to the John Hay Library in 1989 by Karen Allen Baxter of the Rites and Reason Theatre.