Guide to the Edith May collection , 1740-1913, undated


North Kingstown Free Library
100 Boone Street
North Kingstown, RI 02852
Tel: 401-294-3306
email:nkiref@nklibrary.org

Published in 2018

Collection Overview

Title: Edith May collection
Date range: 1909-1967
Creator: Edith May
Extent: 2 linear feet
Abstract: This collection consists mostly of photographs belonging to Edith May. The photos were taken during her time in France and Italy where she served as a worker for relief organizations during World War I and founded two schools, The Travel School for American Girls and Villa Collina Ridente, a Centre for European and International Studies.
Language of materials: English
Repository: North Kingstown Free Library
Collection number: 1983.12

Scope & content

This collection consists of one scrapbook, seven photo albums, photographs, postcards, books, maps and two awards, all of which belonged to Edith May. The photographs primarily document May's time in Europe from approximately 1904-1940, although some photographs were taken in locations in the United States and elsewhere. Most of the photos and albums contain little contextual information. Of particular significance is a photo album documenting May's relief work in France during World War I. May wrote captions to several of the photos in this album and the photos give a first-hand account of conditions in France during wartime. Other albums and photos, show May's work at the Villa Collina Ridente which was a unique international educational institution of that time.

Access Points

Subject Names Subject Organizations Subject Topics Geographical Names Subject Topics Document Types

Arrangement

The scrapbook, photo albums and award are arranged chronologically in boxes 1-3. Other materials are arranged chronologically in box 4. One item, the Medaille de la Reconsaissance Francaise award, is unboxed.

Biographical Note

Edith McClees May was born in Boston, MA in 1877 to Samuel May Jr. and Helen (McClees) May. She graduated from Wellesley College in 1897 and then taught at the Dana Hall School in Wellesley, MA. In 1904, she founded a school in France and Italy named the Travel School for American Girls, which she operated until the outbreak of World War I. During the war, May worked for relief organizations in France, including the American Red Cross, the French Wounded Emergency Fund, and the Anglo-French Society. For a time she served as Head of Dispensaries in France under the American Red Cross and the Rockefeller Foundation.

In 1921, May was one of twelve women selected by Jane Addams to act as a social worker among the women of Czechoslovakia. During this time, May began planning to open an educational institution for American and European women college graduates. In 1928, she founded the Villa Collina Ridente, a Center for European and International Study, in Florence, Italy. She operated this institution until World War II, when the property was bombed and looted.

The institution was never rebuilt after the war and May settled in her family home at the end of Cold Spring Lane in Wickford, RI. She lived there until she passed away in 1970.

Access & Use

Access to the collection: This collection is open under the rules and regulations of the North Kingstown Free Library.
Use of the materials: Copyright has not been assigned to North Kingstown Free Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be obtained by the researcher from the copyright holder.
Preferred citation: [item title], Edith May collection, 1983.12, North Kingstown Free Library. North Kingstown, Rhode Island.
Contact information: North Kingstown Free Library
100 Boone Street
North Kingstown, RI 02852
Tel: 401-294-3306
email:nkiref@nklibrary.org

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION  
Acquisition: Gift of Mildred Kulic, 1983.
Accruals: No accruals are expected.
Processing information: The collection was processed by Tom Frawley in 2020-2022.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID  
Author: Finding aid prepared by Tom Frawley.
Encoding: Finding aid encoded by Tom Frawley 2020 December 4
Descriptive rules: Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard(DACS).

Additional Information

Related material: Correspondence, photographs, and other papers of Edith May are available in the following collection: Edith May Papers. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.

Inventory

Box 1 Scrapbook. Writing, photographs, postcards, and illustrations documenting Edith May's trip to England and Wales.
 1912
Box 1 Photo album 1. Photographs of WWI France, French Wounded Emergency Fund workers, Wickford, RI, Wellesley, MA, New Hampshire, and Tuscon, Arizona.
c.1914-1923
Box 2 Photo album 2. Photographs of WWI France and Edith May's relief work in the region. Most of these photos have descriptive captions.
 1917-1919
Box 2 Photo album 3. Inside cover labeled 1917. Photographs of locations in Europe and the United States, including Wickford.
c.1917
Box 3 Photo album 4. Photographs of May's travels in Europe and the Villa Collina Ridente in Florence, Italy.
c.1920-1930
Box 3 Photo album 5. Photographs of May's travels in Italy and Europe.
 c.1920-1930
Box 3 Award, framed. Presented to Edith May by Vittorio Emanuele III, King of Italy, in recognition of Villa Collina Ridente.
1936
Box 4, Folder 1 Postcard of the May house on Cold Spring Lane in Wickford, RI.
 1909
Box 4, Folder 2 Photos from envelope labelled "Girls of 1928-1929". May and students of Villa Collina Ridente traveling in Europe and Greenland.
 1928-1929
Box 4, Folder 3 Photos from envelope labelled "Trip with Aunt M. Italy (North) Lakes Switzerland Battle-fields of France".
c.1930
Box 4, Folder 4 Photos from envelope labelled "Villa Collina Ridente".
c.1930
Box 4, Folder 5 Photo of Edith May at Villa Collina Ridente.
 c.1930
Box 4, Folder 6 Postcards
 c.1914-1930
Box 4, Folders 7-13 Books and maps beloning to Edith May
 1875-1944
Box 4, Folder 14 Photographs (2) of Edith May at her 70th reunion at Wellesley College
 1967
Unboxed Award, Medaille de la Reconsaissance Francaise
 1919