Frontiers of Conflict

Sieur Dubreton, Histoire du siege d'Orleans, et de la Pucelle Ieane, mise en nostre langue par le Sr. Dubreton (A Paris: Chez Iean du Hamel ..., 1631). DC103.D83 1631

Joan of Arc (1412-1431) may have died at age 19, but in many ways she is immortal.  In this volume, a French translation of a Latin account originally published in 1560, two hundred years after her death, she is a strong reminder of the power of faith as well as a prevailing cultural symbol.  Condemned to burn at the stake for cross-dressing by a pro-English bishop, posthumously declared a martyr by an Inquisitorial court, she is favorably and aristocratically depicted here both in armor on horseback and in women’s clothing.

Dorothy Searle as a Land Girl in England during World War I in the Dorothy Searle photograph album, 1914. Ms. Coll. 848

Dorothy Searle (probably born in 1888)  served in England's Women's Land Army during World War I from 1915 to 1917.  During that time, she worked on several farms: in Leicestershire for six weeks,  at the Duke of Marlborough's farm at Blenheim Palace, and at Mr. Ayres, Shepherd's Farm, Chorley Wood, Hertshire. Some of her tasks included hay making, bee keeping, potato picking, and working with horses and cows.  She appears to have been a tough cookie who took her responsibilities as a Land Girl very seriously!

Christian Stridtbeckh, Dissertatio academica, de sagis, sive foeminis, commercium cum malo spiritu habentibus, e Christiana pnevmatologia (Lipsiae : Typis Christoph. Fleischeri, [1690]) from the Lea Collection. BF1583 .A43 1690

This late 17th-century dissertation from the University of Leipzig investigates the topic of witches making pacts with the devil.  Although the title suggests a negative view of women, the author leaves some room for positive power in women.  The dissertation includes an engraving of a wild woman, described in the Latin caption as “fanatica mulier,” turning back Attila the Hun and his forces from the city of Augsburg in 445.  This story, which appeared repeatedly in chronicles, here is described in a poem in both Latin and German on the facing page.  Another version of this episode was included among the images painted on the Franciscans’ gate in Augsburg in the early 17th century.  The author here concludes that this woman of Augsburg “like an Amazon, does not seem to have been a witch.”  More definitively, Joan of Arc “was not a witch, but a heroine.”

Zane Grey, Betty Zane, cover design, letters and illustrations by the author (New York: Francis Press, c1903), from the Caroline F. Schimmel Fiction Collection of Women in the American Wilderness. Schimmel gift 2016

Betty Zane (1765-1823), of the famed Zane family, was a heroine of the American Revolutionary War for procuring gunpowder from her brother’s home, near the sieged Fort Henry (now Wheeling, West Virginia). She volunteered to leave the Fort, ran through the hostile enemy, gathered up as much gunpowder as she could, and returned to the Fort through a hail of bullets.  Her actions allowed the American troops to hold off British-allied Native Americans during this “last battle of the Revolution.”  According to the story, prior to her courageous efforts, she had spent 40 hours pouring lead into bullet molds. She was memorialized in this volume by her great grand-nephew (a Penn student).              

Edith Frances Biddle, photograph, identity card, and program from her service in World War I from the Biddle family papers, 1709-2017 (bulk: 1776-1952). Ms. Coll. 1351

The Biddle family has been a prominent force in the history of Philadelphia from before the American Revolution.  Throughout America’s history, the Biddle sons appear to have been quite patriotic, always serving in the conflict of the day.  Edith (1881-1938), a granddaughter of not one, but two Biddles (cousins), worked at the Galsworthy House in London, a hospital for wounded Belgian soldiers during World War I.  According to obituaries (box 8, folder 8), she was decorated by the Belgian Government for her efforts.  Later, she attended the Inter-Allied Conference which was called to address methodologies of rehabilitating the wounded.

“The Girl who Saved New York from being Bombed,” Picture News, Vol. 1, No. 2, February 1946 from the George Seldes papers. Ms. Coll. 1140 (in process)

Constance Babington Smith (1912-2000) was a writer and a member of the Royal Air Force’s Auxiliary Air Force who served as a photographic interpreter in the aircraft section of its Central Interpretation Unit.  From photographs, she identified a pilotless aircraft at Peenemünde, a major army rocket research center on Germany’s Baltic Coast which resulted in air campaigns that disrupted German plans for the mass launch of V1 (aka “doodlebugs”) and V2 weapons against the Allies.  After victory in Europe, Babington Smith was transferred to the United States where she helped with the war in the Pacific. In recognition of her skills and services, she was the first woman to earn the U.S. Legion of Merit award as well as receiving the Order of the British Empire award, the British Star, the Defence Medal, and the War Medal for excellence in her craft.  She was inducted into the Geospatial Hall of Fame in 2015.

Honoria “Honey” Wallis serving in World War II, from the Jane Wright Proctor Wallis family papers, 1833-2007. Ms. Coll. 1310

Honey Wallis was one of ten kids in a very comfortable Philadelphia family--life for the girls in the family appears to have been pretty fun with an adoring family, trips to the shore, camps and activities, and college for all!  Despite this easy life, Honey joined the Red Cross Medical Corps during World War II. Honey was sent to Fort Riley, Kansas for training to become a medical social worker. Honey was ordered overseas, eventually serving in North Africa, England, and Italy as a head medical social worker.