Edith Shaw family and Provident Hospital photo album
Scope and Contents
Photographs in the album include her family, her friends and fellow students, nurses and doctors, and some photos taken in and outside of Provident Hospital. Also includes a lot of candid photography at the beach and with friends, along with some formal portraits of her family and from her sister Pansy's wedding. Photographs at the end depict Edith's brother Maurice M. Shaw (who was a physician and had interned at Provident Hospital) and his service at Fort Huachuca in Arizona, during World War II. Also includes a couple of souvenir photographs; one of Edith at the Century of Progress Exposition (Chicago World's Fair); and two of musical groups The Five Spirits of Rhythm and Guy Lombardo's Royal Canadians (the postcard is inscribed to Edith from Guy Lombardo).
Dates
- Creation: approximately 1923-1943
Creator
- Shaw, Edith (Person)
Language
Materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
The Edith Shaw family and Provident Hospital photo album is available in the Special Collections Reading Room (Priority III).
Ownership and Literary Rights
The Edith Shaw Family and Provident Hospital Photo Album is the physical property of the Newberry Library. Copyright may belong to the authors or their legal heirs or assigns. For permission to publish or reproduce any materials from this collection, contact the Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections.
Biography of Edith Shaw
Chicago-based African American nurse.
Edith Shaw was born on Jun. 18, 1910 in Abbeville, Louisiana, to Edward Garfield Shaw (1881-1965) and Edith Bertha Abberdee Shaw (1880-1965). The family moved to Chicago when Shaw was still very young and she attended St. Elizabeth's Catholic School. She graduated from Provident Hospital's nursing program in 1932. Provident was the first and for many years the only training school for Black nurses in the country.
Shaw's family members included her oldest brother Herman, her brother Maurice, who was a physician and interned at Provident Hospital, and her sister Pansy, who, according to a newsclipping in the photo album, was the secretary to screen actor Stepin Fetchit.
As the photo album ends around 1942, with photos of her brother Maurice in the military at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, there is not a lot of information available about her later life. According to vital records she had one daughter, Edith Laura Fannon (1948-1971) and was divorced. Shaw died in Elkhart, Indiana, on Mar. 3, 1993.
Extent
0.2 Linear Feet (1 box)
Abstract
Photograph album of Chicago nurse Edith A. Shaw (1910-1993), an African American woman who resided on the South Side of Chicago. Shaw graduated from Provident Hospital's nursing student program in 1932. Photographs in the album include her family, her friends and fellow students, nurses and doctors, and some photos taken in and outside of the hospital. Also includes a lot of candid photography at the beach and with friends, along with some formal portraits of her family and from her sister Pansy's wedding.
Collection Stack Location
1 31 2
Provenance
Purchase, Langdon Manor Books, 2020.
Subject
- Shaw, Edith (Person)
- Provident Hospital (Chicago, Ill.) (Organization)
Source
- Langdon Manor Books LLC (Bookseller, Organization)
- Title
- Inventory of the Edith Shaw Family and Provident Hosptial Photo Album, approximately 1923-1943
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Alison Hinderliter
- Date
- 2020.
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the The Newberry Library - Modern Manuscripts and Archives Repository
60 West Walton Street
Chicago Illinois 60610 United States
312-255-3512
reference@newberry.org