Elizabeth Nolan's Photo Autograph Book
Original OwnerOriginally owned by
Elizabeth Ann Nolan
(American, 1924 - 2017)
Date1944-1952
MediumPhotography; gelatin silver print on paper
Plastic; paper; ink
Dimensions(a) Primary Dimensions (overall height x width closed): 6 × 4in. (15.2 × 10.2cm)
(a) Primary Dimensions (overall height x width open): 6 × 7 7/8in. (15.2 × 20cm)
(b) Primary Dimensions (overall height x width): 3 × 6 3/8in. (7.6 × 16.2cm)
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineGift of Elizabeth Nolan Barnicle
Object number2017.55.17a-b
Description(a) Elizabeth Nolan’s photo autograph book with (b) extra photo stamps of Elizabeth Nolan used during her service with the WAVES during World War II. The photos are the women's military portraits.
(a) The autograph book is a spiral-bound notebook with a brown plastic cover. It has 12 pages. Only four pages are filled, the rest are blank. Each page has space for four autographs. A black and white photo stamp is affixed to the left. The autographer can then write their name and address on the right next to the photo.
It has been signed by Lucy Townsend of Bristol, Tennessee; Belva "Red" Wood of Grasston, Minnesota; Jean Gunderman of Marenisco, Michigan; A. Virginia Sample of Columbia, South Carolina; Mary Peace of Columbia, South Carolina; Emily Sipos of Aurora, Illinois; Helen Kimball of Riverside, California; Marie Woodward of Beaver Dams, New York; Blanche Hora of Astoria, New York; Marjorie Stevenson of Rochelle, Illinois; Beverly Grass of Chicago, Illinois; Jessie B. Pinn of Lockport, Illinois; Ruth F. Hoke of St. Louis, Missouri; Zoe Sellers of Basin, Wyoming; Virginia W. Gross of Granflood, New Jersey; Marjorie Whipple of Chicago, Illinois; Nathalie Turnbull of Laurence, Massachusetts; Ann Kastner of Buffalo, New York; Mary B. Wynne of Dorchester, Massachusetts; Annie C. Lester of Denver, Colorado; Beatrice "Bea" Pasternack of Hartford, Connecticut; Marion N. Godwin of Walpole, New Hampshire; Mildred Ransdell of Boonville, Missouri; and Marjorie E. Hall of Walla Walla, Washington.
(b) A partially used set of black and white photo stamps of Elizabeth Nolan.
NotesSubject Note: During WWII, women were eager to get involved in the war effort. Despite political resistance from those who believed women had no place in the Navy, President Roosevelt passed the Navy Women’s Reserve Act into law on July 30, 1942, creating the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES). This opened up new opportunities for women, allowing them to work as aviation mechanics, photographers, control tower operators, and parachute riggers. Although WAVES were not allowed to serve aboard combat ships or aircraft, these women were stationed at 900 shore stations in the continental U.S., later expanding to Alaska and Hawaii. By the end of WWII, more than 84,000 women had served in the WAVES. After the war, Congress passed a law allowing women to gain permanent status in all branches of the U.S. military, effectively disbanding the WAVES organization.(a) The autograph book is a spiral-bound notebook with a brown plastic cover. It has 12 pages. Only four pages are filled, the rest are blank. Each page has space for four autographs. A black and white photo stamp is affixed to the left. The autographer can then write their name and address on the right next to the photo.
It has been signed by Lucy Townsend of Bristol, Tennessee; Belva "Red" Wood of Grasston, Minnesota; Jean Gunderman of Marenisco, Michigan; A. Virginia Sample of Columbia, South Carolina; Mary Peace of Columbia, South Carolina; Emily Sipos of Aurora, Illinois; Helen Kimball of Riverside, California; Marie Woodward of Beaver Dams, New York; Blanche Hora of Astoria, New York; Marjorie Stevenson of Rochelle, Illinois; Beverly Grass of Chicago, Illinois; Jessie B. Pinn of Lockport, Illinois; Ruth F. Hoke of St. Louis, Missouri; Zoe Sellers of Basin, Wyoming; Virginia W. Gross of Granflood, New Jersey; Marjorie Whipple of Chicago, Illinois; Nathalie Turnbull of Laurence, Massachusetts; Ann Kastner of Buffalo, New York; Mary B. Wynne of Dorchester, Massachusetts; Annie C. Lester of Denver, Colorado; Beatrice "Bea" Pasternack of Hartford, Connecticut; Marion N. Godwin of Walpole, New Hampshire; Mildred Ransdell of Boonville, Missouri; and Marjorie E. Hall of Walla Walla, Washington.
(b) A partially used set of black and white photo stamps of Elizabeth Nolan.
On March 15, 1944, twenty-one-year-old Hartford native Elizabeth “Betty” Nolan, joined the WAVES, where she was assigned to the Naval Air Station in Alameda, CA. To prepare, she attended the U.S. Naval Training School at Hunter College, NY, and Yeoman School at the Iowa Teachers College, Cedar Falls, IA. After the war, Betty worked in the Patent Department of the Underwood Research Laboratories until she and her husband, John P. Barnicle, started their family.
Status
Not on view
Samuel Augustus Mitchell
1834
Samuel Augustus Mitchell
1835
