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Melba Tice handcrafted notebook titled "Punctuation Party" that uses racial and stereotypical nomenclature and depictions such as "Mammy" and Clorinda Colon as an old maid (Addition 30) 2024-0019, 1920

 File — Box: 9, Folder: 2

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of a handmade notebook titled Punctuation Party by Melba Tice. The book presents punctuations as characters with rhymes and cutouts from 19th-century editions of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, as well as contemporary advertisements, explaining punctuation rules. Some punctuation characters are not from Carroll, and their descriptions illustrate cultural viewpoints of the time period, including a racist depiction of a "mammy' figure and a Clorinda Colon" as an old maid figure.

Dates

  • Creation: 1920

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research use.

Extent

0.04 Cubic Feet (letter folder?)

Language of Materials

English

Repository Details

Part of the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library Repository

Contact:
Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library
P.O. Box 400110
University of Virginia
Charlottesville Virginia 22904-4110 United States