Mildred Edith Burlingame Papers, 1909-1972

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Mildred Edith Burlingame, 1903-1988
Title
Mildred Edith Burlingame Papers
Dates
1909-1972 (inclusive)
Quantity
4 cubic feet
Collection Number
MG230 (collection)
Summary
Research and bibliographic notes on various aspects of psychology, copies of articles and other writings; letters from Burlingame's mother and sister; photographs (including transparencies, negatives, and mounted prints) of the Palouse Region, travels in the Pacific Northwest, and Burlingame's flower garden.
Repository
University of Idaho Library, Special Collections and Archives
Special Collections and Archives
University of Idaho Library
875 Perimeter Drive
MS 2350
Moscow, ID
83844-2350
Telephone: 2088850845
libspec@uidaho.edu
Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Originally named Edith Mildred, she was born in Ohio on December 20, 1903 to L. Lance and Anna (Lesh) Burlingame. She received her bachelor's and master's degrees from Stanford University and her doctorate from the University of Minnesota.

She was a research assistant at Stanford from 1925 to 1927, and a teaching assistant at Stanford from 1927 to 1930. She was an assistant professor at San Diego State College for Women from 1930 to 1938, and a professor of psychology at San Diego State College from 1938 to 1941. She came to the University of Idaho in 1942 and was an associate professor of psychology until her retirement in 1969.

She was active in several university organizations and community groups, including being branch and state president of the American Association of University Women, Phi Beta Kappa Society, and board member of the Latah County Historical Society. Her hobbies included gardening and photography. She died in Moscow on September 21, 1988.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The papers of Mildred Burlingame span the years 1909 to 1972, with the bulk of the material covering the years 1920 to 1968. The material includes notes on various aspects of psychology, letters from her mother and sister, and slides, negatives, and mounted photographs.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

The papers were in labelled file folders when received. The correspondence was in chronological order, and the majority of the slides were in boxes or slide storage cases. Original folder headings were retained, as were the broad slide identifications. The original order of the slides was also retained.

The first series contains professional material and consists of bibliographies, typed excerpts and summaries of articles on various aspects of psychology, and notecards containing summaries of books and articles arranged by subject. Other items include Dr. Burlingame's transcript from Stanford, correspondence regarding teaching positions, and two publications of Dr. Burlingame.

The second series contains personal papers and is divided into two subseries, correspondence and slides. The correspondence consists of letters from her mother and her sister Lucille Day, with an occasional letter from her father, and other relatives. There are also, in the later years, Christmas cards with personal messages.

There are a great many slides arranged by subject. Included are Idaho scenes, slides of trips on the Snake River and Lake Chelan, California trips, vacations in British Columbia, many of the University of Idaho campus, U of I homecoming parades from 1948 to 1964, wild flowers and garden flowers, animals including her two cats, and slides of her retirement party. The 2"x2" slides were removed from the boxes in which they were kept and placed in archival slide storage pages, 20 slides to a page. The original order was maintained, and no attempt was made to bring slides from the same trip together if they were stored in separate cases. The large Rolleiflex slides were arranged by subject and placed in a small box.

Most negatives were separated by type of camera used, i.e. Practica and Rolleiflex, then arranged by year and roll number. Each negative strip is in a paper sleeve on which is written all identification. The remaining negatives, which include some early glass negatives of Stanford University, were arranged by subject.

The final items in this series are a group of black and white photographs which have been enlarged and mounted. As with the slides these are arranged by subject. A majority of the photographs are of Moscow and the Palouse region, although there are some of Mount Rushmore, Yosemite and Yellowstone National Parks, the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and Waikiki Beach.

Acquisition Information

The papers of psychology professor Mildred Burlingame were donated to the University of Idaho Library by Charlotte Mohan in November 1985, with additional slides donated by the Latah County Historical Society in January 1986.

Processing Note

In the course of processing this material some items were discarded. These include processed checks, greeting cards without personal messages, and reprints of articles not by Dr. Burlingame. An envelope containing chips from Nez Perce arrowheads was offered to the Anthropology Department. In all the records were reduced by one cubic foot.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Series I. Professional Material , 1919-1956Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
1/1
Psychology 110: papers and notes
20 items
1926
1/2
History of psychology, tables and lists
16 items
1922-1928
1/3
Brain waves
25 items
1933-1938
1/4
Comparative psychology, bibliographies
14 items
undated
1/5
Delayed reaction
5 items
1922-1939
1/6
Experimental psychology
7 items
undated
1/7
Illusions, drawings
10 items
undated
1/8
Intelligence test data: Art
1 item
undated
1/9
Intelligence tests
16 items
1919-1935
1/10
Learning, bibliography and notes
23 items
undated
1/11
Learning, experimental material
50 items
undated
1/12
Motor learning - maze
41 items
undated
1/13
Neural function in learning
8 items
undated
1/14
Publications by Mildred Burlingame
2 items
1937-1940
1/15
Other professional material
6 items
1927-1956
1/16
Notecards
133 items
undated

Series II. Personal Papers , 1909-1972Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
A. Correspondence
1946-1956
Box/Folder
2/17
Notecards
31 items
1946-1947
2/18
Notecards
41 items
1948
2/19
Notecards
36 items
1949-1953
2/20
Notecards
36 items
1954
2/21
Notecards
42 items
1955
2/22
Notecards
43 items
1956
B. Slides, Negatives, and Photographs
1909-1972
Box/Folder
2/23-24
Idaho
217 items
1948-1970
2/25-26
People, mainly family; My garden
247 items
1947-1964
2/27
Mt. Shasta, Stanford University, Crater Lake
98 items
1948-1963
2/28
Flowers, animals, and still lifes
60 items
1948-1963
2/29
North Idaho scenes
39 items
1955-1967
2/30-31
Short radius outside Moscow
140 items
1954-1969
2/32
Trip from Lake Chelan to Vancouver Island
99 items
July 1956
2/33
Snake River Trip
18 items
June 23, 1956
2/34
Garden flowers
80 items
1947-1964
3/35
Garden flowers
60 items
1947-1964
3/36
My cats
20 items
1958-1963
3/37-38
University of Idaho Homecoming Parades
257 items
1948-1964
3/39
Trips: Idaho, Oregon, California, British Columbia
77 items
1965
3/40
Lake Chelan
19 items
1966
3/41
North Idaho scenes
93 items
1950-1972
3/42
Retirement party
17 items
1969
3/43
Merrett, B.C. to Banff
40 items
1970
3/44
Twin Falls talent show
34 items
1975
3/45
University of Idaho campus
13 items
1953-1962
3/46
Olympic National Park
27 items
July 1969
3/47
Wild flowers
38 items
1948-1969
3/48
Assorted negatives
140 items
1909-1952
3/49
Rolleiflex slides
115 items
1957-1971
3/50
Practica negatives
115 items
1953-1960
3/51
Rolleiflex negatives
597 items
1957-1971
os/52
Moscow in winter
11 items
undated
os/53
Palouse region
13 items
undated
os/54
Other mounted photographs
7 items
undated

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Flowers -- Photographs
  • Psychology -- Study and teaching

Corporate Names

  • University of Idaho -- Faculty -- Records and correspondence

Geographical Names

  • Northwest, Pacific -- Description and travel -- Photographs
  • Palouse Region (Idaho and Wash.) -- Photographs

Occupations

  • Professor of psychology, University of Idaho, 1942-1969

Other Creators

  • Personal Names
    • Burlingame, Mildred Edith, 1903-1988--Archives.