Archives West Finding Aid

The papers of Agnes C. Schuldt were in no discernible order when received. Therefore a series order was imposed during processing.

The first series contains material related to her professional life as a teacher of piano and music history. Included are typescript and offprint copies of articles which she wrote. Also included are notes for lectures which she gave, notes and outlines for courses which she taught both and the University of Idaho and the University of Illinois Chicago Circle where she taught following her retirement. There are also articles about her, certificates she was awarded, articles about her colleagues in the music department, programs for recitals which she gave, and information on university programs she was involved with.

Series two contains personal papers. Included are address books, information on her several endowments to the university, poetry written by her father and sister, reports of her work with the Red Cross during World War II, income tax returns from 1985-1993, and property tax receipts. There is also a large collection of correspondence. This is arranged alphabetically by correspondent, except in cases where only one or two letters were extant, or the last name of the writer was not known. Many of the letters were from her sister Elizabeth who was a potter living in Maine. The largest group of letters is from Dean Donner, whom she met when he was an English faculty member at the University of Idaho in the late 1920's. He left the U of I, but remained close friends with Agnes and Lester, and wrote her often over the years. At the time of her retirement from the U of I he was Dean of Letters and Sciences at the University of Illinois, Chicago Circle, and she taught there for several years. The Donner letters span the years 1961 to 1993. There are also some letters from Agnes to her sister, mostly during the time she was with the Red Cross. There is one trip diary written during her voyage to Europe in 1958. The final items in this series are a 1903 book of Madge Bigham Stories of Mother Goose Village, and a Polyglot Bible which belonged to her father.

The final series consists of photographs. Some of these were in envelopes identified with a name, or location, but most were undated and unidentified. Included are five tintypes in frames, and two photograph albums which were left intact. Individual photographs were grouped in general headings and include American Red Cross, Elizabeth Crawford, William and Sue Crawford, the Donner family, photographs of family and friends, photographs of her houses and the garden at the house she occupied from 1951 until her death, personal events such as her wedding and birthdays, photographs of Agnes from 1903 to 1995, photographs of her husband Lester, the Sewell family who lived near Elizabeth, and slides of art work. The travel photographs consist of photographs of France which may or may not be commercial, and postcards, many of which she wrote to Earl and Ada David in Moscow.

Among the items removed from the collection were articles cut from magazines such as the New Yorker, which dealt with aspects of music and dance, theater programs, paid checks and bank statements, greeting cards without notes, maps, owners manuals and warranty cards, orders and invoices for plants and gardening supplies, and unused post cards. This reduced the records by 1 cubic foot.