Manuscript Monday—Shipyard illustrator

In belated celebration of Labor Day, I am delighted to share archivist Lincoln Cushing's superb article on the World War II shipyard magazine illustrator Emmy Lou Packard: http://kaiserpermanentehistory.org/latest/emmy-lou-packard-wwii-shipyard-magazine-illustrator/

Cushing writes: "Packard’s work was patriotic without resorting to racist jabs or stereotypes; she portrayed workers with dignity and character. She drew women’s experiences from a woman’s point of view – numerous vignettes show children (one of her regular subjects later in life), shopping, home life, and the challenges of survival and adjustment in a tempestuous time." As the daughter of a tradeswoman, I was especially touched by this illustration of a mother in a hard hat making dinner: http://kaiserpermanentehistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ELP-1945-03-30-2-sm.jpg

CHS has a complementary collection of oral histories of women workers and activists who participated in the California labor movement of the 1930s, '40s, and '50s. These women speak with moving candor about their struggles—as workers, activists, incarcerated women, partners, and mothers. Their interviews can be accessed online at https://archive.org/details/californiahistoricalsociety

Marie Silva
Archivist & Manuscripts Librarian
msilva@calhist.org