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Personal Papers of Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon, 1801 - 2000

 Fonds
Reference Code: GBR/0271/GCPP Bodichon

Scope and Contents

The papers of Madame Bodichon are dispersed. A number are held at Girton, having reached the College as gifts, mainly from the Leigh Smith family, and by purchase. The bulk of the papers at Girton consists of letters from Emily Davies to Bodichon for the period 1865-1887. Early letters relate, on the whole, to the activities of the Langham Place Circle, the English Woman’s Journal, and the Kensington Society, later letters to the foundation and day-to-day organisation of Girton College. Among the miscellaneous papers is a travel journal kept by Barbara Bodichon with accompanying sketches. There are also photographs, drawings, sketches and biographical articles and, at GCPP Bodichon 11, photocopies of correspondence by and pertaining to Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon from the papers of Norman Moore (1847-1922, physician, an important figure in BLSB's life whom she and Eugene first befriended in 1869).

Dates

  • Creation: 1801 - 2000

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Access is open to bona fide scholars by appointment only.

Biographical / Historical

Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon (1827-1891) was the eldest child of the liaison between Anne Longden and Benjamin Leigh Smith, MP for Norwich, 1838 and 1841-1847. Born in Sussex, her childhood was spent between family homes in Hastings and London. From an early age she travelled widely, including an unchaperoned European tour with Bessie Parkes in 1850, and made a first trip to Algiers, which was influential in her life and art, in 1856. She was a cousin of Florence Nightingale and a friend of, amongst others, George Eliot, Emily Davies and Bessie Parkes. In 1857 she married a French doctor, Eugene Bodichon, a resident of Algeria, and for many years thereafter divided each year between Algeria and Britain. Barbara Bodichon was an artist, a prolific painter of landscapes, her principal exhibitions taking place between 1850 and 1872 at the Royal Academy, the Society of Female Artists and the French Gallery, Pall Mall and other galleries. A leader of the campaigns for women’s work, suffrage, legal rights and education, she founded Portman Hall School and published 'A Brief Summary of the Most Important Laws Concerning Women' in 1854, published 'Women and Work' in 1857 and, with Bessie Parkes, founded the English Woman's Journal in 1858. She was also instrumental in the foundation of Girton College in 1869.

Extent

10 archive box(es) (10 boxes) : paper

Language of Materials

English

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Acquired by Girton College by gift, chiefly from the Leigh Smith family, and also by purchase. Also, in the case of the Moore family papers at GCPP Bodichon 11, the original letters were loaned by the Moore family and photocopied by Girton College Library staff on the Library's premises in 1995.

Existence and Location of Originals

The originals of the Moore family letters are held in a private collection.

Existence and Location of Copies

The Bodichon papers held by Girton College as at 1986 were microfilmed in that year by Harvester Microform Research Publications Company.

Related Materials

A collection of 395 volumes from the library of Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon was purchased by Helen McMorran, Librarian of Girton College, in 1954 and presented by her to the Library. Letters concerning the purchase are catalogued at GCPP Bodichon 10. Further volumes from BLSB's library were purchased by the College in 2005.

Bibliography

Pam Hirsch, 'Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon: Feminist, Artist and Rebel', Chatto and Windus, 1998. Girton College, 'Barbara Bodichon 1827-1891: Centenary Exhibition' [exhibition catalogue of BB's paintings], 1991. Sheila R Herstein, 'A Mid-Victorian feminist: Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon', Yale University Press 1985. Hester Burton, 'Barbara Bodichon, 1827-1891', John Murray, London 1949. Many of the letters are reproduced in Barbara Stephen 'Emily Davies and Girton College' Constable & Co., 1927 and Ann Murphy and Deirdre Raftery (eds) 'Emily Davies: Collected Letters 1861-1875', University of Virginia Press, 2004.

Originator(s)

Bodichon, Barbara Leigh Smith, 1827-1891, nee Smith, artist and women's activist

Finding aid date

1998-09-03 13:40:49+00:00

Repository Details

Part of the Girton College Archive Repository

Contact:
The Archivist
Girton College Archive
Huntingdon Road
Cambridge CB3 0JG United Kingdom
+44 (0)1223 338897