Women collectors are represented in multiple collections in Smith College Special Collections. This list is intended to help you start your research, but is not comprehensive.

Collections and books are briefly described below. For more extensive information for archival collections, read the "Scope and Contents" and the "Biographical / Historical" notes in the finding aid. For books, read the "Notes" section in the catalog record.

Sally Taft Duplaix (Duplaix Collection)

(search AR "Sally Taft Duplaix Collection." in the catalog)

Sally Taft Duplaix (1936-2012) was a librarian, lover of the arts, and avid reader. She received her master’s degree in library science from Simmons College and had a career in librarianship. Among her collection of over 600 books, predominantly made up of lesbian pulp fiction, was donated in 2013 to Smith College Special Collections. To learn more, visit the Collections at Smith page of the Lesbian Pulp Fiction Special Collections Resources guide.

Ruth Mortimer

Mortimer Rare Book Collection Frankenstein ephemera collection (MRBC-MS-00024)

Ruth Mortimer Frankenstein collection (MRBC-MS-00012)

Ruth Mortimer was responsible for Smith's 1976 acquisition of a three-volume original edition of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein": Mortimer's fascination with Frankenstein also inspired a 1983 essay called "Frankenstein: A Publishing History", and her personal collection of Frankenstein editions and ephemera was donated to the Mortimer Rare Book Room (now Mortimer Rare Book Collection as part of Smith College Special Collections). Additional materials related to Ruth Mortimer can be found in the Ruth Mortimer papers (CA-MS-01177) and the Smith College Special Collections records (CA-MS-00408)

Beatrice Oenslager Chace

(Search AR "Beatrice Oenslager Chace Collection of Ernest Hemingway.", "Beatrice Oenslager Chace Collection of William Faulkner." and "Beatrice Oenslager Chace Collection of Willa Cather." in the catalog)

Beatrice Oenslager Chace, Smith College Class of 1928, was a book collector and philanthropist for New England cultural heritage sites, as well as the Smith College Art Museum. She donated collections of books by and related to Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, and Willa Cather to the Mortimer Rare Book Collection.

Myrtle Finison (Finison Collection)

(search AR "Myrtle and Harvey Finison Collection." in the catalog)

A collection of late 19th-century and early 20th-century American decorated bookbindings assembled by Harvey and Myrtle Finison (Northampton, MA) between the 1950's and 1980's. Over 130 American and English designers are represented, including Sarah Wyman Whitman and Margaret Armstrong. While the collection includes designs by both men and women, the collection is a great showcase of women designers.

Judith Raymo (Chaucer Collection and Sylvia Plath)

Chaucer: Search AR "Robert and Judith Raymo Chaucer Collection at Smith College." in the catalog

Judith Raymo Collection of Sylvia Plath at Smith College (MRBC-MS-00451)

Judith Raymo ’53 and her husband Robert Raymo (a medieval scholar) collected Chaucer materials. In 2019, Judith Raymo donated almost 500 items related to Chaucer to Smith College Special Collections. Materials include early editions from the 16th century, fine press, and illustrations. The collection as a whole provides ample research opportunities to study how Chaucer was published, read, and engaged with over time. Judith Raymo is also an avid collector of Sylvia Plath materials and donated a portion of her collection to Smith College Special Collections in 2022 and 2023. Published books from the Judith Raymo collection of Sylvia Plath at Smith College, primarily from the original "Separate Works by and About Plath" series will be cataloged individually. A full list of books retained by the Mortimer Rare Book Collections is available at Book list for the Judith Raymo collection of Sylvia Plath at Smith College.

Helen A. Choate (Botany Department)

Helen Ashurst Choate (1882-1957) received her undergraduate degree from Smith College in 1904. In 1909, studying under professor William F. Ganong, Choate received an M.A. from Smith and became an associate professor of botany, a position she held for 38 years until her retirement in 1947. While not a book collector in the traditional sense, she did purchase books for the botany department using the Edith Thornton Class of 1910 fund. Her goal was to represent the history of the field of botany, so the collection featured major early modern herbals. 

Materials related to her collecting can be found in the Helen Ashurst Choate papers and the Smith College Libraries records.