Scope and Contents:
Jean Alice Scharre Thompson (1926-2011) was an avid collector of books, magazines, and ephemera that mainly relate to the woman's suffrage movement. A few items concern temperance, prohibition, the Klan, and other secret societies.
The collection includes, first of all, a wide range of prints, drawings, cartoons and other graphics, often in color. These items were acquired from diverse sources, including Charles McSorley, a dealer who sold prints taken from runs of popular magazines. Many pieces are protected by sleeves which maintain their excellent condition. These prints are filed in portfolios in chronological order or by topic, the latter including advertisements, sheet music, and photographs.
Books, some of which concern subjects other than woman's suffrage, constitute the second part of the collection. The list of these books is annotated, including the call number for any volume that is duplicated elsewhere in the Library. Finally, the collection includes photocopies of relevant material in such volumes.
Professor John Thompson, of Champaign, Illinois, donated the collection to the Library in 2011.