In recent months, the City of Ithaca unveiled landmarks to commemorate nationally renowned trailblazers with ties to the local community. These included a historic marker for pioneering lesbian and feminist publisher Firebrand Books, and a life-size statue of Frances Perkins, who was a worker’s rights champion, former U.S. Secretary of Labor, and later a lecturer at Cornell’s ILR School.
For history buffs eager for more information than can fit on a commemorative plaque, Cornell University Library’s archival collections also offer shelves of primary source materials—from personal and official writings to historical photographs and other ephemera—related to Firebrand, Perkins, and other influential figures.
Firebrand Books’ archive in the Cornell Human Sexuality Collection
In 2000, Firebrand Books publisher Nancy K. Bereano donated her press’s archives to the library’s Cornell Human Sexuality Collection, where it has been used for teaching and research by professors and students—like scholar Jeff Iovannone M.A. ’23, who would later spearhead the initiative to create a historic landmark Firebrand Books. Human Sexuality Collection curator Brenda Marston was also a staunch advocate for recognizing the historic importance of Firebrand and the legacy of its founder.
“Nancy Bereano published important books with life-changing impact,” Marston said. “As editor of Firebrand Books, she identified powerful voices that would not have been heard if we’d relied on mainstream presses.”
Marston added: “Archives have a similar goal of identifying voices of historic significance and sharing them with the public, and Nancy also had a fantastic impact on Cornell’s Human Sexuality Collection as part of its advisory committee.”
Marston, who also spoke at the celebration after the unveiling on June 15, 2024, said that the Firebrand Books archives offer a deep dive into the workings of a small press devoted to building an international readership—from files on published books to mailing lists; from invoices and rejection letters to posters that once decorated the publisher’s office on the second floor of 143 E. State Street.
“I think Nancy’s a natural archivist. She kept her Firebrand business records in perfect order, making them easy for researchers to use,” she said.
Frances Perkins’ collections in the Kheel Center
Perkins’ long and storied career as a labor champion, political figure, and educator is chronicled expansively by the library’s Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, located in Catherwood Library in the ILR School, where Perkins taught as a visiting lecturer until her death in 1965.
“The Kheel Center includes materials spanning her entire career in public services from her early social reform work before her work in career in government to her last years spent teaching at the ILR School,” said Steven Calco, Kheel Center director.
As a way to engage the public, a current exhibit at the Kheel Center features several materials from Perkins’ archives, including her work with the Consumer League of New York as she fought to eradicate child labor, and her legacy as the first female cabinet member and first female Secretary of Labor.
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911 and Perkins’ subsequent service on the Factory Investigating Commission are also extensively documented in the library’s archives. (In a related story, the Triangle Fire Memorial was dedicated in New York City, in October 11, 2023, with Calco and a contingent of Cornell student participants.)
“Her great accomplishments from her long career advocating for working people range from Social Security, ending child labor, implementing a 40-hour work week, spearheading the Civilian Conservation Corps, New Deal art projects, and even advocating for national health care in the 1930s—a debate that still reigns,” Calco said.
Calco added: “The legislation that Perkins helped implement are embedded in our everyday life and provide social protections for the elderly, unemployed, children, labor, and helped improve the lives of millions of people.”
Visiting the archives
For more information on how to access general archival materials at Cornell University Library, please visit the Rare and Manuscript Collections page. For archival materials specifically related to the field of industrial and labor relations, please visit the Kheel Center page.
