| Description | Personal correspondence between Dorothy Straight and Leonard Elmhirst, together with a collection of biographical and memorial sources. The collection includes a set of typed letter transcripts. The early letters, to 1925, provide a journal account of Leonard's travels and work at Cornell University, in England and Ireland, in India at Santiniketan, and later visits in the company of Rabindranath Tagore to China, Japan, Italy, and Argentina. Dorothy's letters mention her friends and the progressive causes in which she is active. Letters also refer to the personal friendship of Leonard and Dorothy, culminating in their marriage in Apr 1925. Later letters discuss family, friends, and the social experiment at Dartington Hall.
After Dorothy's death in 1968, Leonard Elmhirst oversaw the completion of a transcription of the letters. He also assembled an annotated chronology which is included with the transcriptions. For the purpose of this database, the original letters only are described. The typed transcriptions may be consulted for reference or copying. |