Creator: Ratcliffe, Thomas Edward, 1911-1988?
Collection number: 4525
View finding aid.
Abstract: Thomas E. Ratcliffe worked in the Loan Department of the National City Bank, New York, N.Y., 1934-1939; served in the U.S. Army in Europe in World War II; and held various positions at the Library of the University of Illinois, 1946-1971. Chiefly letters from Thomas Ratcliffe to friends and colleagues. Ratcliffe’s letters comprise diary-like accounts of his experiences in New York City as a young man working at his first job at National City Bank; as a captain in World War II; traveling in Europe after the war; and as a reference librarian at the University of Illinois. The letters contain frequent references to leisure activities, including the theater, literature, television, movies, and cocktail parties. Many of the letters reflect the racial attitudes of the postwar period. Most of the letters are addressed to James R. Baird, Ruth Deane White Hill, Georgia Couch Nash, Lucille Smith, or Mary Stephens.
Repository: Southern Historical Collection
Collection Highlights: The letters document Ratcliffe’s first job in the New York City banking industry, his experiences in World War II, his postwar travel in Europe, and his career as a librarian. Many of the letters reflect postwar racial attitudes