Scope and Content Note
The Mary Edith Powel (1846-1931) Naval Historical Collection spans the years 1747-1922, but is concentrated in 1890-1899, the period when the collection was formed. Powel collected newspaper and magazine clippings, illustrations, photographs, commissions, autographs, letters, and pamphlets relating to naval matters.
The collection's arrangement is based on Powel's organization of the material, and her headings and captions are used throughout. Biographical data on British and United States naval officers are termed “navy portraits” and form a large part of the collection. In many cases there are also autographs or autograph letters of the officers concerned.
In addition to navy portraits, the collection contains information on ships, the navies of many countries, and naval history. Subjects include disasters at sea, arms and armor, marine natural history, and such topical matters as the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, the war between China and Japan in 1894, and the Spanish-American War.
A small collection of correspondence rounds out the papers, including letters to Powel's father, Samuel Powel, and other members of the Powel family, 1836-1894; letters to Powel from M. Bruckner and Walter Romeyn Benjamin, book and autograph dealers from whom she purchased material for the collection, 1891-1893; letters between Powel and Stephen Beecker Luce; and letters to Powel from various naval officers, their wives, and other friends.