Women’s Advertising Club of Toledo Records, 1923-2002, MSS-170

Size: 1 linear foot

Provenance: Received from Florence Muenzer on behalf of the Women’s Advertising Club of Toledo, December 2002

Access: Open

Collection Summary: This collection contains correspondence, meeting notes, newspaper clippings, artifacts, and other material documenting the history and activities of the organization.

Subject(s): Business and Commerce, Women

Related Collections:

Processing Note:

Copyright: The literary rights to this collection are assumed to rest with the person(s) responsible for the production of the particular items within the collection, or with their heirs or assigns. Researchers bear full legal responsibility for the acquisition to publish from any part of said collection per Title 17, United States Code. The Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections may reserve the right to intervene as intermediary at its own discretion.

Completed by: Tamara Jones, June 2013

Historical Sketch

The Women’s Advertising Club of Toledo (WAC) was founded on December 10, 1920 by charter members Gertrude Banks, Hazel Boxley, Julia Coburn, Katherine Brown, Gypsy Dysert, Edith Hammett, Marion Powell, and Hazel Wendell. From the start, it was involved with other advertising clubs throughout the country, and sent delegates to international advertising conventions in Atlanta (1921) and London (1924). The group also established women’s advertising clubs in Detroit, Columbus, and Orlando early in its history.

As its name implies, the primary purpose of the Women’s Advertising Club of Toledo was to promote advertising in various ways, such as through educational projects; school career events; and supporting legislation favorable to advertising. In 1963, the WAC held its first Lilac Luncheon, an event dedicated to raising funds for the club’s annual projects. A decline in active membership and lack of leader interest led to the official disbanding of the club on June 30, 1982, and the transfer of its scholarship fund to the University of Toledo Alumni Scholarship Foundation. Today, the WAC lives on in the form of the Women’s Advertising Club of Toledo Scholarship, awarded to a female UT student pursuing a degree focusing on outreach, such as advertising; marketing; public relations; or broadcasting.

Scope and Content Note

The Women’s Advertising Club records consists of four small series. Most of the materials were generated during the club’s active years, with some items generated by former members after the club was dissolved. Series I: Administrative Files consists of the club’s constitution and bylaws, correspondence, membership rosters, and notes from various club meetings. Series II: Artifacts consists of two trophies awarded to the club, one by the Bailey, Banks & Biddle Company and one by the Women’s Advertising Club of Baltimore. Series III: Photographs consists of several mostly black and white photographs of club members, most of whom are identified in their respective photographs. While the majority of the photographs are undated, most appear to have been taken in the 1960s. Series IV: Publications and Printed Material consists of several issues of The Layout newsletter published by the club, newspaper clippings, and miscellaneous pamphlets and booklets. Folders listed with date ranges do not necessarily contain every year within a given range. .

Folder List

Box	Folder	Item
		SERIES I: ADMINISTRATIVE FILES
1	1	Constitution and Bylaws, 1960 & 1973
1	2	Correspondence – Membership, 1966
1	3	Correspondence – WAC Scholarship, 1988-2002
1	4	Membership Rosters, 1975-1976, 1979 (photocopies)
1	5	WAC Meeting Notes, 1986-1993, 1997-1998

		SERIES II: ARTIFACTS
1	-	Trophy awarded by the Bailey, Banks & Biddle Company (Philadelphia), A.A.C. of W. Convention, Atlantic City, NJ, June 1923
1	-	Trophy awarded by the Women’s Advertising Club of Baltimore, Atlantic City, NJ, 1923

		SERIES III: PHOTOGRAPHS
1	6	1958, 1976, n.d.

		SERIES IV: PUBLICATIONS AND PRINTED MATERIAL
1	7	The Layout newsletter, 1955-1982
1	8	Miscellaneous Printed Material, 1970, 1978, 2002
1	9	Newspaper Clippings – Member Obituaries, 1985-1997
1	10	Newspaper Clippings – Miscellaneous, 1937-1995, n.d.