Author: Mitchell, Nina Cornelia; et al
Title: An Archive of Material, Belonging to Activist Nina Cornelia Mitchell and Related to Social Reformer and Journalist Paul Underwood Kellogg and Emperor Nicholas II Romanov's Family
Description: Various, By the authors, 1939. First Edition. Comprised of three letters and a manuscript memoir, the archive covered three continents and intertwined the lives of royals, reformers, and exiles. Nina Cornelia Mitchell (1854 - 1958) was an activist and an ardent relief worker in Europe during and after the First World War. She was also the first cousin of author and artist Miss Violet, nee Serena Catherine Dandridge, with whom she lived in the historic "Rosebrake" mansion in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, after her return to the United States. Paul Underwood Kellogg (1879 - 1958) was a social reformer, journalist, and co-founder of the American Civil Liberties Union. He was the editor of "Survey" magazine, which he had managed to turn into the country's leading social work journal in a very short period of time. Mitchell had been visiting her friends - Prince Aleksandr Eristov, Georgian Lieutenant-Genaral, and his wife, who were living in exile in Paris, when she met Count Piotr Vassilievich Hendrikov, former Governor of the Orel Province and brother of Countess Anastasiia Hendrikova, Lady of Honor to Empress Aleksandra Feodorovna. He gave Nina a memoir, written first in Russian and then in French, to translate and write into English. Through his sister's stories and his personal visits to the Romanov family, Hendrikov was intimately familiar with the sovereigns' lives and suffered through their assasinations, which included his sister's. The memoir, emotional and painful to read, revealed some lesser known facts about Nicholas' family. Hendrikov stated that, although Aleksandra was thought to be cold and aloof, she was in reality just profoundly shy. He also gave examples of the Emperor's love and compassion for his people, including an instance, when having been presented with new war equipment for the infantry, he feared it would be too heavy for his soldiers, so he strapped it on and walked 15 kilometers to test it. The narrative followed the family's daily life, before and after their arrests, their work, their devotion to each other, the births of the children and their coping with son Aleksei Nikolaevich' terrible disease. Later on, Hendrikov described Nicholas' abdication, the reaction of the people, the exile and the terrible treatment the family received from their guards, his meetings with representatives of Duma, and finally, their murders, together with those of the closest to them people, court and servants, who had followed them through the last year of their lives. In her first letter to Kellogg, Mitchell gave the prehistory of the memoir, asked him to read it and possibly assist with finding a publisher for it, mentioned her better understanding of the situation in Russia, and inquired about getting a subscription to the "Survey" for her friend Helen Pendleton. In his response, Kellogg promised to read the papers, told Mitchell he would love to hear about her work in Europe and confirmed Helen Pendleton's subscription to his magazine. In Nina's second and last letter, she stated she would await the editor's criticism of the memoir, talked about her friends the Eristovs, and invited the Kelloggs to visit her in the "City of the Shepherds, in the Valley of the Daugther of the Stars." - Two ALS, signed by Nina Cornelia Mitchell, dated July 18, 1939 and August 14, 1939; 6 1/2 x 5 and 7 x 5 1/2; pp. [12] and [4] respectively; off-white, textured stock, black ink and red pencil; light age-toning; two rust spots from removed paper clips; very good condition. - Typed letter by Paul Kellogg, dated July 19, 1939; 11 x 8 1/2; single sheet, text to recto only; small, handwritten note in pencil; a few nicks and chips to edges; good condition. - Manuscript memoir, in two parts; 11 1/2 x 8 1/2 and 9 3/4 x 8 1/4; loose sheets, pp. 13 and 16 respectively; text to recto only; the first part a bit fragile, with several small nicks to corners; overall in very good condition. Very good .

Keywords: Romanovs, Kellogg, Mitchell


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