Miss Annie Irene Clardy's Grand Tour Collection

Collection

Identifier: 2006.039

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The bulk of this collection consists of memorabilia gathered by the then Miss Clardy and Mrs. Gerhart on their 1930 Grand Tour of Europe. Postcards and snapshots illustrate the European landscape between the two world wars. These items document the architertural landscape of Europe before the devastation of World War II. The collection also contains some memorabilia gathered from international and domestic travel before and after the 1930 Grand Tour.

Dates

1905 - 1958

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

Some material may be copyrighted or restricted. It is the patron's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections.

Biographical / Historical

Annie Irene Clardy Bocock was born in 1905 to Tommie Martin Clardy and Allen S. Clardy. The only girl in the family, Irene (as she was known as) had three brothers: James Clardy, Frank Clardy, and Delmas Clardy. When she was about five years old, Irene moved from her family farm in what is now Fort Campbell to Clarksville, home of her maternal aunt, Idella Martin Crockarell and uncle, Morris M. Crockarell. Mr. Crockarell was a manager of the snuff factory which was located only a few blocks from the family's house at 1015 Madison Street.

After graduating from college at Southwestern at Memphis (now Rhodes College), Clardy taught at Clarksville High School. She still lived with her aunt and uncle on Madison Street. In 1930, Clardy recieved permission and financial assistance from her aunt and uncle to visit Europe with the stipulation that the next-door neighbor, Mrs. Lizzie Moseley Gerhart, serve as a chaperon. Clardy's Grand Tour of Europe took place during the summer of 1930.

Clardy married Morris Bradford Bocock. The couple had one son, George, and one daughter, Durinda. The family lived in California during World War II before settling in Ridgetop, TN. Mrs. Bocock taught social studies at Greenbrier High School and her husband worked for the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage, and Hour Division. As a Greenbrier High School student, Dr. Barbara Young Wills rode every day with Mrs. Bocock and was a close friend of her daugher. After the deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Bocock, Wills salvaged and saved many of the belongings from the family home in Ridgetop before it was sold.

A letter accompanying this collection stated that Bayless Atkinson chaperoned; however, in the memorabilia, Mrs. Joe H. Gerhart, Miss Gerhart, Mrs. L.M. Gerhart, and Mrs. Lizzie Gerhart are interchangeably listed as Clardy’s traveling companion. Gerhart’s daughter is Bayless G. Atkins and addressed as Mrs. Garnett Atkins in Gerhart’s postcards.

Extent

2.919 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

Arranged based on location and material type.

Series I: Postcards Series II: New Amsterdam, Holland-America Line to England, June 14, 1930 – June 27, 1930 Series III: The Hague, Netherlands to Interlaken, Switzerland, June 28, 1930 – July 17, 1930 Series IV: Milan, Italy to Genoa, Italy, July 17, 1930 to July 31, 1930 Series V: Monte Carlo, Monaco to Paris, France and Rotterdam, Holland-America Line, August 1, 1930 – August 18, 1930 Series VI: Miscellaneous Items, 1922 – 1958 Series VII: Newspaper Clippings, 1918 – 1932

Custodial History

Dr. Barbara Young Wills acquired the collection from the Bocock family home in Ridgetop, TN.

Processing Information

The collection was originally housed in a vintage suitcase owned by Annie Irene Clardy Bocock. The vintage suitcase was in poor condition and replaced with an old Samsonite suitcase. This suitcase was brought to the house of Dr. Barbara Young Wills in Madison, TN. In December 2006, Wills delivered the suitcase filled with European memorabilia to the Montgomery County Archives. A preliminary inventory of the suitcase contents were completed in March 2007. During the processing of the collection, several deteriorated newspaper and magazine clippings were removed due to their condition. All oversized clippings are housed together in a newspaper box. The collection has primarily been arranged based on the chronological order of the 1930 trip. The Brownell European Tour schedule and handwritten postcard notes were consulted to track the places where Clardy and Gerhart visited. Items are further categorized by material type. All postcards are housed together in Box 1. Miscellaneous items not from the 1930 Grand Tour have been stored in a box. The empty Samsonite suitcase is housed alongside the collection in the Archives. All photographs were removed and housed in the Archives Photograph Collection.