Series 2137: <em>The Thermometer</em> Editor’s Files. 1914-1929; undated.
Health Institutions (RG 56). Mississippi State Tuberculosis Sanatorium.

Series 2137: The Thermometer Editor’s Files. 1914-1929; undated.
Health Institutions (RG 56). Mississippi State Tuberculosis Sanatorium.

      Correspondence, original artwork, reprint material, publicity material, and other items comprising the files of the earliest editors of The Thermometer, a newsletter produced by patients and staff of the Mississippi State Tuberculosis Sanatorium. The bulk of the material dates between 1921 and 1927; reprint material dates from as early as 1914. A significant number of items in this series are undated, but almost certainly were created in the 1920s.

      The general correspondence dates from 1921-1929, and includes both incoming and outgoing letters of the editors. The original artwork is represented by a number of ink line drawings and pencil sketches, many of which have the editors’ comments written on them. There are also proofs of some of this artwork. The publicity correspondence is foldered separately from the general correspondence, and is accompanied by publicity articles (similar to press releases) which were sent out to various newspapers by the editors of The Thermometer. Most of these letters pertain to drumming up advertising for The Thermometer, or are simply cover letters for the publicity articles. This publicity material chiefly dates from 1926-1928.

      A great deal of the content of The Thermometer consisted of items reprinted from other publications (often the newsletters of other sanitoria) – jokes, cartoons, stories, health-related articles, and so forth. Many such items, in the form of newspaper and magazine clippings or hand-copied texts, are included in this series. The bulk of them date from the 1920s. The Thermometer also published original contributions, such as poems and editorials, and some of these items are also included in this series.

      The series also contains two separate lists, one of which seems to be a list of newsletters produced by other sanitoria in the United States – probably publications exchanged for copies of The Thermometer. The other is a typed and annotated list of names and addresses, the purpose of which is unclear.