Framed Plenipotentiary Appointment Document

Papers, books, and photographs belonging to Mabel Smythe-Haith, former ambassador to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. Materials cover approximately 1950 to 2004, except for the photographs, which date to Smythe-Haith's youth.

Outgoing correspondence include include letters from her travels in Europe in the 1960s, and Smythe-Haith's later years. Incoming correspondence primarily relates to Smythe-Haith's post-ambassadorial years, including academic and honorial correspondence. Miscellaneous personal documents include her first husband's death certificate, honorable discharge, clippings, business cards, and personal notes.

Photographs date from 1938 to the late 1980s. Included are personal photographs, pictures of her husband, Hugh H. Smythe, and his ambassadorial work, picures of her own ambassadorial work, and photographs of her own travels.

Academic documents primarily relate to an official tour through Africa by a group of American scholars. Civil Rights documents contain copies of correspondence to and by W.E.B DuBois from the 1930s and publications relating to African Americans in academia in the late 1980s. Miscellaneous publications include publications relating to Smythe-Haith's fields of work and study.

Also present are books by Smythe-Haith and books relating to her work and studies. Additionally, the collection includes oversize photographs, a Japanese watercolor with dedication, and a vellum scroll bestowing the title "Great Dame of Honor" upon Smythe-Haith.