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Raymond F. and Beatrice K. McLain Greeting Card and Postcard Collection

 Collection
Identifier: MSS-4099
  • No requestable containers

Scope and Contents

The collection contains greeting cards and postcards to and from Raymond and Beatrice "Bicky" McLain during their time in Cairo, Egypt, when Raymond was the president of American University from 1954 to 1963. About one third of the postcards are from Beatrice to her mother and are postmarked from a variety of countries in Europe.

Dates

  • Creation: 1949-1977

Creator

Biographical / Historical

Raymond Francis McLain, son of Edward O. and Clyda Fisk McLain, was born on February 9, 1905, in Lancaster, Ohio. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1943-1945. He married Beatrice Kane sometime in 1926; the couple had two children: Raymond K. and Rosemary.

McLain served as the president of Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky, from 1939-1951. In 1954, he became the president of American University in Cairo, Egypt, where he served until 1963. He came to the University of Alabama in 1967 as Vice President for Academic Affairs and was the dean for the International Programs.

Beatrice Kane McLain was born in Ohio, on August 15, 1905. She was Dean of Students at American University in Cairo during Raymond's tenure as president of the institution. At the University of Alabama she was the Director of the Center for Southern Regional Folklife Studies and was also the Foreign Student Advisor. She was known as an international folklorist, dance leader, and educator.

Raymond died in May 1981, and Beatrice died on April 3, 2004, both in Tuscaloosa.

Extent

0.4 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Greeting cards and postcards to and from Raymond and Beatrice "Bicky" McLain during their time in Cairo, Egypt.

Provenance

unknown (possibly Wade Hall, 2009)

Related Materials

The Raymond McLain Photographs, University Libraries Division of Special Collections, The University of Alabama

General

To provide faster access to our materials, this finding aid was published without formal and final review. Email us at archives@ua.edu if you find mistakes or have suggestions to make this finding aid more useful for your research.

Processed by

Martha Bace, 2015

Title
Guide to the Raymond F. and Beatrice K. McLain Greeting Card and Postcard Collection
Status
Completed
Date
March 2015
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the The University of Alabama Libraries Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Box 870266
Tuscaloosa AL 35487-0266
205.348.0513