Women in War Work

War Work Bulletin: Work for Women and Girls in War Time [78 of 98 issues]

Notes: A scarce run of newsletters documenting the role of women in non-traditional jobs during the First World War and the effort made by the YWCA to secure rights and jobs for women after the hostilities ended. The newsletters also extoll the work of women serving at hostess and blue-triangle houses, the YWCA-sponsored organizations at army camps in the US and Europe.

These weekly publications offered news of women working in Europe, of homefront efforts to support soldiers, of women in factories, and of YWCA women in Asia. The newsletter also reports on non-English speaking women and African American women. In issue 47, for example, the editors report that Black women work "at the employments from which men have been withdrawn, in brickyards, lumber yards, railroads, at cleaning taxis, handling freight, and other heavy forms of labor. Every traditional handcuff from which industrial women seek to free themselves hinders colored women yet more cruelly."

OCLC records a couple of dozen holdings variously catalogued under the three names used for the publication. Many runs are incomplete.

The War Work Bulletin used continuous numbering, but had three names, YWCA Bulletin (issues 1 to 7); War Work Bulletin (8 to 77), and Blue Triangle News (78 to 98). This is a substantial run, lacking the first 16 issues and nos. 45, 46, 60, and 93.

9 by 12 inches. Most four pages.

Edition + Condition: Most issues are very good or better; several with splits at folds. With a postcard confirming that issue #98 was the last published.

Publication: New York: War Work Council of the National Board of the Young Women's Christian Associations (YWCA), 1918–1920.

Item No: #180

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