Phelps, Dr. Eliza Bowen (1838-1931)
Family Archive.

A family collection of diverse material consisting of:

1) Images of EBP including an early undated tintype, two different cartes-de-visites dated 1877 and 1880, a cut silhouette dated 1905, two cabinet cards of the same portrait dated 1898, and a composite of family photos presented on a cabinet card with each person identified on verso (these inscriptions in EBP's hand or that of her younger sister Sally Louise Phelps (1843-1932).

2) Two autograph letters signed by EBP and addressed to her mother in 1877; and six letters addressed to EBP.

3) A small collection of documents related to EBP's sister Louise and their shared life in New Jersey, including receipts, postcards addressed to "Dr. & Miss Phelps," envelopes, sketches and other papers.

4) Twenty-seven letters addressed to or written by EBP's mother, Elizabeth Cowdrey Phelps (1806-1887), circa 1833-1855, almost exclusively penned by her sisters and mother and mainly dealing with family matters and news, travel, and important events including ECP's marriage, and the loss of her infant son Samuel in 1841; most sent to and from Cincinnati, Ohio in the 1830s and '40s; together with several other letters, some to Benjamin R. Phelps, others unidentified from the same period and family, including one addressed "Dear Monkey"; and the contents of a scrapbook belonging to Sally Louise with artwork made by her friends; along with several letters from EPB's Portland, Oregon-dwelling uncle Edward Ashley Phelps (1814-1889) addressed to various family members, with some references to EBP.

5) Later material associated with descendants from EBP's cousins, taking the material into the mid-20th century.

Eliza Bowen Phelps was born in Cincinnati, Ohio to Benjamin Rice Phelps Sr., and Elizabeth Cowdrey Phelps. Dr. Phelps studied at the Female Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, and earned her M.D. from the Woman's Medical College of the New York Infirmary in 1870, one of five women in the first graduating. Dr. Phelps studied under A.S. Maxwell, M.D. in Davenport, Iowa, and later worked as a pediatrician and obstetrician in New Jersey. She is sometimes described as the first female doctor in New Jersey. Dr. Phelps and Dr. Ann Angell were the first two women appointed as staff at Mount Sinai Hospital.

Condition
For inquiries about condition, please contact:
Devon Eastland, Senior Specialist: deastland@swanngalleries.com
Grace Meschery-McCormack, Cataloguer: gmccormack@swanngalleries.com