Archive of Letters and Ephemera sent to his Wife, Gertrude Gleaves Gompers

by Gompers, Samuel (né Gumpertz, 1850-1924)

$4,000 · Offered by Biblio

1924. 33 items and scrapbook. Very good, stored in archival box. 33 items and scrapbook. As a young activist in the Cigarmakers International Union in the 1870s, Samuel Gompers began to work for the economic betterment of the working class, advocating for higher wages, better working conditions, shorter hours, and a range of benefits, from sick leave to unemployment insurance. Organization, cooperative action, political engagement, and collective bargaining, he reasoned, were the best means of securing economic betterment for workers, and he saw organization across the trades as being the ticket to success. With this in mind, Gompers helped found the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions in 1881 as a vehicle for organizing on a large scale, which five years later became the American Federation of Labor. Gompers served as president almost continuously until his death. As President of the AFL, Gompers became the face of the organized labor movement in the United States. In 1921, Gompers married a younger women, Gertrude Gleaves, who less than three years after their wedding, was left a widow. This scrapbook and collection of correspondence emanates from Gertrude Gompers' marriage to Samuel and her efforts to commemorate her husband, and includes 12 affectionate ALsS from Samuel, 1921-1923, a biographical memoir; and three letters (1951) from Gertrude. The scrapbook contains letters received by Gertrude Gompers from the time of their marriage in 1921 until Samuel's dea

• Year: 1924
• Binding: unknown

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