| Description | This series consists of the papers of Madame Emilie Michaelis, principal between 1892 and 1901, Froebel Educational Institute’s first principal. The bulk of the collection consists of lectures, addresses and correspondence. It also includes a Froebel Educational Institute prospectus, obituaries for Madame Michaelis and a copy of "Madame" by A.K. Pritchard published in 1915. Of note, correspondence includes letters to Eglantine Jebb from Madame Michaelis's daughter, Marie Michaelis, and Madame Michaelis resignation letter to Froebel Educational Institute. One letter is written on the back of a syllabus for a course titled "Adjustment to Life and the Right Use of Autosuggestion." Lectures and addresses pertain to the following topics: education, founding of the New Education 1831-1852, Froebel, Froebel's gifts, Froebel's principles, games, moral education and Pestalozzi aphorisms. The lectures and addresses were presented in a variety of locations, including Bedford Park and Cork, and for a variety of organisations, including the following: Association of Teachers, Miss [M]ary [D]a[h]tetory Training College for Teachers, Miss Ward's Students, Socratic Society and Teacher's Conference. Madame Michaelis' father was Court physician at the Palace at Gotha, which is where she and her brothers and sisters played as children with Prince Albert (later Prince Consort of Queen Victoria) and his brother. In 1875 Madame Michaelis was responsible for the kindergarten in Croydon. In 1889 she left to open a college in London, and in 1894 became the first principal of the Froebel Educational Institute. |