[TENNIS ARCHIVE] “My Tournament Memories” A career told in photos, scrapbooks and ephemera, 1940s-50s

HOPKINS, RHODA (Rhoda Joan Hopkins) United States Born 12 February 1929 in Woodhaven, Long Island, New York Died 12 June in 2017 in Mystic, CT.  According to TennisForum, which pieced together a chronology mainly based on NYT reporting, Rhoda played singles at the US Championships from 1949-1952 reaching last 16 in 1952. This archive goes a long way towards adding to this record, often correcting errors and filling in unknown details.

Rhoda Joan Hopkins— collection of 6 scrapbook-photo albums chock full of images, vernacular & professional,  travel ephemera, and miscellany relating to a young woman’s experiences as a competitive tennis player during the 1940s & 1950s.  A veritable time machine, the albums transport one through her school years, with their good natured horseplay and silliness, through competitions across the USA, newspaper interviews and even a TV show,  heading as far away as Panama and Mexico. Beside & between the clippings and images Rhoda Joan often added diary entries, offering unique details and explanations.  

Comes together with about a dozen inscribed metal awards, silver-plated, mainly, and a number of certificates. 

Note on condition: We have neither processed, cleaned, nor researched the archive— merely assembled all the tennis material from a larger collection of family photos in order to offer them here as a focused lot. The lot is being sold As Is, some scrapbook leaves are brittle, chipped, falling out, etc.; covers worn, some loose; when images and ephemera are attached, owner used either paste or tape, as they did back then. Hopkins owned a farm and a bit or mustiness, or barn storage smell, hangs about the archive.