Maimie Pinzer

Maimie Pinzer (1885-1940) was a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her father died when she was 13; she therefore left school in order to help at home, and also had a series of jobs in department stores. Because Maimie and her mother fought constantly she left home on several occasions to live briefly with men. Finally she left home permanently. In 1904-1905 Maimie was hospitalized for morphine addiction, and one eye had to be removed. During this time she met a Philadelphia social worker who helped her give up her life as a prostitute, and encouraged a correspondence between Maimie and Fanny Quincy Howe (Mrs. M. A. DeWolfe Howe) of Boston, which makes up the bulk of this collection.

After leaving the hospital, Maimie met and married her first husband. In the spring of 1911, they decided to live separately and in July Maimie moved to New York City to live with the man whom she married in 1917 after her divorce.

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