Curating the legacy of 1930s eyewitness to a changing China

Dissemination of her work and materials is exactly what Snow wanted, said Sheril Foster Bischoff, Snow's niece.

"I used to visit my grandmother in the summer, and I was intrigued by a photo over the piano of Helen in China. She was so beautiful. I often asked my grandma when could I see Aunt Helen," Bischoff said.

Bischoff was age 6 when she first saw Snow, when the family vacationed together in Idaho in 1945. The house was too small to accommodate everyone, and Snow took her to stay in a hotel.

"We had that experience together. Later she wrote me some very cute letters. As the years went on, she would send souvenirs to us. She cared about all the children in the family."

Bischoff later got married to a businessman whose acumen impressed Snow, so she asked the couple to be the trustees of her literary trust. They agreed.

In 1978, when Snow was headed to China with a film crew, she passed through Los Angeles, where the Bischoffs were living at the time. "She stayed with us, told us to form the trust, talked to a lawyer about what she wanted, and the trust was put together," Bischoff said.

Snow shipped most of her photographs to Bischoff. From them, Bischoff compiled more than 250 photos, and in 1997, published the book Bridging: A Photo Essay on the Life of Helen Foster Snow.

Before Snow passed away in 1997, the Bischoffs made several trips to her home in Connecticut to sort the materials.

"The papers were everywhere. She kept six copies of everything. There were about 600 boxes of stuff. We sorted through it, making sure there were no duplicates," Bischoff said.

Eventually they condensed the materials to about 200 boxes.

"Helen gave me and my husband three tasks concerning the trust: provide safekeeping for her photos, manuscripts, notes, artifacts and all; make her materials available to students and the coming generations; continue to promote Helen's work to receive wider exposure in future generations," said Bischoff.

Bischoff said that it has been quite an experience being involved in the trust.

"I just called her my aunt. I was told she was important, but I didn't know the depth of that importance until I went to China," said Bischoff, who visited China in 1984 for the first time because of her involvement with Snow's literary trust.

"It was unexpected for me to be involved with China. Her life was built much around China and her friends. Her life was an example for all of us, dedication to friendship even during difficult times," said Bischoff.