In a letter dated soon after her arrival at Smith, Weil reported to her parents on her furnishing of her room. Despite the Weil family's affluence, Gertrude was thrifty with her purchases:
I got a desk for $5.50 (with 10% off) and a couch cover for $3.00. These things are almost necessary - that is, every body has them. You can't very well do without a desk and you don't want to do without the cover if you can help it, for the sake of the looks of the room. I haven't done anything as yet as to fixing it up. I wrote to Uncle Albert to send my screen.... I haven't seen yet about the window seat box, Mamma. It will certainly come in handy as my closet, by exact measurement proves to be 4 ft 3 in. long & 1 ft. 3 inches deep.
Circa 1897
Courtesy of North Carolina Office of Archives and History