Research Guides: University Archives &amp; Special Collections Material by Subject: Materials by Subject

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Contact:

Chloe Gerson, Reference and Instruction Archivist
Robert D. Farber University Archives & Special Collections, Goldfarb Library
Brandeis University
415 South St.
Waltham, MA 02453

cmorseharding@brandeis.edu

781-736-4657

African and African American Studies

Pearl Bailey, July 5, 1946, photographed by Carl Van Vechten.

African, Afro-Caribbean, and African American photographs and ephemera collection: Finding aid
This collection chiefly consists of photographs of Africans, Afro-Caribbeans, and African-Americans. Other items, such as watercolors, engravings, and other depictions of people of African descent are also included.
African, Afro-Caribbean, and African American photographs and ephemera collection: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on the African, Afro-Caribbean, and African American Photographs and Ephemera Collection, including a descriptive essay and examples of the images.
African American Portraits by Carl Van Vechten, 1932-1964: Online exhibit
The online exhibit highlights a selection of African American portraits of artists from various fields. Many of these artists are familiar faces today, even though some of the portraits were created more than fifty years ago.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s 1957 speech at Brandeis: Online Recording
On April 3, 1957, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke at Brandeis University as part of the Helmsley Lecture series. The six-part series addressed the topic of race relations and included talks by Bruno Bettelheim and E. Franklin Frazier.
Eulogy for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by Brandeis professor Allen Grossman: Online Recording
This speech was delivered on campus in April of 1968 following the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
First Editions: Richard Wright and Ralph Ellison: Spotlight
Read a spotlight featuring our first edition of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man and our first edition of Richard Wright's Native Son.
Gordon Fellman Papers: Finding aid
This collection includes primary source documentation of student protest movements at Brandeis and across the nation including the Ford Hall Takeover and the divestment of stock in South Africa. Parts of this collection are online through the subscription database, The Sixties (http://tinyurl.com/9m4swd9).
Langston Hughes material: Spotlight
See this spotlight for information on Brandeis' collection of documents relating to American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, columnist, war journalist, leader of the Harlem Renaissance Langston Hughes. Among Hughes' many contributions to American and African-American cultural life was his innovations in a new art form known as "jazz poetry."
Lemberg Center for the Study of Violence: Finding aid
This collection documents the activities and findings of the Center which was created to provide multi-disciplinary analysis of violence in the United States with a focus on race-related civil disorder and riots.
Louis Ruchames collection: Finding aid
The collection consists largely of correspondence related to abolitionism in general and John Brown and William Lloyd Garrison in particular. There is also material pertaining to his work with such organizations as the American Jewish Historical Society.
Lynn Goldsmith papers: The Diary of a Young Civil Rights Worker (University Alumni): Online exhibit
This is an online exhibit featuring the papers of a 1968 alumna who went south to work for the Black vote in 1965. Full diary, photographs, and correspondence available in the Archives.
Office of the Associate Vice President and Affirmative Action Officer: Finding aid
Files in this collection were created from 1974 through 2001. Materials include memos, correspondence, reports, meeting minutes, and newsletters. Most of the reports concern the compliance of individual departments and the University as a whole with affirmative action regulations. Other subjects include hiring procedures; the establishment of the Affirmative Action Advisory Committee; and other equal opportunity issues including disabilities, maternity leave, and sexual harassment. This collection also holds an incomplete run of the newsletter "'aaction' profile." Most of these files were created and maintained by Louis Ennis and Herb Hentz.
Remembering Ford & Sydeman Halls: Online exhibit
This online exhibit documents the African American student takeover of Ford and Sydeman Halls in January of 1969 when the administration was presented with a list of ten demands for better minority representation on campus. Although they did not come to an agreement on all ten demands, the students left Ford and Sydeman Halls on January 18th, eleven days after the occupation began.
Robert O. Preyer Papers: Finding aid
Primary topics in this collection include the Ford Hall Takeover, creation of the university's African and Afro-American Studies Department, and the Transitional Year Program.
Slave Trade in Spanish America collection: Finding aid
A collection of twenty letters, documents, and papers relating to slavery in Spanish America from 1624 to 1825. The papers concern questions of property rights over indigenous and African slaves, regulation of the slave trade, and slave ownership.
Transitional Year Program: Finding aid
A one-year academic program established in 1968 for students who have faced personal challenges yet have the skills to pursue academic success. The files contain material on affirmative action programs and the recruiting of talented minority students.
Zora Neale Hurston’s Jonah’s Gourd Vine: Spotlight
See this spotlight to learn more about our first edition copy of Zora Neal Hurston's first novel, Jonah's Gourd Vine (published in 1934). This semi-autobiographical novel about a philandering preacher was released three years before Hurston's classic, Their Eyes Were Watching God.

American studies

"All Together! Enlist in the Navy," H. Reuterdahl, American Litho. Co., 1918; 30x44. From World War I and World War II Propaganda Posters collection.

"History of the Indian Tribes of North America": Spotlight
Spotlight on McKenney and Hall's three-volume History of the Indian Tribes of North America (published 1837-1844), held in Special Collections.
"Prospects of Mankind": Finding aid
This innovative monthly television series was hosted by Eleanor Roosevelt from 1959-1962. The colloquium-style series provided a forum for prominent leaders to discuss important current affairs, both domestic and international. The series documents some of the most influential figures of the mid-twentieth century.
Abraham Lincoln lithographs, realia, and other material: Finding aid
This collection includes lithographs, photographs, commemorative objects, and other items related to Abraham Lincoln.
Abraham Lincoln lithographs, realia, and other material: Spotlight
See a Spotlight with images of the collection of Lincoln-related memorabilia.
Albert Eugene Kahn papers: Finding aid
This collection largely contains primary source research materials on anti-war, pro-Nazi groups used by Albert Kahn for his 1942 book "Sabotage! The Secret War Against America." The collection also includes a manuscript, publicity materials, and a limited amount of Kahn's other writings.
Arthur Laurents collection: Finding Aid
The Arthur Laurents collection consists primarily of typescripts of several plays and screenplays; it also includes some correspondence and clippings relating to Laurents's productions. Of particular note is a collection of letters documenting the development of West Side Story and of I Can Get it for You Wholesale.
Arthur Laurents collection: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on the Arthur Laurents collection, which consists of correspondence and the annotated typescripts of many of Laurents's works, including West Side Story.
Aviva Cantor papers: Finding aid
This collection includes correspondence, research, publications, and other materials broadly related to Aviva Cantor's work as a feminist activist focusing on women's roles within Judaism.
Buffalo Bill Dime Novels: Spotlight
See this spotlight for information on the Buffalo Bill Stories from Brandeis' larger Dime Novel collection. These publications depict the adventures of the legendary Western guide Buffalo Bill (Col. William Cody).
Colonel Edward H. McCrahon family collection of World War I posters: Finding Aid
This collection comprises approximately six hundred and forty vividly illustrated propaganda posters, created between 1913 and 1919, in large part to encourage the purchase of war bonds by American citizens.
Common Sense: Spotlight
Read a spotlight featuring an original copy of Thomas Paine's Common Sense.
Daniel Webster collection: Finding aid
The Daniel Webster collection contains 5 linear feet of manuscript material and is dominated by correspondence received during his appointment as Secretary of State under Presidents Harrison and Tyler from 1841 to 1843.
Daniel Webster collection: Spotlight
See images from the collection with background information and description at Special Collections Spotlight.
Eleanor Roosevelt's General Ed S lecture: Online Recording
Listen to the April 1958 talk she gave to Gen Ed S students in which she offered thoughtful reflections on the course of her life and her work.
Franklin Delano and Eleanor Roosevelt collection: Finding aid
The collection consists of letters to and from Franklin D. and Eleanor Roosevelt, as well as officially published legal acts, assorted periodic publications, news clippings, booklets and pamphlets, and FDR memorabilia.
Frederic Morton papers: Finding Aid
This collection contains manuscripts and typescripts related to Frederic Morton's early writing career.
Gordon Fellman Papers: Finding aid
This collection includes primary source documentation on student protest movements and national interests of political and social concern at Brandeis from the 1960s to 1980s. Professor Fellman is currently Professor of Sociology and Chair of the Peace and Conflict Studies Program. This collection is online through the database The Sixties at http://tinyurl.com/9m4swd9.
Hall-Hoag collection of extremist literature in the United States: Finding aid
This collection includes more than 5,000 exemplars of right- and left-wing pamphlet literature from the late 1940s through the 1980s pertaining to social, religious, and political issues.
Hall-Hoag Collection of extremist literature in the United States: Spotlight
See images from the collection with background information and description at Special Collections Spotlight.
Joseph Heller's Catch-22: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on Heller's novel, with consideration of its impact on American literature and its practitioners, written by Professor Stephen J. Whitfield of the Department of American Studies.
Lawrence H. Fuchs Papers: Finding aid
Materials in the collection date from 1948 to 2008 and document Lawrence H. Fuchs's life as a scholar and political figure. Fuchs began his Brandeis career in the Department of Politics and eventually founded the American Studies Department in 1970.
Lemberg Center for the Study of Violence: Finding aid
This collection documents the activities and findings of the Center which was created to provide multi-disciplinary analysis of violence in the United States with a focus on race-related civil disorder and riots.
Leo Frank Trial collection: Finding aid
This collection chiefly consists of correspondence from Leo Frank and his wife, Lucille Frank, as well as correspondence to and from Governor Slaton and others. Also included are miscellaneous articles, pamphlets and legal documents.
Leo Frank Trial collection: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on the Leo Frank Trial Collection, including images of some letters and documents.
Louis Dembitz Brandeis collection: Finding aid
The Brandeis collection provides a rich resource for those interested in the personal and public life of Louis D. Brandeis, as well as American legal history in general, the Progressive and Zionist movements, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Louis Dembitz Brandeis collection: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on the Louis Brandeis collection, with a descriptive essay and enlargeable images.
Michael Lally letters and other material: Finding aid
Michael Lally, an immigrant to Massachusetts from Ireland, fought for the Union in more than a dozen major battles of the Civil War. The collection at Brandeis includes 57 of Lally's letters from the front, written from 1861 to 1865.
Michael Lally letters and other material: Spotlight
See images from the collection with background information and description at Special Collections Spotlight.
Morton Keller Papers: Finding aid
Morton Keller is Brandeis Professor Emeritus in History and a scholar of American legal history. Keller taught courses on United States history, political history, legal history, and the state in the Western world. Keller's scholarly work focused on legal history, especially of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era.
Motion picture stills, promotional material, and ephemera: Finding aid
This collections contains theater, film, and promotional material from the 19th to early 20th centuries.
Native American watercolors: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on our Native American watercolors, a collection containing 36 Native American paintings completed during the 20th century.
Native Son and Invisible Man: Spotlight
Read a spotlight featuring our first edition of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man and Richard Wright's Native Son.
Perry Miller Collection on the Colonial Religious Experience in America: Spotlight
This book collection contains 18 linear feet of books from the 17th and 18th centuries relating to the religious experience in the American colonies.
Radical Pamphlet collection: Finding aid
The Radical Pamphlet Collection contains over 4,000 left- and right-wing documents that help illuminate the history of transatlantic radicalism, especially Anglo-American labor radicalism, particularly between 1930 and 1950.
Radical Pamphlet collection: Spotlight
See images from the collection with background information and description at Special Collections Spotlight.
Sacco and Vanzetti collections: Francis Russell collection: Finding aid
This collection includes documents related to the Citizens National Committee for Sacco and Vanzetti and the Sacco and Vanzetti National League. Also included are drafts of Russell's writings, correspondence, documents, photographs, and videotapes.
Sacco and Vanzetti collections: Gardner Jackson collection: Finding aid
Special Collections has several collections dealing with the Sacco-Vanzetti case. This collection contains writings by and about Gardner Jackson and his involvement in the establishment of the case as a supreme example of American injustice.
Sacco and Vanzetti collections: miscellaneous: Finding aid
This collection of miscellaneous letters, articles, pamphlets, reports, newsclippings, and photographs is part of the Brandeis University Special Collections' extensive set of material related to the trial and legacy of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti.
Sacco and Vanzetti collections: Mrs. Walter Frank collection: Finding aid
This collection correspondence by and to people who belonged to either the Sacco-Vanzetti National League (New York) or the Sacco-Vanzetti Defense Committee (Boston), including Gardner Jackson and Felix Frankfurter, as well as other letters and photos.
Sacco and Vanzetti collections: Spotlight
See this Spotlight for notable objects related to the trial and held by Special Collections.
Sacco and Vanzetti collections: Tom O'Connor collection: Finding aid
Tom O'Connor was a journalist who also served as the secretary for the Vindication Committee of Sacco and Vanzetti. This collection contains newsclippings and correspondence O'Connor collected during his lifelong interest in the case.
Signers of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution Collections: Spotlight
This Spotlight contains images of documents from the two collections as well as background information.
Signers of the Declaration of Independence collection: Finding aid
The collection contains 58 original documents and letters of the original signers of the Declaration of Independence, and related material. The documents and letters range in date from 1756 to 1811 and include personal and professional correspondence, receipts, and legal documents.
Signers of the United States Constitution collection: Finding aid
The collection contains 50 original letters, documents, and portraits of the original signers of the U.S. Constitution, related material, and one oversize color portrait of Alexander Hamilton. The letters and documents range in date from 1759 to 1825.
Stephen J. Whitfield papers: Finding aid
Stephen J. Whitfield is an American Studies professor at Brandeis.
Trimalchio (or, The Great Gatsby): Spotlight
Read a Spotlight about Trimalchio, a facsimile edition of the original galley proofs of the Great Gatsby
Victorian ephemera: Finding aid
A collection of Victorian ephemera from both the United States and England. Ranging in scope from legal documents to greeting cards, advertisements to playbills, and including a large assortment of bookplates, this collection provides a detailed reflection of American and English Victorian life.
Walter E. Fernald Developmental Center's Samuel Gridley Howe Library collections: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on the Howe Library collection at Brandeis, which includes several hundred books in the fields of science, medicine, and disabilities; the papers of Irving Kenneth Zola and of Rosemary and Gunnar Dybwad; and thousands of pamphlets, case studies, and journals.
William Goldsmith Papers: Finding aid
Professor of Politics and American Civilization at Brandeis University from 1960 to 1984, his most significant publications include The Brandeis Papers Commission and The Growth of Presidential Power.
World War I and World War II Propaganda Posters, 1908-1944: Online exhibit
See an online exhibit of selected posters from the collection, organized chronologically.
World War I and World War II Propaganda Posters, 1908-1944: Spotlight
See images from the collection with background information and description at Special Collections Spotlight.
World War I and World War II propaganda posters: Finding aid
This collection includes nearly a hundred different American propaganda posters from World War I and World War I with a variety of aims. The subjects of the posters include programs such as The United War Work Campaign and Liberty and Victory Loans.
Yakov Borisovich Kantorovich papers: Finding aid
The collection comprises the personal diaries and correspondence of Yakov Borisovich Kantorovich written during the siege of Leningrad (1941-1943).

Anthropology

Robert Hunt

Robert Hunt Papers: Finding aid
Hunt taught courses in economic anthropology, development and cross-cultural study at Brandeis from 1969 until his retirement in 2002 . His research interests include the study of economic and social structure, particularly with respect to irrigation and exchange systems.
Robert Manners Papers: Finding aid
Manners was a longtime professor in the department of Anthropology at Brandeis. This collection is unprocessed. Please contact the department for more information.
Robert Zeitlin papers: Finding aid
Robert Zeitlin is a professor emeritus in the Department of Anthropology at Brandeis University. His work includes an interest in prehistoric archeology of Mesoamerica and North America, pre-state and early state societies, political-economy, trade/exchange, sociocultural evolution, and archeological method and theory.
Cyrus Gordon Collection
Gordon was a professor of Mediterranean Studies with a focus on ancient languages. Interests included cuneiform and other ancient pictorial languages. This collection is unprocessed; please contact the department to access this collection.
Victorian ephemera: Finding aid
A collection of Victorian ephemera from both the United States and England. Ranging in scope from legal documents to greeting cards, advertisements to playbills, and including a large assortment of bookplates, this collection provides a detailed reflection of American and English Victorian life.

Brandeis History

Aerial of the Brandeis University campus, circa 1963

Joyce Antler Papers: Finding Aid
Materials from History of American Education (American Studies 180b), taught by Prof. Joyce Antler (spring semesters of 1998, 2003, 2005, and 2007). Includes oral history interviews conducted with Brandeis faculty, staff, and administrators. This collection is unprocessed; please contact the department to access this collection.
Albert Axelrad papers: Finding aid
The materials in this collection were created from 1966 through 2000. The files include personal, professional, and spiritual advice correspondence, speeches and prayers written by Rabbi Axelrad, and biographical information about him. Also included are calendars, daybooks, photographs, reports, pamphlets, memorabilia, and posters.
David Berkowitz Papers: Finding aid
Brandeis Associate Professor of History and Political Science hired in 1948, Berkowitz taught classes such as Topics in Constitutional History, and Topics in Historical Jurisprudence. He held administrative posts of Assistant to the President and Director of University Planning, and also served as Assistant Secretary and Assistant Treasurer of the Board of Trustees.
Gerald Bernstein collection: Finding aid
This collection contains materials related to Brandeis buildings and its architecture. Aerial photographs, master plans, architectural design boards for Ziv Quad (?), various renderings of the Three Chapels, and other campus structures are included in the collection. Research materials for Building a Campus are also included, along with slides, notes, and a recording of a lecture by Bernstein on “Modern Architecture in Microcosm”.
Board of Trustees: Finding aid
Files in this collection were created from 1946 through 2007. Materials include minutes of Board meetings, memos, reports, budget statements, correspondence, photographs, directories, and programs to special events.
Board of Trustees: George Alpert Papers: Finding aid
The first Chairman of the Brandeis University Board of Trustees, Alpert held this position from 1946-1954 and remained a Board member for the rest of his life. The majority of materials involve the strategic planning and foundation of the University, as well as administrative matters of concern to the chairman or other Board members.
Brandeis National Committee: Finding aid
Formerly the Brandeis University National Women’s Committee. Subjects covered by the files include bylaws; the history of the organization; national conferences; regional chapters; fundraising; committee membership; study group courses; and the papers of individual members.
Brandeis University Periodicals: Finding aid
Publications penned by students and staff at Brandeis and Brandeis publications such as catalogs, yearbooks and handbooks, and histories written by former faculty and administration are rich resources for researching Brandeis History.
Brandeis University Fellows: Finding aid
Files in this collection were created from 1957 through 2002. Materials include newsletters, brochures, and directories; correspondence; photographs; reports; invitations; and press clippings. Subjects include background information on the Board of Fellows; the Board's annual conferences; membership and election information; and files on Henry August, a member of the Board of Fellows.
Brandeis Three Chapels: Finding aid
The collection houses materials related to the Three Chapels at Brandeis University, including their dedication and re-dedication ceremonies. In addition to programs, event brochures, news clippings, newsletters, memos, and announcements, the collection contains photographs of the Three Chapels during and after their construction.
Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies: Finding aid
Founded in 1980, the Maurice and Marilyn Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies (CMJS), is a multi-disciplinary research center dedicated to bringing the concepts, theories, and techniques of social science to bear on the study of contemporary Jewish life. Core topics concern the development of ethnic and religious identities and their attendant personal, communal, and societal outcomes. The research incorporates cutting-edge methodologies and strives to be rigorous and transparent. CMJS hopes to contribute to scholarly understanding of American Jewry and Jewish institutions and provide policy-relevant analysis.
Saul G. Cohen papers: Finding aid
Cohen was the first Brandeis chair of the School of Science, a post he held from 1950 to 1955. He was promoted to Professor in 1952, University Professor in 1974, and named Professor Emeritus upon his retirement in 1986. He twice chaired the Department of Chemistry, 1955-1966 and 1968-1972.
Commencement collection: Finding aid
Materials include programs, memos, invitations, photographs, speeches, schedules, press releases, and press clippings of Brandeis Commencement. Most of the files concern baccalaureate, University Commencement, and departmental commencement exercises.
Dean of Arts and Sciences: Finding aid
Files in this collection were created from 1951 through 2007. Materials include memos on academic and administrative functions, commencement preparations and programs, meeting minutes, announcements of events, and statistical material concerning students--particularly enrollment. The collection also includes course proposals and approvals and a variety of reports concerning management, academic, and strategic planning.
Department of Information Technology Services: Finding aid
The files in this collection were created from 1971 through 2004 and include newsletters, posters, memos, fliers, and booklets. Most of these files concern improvements and additions to computer facilities at Brandeis or list basic computer classes available to staff.
Department of Music: Finding aid
This collection consists mostly of the work and history of the Dept. of Music.
Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies: Finding aid
The first box in this collection contains mostly the correspondence of Alexander Altmann. Much of the rest is historical and administrative material of the department.
Department of Philosophy collection: Finding aid
These materials concentrate mostly on Albert V. Danielson and Harold Weisberg.
Department of Sociology: Finding aid
This is a collection of administrative materials from the Dept. of Sociology. The first box contains a large collection of syllabi from many of the professors.
Division of Student Life: Finding aid
This collection includes social, cultural, intellectual, recreational, and religious programs; residential life; intercollegiate and intramural athletics; health and counseling services; the availability of professional resources to aid students in their present endeavors and future educational and career planning; and student conduct matters.
Faculty Senate Files: Finding aid
Faculty Senate minutes, correspondence, faculty committees, council business, and elections
Gordon Fellman Papers: Finding aid
This collection includes primary source documentation on student protest movements and national interests of political and social concern at Brandeis from the 1960s to 1980s. Professor Fellman is currently Professor of Sociology and Chair of the Peace and Conflict Studies Program. Parts of this collection are online through the database The Sixties at http://tinyurl.com/9m4swd9.
Lawrence H. Fuchs papers: Finding aid
Materials in the collection date from 1948 to 2008 and document Lawrence H. Fuchs's life as a scholar and professional, focusing primarily on his roles as founder and professor of American Studies at Brandeis University.
Foundations: Establishing Brandeis University, 1946-1952: Online exhibit
This online exhibit contains photographs, documents, and text that illustrates the activities surrounding the establishment of the first Jewish-sponsored, non-sectarian university in America.
Graduate School of Arts and Sciences: Finding aid
Files in this collection were created from 1952 through 2007. A significant portion of the files were created in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Materials include correspondence, memos on academic and administrative functions, meeting minutes--particularly those of the Graduate Council and faculty--financial files, reports, lists, surveys and profiles of graduate students, statistical materials, publications, commencement preparations and programs. The collection also includes some historical information on the Graduate School and graduate students, departmental and program files, library and committee files, as well as a variety of subject files. A significant amount of the materials were generated by the different deans in the Graduate School.
Arnold Gurin papers: Finding aid
Arnold Gurin was Dean of the Heller School from 1971-1977. He taught social welfare administration at Brandeis University’s Heller School from 1962-1982, where he served as the Maurice B. Hexter Chair in American Philanthropy starting 1971. Arnold Gurin passed away in 1991.
Jacob Hiatt Institute in Israel: Finding aid
The Jacob Hiatt Institute in Israel was an academic program in Jerusalem that was sponsored by Brandeis University and operated from 1961-1983. Each program lasted for one semester or one year and was open to undergraduate students from colleges and universities in the United States. During the course of a program, formal classroom instruction was supplemented with field trips and internships.
History of Ideas Program records: Finding aid
The collection contains information relating to the founding and activities of the Center for the Humanities / History of Ideas Program in the early-to-mid 1980's through the early 1990's. Eugene Goodheart was named Director, with Erica Hearth occasionally serving as Acting Director. The collection contains records of the founding of the Center, internal and external correspondence, as well information about its mission, goals, activities and accomplishments.
The Justice: Libguide
This is the longest running and most frequently published student newspaper. It is a great resource for researching Brandeis events, student reactions to current events, and university news from a student perspective.
The Justice: Office Files: Finding aid
Files created from 1966-2002 by students writing for the newspaper. Contains primary source material on a number of newsworthy subjects.
Lawrence J. Kane Papers: Finding aid
These papers focus on Kane's time at Brandeis and his work as an alumnus, including his involvement with Catholic issues.
Morton Keller papers: Finding aid
The collection consists primarily of correspondence and memoranda related to Keller's various faculty and administrative duties at Brandeis, especially concerning the History Department, the Legal Studies Program, and Presidential Search Committees.
Office of the Associate Vice President and Affirmative Action Officer: Finding aid
Files in this collection were created from 1974 through 2001. Materials include memos, correspondence, reports, meeting minutes, and newsletters. Most of the reports concern the compliance of individual departments and the University as a whole with affirmative action regulations. Other subjects include hiring procedures; the establishment of the Affirmative Action Advisory Committee; and other equal opportunity issues including disabilities, maternity leave, and sexual harassment. This collection also holds an incomplete run of the newsletter "'action' profile." Most of these files were created and maintained by Louis Ennis and Herb Hentz.
Office of Communications: Department of Media Relations: Finding aid
The office provides the media with information on events, research, appointments, awards, and honors at the University. Materials include news releases, calendar releases, public service announcements, biographical information, photographs, news clippings, correspondence, memos, and speeches.
Office of the Controller: Finding aid
The material in this collection was created from 1947 through 2002. Materials include memos and financial reports and statements. The reports and statements concern the financial standing of the University and were maintained by the Controller's Office. The memos are general announcements from the Controller's Office to the Brandeis community.
Office of Development: Finding aid
Files in this collection were created from 1946 through 2005. Materials include reports, memos, fundraising publications, invitations, event programs, news clippings, and videos. Subjects covered by the files include fundraising plans and specific campaigns, background information on the University, Brandeis clubs, special fundraising and ceremonial events, and news clippings about the University.
Office of the Executive Vice President and Treasurer: Finding aid
Most of the materials in this collection were created from 1937 through 1982. Materials include correspondence, memos, notes, statistical data, and by-laws and copies of the University charter. Files in this collection relate to the incorporation of Brandeis, the University's budget, income through grants and development, and files on taxes and investments. Lester Loomis maintained all of the files in this collection. The correspondence files contain letters from Marver Bernstein and Norman Fink. There are also grant management files concerning the National Institute of Health and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.
Office of the President: Finding aid
Subjects include inaugurations, accreditation, strategic planning, the president's council and special events including Founders' Day and the Brandeis Forum. Some topics which recur include finances and personnel. Some files contain information on student unrest, student and staff diversity, and the Jewish identity at Brandeis.
Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs and First Year Services: Finding aid
The collection spans the years 1963-2007 and contains primarily handbooks, memoranda, notices, and reports. Included are materials on student scholarships and awards, campus events, academic advising guidelines, undergraduate research programs, strategic plans, and administrative appointments. Materials related to faculty appointments, promotions, and resignations and student academic status are restricted.
Poses Institute for the Arts: Creative Arts Awards: Finding aid
The Creative Arts Awards (CAA) brought the Brandeis community in touch with national figures in the field of arts and music. And consequently the CAA brought Brandeis University to the forefront in national arts media.
Rose Art Museum: Finding aid
The Rose Art Museum was established in 1961 to maintain a highly contemporary art collection and provide undergraduates the opportunity to study art history through direct contact with art objects.
Abram L. Sachar: Brandeis University Chancellorship Papers: Finding aid
Sachar was a tireless campaigner and also continued to be a spokesman, ambassador, and public figure for the university after his presidency, taking part in speaking engagements across the United States and travelling abroad to explore international ties for Brandeis.
Abram L. Sachar: Brandeis University Presidential Papers: Finding aid
Sachar was the first president of Brandeis. During the twenty years of his presidency, Brandeis rose to high ranking among institutions of higher learning. The bulk of the collection documents his communications with members of the faculty and staff, alumni, donors, and students. There is also material concerning administrative affairs and academic matters at Brandeis.
Student Activism at Brandeis: Finding aid
Materials came from an exhibit produced in coordination with a mini-conference entitled “Student Protests 1969-1970: Brandeis and America.” It includes photographs, newspaper articles, and videotape highlighting examples of student activism both on and off-campus dating back to the University’s founding and included panel discussions on the Ford Hall occupation and the National Strike Information Center. This collection is available digitally through the database The Sixties at http://tinyurl.com/9roac3x.
Student Organizations: Finding aid
The materials in this collection were created by individual student organizations including performance groups, ethnic associations, literary associations, academic societies, and public service groups. This collection contains lists of organizations, as well as constitutions, newsletters, programs, event announcements, and memos.
Spingold Theater Center: Finding aid
The collection includes programs and fliers for both student and professional productions and theater festivals at the Spingold Theater Center. In addition, there are public relations materials such as official public service announcements, newsletters, invitations and subscription fliers.
University Architecture: Finding aid
Materials in this collection were created from 1886 through 2006 (bulk, 1935-1998), and include photographs, articles, maps, architectural plans and sketches, and narrative descriptions.
University Photography: Finding aid
An extensive collection of images, primarily black and white photographic negatives, this collection documents the history and development of Brandeis University. The University Archives also houses a collection of photographic prints and contact sheets (primarily black and white).
University Senior Honors Theses: Libguide
Several Brandeis seniors have written thorough theses on various aspects of Brandeis History.
University Memorabilia Collection: Finding aid
Objects in this collection commemorate university anniversaries, awards, and events, and depict historic campus scenes and buildings.
University Health Center: Finding aid
The files in this collection were created from 1962 through 2004 and include memos, reports, announcements, and incomplete runs of two newsletters produced by the Health Center, "To Your Health" and "Wellness on Campus." Many of the files described to the campus the services and programs that the Health Center provided. The newsletters also provided general health information including suggestions for healthy living.
University History: Finding aid
Brandeis University was founded as the first non-sectarian, Jewish-sponsored university in the United States. The original Board of Trustees of Brandeis took over the charter and campus of the closing Middlesex University in 1947 and held its first classes in the Fall of 1948. Materials in this collection include correspondence, reports, speeches, programs, invitations, certificates, press releases, photographs, press clippings, and posters created from 1937 through 2007.
Office of Planning and Institutional Research: Finding aid
Contains materials for the planning of the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center
Vice President for Administration: Finding aid
Includes reports, memorandum, and addendum from the 1970s to 2000s.
Lawrence Wien Papers: Finding aid
The materials in this collection ranges from 1958-1988, with the majority from 1978-1988. This collection includes information on WISP, letters to Wien thanking him for his contributions to WISP, programs for Brandeis celebrations (including commencements, inaugurations, and WISP anniversaries), a large collection of photographs of Wien and others, press clippings related to WISP and Wien’s affiliation with Brandeis, audio and video cassettes from the 25th anniversary of WISP, and personal communications to Wien.
Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program: Finding aid
These materials focus almost entirely on the work and history of the program.

Comparative Literature

Denah Lida

Edward K. Kaplan papers: Finding aid
Professor at Brandeis since the late 1970s, his expertise includes Abraham Joshua Heschel, Thomas Merton, French romanticism, and Modern French poetry and theory. This collection is not yet processed.
Denah Lida papers: Finding aid
One of the first tenured female faculty at Brandeis, Lida taught in the departments of Spanish, Romance Languages, and Comparative Literature from 1955 until 1986. The collection contains correspondence, personal library materials, research notes and typescripts, copies of publications, academic regalia, as well as materials relating to her personal history.
19th century Russian photograph collection: Finding aid
This collection of 91 photographs of Tolstoy at Yasnaya Polyana, Anton Chekov, and others serves to illustrate Russian literary life in the 19th century.
Irwin Weil papers: Finding aid
While at Brandeis, Weil was a professor of Russian literature and linguistics. He played a decisive role in bringing the study of Russian and Slavic linguistics and literature to the University.

East Asian studies

Material relevant to East Asian Studies includes a collection of Chinese snuff bottles, illustrated erotic pillow books (two Japanese and one Chinese), a collection of nineteenth-century Japanese prints, and a nineteenth-century Japanese scroll painted on silk illustrating the peoples of the world.

Jack J. Katz and Therese G. Katz Chinese snuff bottles: Finding aid
The 47 bottles in this collection range in date from the 18th to 19th centuries and illustrate the wide range of materials used in Chinese snuff bottles, including jade, beryl, agate, crystal and more.
Jack J. Katz and Therese G. Katz Chinese snuff bottles: Spotlight
See a Spotlight presenting images of bottles from this collection.
Rare and fine press editions of fairy tales: Spotlight
See this Spotlight for information on the various rare editions of fairy tales found in Brandeis Special Collections. In addition to the usual European fairy tales of Perrault and the Grimm brothers, this collection contains several volumes of non-Western origin.
Burmese Palm Leaf Manuscripts: Spotlight
See this spotlight for information on two 19th century Burmese Buddhist manuscripts held in Brandeis' Special Collections. These manuscripts are printed on peisa - rectangular, dry, cut and smoked Palmyra palm leaves.

Education

Middlesex students in laboratory, date unknown

Joyce Antler Papers: Finding Aid
Materials from History of American Education (American Studies 180b), taught by Prof. Joyce Antler (spring semesters of 1998, 2003, 2005, and 2007). Includes oral history interviews conducted with Brandeis faculty, staff, and administrators. This collection is unprocessed; please contact the department to access this collection.
Dean of Arts and Sciences: Finding aid
Files in this collection were created from 1951 through 2007. Materials include memos on academic and administrative functions, commencement preparations and programs, meeting minutes, announcements of events, and statistical material concerning students--particularly enrollment. The collection also includes course proposals and approvals and a variety of reports concerning management, academic, and strategic planning.
Walter E. Fernald Developmental Center's Samuel Gridley Howe Library collections: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on the Howe Library collection at Brandeis, which includes several hundred books in the fields of science, medicine, and disabilities; the papers of Irving Kenneth Zola and of Rosemary and Gunnar Dybwad; and thousands of pamphlets, case studies, and journals.
William Goldsmith Papers: Finding aid
Goldsmith initiated and participated in numerous programs and committees as a professor at Brandeis. Many of these programs, such as Upward Bound and TYP, were focused on the issues of educating the disadvantaged.
Jacob Hiatt Institue in Israel: Finding aid
The Jacob Hiatt Institute in Israel was an academic program in Jerusalem that was sponsored by Brandeis University and operated from 1961-1983. Each program lasted for one semester or one year and was open to undergraduate students from colleges and universities in the United States. During the course of a program, formal classroom instruction was supplemented with field trips and internships.
Middlesex University: Finding aid
Prior to World War II, Middlesex offered instruction in medicine, liberal arts, pharmacy, podiatry, and veterinary medicine. It was a university founded on the principles of equality, freedom, and scholarship, as it maintained a student population diverse in race, color, and religion. Lack of AMA accreditation, combined with declining enrollment due to the war, doomed the university.
Office of the Associate Vice President and Affirmative Action Officer: Finding aid
Files in this collection were created from 1974 through 2001. Materials include memos, correspondence, reports, meeting minutes, and newsletters. Most of the reports concern the compliance of individual departments and the University as a whole with affirmative action regulations. Other subjects include hiring procedures; the establishment of the Affirmative Action Advisory Committee; and other equal opportunity issues including disabilities, maternity leave, and sexual harassment. This collection also holds an incomplete run of the newsletter "'aaction' profile." Most of these files were created and maintained by Louis Ennis and Herb Hentz.
Transitional Year Program: Finding aid
A one-year academic program established in 1968 for students which enables them to apply the focus, energy, perseverance, and maturity they previously devoted to prevailing in the face of personal challenges to now pursuing academic success. TYP guarantees small classes, rigorous academics, and strong academic support.

English and American literature

Cover art for Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

19th century playbooks: Finding aid
This collection contains playbooks from more than 80 plays from the 19th century, including notes on costuming and staging as well as production histories for many of the plays.
19th century playbooks: Spotlight
See a Spotlight about Brandeis' collection of playbooks from the latter half of the 19th Century. Acquired by Victor Berch, Brandeis' first Special Collections Librarian, the collection includes playbooks from over 80 separate plays.
Allen Grossman Papers: Finding aid
This collection is comprised of the lectures, correspondence, poetry, and work about poetry by Allen Grossman. Some biographical materials are included.
Arthur Laurents collection: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on the Arthur Laurents collection, which consists of correspondence and the annotated typescripts of many of Laurents's works, including West Side Story.
Buffalo Bill Dime Novels: Spotlight
See this spotlight for information on the Buffalo Bill Stories from Brandeis' larger Dime Novel collection. These publications depict the adventures of the legendary Western guide Buffalo Bill (Col. William Cody).
Children's Literature collection: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on our Children's Literature collection with a discussion of four authors that can be found in the collection.
Common Sense: Spotlight
Read a spotlight featuring an original copy of Thomas Paine's Common Sense.
Dime Novel collection: Finding Aid
This collection consists of over 1,000 dime novels, with an extensive collection of the works of Horatio Alger, Harry Castleman, Oliver Optic, and other boys' and girls' literature of the 19th and early 20th century. The collection also contains numerous newspapers and periodicals of the same era.
Ernest A. Young papers: Finding aid
This collection contains an array of sources on the dime novel author, Ernest Young. These range from manuscripts and typescripts, to incomplete writings, to personal and professional correspondence.
Ernest A. Young papers: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on our Ernest A Young papers, which includes a variety of dime novel literature and fictional stories.
Eugene Goodheart Papers: Finding aid
Known as a prolific scholar of English literature, an acclaimed personal essayist, and a public intellectual. Materials include Goodheart’s undergraduate and graduate materials, professional and personal correspondence, unpublished manuscripts, and teaching materials.
Fannie Hurst collection: Finding aid
The Fannie Hurst Collection, 1889-1968, includes typescripts, articles, photographs, correspondence, and other materials related to Hurst's professional and private life.
First Editions: Invisible Man and Native Son: Spotlight
Read a spotlight featuring our first edition of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man and our first edition of Richard Wright's Native Son
Irving Wallace collection: Finding aid
The collection includes manuscript material relating to various novels, first editions, and foreign translations of the author's works as well as copies of books he used to research his novels. A finding aid is available in the department.
John Cheever literary manuscripts: Finding aid
The John Cheever Literary Manuscripts Collection includes annotated typescripts to 88 short stories as well as the final draft to The Wapshot Chronicle; the early drafts, final draft, and printer's proofs to The Wapshot Scandal; and other items.
John Galsworthy letters: Finding aid
This collection contains correspondence between Galsworthy and his translator, as well as to Joseph Conrad and others; it also contains some newsclippings and memorabilia.
Joseph Heller's Catch-22: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on Heller's novel, with consideration of its impact on American literature and its practitioners, written by Professor Stephen J. Whitfield of the Department of American Studies.
Joseph Heller collection: Finding aid
This collection includes complete sets of manuscripts of several novels, plays, screenplays, correspondence, published editions, and reviews. Of chief importance is the original handwritten manuscript of Catch-22.
Langston Hughes material: Spotlight
See this spotlight for information on Brandeis' collection of documents relating to American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, columnist, war journalist, leader of the Harlem Renaissance Langston Hughes. Among Hughes' many contributions to American and African-American cultural life was his innovations in a new art form known as "jazz poetry."
Leo Rosten papers: Spotlight
This collection consists of 39+ linear feet of manuscripts of Leo Rosten's literary works, book reviews, promotional literature, as well as first and signed editions of his published works.
Milton Hindus Papers: Finding Aid
Hindus taught for 33 years in English and American Literature at Brandeis. As a writer, Hindus published 14 books, wrote an exorbitant number of reviews, and contributed to reference works in several countries. The bulk of his collections is correspondence, followed by published and unpublished literary criticism.
Punch's Pocket Book: Spotlight
Spotlight on Special Collections' holding of an uninterrupted set (1844-1881) of Punch's Pocket Book, an eclectic and highly popular annual publication spun off from Punch, the famed British satirical magazine.
Rare and fine press editions of fairy tales: Spotlight
See this Spotlight for information on the various rare editions of fairy tales found in Brandeis Special Collections. In addition to the usual European fairy tales of Perrault and the Grimm brothers, this collection contains several volumes of non-Western origin.
Rare gift books: Spotlight
See a Spotlight detailing Brandeis's collection of a dozen mid-nineteenth century gift books, a genre largely produced by and for women.
Robert O. Preyer Papers: Finding aid
Preyer was the first chair of the English and American Literature Department at Brandeis University and was an early participant in the school's Transitional Year Program. His articles appeared in Studies in Polarity and other literary journals.
Shakespeare Collection: Spotlight
This Spotlight contains an essay with background information and images of the Shakespeare works held in Special Collections.
Shakespeare First Folio online
See a digitized version of the First Folio held at Brandeis.
Shakespeare in Special Collections: List
See a list of the rare Shakespeare works held in Special Collections, including a First Folio.
T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on the Hogarth Press 1923 edition of T.S. Eliot's 434 line epic poem The Wasteland. Printed by Leonard and Virginia Woolf's private press and with type set by Virginia herself, this edition was reportedly Eliot's favorite printing of his work.
Trimalchio (or, The Great Gatsby): Spotlight
Read a Spotlight about Trimalchio, a facsimile edition of the original galley proofs of the Great Gatsby.
Victorian ephemera: Finding Aid
This collection contains assorted ephemera from England and the United States in the Victorian Era. The collection ranges from legal documents to advertisements to greeting cards, as well as an extensive number of bookplates.
Victorian ephemera: Spotlight
This collection includes about 300 ephemeral items exemplifying the printing process from the Victorian period, including holiday cards, programs, and other material.
Walt Whitman collection: Spotlight
The Whitman collection includes early and rare Walt Whitman works, including early editions of Leaves of Grass, a proof sheet of "Passage to India," and a letter in Whitman's own hand.
William Morris's The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye and the Kelmscott Press: Spotlight
William Morris printed The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye at the Kelmscott Press in 1892. See a Spotlight about this beautiful book, and the story behind its printing, written by John Plotz, Professor of English.
Zora Neale Hurston’s Jonah’s Gourd Vine: Spotlight
See this spotlight to learn more about our first edition copy of Zora Neal Hurston's first novel, Jonah's Gourd Vine (published in 1934). This semi-autobiographical novel about a philandering preacher was released three years before Hurston's classic, Their Eyes Were Watching God.

Fine Arts

Material relevant to Fine Arts includes, in addition to the below, illustrated fine press books; Chinese and Japanese prints and objects (see East Asian studies); illustrated American Dime Novels; the Bernice and Henry Tumen Collection of Judaica (antique Jewish religious objects); illuminated manuscripts and Books of Hours; and more.

19th century playbooks: Finding aid
This collection contains playbooks from more than 80 plays from the 19th century, including notes on costuming and staging as well as production histories for many of the plays.
19th Century playbooks: Spotlight
See a Spotlight about Brandeis' collection of playbooks from the latter half of the 19th Century. Acquired by Victor Berch, Brandeis' first Special Collections Librarian, the collection includes playbooks from over 80 separate plays.
Anita Warburg Papers: Finding aid
Warburg was a member and advocate of the Creative Arts Awards Commission. Materials include memos, correspondence, and publications. This collection contains files on the Creative Arts Awards, the School of Creative Arts, and on individuals such as Abram L. Sachar and Edward Albee.
Arthur Berger Papers: Finding Aid
An established music composer and critic before he joined the Brandeis faculty, Berger specialized in teaching orchestra, chamber, and solo piano music. Materials include books, reprints, reel-to-reel audiotapes, LP records, a memorial CD, concert programs, photographs, reviews, essays, and musical compositions.
Audubon's Birds of America: Catalog Record
The four volumes of John James Audubon's Birds of America contain 435 plates depicting 489 species of birds, approximately life-sized. The illustrations are renowned for their detail and beauty as well as the impressive technical skill of the artist.
The Benjamin A. and Julia M. Trustman Collection of Honoré Daumier Lithographs: Digital collection
The Trustman Collection comprises nearly the entire oeuvre of Daumier in the lithographic medium, making the Trustman Collection a unique resource for the study of Daumier's art and nineteenth-century French history.
The Benjamin A. and Julia M. Trustman Collection of Honoré Daumier Lithographs: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on our on our Trustman Collection of Honoré Daumier Lithographs.
Book of Hours images: Digital collection
See images from a fifteenth-century Flemish Book of Hours held in Special Collections.
Buffalo Bill Dime Novels: Spotlight
See this spotlight for information on the Buffalo Bill Stories from Brandeis' larger Dime Novel collection. These publications depict the adventures of the legendary Western guide Buffalo Bill (Col. William Cody).
Building Brandeis: Style and Function of a University: Online Exhibit
This online exhibit features two early master planning projects that greatly influenced the physical character and development of Brandeis University. It also highlights two architects who left their imprint at Brandeis and became internationally known in their field.
Carl Van Vechten Portraits: Digital collection
Carl Van Vechten (1880-1964) was a writer, arts critic, and photographer known for his portraits. Brandeis holds more than 1600 different prints of his photos.
The Crimean War in the French and British satirical Press: Spotlight
Read a Spotlight about satirical cartoons by Honoré Daumier, John Tenniel, and John Leech that appeared in Le Charivari (France) and Punch, or the London Charivari (England), two major 19th-century satirical publications
Dan Tassel photography collection: Finding Aid
The Dan Tassel photography collection contains photographs, printed books, and stereoscopic slides from the 19th and 20th centuries.
Dan Tassel photography collection: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on our Dan Tassel photography collection, which includes stereoscopic images of the Holy Land, dating from the turn of the last century.
Dr. and Mrs. Bernard H. Kessner Collection of Doughty Birds: Spotlight
See this spotlight for information on Brandeis' unusual collection of handmade ceramic birds (and one bee!) by British sculptor and potter Dorothy Susan Doughty. These lifelike sculptures come from the private college of Dr. and Mrs. Bernard H. Kessner.
Electronic Music Recordings: Finding Aid
All 72 the works were recorded at the former Brandeis Electronic Music Studio and date from the early period of American electronic music. Composers include Alvin Lucier, Ernst Krenek, Luciano Berio, and John Cage. Many of the recordings are one of a kind or are the only known copies of particular versions of compositions.
Fine press ephemera collection: Finding aid
The Fine Press Ephemera collection is primarily comprised of catalogs, announcements, advertisements, and other ephemera produced by fine presses and publishers in the 1970s and 1980s.
Fore-edge Paintings: Spotlight
This Spotlight details Brandeis' collection of fore-edge painted books -- illustrations painted on the side of books, visible only when the pages are correctly fanned.
Frank Zwillinger collection: Finding aid
This collection consists of 12 linear feet of poetry and dramatic presentations in various draft forms. The collection also includes 3 linear feet of tape recordings of poetry readings by Zwillinger.
Helmut Hirsch collection: Finding aid
This collection contains material related to Helmut Hirsch (1916-1937), including correspondence; creative work by Hirsch; scholarly and popular media materials describing Hirsch's life; government and legal documents regarding Hirsch's death sentence and more.
Helmut Hirsch collection: Online exhibit
Hirsch was a young opponent of the Nazi regime who was executed in 1937 for plotting to bomb the Nazi headquarters in Nuremberg. The collection includes works on paper of this promising young artist.
James Abbott McNeill Whistler collection: Finding aid
The records in this collection were created between 1841 and 1935. Included are autographs, letters, photographs, sales and exhibition catalogues, magazine articles, portraits, news clippings, and some reprints of artworks.
Leo Bronstein Papers: Finding Aid
In 1952, Bronstein joined the faculty of Brandeis in Fine Arts. He became associate professor in 1955 and full professor in Fine Arts and Near Eastern Civilization in 1961. He studied literature and philosophy, philosophy and fine art and specialized in the history of Near Eastern art.
Leonard Baskin & The Gehenna Press, 1951-1971: Spotlight
See this spotlight for information on the fine press books produced by the Gehenna Press of Northhampton, Massachusetts between 1951 and 1971.
Leonard Baskin and the Gehenna Press: Finding aid
The Leonard Baskin and the Gehenna Press collection includes more than 25 books as well as exhibition catalogs, publication prospectuses, and holiday greeting cards, ranging from 1952 to 1998.
Leonard Baskin and the Gehenna Press: Online exhibit
Leonard Baskin, a noted sculptor and illustrator, founded the Gehenna Press in 1942, and it became one of the premier 20th-century fine presses in America. This collection of books and ephemera covers the years 1951-1971.
Leonardo da Vinci collection: Spotlight
This Spotlight showcases the 1600's-era reproductions the works of a true Renaissance man, Leonardo da Vinci. Included are da Vinci's "Treatise on Painting" and "Codex of the Anatomy".
Le Témoin: Spotlight
The French journal of political satire Le Témoin [The Witness], 1933-1935, created by Paul Iribe, was a scathing report on French political life and a magnificent display of Iribe’s artwork in its most mature state.
Mitchell Siporin Papers: Finding Aid
Siporin founded the Department of Fine Arts in 1951, soon after his hiring the same year. He began his painting career by focusing on labor issues during the Great Depression. He was also the founder of the Brandeis Creative Arts Awards Commission in 1956.
Native American watercolors: Finding aid
The collection contains 36 Native American watercolor paintings completed during the 20th century and includes paintings by Julian Martinez, Trinidad Archuleta, Romando Vigil, and several other well-known artists.
Native American watercolors: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on our Native American watercolors, a collection containing 36 Native American paintings completed during the 20th century.
Office of the Arts: Finding Aid
This is a collection focusing on the Office of the Arts' efforts to bring the arts to life at Brandeis. Information for specific exhibits is included.
Pauline Trigère Family letters: Finding Aid
This collection consists of correspondence, memos, and notes to and from Pauline Trigère, the award-winning Franco-American designer, a leading figure of the mid-20th century fashion world.
The Poses Institute for the Arts: Creative Arts Awards: Finding Aid
Created in 1956 to draw attention to the lives and works of active American artists, awards were presented for painting, poetry, music, and theater. Categories were later enlarged to include sculpture, architecture, film, photography, and other creative arts. The Institute awards annual residencies for artists in diverse artistic disciplines.
Robert D. Farber: Selected Artwork: Online Exhibit
Farber's works on this web site are a sample from his Western Blot Series created from 1991 through 1994. The series focuses on the parallels of AIDS and the Black Death. Two of Farber's paintings are on permanent exhibit in the University Archives.
Roger Tory Peterson photographs: Spotlight
A collection of original prints photographed by renowned ornithologist and activist against pesticides, Roger Tory Peterson.
Rose Art Museum Collection: Finding Aid
Includes administrative files, correspondence, exhibition logs, accession logs, guest books, a scrapbook and material that documents exhibitions.
S.M.S., William Copley, Letter Edged in Black Press, Inc., 1968: Spotlight
The work is a series of folders, available by subscription, containing objects and artworks contributed by artists such as Marcel Duchamp, Ray Johnson, and Man Ray. As a publication, its mission was to question the notion of art objects as belonging in museums and galleries by bringing the work to the fingertips of the subscribers.
School of Creative Arts collection: Finding Aid
Materials include Brandeis programs, schedules, reviews, press guides, and speeches. Also included are materials documenting the first Festival of the Creative Arts in 1952 such as photographs, sound recordings, and a video of the four-day event.
Spanish Civil War poster collection: Digitized Images
See digital images of the posters on DeisGallery
Spingold Theater Center: Finding aid
This collection has materials from 1950 through 2007 and includes programs and fliers for both student and professional productions and theater festivals at the Spingold Theater Center.
T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on the Hogarth Press 1923 edition of T.S. Eliot's 434 line epic poem The Wasteland. Printed by Leonard and Virginia Woolf's private press and with type set by Virginia herself, this edition was reportedly Eliot's favorite printing of his work.
Tumen collection of Jewish ceremonial objects: Finding aid
This collection consists of 177 Jewish ceremonial objects: kiddush cups, spice boxes, candlesticks, menorahs, torah bindings, breastplates, rimonim, yadayim, as well as megillot, amulets, and mezuzot originally produced in Europe, the Near East, North Africa, and America. The collection contains pieces from the 2nd-3rd century, but principally showcases 19th-20th century artifacts. A portion of this collection is on display on the Goldfarb Mezzanine.
Tumen collection of Jewish ceremonial objects: Spotlight
See a Spotlight providing examples of ceremonial objects from the collection, as well as an essay underscoring the significance of these objects.
Victorian ephemera: Finding Aid
This collection contains assorted ephemera from England and the United States in the Victorian Era. The collection ranges from legal documents to advertisements to greeting cards, as well as an extensive number of bookplates.
Victorian ephemera: Spotlight
This collection includes about 300 ephemeral items exemplifying the printing process from the Victorian period, including holiday cards, programs, and other material.
William Morris's The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye and the Kelmscott Press: Spotlight
William Morris printed The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye at the Kelmscott Press in 1892. See a Spotlight about this beautiful book, and the story behind its printing, written by John Plotz, Professor of English.
World War I and World War II Propaganda Posters, 1908-1944: Spotlight
This collection includes nearly a hundred different American propaganda posters from World War I and World War II, including work by Howard Chandler Christy, James Montgomery Flagg, Adolph Treidler, Harrison Fisher, Casper Emerson Jr., and others.
World War I and World War II propaganda posters: Finding Aid
The Brandeis University World War I and World War II Propaganda Posters Collection includes nearly a hundred different images with a variety of aims. Inspired by Western European examples, the creation and production of applicable pictorial publicity immediately gained a substantial level of artistic involvement and industrial application in the United States.
¡Jovenes! (circa 1937): Spotlight
This Spotlight focuses on a recently repaired poster from the Spanish Civil War poster collection. Previously unusable due to its fragile condition, it is now available for use.

History

Civil War letters, Michael Lally Letters and Other Material collection

"History of the Indian Tribes of North America": Spotlight
Spotlight on McKenney and Hall's three-volume History of the Indian Tribes of North America (published 1837-1844), held in Special Collections.
"Prospects of Mankind": Finding aid
Eleanor Roosevelt hosted this television series which provided a forum for prominent leaders to discuss important current affairs. Guests included Ralph Bunche, John Kenneth Galbraith, John F. Kennedy, Henry Kissinger, Edward R. Murrow, Bertrand Russell, and Adlai Stevenson, documenting some of the most influential figures of the mid-twentieth century.
"The Course of Our Times": Finding Aid
A public television survey of 20th century history examining historical figures including Winston Churchill, Mohandas Gandhi, Charles de Gaulle, Adolph Hitler, Gamal Abdel-Nasser, Woodrow Wilson, and Mao Zedong, the weekly local program went regional in 1970, then national in 1971. Brandeis Chancellor Abram L. Sachar was the host.
"The Three Ages of the Colonies": Spotlight
Spotlight on Dufour de Pradt's 1801 "The Three Ages of the Colonies," in which the author both assesses the past of Europe's American colonies and argues for the necessity of colonial independence.
Collection on Abraham Lincoln: Finding aid
This collection includes lithographs, photographs, commemorative objects, and other items related to Abraham Lincoln.
Collection on Abraham Lincoln documents and ephemera: Spotlight
See a Spotlight with images of the collection of Lincoln-related memorabilia.
Albert Einstein Collection: Finding Aid
The materials in this collection were created from 1896 through 1952. The majority is personal and professional correspondence including a large number from Einstein to American Jewish leader Stephen Wise. There are also several correspondence from prominent scientists such as Fritz Haber, Paul Habicht, Hendrik Lorentz, Max Planck and Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen, and two items from German playwright Gerhart Hauptmann. In most cases, the correspondence are original signed copies written in German or English. In addition to correspondence, there are a small number of other items such as cancelled checks signed by Einstein, photographs, autograph books, translated quotations, a handwritten and signed speech, and text from a possible manuscript.
Albert Eugene Kahn papers: Finding aid
This collection largely contains primary source research materials on anti-war, pro-Nazi groups used by Albert Kahn for his 1942 book "Sabotage! The Secret War Against America." The collection also includes a manuscript, publicity materials, and a limited amount of Kahn's other writings.
Albert Eugene Kahn papers: Spotlight
Background information on Special Collections' holdings of materials related to Albert Kahn's 1942 book "Sabotage! The Secret War Against America.
Autograph Collection: Finding Aid
This collection consists of signed documents, correspondence, autograph manuscripts, photographs, and etchings. This collection includes the autographs of a number of important historical personalities.
Autograph collection: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on the Autograph collection, a stunning assortment of rare autograph documents, which range in date from the early seventeenth century through the twentieth.
Benjamin Disraeli letters and other material: Finding aid
This collection includes correspondence to family members, politicians, and others; visual materials including photos and caricatures; and a bound book of petition letters addressed to the Earl of Beaconsfield.
Buffalo Bill Dime Novels: Spotlight
See this spotlight for information on the Buffalo Bill Stories from Brandeis' larger Dime Novel collection. These publications depict the adventures of the legendary Western guide Buffalo Bill (Col. William Cody).
Charles Korvin collection of Spanish Civil War photographs: Spotlight
As part of Brandeis University's Spanish Civil War collection, Special Collections holds almost 250 of Korvin's wartime photographs.
Charles Korvin photographs: Finding aid
The photographs in the Charles Korvin collection document the military, medical, and social impact of the Spanish Civil War. The collection comprises 244 black and white photos (approximately 5" x 7") and negatives (approximately 1.5" x 1.5"; sizes vary due to hand cutting) with descriptions on the back in English or Spanish.
Charter of the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary: Spotlight
See this Spotlight for a description of this ornately illuminated Dominican manuscript from the early 1700s.
Colonel Edward H. McCrahon family collection of World War I posters: Finding Aid
This collection comprises approximately six hundred and forty vividly illustrated propaganda posters, created between 1913 and 1919, in large part to encourage the purchase of war bonds by American citizens.
Consistoire Central Israélite de France collection: Finding Aid
Containing seven linear feet of French Consistory materials and one linear foot of international Judaica, the Consistoire Central Israélite de France collection at Brandeis provides a sweeping view of the French Jewish community from the mid-eighteenth through the first third of the twentieth century.
Consistoire Central Israélite de France collection: Spotlight
Containing seven linear feet of French Consistory materials and two linear feet of international Judaica, the Consistoire Central Israélite de France collection at Brandeis provides a view of the French Jewish community from the mid-eighteenth through the first third of the twentieth century.
The Crimean War in the French and British satirical press: Spotlight
Read a Spotlight about satirical cartoons by Honoré Daumier, John Tenniel, and John Leech that appeared in Le Charivari (France) and Punch, or the London Charivari (England), two major 19th-century satirical publications.
Daniel Webster collection: Finding aid
The Daniel Webster collection is dominated by correspondence received during his appointment as Secretary of State under Presidents Harrison and Tyler from 1841 to 1843.
Daniel Webster collection: Spotlight
See images from the collection with background information and description at Special Collections Spotlight.
David Berkowitz Papers: Finding aid
Berkowitz was hired in 1948 by Brandeis as Associate Professor of History and Political Science. He is known primarily as a scholar of English and legal history and the Renaissance.
Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies: Finding aid
The first box in this collection contains mostly the correspondence of Alexander Altmann. Much of the rest is historical and administrative material of the department.
Diary of a World War I Aid Worker: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on the diary of Anna Weimar, an American Red Cross volunteer who spent 1918-1919 in Nantes, France.
Eduard Lasker collection: Finding aid
Eduard Lasker was a political leader during the Bismarck regime in Germany, and this collection consists of 21 linear feet of manuscript material, correspondence and pamphlets.
Eric M. Lipman collection of Nazi Documents: Finding aid
This collection consists primarily of correspondence written before and during World War II, including letters from Wilhelm Frick to his second wife, Margarete Schultze-Naumburg; from Rudolf Hess and Heinrich Himmler to Adolf Hitler; and from Gerd von Rundstedt to Louis von Rundstedt. The collection also includes diaries.
Eric M. Lipman collection of Nazi documents: Spotlight
See a descriptive Special Collections Spotlight on the Lipman collection of Nazi documents, with in-depth discussion of individual items and enlargeable images.
Frank E. Manuel Papers: Finding Aid
Among the most respected European historians of the twentieth century, Manuel taught in the History and Psychology departments at Brandeis from 1949 until 1965 and then he returned in 1977. Manuel's scholarly interests included utopias, Christian Hebraism, historiography, and philosophers such as Isaac Newton and Karl Marx.
Franklin Delano and Eleanor Roosevelt collection: Finding aid
The collection consists of letters to and from Franklin D. and Eleanor Roosevelt, as well as officially published legal acts, assorted periodic publications, news clippings, booklets and pamphlets, and FDR memorabilia.
Franz Lehman letters and other material, 1943-1949: Spotlight
See this spotlight for information on the papers of Franz Lehman, a veteran of the United States Army during the Second World War and the postwar Allied occupation of Germany. Lehman's papers contain detailed letters relating events during the war, the conditions of the occupation, and the processes of Denazification and reconstruction in postwar Germany from and American Jewish perspective.
Franz Lehman letters and other material: Finding Aid
This collection consists mostly of letters, both handwritten and typed, most of which were written by Franz Lehman to members of his family and recount his experiences with a military government unit of the U.S. Army in the European Theater of World War Two and in postwar occupied Germany (1943 to 1946).
French Revolution pamphlets: Finding aid
This collection contains 94 publications (pamphlets, speeches, essays, official proceedings, etc.) of the French Revolutionary period. Among the numerous prominent authors included in this collection are Thomas Paine, Jacques Necker, Mirabeau, and Louis XVI.
French Revolution pamphlets: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on the French Revolution Pamphlets, with particular emphasis on two pamphlets written from the perspective of French Catholic women, a group whose story is often overshadowed by traditional narratives of the French Revolution.
George Barton Collection: Finding Aid
This collection consists of 12 linear feet of correspondence by and to Professor George A. Barton (1859-1942), a noted Biblical scholar and religious historian.
Hall-Hoag collection of extremist literature in the United States: Finding aid
This collection includes more than 5,000 exemplars of right- and left-wing pamphlet literature from the late 1940s through the 1980s pertaining to social, religious, and political issues.
Hall-Hoag Collection of extremist literature in the United States: Spotlight
See images from the collection with background information and description at Special Collections Spotlight.
Hermann Pineas letters: Finding aid
A small collection of letters written by German ex-pat Herman O. Pineas (of New York, NY) in which he describes his life throughout the First World War and Second World War as well as his experiences of persecution at the hands of the Nazis.
History of Ideas Program records: Finding aid
The collection contains information relating to the founding and activities of the Center for the Humanities / History of Ideas Program in the early-to-mid 1980's through the early 1990's. Eugene Goodheart was named Director, with Erica Hearth occasionally serving as Acting Director. The collection contains records of the founding of the Center, internal and external correspondence, as well information about its mission, goals, activities and accomplishments.
Hugo Oehler collection: Finding Aid
This collection consists of letters of correspondence, both to and from Hugo Oehler; reports on the Spanish Civil War with the majority written by either Hugo Oehler or Russell Blackwell; a translation of the Boletin Interior; and numerous periodical materials including newspaper clippings.
Hugo Oehler collection: Spotlight
Spotlight on Hugo Oehler, the American Communist leader and Spanish Civil War participant. Special Collections holds a linear foot of Oehler's correspondence and other writings from that period.
Isaac Newton manuscript: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on a rare unpublished handwritten manuscript by Sir Isaac Newton, circa 1687.
Jesús González Malo papers: Finding aid
The collection relates to Jesús González Malo, an anti-Francoist, anarcho-syndicalist exiled Spanish labor leader. It consists primarily of extensive correspondence between González Malo – as editor of the Confederated Spanish Societies’ España Libre monthly newspaper – and many other influential figures among academia, national governments, Spanish labor unions, and anti-Franco Spanish exile communities.
Jewish Resistance collection: Finding aid
A range of materials including underground publications by German Communist and French Jewish resisters to the Nazi regime before and during WWII; international post-war reports and periodicals documenting the persecution and extermination of Jews and the course of several Nuremberg trials; and Nazi paraphernalia. This collection is unprocessed.
Jewish Resistance collection: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on the Jewish Resistance Collection, including images of some documents, and background information. This collection is unprocessed; please contact the department to access this collection.
The Justice: Libguide
This is the longest running and most frequently published student newspaper. It is a great resource for researching Brandeis events, student reactions to current events, and University news from a student perspective.
Justin Galford collection of World War II era propaganda: Finding aid
This collection consists of propaganda in various formats gathered by Justin Galford, an educator with a Ph.D. in American history, for teaching and research purposes. The bulk of it relates to the American experience of the Second World War, especially on the Home Front.
Lawrence J. Kane Papers: Finding aid
These papers focus on Kane's time at Brandeis and his work as an alumnus, including his involvement with Catholic issues.
Leo Frank Trial collection: Finding aid
This collection chiefly consists of correspondence from Leo Frank and his wife, Lucille Frank, as well as correspondence to and from Governor Slaton and others. Also included are miscellaneous articles, pamphlets and legal documents.
Leo Frank Trial collection: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on the Leo Frank Trial Collection, including images of some letters and documents.
Le Témoin: Spotlight
The French journal of political satire Le Témoin [The Witness], 1933-1935, created by Paul Iribe, was a scathing report on French political life and a magnificent display of Iribe’s artwork in its most mature state.
Lewis S. Feuer collection: Finding aid
This collection contains approximately 100 feet of correspondence, published works, manuscripts, pamphlets, photographs, and other personal material from the career of noted philosopher and sociologist Lewis S. Feuer. The collection is being processed.
Lewis S. Feuer Collection: Spotlight
This Spotlight on the Lewis S. Feuer collection which outlines this polymath's career as both an academic and as a politically engaged public intellectual. Feuer began as a radical leftist, before turning to neo-conservativism.
Louis Dembitz Brandeis collection: Finding aid
This collection contains personal correspondence, family photographs, publications, financial records, newsclippings, biographical material, and more.
Louis Dembitz Brandeis collection: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on the Louis Brandeis collection, with a descriptive essay and enlargeable images.
Louis Nye collection: Spotlight
Read a spotlight featuring over 120 17th-century books and pamphlets involving King Charles I's rule.
Léon Lipschutz collection of Dreyfusiana and French Judaica: Finding Aid
The bulk of the items in this collection relate to the Dreyfus Affair in France during the 1890s and early 1900s. These materials include newspaper clippings, cartoons, books, and studio photographs of many of the key players in the Affair. Particularly well represented are anti-Semitic newspaper clippings and caricatures, which characterize the anti-Dreyfus movement.
Léon Lipschutz collection of Dreyfusiana and French Judaica: Spotlight
The majority of this collection is made up of materials specifically related to the Dreyfus Affair, including letters, newsclippings, and photos.
McKew-Parr Collection on Magellan and the Age of Discovery: Digitized book collection
Much of the McKew Parr Collection (see Spotlight in previous link) has been digitized and is available on the Internet Archive.
McKew-Parr Collection on Magellan and the Age of Discovery: Spotlight
This book collection is devoted to the era of exploration, the period from the mid-fifteenth through the mid-eighteenth centuries, with works relating to Magellan, Columbus, and other voyagers.
Michael Lally letters and other material: Finding aid
Michael Lally, an immigrant to Massachusetts from Ireland, fought for the Union in more than a dozen major battles of the Civil War. The collection at Brandeis includes 57 of Lally's letters from the front, written from 1861 to 1865.
Michael Lally letters and other material: Spotlight
See images from the collection with background information and description at Special Collections Spotlight.
Morton Keller Papers: Finding aid
Keller is Professor Emeritus in History and a scholar of American legal history. He taught many courses on United States history, political history, legal history, and the state in the Western world. His scholarly work focused on legal history, especially the period of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era.
Murray Rosenblum collection of World War II photographs: Finding aid
This collection consists of approximately 500 photographs belonging to Murray Rosenblum, who served as a sergeant in the 99th General Hospital, Verdun, France, during World War II.
Nahum Goldmann collection: Spotlight
The collection consists of roughly twenty-two linear feet of Goldmann’s correspondence, manuscripts, audiovisual recordings, scrapbooks, photographs, personal papers, press clippings, awards, and artifacts.
Nuremberg Chronicle: Spotlight
See a Special Collections Spotlight on the 15th-century German Nuremberg Chronicle held at Brandeis. Encompassing religious, secular, and mythical themes, the Chronicle is a history of the world as it was known, illustrated with over 1000 woodcut images.
Paris Commune posters: Finding aid
This collection contains seven posters from the Paris Commune. The posters range in date from March 24 to May 5, 1871. Six of the posters are Communard; one is presented by members of the National Assembly.
Paris Commune posters: Spotlight
This Spotlight provides background on the collection's seven Commune period posters.
Perry Miller Collection on the Colonial Religious Experience in America: Spotlight
This book collection contains 18 linear feet of books from the 17th and 18th centuries relating to the religious experience in the American colonies.
Punch's Pocket Book: Spotlight
Spotlight on Special Collections' holding of an uninterrupted set (1844-1881) of Punch's Pocket Book, an eclectic and highly popular annual publication spun off from Punch, the famed British satirical magazine.
Radical pamphlet collection: Finding Aid
The collection's approximately 4500 items represent an attempt to document the history of transatlantic radicalism, especially Anglo-American labor radicalism, during the first 75 years of the Twentieth Century. The collection contains a wide array of printed materials including pamphlets, magazines, journals, government reports, books, and campaign advertisements.
Radical Pamphlet collection: Spotlight
See images from the collection with background information and description at Special Collections Spotlight.
Rose Jacobs Collection: Finding aid
The Rose Jacobs collection is dominated by a manuscript and supporting documents regarding the history of Hadassah.
Rudolph Binion collection: Finding aid
he Rudolph Binion collection includes thirty-one folders of diverse archival material acquired in the service of Professor Binion's research in Germany.
Sacco and Vanzetti collections: Gardner Jackson collection: Finding aid
The bulk of papers in this collection are related to the Sacco-Vanzetti case, writings by and about Gardner Jackson, his involvement in the establishment of the case as one of the supreme examples of American injustice in this century.
Slave Trade in Spanish America collection: Finding aid
A collection of twenty letters, documents, and papers relating to slavery in Spanish America from 1624 to 1825. The papers concern questions of property rights over indigenous and African slaves, regulation of the slave trade, and slave ownership.
Spanish Civil War collection: Book list
The collection contains more than 5,000 books and pamphlets pertaining to various aspects of the Spanish Civil War, the Spanish exiles, and the Franco regime, as well as literary works pertaining to the conflict.
Spanish Civil War periodical collection: Spotlight
Spotlight about the Spanish Civil War periodical collection, which includes 394 titles produced during and after the conflict.
Spanish Civil War Poster Collection: Spotlight
See a descriptive Special Collections Spotlight on the Spanish Civil War Poster Collection, including enlargeable images.
Spanish Civil War posters: Poster List
Click above to find a checklist of the 250+ Spanish Civil War propaganda posters in our collection, some with online images. The posters are part of the Spanish Civil War collection, which contains books, pamphlets, and manuscript material.
Spingold Theater Center: Finding aid
The collection includes programs and fliers for both student and professional productions and theater festivals at the Spingold Theater Center. In addition, there are public relations materials such as official public service announcements, newsletters, invitations and subscription fliers.
Spitzer family papers: Finding Aid
The collection comprises manuscripts, books, photographs, and correspondence of the Spitzer family, originally from Germany.
Spitzer family papers: Spotlight
The Spitzer family papers, containing correspondence, official documents, personal accounts, and hundreds of photographs, give a glimpse into the lives of a Czechoslovak Jewish family in the years before, during, and after World War II.
Tauber Institute for the Study of European Jewry: Finding Aid
These materials are the work of the Tauber Institute, many with a focus on the Holocaust.
Theresienstadt concentration camp documents, 1939-1945: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on our Theresienstadt collection consisting of 200 bulletins.
Theresienstadt Concentration Camp documents: Finding aid
Daily orders issued from the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp (1942-1944). The orders provide detailed information about the workings of the camp including names of inmates murdered on specific dates. This collection is unprocessed.
Thomas Aquinas’s Summa theologica: Spotlight
Thomas Aquinas' lasting text used Aristotelian philosophy to support Catholic theology. Brandeis holds a 15th century manuscript of the third part of this important work. Read more in this Spotlight.
Victorian ephemera: Finding Aid
This collection contains assorted ephemera from England and the United States in the Victorian Era. The collection ranges from legal documents to advertisements to greeting cards, as well as an extensive number of bookplates.
Victorian ephemera: Spotlight
This collection includes about 300 ephemeral items exemplifying the printing process from the Victorian period, including holiday cards, programs, and other material.
Walter E. Fernald Developmental Center's Samuel Gridley Howe Library collections: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on the Howe Library collection at Brandeis, which includes several hundred books in the fields of science, medicine, and disabilities; the papers of Irving Kenneth Zola and of Rosemary and Gunnar Dybwad; and thousands of pamphlets, case studies, and journals.
William Lloyd Garrison collection: Finding aid
This collection consists of manuscripts, handwritten lecture notes, and numerous letters from Garrison, his family, and his many supporters (including numerous well-known nineteenth-century reformers). Written before, during, and after the American Civil War, these papers illuminate Garrison’s tireless efforts to abolish slavery and inequality in the United States. Gift of Philip D. Sang.
William Lloyd Garrison collection: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on the William Lloyd Garrison collection, a small but intriguing collection of papers relating to Boston’s famed abolitionist and newspaper publisher.
World War I and World War II Propaganda Posters, 1908-1944: Finding aid
This collection includes nearly a hundred different American propaganda posters from World War I and World War I with a variety of aims. The subjects of the posters include programs such as The United War Work Campaign and Liberty and Victory Loans.
World War I and World War II Propaganda Posters, 1908-1944: Online exhibit
See an online exhibit of selected posters from the collection, organized chronologically.
World War II Guernsey scrapbook: Spotlight
This scrapbook, created in the Channel Islands during World War II, includes handwritten records of BBC war broadcasts (illegal at the time) juxtaposed with newspaper clippings of German wartime reports from local commandeered newspapers on the island of Guernsey.
Yakov Borisovich Kantorovich papers: Finding aid
The collection comprises the personal diaries and correspondence of Yakov Borisovich Kantorovich written during the siege of Leningrad (1941-1943).
¡Jovenes! (circa 1937): Spotlight
This Spotlight focuses on a recently repaired poster from the Spanish Civil War poster collection. Previously unusable due to its fragile condition, it is now available for use.

Judaic Studies

Click here to see the Near Eastern and Judaic Studies guide, and here to see the Yiddish studies guide.

Abram L. Sachar Hillel Papers: Finding Aid
Sachar was a founder of the Hillel movement on American college campuses and would serve as National Director from 1933 to 1947. During his tenure, Hillel grew from nine to nearly 200 campus chapters throughout North America. Sachar also served as President of the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization (BBYO) from 1945 to 1948.
Albert Axelrad papers: Finding aid
Activities at Brandeis included running and directing the Brandeis B'nai B'rith Hillel group. His other interests included topics in Israeli-Palestinian relations, Soviet, East European, Ethiopian, Syrian, and Cuban Jewry issues, and issues of amnesty. Rabbi Axelrad also took an active role in social activism and civil issues.
Arthur Green papers: Finding Aid
The papers of Arthur (Art) Green, a significant Jewish scholar and theologian, relate to his leading role in the Havurah movement in American Judaism, as well as his lengthy university teaching career.
Aviva Cantor papers: Finding aid
This collection includes correspondence, research, publications, and other materials broadly related to Aviva Cantor's work as a feminist activist focusing on women's roles within Judaism.
Benjamin Halpern Papers: Finding Aid
Halpern taught courses such as Contemporary Hebrew Literature and the History of Modern Palestine for the Near Eastern and Judaic Studies Department at Brandeis. He was intimately connected with the Zionist movement.
Chaim Weizmann letters and papers: Finding Aid
The collection (in microform) includes correspondence, documents, and related ephemeral items documenting Weizmann's scientific career and his involvement in Zionist affairs and the founding of the State of Israel. The original documents are housed in the Weizmann Archives, Rehovot, Israel.
Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies: Finding aid
Founded in 1980, the Maurice and Marilyn Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies (CMJS), is a multi-disciplinary research center dedicated to bringing the concepts, theories, and techniques of social science to bear on the study of contemporary Jewish life. Core topics concern the development of ethnic and religious identities and their attendant personal, communal, and societal outcomes. The research incorporates cutting-edge methodologies and strives to be rigorous and transparent. CMJS hopes to contribute to scholarly understanding of American Jewry and Jewish institutions and provide policy-relevant analysis.
Consistoire Central Israélite de France collection: Finding Aid
The collection contains nine linear feet of original documents relating to the French-Jewish community during the 18th through the 20th centuries. A finding aid is available in the Special Collections Department.
Consistoire Central Israélite de France collection: Spotlight
Containing seven linear feet of French Consistory materials and two linear feet of international Judaica, the Consistoire Central Israélite de France collection at Brandeis provides a view of the French Jewish community from the mid-eighteenth through the first third of the twentieth century.
David Niles Papers: Finding Aid
This collection includes correspondence, documents, newspaper clippings, photographs, and memorabilia dealing with such subjects as Palestine and Israel, the Holocaust and Jewish refugees, anti-Semitism in the United States, the WPA, and Brandeis University. Most of the material in the collection is photocopied. The originals may be found in the Truman Presidential Library. A finding aid is available in the Special Collections Department.
Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies: Finding aid
The first box in this collection contains mostly the correspondence of Alexander Altmann. Much of the rest is historical and administrative material of the department.
E.M. Broner Collection: Finding Aid
The collection concerns the writings, rituals and correspondence of E.M. Broner, including manuscripts, publications, reviews, correspondence, descriptions of rituals, and more.
Eric M. Lipman collection of Nazi Documents: Finding aid
This collection consists primarily of correspondence written before and during World War II, including letters from Wilhelm Frick to his second wife, Margarete Schultze-Naumburg; from Rudolf Hess and Heinrich Himmler to Adolf Hitler; and from Gerd von Rundstedt to Louis von Rundstedt. The collection also includes diaries.
Eric M. Lipman collection of Nazi documents: Spotlight
See a descriptive Special Collections Spotlight on the Lipman collection of Nazi documents, with in-depth discussion of individual items and enlargeable images.
Helmut Hirsch collection: Finding aid
This collection contains material related to Helmut Hirsch (1916-1937), including correspondence; creative work by Hirsch; scholarly and popular media materials describing Hirsch's life; government and legal documents regarding Hirsch's death sentence and more.
Helmut Hirsch Collection: online exhibit
Helmut Hirsch, a promising young artist and poet, was executed on June 4, 1937, for plotting to bomb the Nazi headquarters in Nuremberg. The collection contains artwork, poetry, photographs, and family correspondence.
Helmut Hirsch collection: Spotlight
See a Special Collections Spotlight on the Helmut Hirsch collection.
Hermann Pineas letters: Finding aid
A small collection of letters written by German ex-pat Herman O. Pineas (of New York, NY) in which he describes his life throughout the First World War and Second World War as well as his experiences of persecution at the hands of the Nazis.
Hillel at Brandeis records: Finding Aid
Hillel at Brandeis was established ca. 1949 with the goals of cultivating and contributing to Jewish life at Brandeis University.
Israel Levine collection
Israel Levine was a poet from Malden, Massachusetts; this collection contains the author's Yiddish poems, both original and translations of others' works, along with other writings in Yiddish and Hebrew. The collection is unprocessed.
Jacob Hiatt Institute in Israel: Finding aid
The Jacob Hiatt Institute in Israel was an academic program in Jerusalem that was sponsored by Brandeis University and operated from 1961-1983. Each program lasted for one semester or one year and was open to undergraduate students from colleges and universities in the United States. During the course of a program, formal classroom instruction was supplemented with field trips and internships.
Jewish Resistance collection: Finding aid
A range of materials including underground publications by German Communist and French Jewish resisters to the Nazi regime before and during WWII; international post-war reports and periodicals documenting the persecution and extermination of Jews and the course of several Nuremberg trials; and Nazi paraphernalia. This collection is unprocessed.
Jewish Resistance collection: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on the Jewish Resistance Collection, including images of some documents, and background information.
Johannes Buxtorf, Christian Hebraist (1564-1629): Spotlight
In this Spotlight, see a description of five works by Johannes Buxtorf, a notable Renaissance Christian scholar of Judaism.
Leo Frank Trial Collection: Finding aid
This collection chiefly consists of correspondence from Leo Frank and his wife, Lucille Frank, as well as correspondence to and from Governor Slaton and others. Also included are miscellaneous articles, pamphlets, and legal documents.
Leo Frank Trial collection: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on the Leo Frank Trial Collection, including images of some letters and documents.
Leon Jick Papers: Finding Aid
Jick joined the Brandeis faculty in 1966 as Director of the Center for Jewish Studies, and later became a Professor of American Jewish Studies. Prior to coming to Brandeis, Jick was a pulpit rabbi for and was very active in the civil rights movement and in many organizations within the Jewish community.
Leo Rosten papers: Spotlight
This collection consists of 39+ linear feet of manuscripts of Leo Rosten's literary works, book reviews, promotional literature, as well as first and signed editions of his published works.
Louis Dembitz Brandeis collection: Finding aid
This collection contains personal correspondence, family photographs, publications, financial records, newsclippings, biographical material, and more.
Louis Dembitz Brandeis collection: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on the Louis Brandeis collection, with a descriptive essay and enlargeable images.
Ludwig Lewisohn collection: Finding aid
This collection contains manuscript material from the novelist, literary and drama critic, and prominent Zionist Ludwig Lewisohn, representing the latter part of his writing career.
Léon Lipschutz collection of Dreyfusiana and French Judaica: Finding Aid
The bulk of the items in this collection relate to the Dreyfus Affair in France during the 1890s and early 1900s. These materials include newspaper clippings, cartoons, books, and studio photographs of many of the key players in the Affair. Particularly well represented are anti-Semitic newspaper clippings and caricatures, which characterize the anti-Dreyfus movement.
Léon Lipschutz collection of Dreyfusiana and French Judaica: Spotlight
The majority of this collection is made up of materials specifically related to the Dreyfus Affair, including letters, newsclippings, and photos.
Ma'yan records: Finding aid
This collection consists of eleven linear feet of material documenting Ma'yan, a Jewish feminist organization based in New York City. The records include reports, strategic plans, meeting agendas, class and workshop material, program and exhibit files, photographs and more.
Marcia Freedman papers: Finding Aid
A collection of journals, speeches, lecture notes, correspondence, manuscripts, typescripts and research files created by Marcia Freedman, an American-Israeli activist and feminist.
Marcia Freedman papers: Spotlight
Read a Spotlight about the Marcia Freedman papers consisting of approximately 2.75 linear feet of materials pertaining to Freedman’s life and work as an American-Israeli activist and feminist.
Marshall Sklare papers: Finding Aid
The Marshall Sklare papers contain not only his own correspondence and articles, but also a large collection of organizational and communal reports, articles, and publications on a wide variety of subjects related to the American and Israeli Jewish communities.
Marvin Fox collection: Finding Aid
This collection contains scholarly articles and reviews, correspondence with publishers and scholars, correspondence related to Ohio State University and Brandeis, documentation of Fox's army service, and tapes of Rabbi Joseph Dov Soloveitchik's Yiddish talks. The collection is unprocessed.
Maurice Samuel collection: Finding Aid
This collection contains correspondence, literary works, reviews, and photographs. Of particular interest are descriptions of rural life in wartime France and experiences in the barracks.
Mel and Shifra Gold collection of Yiddish Sheet Music: Finding Aid
This collection consists of approximately six hundred published scores, comprising Yiddish and Hebrew folksongs, music written for the Yiddish stage, and some cantoral works. Materials in the collection were published between 1890 and 1969, with the bulk published between 1900-1952, principally in New York, with a small number published in Warsaw and London. Many of the scores were published by Metro Music Co. Other publishers include S. Schenker, A. Teres, and Theodore Lore. The collection is unprocessed.
Muriel and Jeremy Josse Collection of Holy Land Maps: Finding aid
The Josse collection contains 252 nineteenth and twentieth century maps of the Holy Land and Africa.
Muriel and Jeremy Josse Collection of Holy Land Maps: Spotlight
Spotlight presenting the Josse collection of 252 nineteenth and twentieth century maps of the Holy Land and Africa.
Nahum Glatzer Papers: Finding Aid
In 1951, Glatzer became an associate professor of Jewish History and would play a vital role in the development of the Brandeis Near Eastern and Judaic Studies Department. Glatzer was a prolific author and editor contributing to the fields of Jewish philosophy and history.
Nahum Goldmann collection: Finding Aid
The Nahum Goldmann collection consists of correspondence, manuscripts, oral histories, audiovisual recordings, scrapbooks, photographs, personal papers, press clippings, and awards related to Nahum Goldmann’s activities as a Zionist and Jewish activist. The collection documents Goldmann’s work with the many Jewish and Zionist organizations he was involved in, most notably the World Jewish Congress and the Jewish Agency for Palestine.
Nahum Goldmann collection: Spotlight
The collection consists of roughly twenty-two linear feet of Goldmann’s correspondence, manuscripts, audiovisual recordings, scrapbooks, photographs, personal papers, press clippings, awards, and artifacts.
Pete Steffens papers: Finding aid
This collection consists of Pete Steffens’s research and writings on the history of the modern Hebrew press.
Rita Kornfeld collection
This collection contains Kornfeld's German-Jewish family's correspondence and documents, particularly relating to their education. This collection is unprocessed; please contact the department to access this collection.
Rose Jacobs collection: Finding aid
The Rose Jacobs collection is dominated by a manuscript and supporting documents regarding the history of Hadassah.
Sandra Butler papers: Finding Aid
The Sandra Butler papers consist of journals, correspondence, photographs, workshop posters and audiovisual materials relating to Sandra Butler's activities as an author and activist in the feminist movement, advocate for Israeli-Palestinian peace, and issues related to breast cancer.
Simons collection of Judaica: Book List
The Simons Collection of books on Judaica includes works dating from 1792 to 1990.
Spitzer family papers: Finding Aid
The collection comprises manuscripts, books, photographs, and correspondence of the Spitzer family, originally from Germany.
Spitzer family papers: Spotlight
The Spitzer family papers, containing correspondence, official documents, personal accounts, and hundreds of photographs, give a glimpse into the lives of a Czechoslovak Jewish family in the years before, during, and after World War II.
Stephen S. Wise collection: Finding aid
This collection contains manuscript material representing Wise's career as a rabbi and involvement in public affairs. The bulk of the collection consists of materials related to organizations Wise was involved in, sermons, and correspondence.
Stephen S. Wise family papers: Finding aid
This collection consists primarily of correspondence and concerns Stephen Wise's personal relationships with his family, and, in particular, the relatives of his wife's family.
Synagogue ephemera collection: Finding aid
This collection contains programs for religious services, anniversary celebrations, dedications and other publications from synagogues across the United States, ca. 1940s-1970s.
Tauber Institute for the Study of European Jewry: Finding Aid
These materials are the work of the Tauber Institute, many with a focus on the Holocaust.
Theresienstadt concentration camp documents, 1939-1945: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on our Theresienstadt collection consisting of 200 daily bulletins.
Theresienstadt Concentration Camp documents: Finding aid
Daily orders issued from the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp (1942-1944). The orders provide detailed information about the workings of the camp including names of inmates murdered on specific dates. This collection is unprocessed.
Tumen collection of Jewish ceremonial objects: Finding aid
This collection consists of 177 Jewish ceremonial objects: kiddush cups, spice boxes, candlesticks, menorahs, torah bindings, breastplates, rimonim, yadayim, as well as megillot, amulets, and mezuzot originally produced in Europe, the Near East, North Africa, and America. The collection contains pieces from the 2nd-3rd century, but principally showcases 19th-20th century artifacts. A portion of this collection is on display on the Goldfarb Mezzanine.
Tumen collection of Jewish ceremonial objects: Spotlight
See a Spotlight providing examples of ceremonial objects from the collection, as well as an essay underscoring the significance of these objects.
Yiddish sheet music: Finding Aid
This collection includes Yiddish sheet music written for the Yiddish stage, Yiddish and Hebrew folksongs, and cantorial compositions.

Legal studies

Collections relevant to legal studies include the personal papers of Louis Brandeis as well as materials related to specific legal cases such as that of Leo Frank or Sacco and Vanzetti. Other materials include a collection of (pre-1947) Indian legal documents as well as photographs from the Nuremberg Trials.

David Berkowitz Papers: Finding aid
Hired in 1948 by Brandeis as Associate Professor of History and Political Science and scholar of English and legal history and the Renaissance, Berkowitz taught classes such as Topics in Constitutional History, and Topics in Historical Jurisprudence.
Indian Legal Documents collection: Finding aid
The Indian Legal Documents collection contains court records from several former princely states in the present-day state of Rajasthan, dating primarily from the 1930s and 1940s.
Isaac Newton manuscript: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on a rare unpublished handwritten manuscript by Sir Isaac Newton, circa 1687.
Isidor Enselman papers: Finding aid
The materials in this collection were created between 1921 and 1990, and relate to the life and career of Isidor Enselman, a New York attorney and judge,
Legal Studies Program: Finding Aid
This collection is largely official reports and paperwork pertaining to the maintenance of the Legal Studies Program. Some letters of Saul Touster are included.
Leo Frank Trial collection: Finding aid
This collection chiefly consists of correspondence from Leo Frank and his wife, Lucille Frank, as well as correspondence to and from Governor Slaton and others. Also included are miscellaneous articles, pamphlets and legal documents.
Leo Frank Trial collection: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on the Leo Frank Trial Collection, including images of some letters and documents.
Louis Dembitz Brandeis collection: Finding aid
This collection contains personal correspondence, family photographs, publications, financial records, newsclippings, biographical material, and more.
Louis Dembitz Brandeis collection: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on the Louis Brandeis collection, with a descriptive essay and enlargeable images.
Léon Lipschutz collection of Dreyfusiana and French Judaica: Finding Aid
The bulk of the items in this collection relate to the Dreyfus Affair in France during the 1890s and early 1900s. These materials include newspaper clippings, cartoons, books, and studio photographs of many of the key players in the Affair. Particularly well represented are anti-Semitic newspaper clippings and caricatures, which characterize the anti-Dreyfus movement.
Léon Lipschutz collection of Dreyfusiana and French Judaica: Spotlight
The majority of this collection is made up of materials specifically related to the Dreyfus Affair, including letters, newsclippings, and photos.
Morton Keller Papers: Finding aid
Keller is Professor Emeritus in History and a scholar of American legal history. Keller taught courses on U.S. history, political history, legal history, and the state in the Western world. His scholarly work focused on legal history, especially the period of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era.
Sacco and Vanzetti collections: Francis Russell collection: Finding aid
This collection includes documents related to the Citizens National Committee for Sacco and Vanzetti and the Sacco and Vanzetti National League. Also included are drafts of Russell's writings, correspondence, documents, photographs, and videotapes.
Sacco and Vanzetti collections: Gardner Jackson collection: Finding aid
Special Collections has several collections dealing with the Sacco-Vanzetti case. This collection contains writings by and about Gardner Jackson and his involvement in the establishment of the case as a supreme example of American injustice.
Sacco and Vanzetti collections: Mrs. Walter Frank collection: Finding aid
This collection correspondence by and to people who belonged to either the Sacco-Vanzetti National League (New York) or the Sacco-Vanzetti Defense Committee (Boston), including Gardner Jackson and Felix Frankfurter, as well as other letters and photos.
Sacco and Vanzetti collections: Spotlight
See this Spotlight for notable objects related to the trial and held by Special Collections.
Sacco and Vanzetti collections: Tom O'Connor collection: Finding aid
Tom O'Connor was a journalist who also served as the secretary for the Vindication Committee of Sacco and Vanzetti. This collection contains newsclippings and correspondence O'Connor collected during his lifelong interest in the case.
Saul Touster Papers: Finding Aid
Under Touster's leadership, Brandeis developed the Legal Studies Program. Beyond his positions as legal professor and Director of the Legal Studies Program, Touster was also very active in the general administration of Brandeis University.
William Goldsmith Papers: Finding aid
Goldsmith initiated and participated in numerous programs and committees as a professor at Brandeis. Many of these programs, such as Upward Bound and TYP, were focused on the issues of educating the disadvantaged. He also researched Louis Brandeis.

Music

Awards, photographs, scores, and LPs from the Victor Young collection.

Arthur Berger Papers: Finding Aid
An established music composer and critic before he joined the Brandeis faculty, Berger specialized in teaching orchestra, chamber, and solo piano music. Materials include books, reprints, reel-to-reel audiotapes, LP records, a memorial CD, concert programs, photographs, reviews, essays, and musical compositions.
The Beginnings of Music at Brandeis: Online exhibit
A look at the first decade of the Brandeis Department of Music, including audio clips and photographs.
Carl Van Vechten Portraits: Finding Aid
This collection includes photographs of many famous musicians.
Department of Music: Finding aid
This collection consists mostly of the work and history of the Deptartment of Music.
Electronic Music Recordings: Finding Aid
72 the works recorded at the former Brandeis Electronic Music Studio dating from the early period of American electronic music and including prominent composers such as Alvin Lucier, Ernst Krenek, Luciano Berio. Many of the recordings are one of a kind or are the only known copies of particular versions of compositions.
Eric Chasalow Papers: Finding Aid
Eric Chasalow is a professor of music at Brandeis University, and a well-known composer of electronic music.
Gorham Collection of Early Music Imprints, 1501-1650: Description
The Gorham Collection consists of the original imprints of music or books on or related to music published between 1501 and 1650, a golden age of music printing and publishing. Click the above link for a detailed description of the collection.
Gorham Collection of Early Music Imprints, 1501-1650: Spotlight
The above link will show you the Special Collections Spotlight entry on the Gorham Collection, with information about the partbooks in the collection and early music publishing, written by Sarah Mead, music department faculty member.
Gorham Collection of Early Music Imprints, 1501-1650: Book list
The Gorham Collection consists of the original imprints of music or books on or related to music published between 1501 and 1650, a golden age of music printing and publishing. Click the above link for a list of books with call numbers in LOUIS.
Harold Shapero Papers: Finding Aid
Contains 23 boxes of sketches, scores, and correspondence that provide a unique look into the creative life of the composer.
Harold Shapero Papers: Spotlight
The Harold Shapero Collection contains sketches and scores of Symphony for Classical Orchestra as well as Shapero’s other major works, including Serenade in D for Strings, Partita in C, and Three Sonatas for Piano. In addition to these well-known published pieces, the collection includes many unpublished compositions, several of which were written as gifts to friends and family members. The contents of the collection span Shapero’s lifetime, including materials from early piano lessons, classwork from his studies at Harvard University, as well as works and sketches from the end of his life.
Le Istitutioni Harmoniche: Spotlight
One of the most important works in the history of music theory, Gioseffo Zarlino’s 1558 treatise Le Istitutioni Harmoniche sought to unite music theory with the craft of composition.
Music School Sound Recordings: Finding Aid
This is a large collection of musical recordings from performances, most of which were held at Brandeis University.
Office of the Arts: Finding Aid
This is a collection focusing on the Office of the Arts' efforts to bring the arts to life at Brandeis. Information for specific exhibits is included.
Reginald De Koven collection: Finding aid
This collection includes opera manuscripts, published compositions, and some correspondence regarding contracts, copyrights, production dates, and reviews, as well as news articles and two pages handwritten by De Koven titled "Ideas for a Farce."
Victor Young collection: Digitized Scores
Explore 65 complete scores created by Victor Young.
Victor Young Collection: Finding aid
This collection consists of scores, awards and memorabilia, sheet music, press clippings, correspondence, photographs of Victor Young, and more.
Victor Young collection: Spotlight
Click above for a description of the Victor Young collection, with information about Young's career and images.
Yiddish sheet music: Finding Aid
This collection includes Yiddish sheet music written for the Yiddish stage, Yiddish and Hebrew folksongs, and cantorial compositions.

Medieval and Renaissance studies

The inside of one of our Fore-Edge book paintings.

Book of Hours images: Online Exhibit
See images from a fifteenth-century Flemish Book of Hours held in Special Collections.
Johannes Buxtorf, Christian Hebraist (1564-1629): Spotlight
In this Spotlight, see a description of five works by Johannes Buxtorf, a notable Renaissance Christian scholar of Judaism.
Dante's Divine Comedy, censored by the Spanish Inquisition: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on a 1564 copy of Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, in which the poem and its surrounding commentaries were expurgated by a Spanish Inquisition cleric. The cleric’s ink has faded over the years, allowing one to read the redacted portions. A note from one of the Inquisitors is included in the volume, stating that the necessary cancellations have been made.
Illustrated Medieval Manuscripts at Brandeis: Spotlight
See a Spotlight focusing on four medieval manuscripts held by Special Collections (including two Books of Hours), and featuring images of their ornate texts.
1589 Geneva Bible: Spotlight
The English Geneva Bible, published in completed form in 1560, was issued at a time when the Roman Catholic Church had banned all vernacular translations of the Bible.
The First Bookplate: Spotlight
See this Spotlight for a highly detailed description of one of the first known bookplates, dating from the 1470s, and held by Special Collections.
The First Part of the Life and raigne of King Henrie the IIII: Spotlight
This Spotlight presents this late Elizabethan-era work of history, detailing the politically controversial circumstances of its publication. It is further of interest for its apparent influence on Shakespeare's depiction of the reigns of Richard II and Henry IV.
Fore-edge Paintings: Spotlight
This Spotlight details Brandeis' collection of fore-edge painted books -- illustrations painted on the side of books, visible only when the pages are correctly fanned.
Gorham Collection of Early Music Imprints, 1501-1650: Description
The Gorham Collection consists of the original imprints of music or books on or related to music published between 1501 and 1650, a golden age of music printing and publishing. Click the above link for a detailed description of the collection.
Gorham Collection of Early Music Imprints, 1501-1650: Spotlight
The above link will show you the Special Collections Spotlight entry on the Gorham Collection, with information about the partbooks in the collection and early music publishing, written by Sarah Mead, music department faculty member and director of the Early Music Ensemble.
Incunabula: Finding Aid
See an updated finding aid here: http://findingaids.brandeis.edu/repositories/2/resources/102
Le Istitutioni Harmoniche: Spotlight
One of the most important works in the history of music theory, Gioseffo Zarlino’s 1558 treatise Le Istitutioni Harmoniche sought to unite music theory with the craft of composition.
Isaac Newton manuscript: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on a rare unpublished handwritten manuscript by Sir Isaac Newton, circa 1687.
Nuremberg Chronicle: Spotlight
See a Special Collections Spotlight on the 15th-century German Nuremberg Chronicle held at Brandeis. Encompassing religious, secular, and mythical themes, the Chronicle is a history of the world as it was known, illustrated with over 1000 woodcut images.
Pimander: Spotlight
See a description and images of Brandeis's 1481 edition of Pimander, sive De potestate et sapientia Dei, translated by Marsilio Ficino.
Shakespeare First Folio online: Digitized Book
See a digitized version of the First Folio held at Brandeis.
Shakespeare in Special Collections: Book List
See a list of the rare Shakespeare works held in Special Collections, including a First Folio.
Three Books of Renaissance Cryptography and the Secret of Shakespearean Authorship: Spotlight
See details about and images of three books of cryptography, a craft that became quite popular in the Renaissance. One of the volumes described is cited as evidence in the Shakespeare authorship debate.
Thomas Aquinas’s Summa theologica: Spotlight
Thomas Aquinas' lasting text used Aristotelian philosophy to support Catholic theology. Brandeis holds a 15th century manuscript of the third part of this important work. Read more in this Spotlight.

Politics

Eleanor Roosevelt giving a General Education S Lecture, April 17, 1958 at Brandeis University.

"Prospects of Mankind": Finding aid
This innovative monthly television series, was hosted by Eleanor Roosevelt from 1959-1962. This colloquium-style series provided a forum for prominent leaders and decision makers to discuss and debate important current affairs, both domestic and international. The series documents some of the most influential figures of the mid-twentieth century.
Consistoire Central Israélite de France collection: Finding Aid
Containing seven linear feet of French Consistory materials and one linear foot of international Judaica, the Consistoire Central Israélite de France collection at Brandeis provides a sweeping view of the French Jewish community from the mid-eighteenth through the first third of the twentieth century.
Consistoire Central Israélite de France collection: Spotlight
Containing seven linear feet of French Consistory materials and two linear feet of international Judaica, the Consistoire Central Israélite de France collection at Brandeis provides a view of the French Jewish community from the mid-eighteenth through the first third of the twentieth century.
The Crimean War in the French and British satirical press: Spotlight
Read a Spotlight about satirical cartoons by Honoré Daumier, John Tenniel, and John Leech that appeared in Le Charivari (France) and Punch, or the London Charivari (England), two major 19th-century satirical publications.
David Berkowitz Papers: Finding aid
Hired in 1948 by Brandeis as Associate Professor of History and Political Science and a scholar of English and legal history and the Renaissance, Berkowitz taught classes such as Topics in Constitutional History and Topics in Historical Jurisprudence.
David Cunningham Papers: Finding Aid
Sociologist David Cunningham performed his research on Leftist American politics, the KKK, and the FBI. This collection also contains administrative materials pertaining to the Sociology Dept.
Eleanor Roosevelt’s General Ed S lecture: Online Recording
Listen online to an April 1958 Brandeis lecture in which Eleanor Roosevelt offered thoughtful reflections on the course of her life and her work to Brandeis students.
Gordon Fellman Collection: Finding Aid
This collection has considerable primary documentation of the1960s and 1970s student protest movements at Brandeis and across the nation. A substantial amount of secondary material reflects the wider view of the social and political turmoil surrounding the Vietnam War. Parts of this collection are online through the database The Sixties at http://tinyurl.com/9m4swd9.
Isaac Newton manuscript: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on a rare unpublished handwritten manuscript by Sir Isaac Newton, circa 1687.
Lawrence H. Fuchs Collection: Finding Aid
Fuchs began his Brandeis career in the Department of Politics and founded the American Studies Department in 1970. Materials in the collection date from 1948 to 2008 and document Fuchs's life as a scholar and professional. Fuchs describes himself as a "political behaviorist."
Lenny Bruce collection: Finding Aid
The Lenny Bruce collection consists of photographs, writings and transcripts, correspondence, news clippings and articles, audio recordings and trial materials, all related to Lenny Bruce’s performances and life, as well as some materials relating to his family members.
The Lenny Bruce Collection: Spotlight
Read a Spotlight about Lenny Bruce and his bold use of language, his fearlessness in naming social, legal, and political hypocrisies, and his fight for his First Amendment rights paved the way for important changes in this country, not only to its comedic landscape, but also to the rights of its citizens to speak freely and without fear.
Lenny Bruce unreleased short film: Finding Aid
An unreleased, black and white silent film featuring Lenny Bruce as a down-on-his-luck street newspaper salesman. The 12-and-a-half minute 16mm film, most likely created in the mid-to-late 1950s or early 1960s, follows the ups-and-downs — mainly downs — of the main character, including his dreams of owning a motorcycle jacket, his clashes with the landlady of the rooming house where he lives (probably played by Bruce’s mother, Sally Marr), a brief romantic meeting with a female stranger, and an accidental, fateful run-in with a drug dealer and the police.
Louis Dembitz Brandeis collection: Finding aid
This collection contains personal correspondence, family photographs, publications, financial records, newsclippings, biographical material, and more.
Louis Dembitz Brandeis collection: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on the Louis Brandeis collection, with a descriptive essay and enlargeable images.
Max Nomad papers: Spotlight
This Spotlight contains background information on the life and work of the radical political theorist Max Nomad. Special Collections holds a portion of Nomad's letters and manuscripts.
Morton Keller Papers: Finding aid
Morton Keller is Professor Emeritus in History and a scholar of American legal history. Keller taught courses on United States history, political history, legal history, and the state in the Western world. His scholarly work focused on legal history, especially the period of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era
Nahum Goldmann collection: Finding Aid
The Nahum Goldmann collection consists of correspondence, manuscripts, oral histories, audiovisual recordings, scrapbooks, photographs, personal papers, press clippings, and awards related to Nahum Goldmann’s activities as a Zionist and Jewish activist. The collection documents Goldmann’s work with the many Jewish and Zionist organizations he was involved in, most notably the World Jewish Congress and the Jewish Agency for Palestine.
Nahum Goldmann collection: Spotlight
The collection consists of roughly twenty-two linear feet of Goldmann’s correspondence, manuscripts, audiovisual recordings, scrapbooks, photographs, personal papers, press clippings, awards, and artifacts.
Political Broadcasts from the Morse Communications Research Center collection: Finding Aid
This reformatted collection of early televised political broadcasts (1962) is a rich resource for historians, political scientists, communications and media specialists, and early television enthusiasts interested in studying the history of televised political campaigns in the U.S.
Student Activism at Brandeis collection: Finding Aid
Materials come from an exhibit produced in coordination with a mini-conference entitled “Student Protests 1969-1970: Brandeis and America.” It includes photographs, newspaper articles, and videotape highlighting examples of student activism both on and off-campus dating back to the University’s founding and included panel discussions on the Ford Hall occupation and the National Strike Information Center. This collection is available online through the database The Sixties at http://tinyurl.com/9roac3x.
Tauber Institute for the Study of European Jewry: Finding Aid
These materials are the work of the Tauber Institute, many with a focus on the Holocaust.
William Goldsmith Papers: Finding aid
Goldsmith taught at Brandeis University from 1960 to 1984 as a professor of Politics and American Civilization. His most significant publications include The Brandeis Papers Commission and The Growth of Presidential Power.

Psychology

Abraham Maslow during his Brandeis years

Walter E. Fernald Developmental Center's Samuel Gridley Howe Library collections: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on the Howe Library collection at Brandeis, which includes several hundred books in the fields of science, medicine, and disabilities; the papers of Irving Kenneth Zola and of Rosemary and Gunnar Dybwad; and thousands of pamphlets, case studies, and journals.
Frank E. Manuel Papers: Finding Aid
Among the most respected European historians of the twentieth century, Manuel taught in the History and Psychology departments at Brandeis from 1949 until 1965 and then returned in 1977. Manuel's scholarly interests included utopias, Christian Hebraism, historiography, and philosophers such as Isaac Newton and Karl Marx.
Abraham Maslow and Harry Rand lecture: Online Recording
Listen online to a 1965 Abraham Maslow and Harry Rand joint lecture entitled “Consequences of Premarital Sex Behavior” from a social scientific perspective.
Ricardo Morant Papers: Finding Aid
Professor Morant's research focuses on human orientation and the perception of spatial relationships. This collection is not fully processed, please consult the archivist.

Religious Studies

Brandeis University's Three Chapels, dedicated in October 1955

1589 Geneva Bible: Spotlight
The English Geneva Bible, published in completed form in 1560, was issued at a time when the Roman Catholic Church had banned all vernacular translations of the Bible.
Albert Axelrad papers: Finding aid
The materials in this collection were created from 1966 through 2000. The files include personal, professional, and spiritual advice correspondence, speeches and prayers written by Rabbi Axelrad, and biographical information about him.
Brandeis Three Chapels: Finding aid
Materials related to the Three Chapels at Brandeis University, including their dedication and re-dedication ceremonies. In addition to programs, event brochures, news clippings, newsletters, memos, and announcements, the collection contains photographs of the Three Chapels during and after their construction.
Brandeis Three Chapels: Spotlight
Read the spotlight about the history of the three chapels at Brandeis, designed by the architectural firm of Harrison and Abramovitz.
Charter of the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary: Spotlight
See this Spotlight for a description of this ornately illuminated Dominican manuscript from the early 1700s.
Coptic Liturgy and Prayers: The Anaphora of Saint Cyril: Spotlight
Read a Spotlight on The Anaphora of Saint Cyril a manuscript that is part of the Rare Non-Western Manuscripts collection written in both Arabic and Bohairic, a dialect of Coptic.
Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies: Finding aid
The first box in this collection contains mostly the correspondence of Alexander Altmann. Much of the rest is historical and administrative material of the department.
George Barton Collection: Finding Aid
This collection consists of 12 linear feet of correspondence by and to Professor George A. Barton (1859-1942), a noted Biblical scholar and religious historian.
Gerald Bernstein collection: Finding aid
This collection contains materials related to Brandeis buildings and its architecture. Aerial photographs, master plans, architectural design boards for Ziv Quad (?), various renderings of the Three Chapels, and other campus structures are included in the collection.
Hillel at Brandeis records: Finding Aid
Hillel at Brandeis, a non-profit, independent affiliate of Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, was established on campus (circa 1949) with the goals of cultivating and contributing to Jewish life at Brandeis University.
Lawrence J. Kane Papers: Finding aid
These papers focus on Kane's time at Brandeis and his work as an alumnus, including his involvement with Catholic issues.
Leon Jick Papers: Finding Aid
Jick joined the Brandeis faculty in 1966 as Director of the Center for Jewish Studies, and later became a Professor of American Jewish Studies. Prior to coming to Brandeis, Jick was a pulpit rabbi for twelve years and was very active in the civil rights movement and in many organizations within the Jewish community.
Perry Miller Collection on the Colonial Religious Experience in America: Spotlight
This book collection contains 18 linear feet of books from the 17th and 18th centuries relating to the religious experience in the American colonies.
Tauber Institute for the Study of European Jewry: Finding Aid
These materials are the work of the Tauber Institute, many with a focus on the Holocaust.
Theobaldus's Phisiologus de Naturis Duodecim Animalum, 1493: Spotlight
Read about Theobaldus's Phisiologus de Naturis Duodecim a 1493 printing of a Latin manuscript attributed to Bishop Theobaldus, Abbot of Monte Cassino ca. 1022 to 1035.
Thomas Aquinas’s Summa theologica: Spotlight
Thomas Aquinas' lasting text used Aristotelian philosophy to support Catholic theology. Brandeis holds a 15th century manuscript of the third part of this important work. Read more in this Spotlight.

Science

Some of the material relevant to various scientific fields includes works on early astronomy (sixteenth and seventeenth centuries), rare seventeenth-century Galileo books, first editions of Darwin's Origin of Species, the Albert Einstein collection, the Leonardo DaVinci collection, the Bern Dibner Collection in the History of Science, and more.

Albert Einstein collection: Finding aid
The Albert Einstein collection contains material created between 1896 and 1952, primarily personal and professional correspondence.
Audubon's Birds of America: Catalog Record
The four volumes of John James Audubon's Birds of America contain 435 plates depicting 489 species of birds, approximately life-sized. The illustrations are renowned for their detail and beauty as well as the impressive technical skill of the artist. Stopped here. Did Gorham & Shakes
Ben Franklin's Experiments and Observations on Electricity Made at Philadelphia in America: Spotlight
See a Special Collections Spotlight on the first collected edition of Benjamin Franklin's experiments with electricity. The book also includes his observations on mathematics, natural phenomena (such as theories on the source of aurora borealis, hurricanes, and shooting stars), economics, population growth, and the 1752 outbreak of smallpox in Boston.
Bern Dibner Collection in the History of Science: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on the Bern Dibner Collection in the History of Science, including a first edition of Galileo's treatise on sunspots from 1613 and a 1590 book describing one of the greatest engineering feats of the Renaissance: the moving of an obelisk to St. Peter's Square in the Vatican.
Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on the collection of several first editions of Darwin's landmark work.
Henry Linschitz papers: Finding Aid
Linschitz is a professor emeritus of Chemistry at Brandeis. He participated in the Manhattan Project during WWII and in the early 1980s founded United Campuses to Prevent Nuclear War (UCAM), an anti-nuclear group with college chapters across the nation. This collection is unprocessed; please see the department for more information.
Leonardo DaVinci collection: Spotlight
The Leonardo DaVinci collection includes books about Leonardo and his work spanning the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries.
Middlesex University collection--Photographs: Digitized Images
Explore the digitized images documenting the history of Middlesex University.
Middlesex University Collection: Finding Aid
Other items include official course catalogues, commencement programs, yearbooks, magazines, photographs, and news clippings. A large portion of the collection documents communication among Middlesex Board of Trustees members and discussions between the Board and the Albert Einstein Foundation and the American Medical Association.
Saul Cohen Papers: Finding Aid
Cohen was the first Brandeis chair of the School of Science, a post he held from 1950 to 1955. He was promoted to Professor in 1952, University Professor in 1974, and named Professor Emeritus upon his retirement in 1986. He twice chaired the Department of Chemistry, 1955-1966 and 1968-1972.
Walter E. Fernald Developmental Center's Samuel Gridley Howe Library collections: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on the Howe Library collection at Brandeis, which includes several hundred books in the fields of science, medicine, and disabilities; the papers of Irving Kenneth Zola and of Rosemary and Gunnar Dybwad; and thousands of pamphlets, case studies, and journals.

Sociology

Brandeis students protesting the apartheid in 1961.

David Cunningham Papers: Finding Aid
Sociologist David Cunningham performed his research on Leftist American politics, the KKK, and the FBI. This collection also contains administrative materials pertaining to the Sociology Dept.
Department of Sociology: Finding aid
This is a collection of administrative materials from the Department of Sociology. The first box contains a large collection of syllabi from many of the professors.
Gordon Fellman Papers: Finding aid
Professor Fellman has been a member of the Brandeis Sociology faculty since 1964, currently Chair of the Peace and Conflict Studies Program. His collection includes material on student activism and on the controversy concerning the Inner Belt Highway. Parts of this collection are online through the subscription database, The Sixties (http://tinyurl.com/9m4swd9).
Graduate School of Arts and Sciences: Finding aid
Files in this collection were created from 1951 through 2007. Materials include memos on academic and administrative functions, commencement preparations and programs, meeting minutes, announcements of events, and statistical material concerning students--particularly enrollment. The collection also includes course proposals and approvals and a variety of reports concerning management, academic, and strategic planning.
Heller School for Social Policy and Management: Finding Aid
Established in 1959 to provide professional education in the field of social welfare and social policy, the department emphasizes social policy analysis and the management of human services.
Janet Z. Giele Papers: Finding Aid
Professor Emerita at the Heller School of Social Policy and Management and in the Department of Sociology, her research has focused in large part on women’s changing roles, aging and life course, and family policy.
Kurt Wolff Papers: Finding Aid
A member of the Brandeis Sociology faculty from 1959 until his retirement in 1982, his areas of expertise include the sociology of knowledge and phenomenological sociology.
Lemberg Center for the Study of Violence, 1966-1973: Finding aid
This collection documents the activities and findings of the Center which was created to provide multi-disciplinary analysis of violence in the United States with a focus on race-related civil disorder and riots.
Lemberg Center for the Study of Violence, 1966-1973: Spotlight
Read a detailed spotlight about the history of the Lemberg Center for the Study of Violence.
Marshall Sklare papers: Finding Aid
Marshall Sklare was one of the first major sociologists of America's Jews. In 1969, Sklare moved to Brandeis University as a Visiting Professor, eventually becoming a permanant Professor of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies. While at Brandeis, Sklare published several influential books and articles including America's Jews (1971).
Student Activism at Brandeis collection: Finding Aid
Highlights examples of student activism both on and off-campus dating back to the University’s founding and included panel discussions on the Ford Hall occupation and the National Strike Information Center. This collection is available online through the subscription database, The Sixties (http://tinyurl.com/9roac3x).
Student Organizations: Finding aid
Created from 1949 through 2007 by individual student organizations, this collection sheds light on the concerns and causes of Brandeis University students
University Periodical collection: Finding Aid
This collection consists of student made creative works of literature and art, student group and interest publications. These are rich resources for researching Brandeis History through a sociological perspective. Please ask about our collection of student, faculty, and staff handbooks, as well as every year of the student yearbook, Archon.
Walter E. Fernald Developmental Center's Samuel Gridley Howe Library collections: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on the Howe Library collection at Brandeis, which includes several hundred books in the fields of science, medicine, and disabilities; the papers of Irving Kenneth Zola and of Rosemary and Gunnar Dybwad; and thousands of pamphlets, case studies, and journals.

Social justice and social policy

Sacco and Vanzetti protest rally, Boston 1927.

Albert Axelrad papers: Finding aid
His interests included topics in Israeli-Palestinian relations, Soviet, East European, Ethiopian, Syrian, and Cuban Jewry issues, and issues of amnesty. Rabbi Axelrad also took an active role in social activism and civil issues.
Arnold Gurin papers: Finding aid
Arnold Gurin was Dean of the Heller School from 1971-1977. He taught social welfare administration at Brandeis University’s Heller School from 1962-1982, where he served as the Maurice B. Hexter Chair in American Philanthropy starting 1971.
Aviva Cantor papers: Finding aid
This collection includes correspondence, research, publications, and other materials broadly related to Aviva Cantor's work as a feminist activist focusing on women's roles within Judaism.
Charles Schottland papers: Finding Aid
Schottland was founding dean of the Heller School (1959-1970; 1976-1977) and a former commissioner of Social Security under Eisenhower. The collection is composed of professional correspondence, course materials, project reports, and other materials. This collection is unprocessed; please see the department for more information.
Gordon Fellman Papers: Finding aid
Fellman has been a member of the Brandeis faculty since 1964. He is currently a Professor of Sociology and Chair of the Peace and Conflict Studies Program and his collection covers many student protest movements and civil rights issues. Parts of this collection are online through the subscription database, The Sixties (http://tinyurl.com/9m4swd9).
Hall-Hoag Collection of extremist literature in the United States: Spotlight
See images from the collection with background information and description at Special Collections Spotlight.
Heller School for Social Policy and Management: Finding Aid
Established in 1959 to provide professional education in the field of social welfare and social policy, the school emphasizes social policy analysis and the management of human services. Research and education focus on scholarly analysis and practical solutions for policies on aging, physical and mental health, family, mental retardation, and other issues.
Heller School National Institute for Sentencing Alternatives: Finding Aid
NISA was a criminal justice public policy center within the Heller School founded in 1980 as a training program for judges, probation officials, and others interested in the use of alternatives to incarceration. Over time, NISA expanded its mission to focus on the broader public policy issues of sentencing, the use of prison and jail, and the management of corrections resources. The center closed circa 1990.
Helmut Hirsch collection: Finding aid
This collection contains material related to Helmut Hirsch (1916-1937), including correspondence; creative work by Hirsch; scholarly and popular media materials describing Hirsch's life; government and legal documents regarding Hirsch's death sentence and more.
Helmut Hirsch collection: Online exhibit
Helmut Hirsch, a promising young artist and poet, was executed on June 4, 1937, for plotting to bomb the Nazi headquarters in Nuremberg. The collection contains artwork, poetry, photographs, and family correspondence.
Isaac Newton manuscript: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on a rare unpublished handwritten manuscript by Sir Isaac Newton, circa 1687.
Jewish Resistance Collection: Finding Aid
The Jewish Resistance Collection is an unprocessed collection of materials related to Jewish resistance during World War II, in a variety of languages, including clippings, publications, memorabilia, and more.
Jewish Resistance collection: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on the Jewish Resistance Collection, including images of some documents, and background information.
Leo Frank Trial collection: Finding aid
This collection chiefly consists of correspondence from Leo Frank and his wife, Lucille Frank, as well as correspondence to and from Governor Slaton and others. Also included are miscellaneous articles, pamphlets, and legal documents.
Leo Frank Trial collection: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on the Leo Frank Trial Collection, including images of some letters and documents.
Leon Jick Papers: Finding Aid
Jick joined the Brandeis faculty in 1966 as Director of the Center for Jewish Studies, and later became a Professor of American Jewish Studies. Prior to coming to Brandeis, Jick was a pulpit rabbi for twelve years and was very active in the civil rights movement and in many organizations within the Jewish community.
Louis Ruchames collection: Finding aid
The collection consists largely of correspondence related to abolitionism in general and John Brown and William Lloyd Garrison in particular. There is also material pertaining to his work with such organizations as the American Jewish Historical Society.
Lynn Goldsmith Papers in the University Alumni Collection: Finding Aid
She was one of several Brandeis students who went south in 1965 to work for a black vote project called SCOPE. Includes a detailed diary, photographs, and correspondence.
Lynn Goldsmith Papers in the University Alumni Collection: Online Exhibit
She was one of several Brandeis students who went south in 1965 to work for a black vote project called SCOPE. Includes a detailed diary, photographs, and correspondence.
Léon Lipschutz collection of Dreyfusiana and French Judaica: Finding Aid
The bulk of the items in this collection relate to the Dreyfus Affair in France during the 1890s and early 1900s. These materials include newspaper clippings, cartoons, books, and studio photographs of many of the key players in the Affair. Particularly well represented are anti-Semitic newspaper clippings and caricatures, which characterize the anti-Dreyfus movement.
Martin Luther King's 1957 speech: Online Recording
Listen online to a 1957, Martin Luther King, Jr. speech at Brandeis University. The six-part series addressed the topic of race relations and included talks by Bruno Bettelheim and E. Franklin Frazier.
Office of the Associate Vice President and Affirmative Action Officer: Finding aid
Files in this collection were created from 1974 through 2001. Materials include memos, correspondence, reports, meeting minutes, and newsletters. Most of the reports concern the compliance of individual departments and the University as a whole with affirmative action regulations. Other subjects include hiring procedures; the establishment of the Affirmative Action Advisory Committee; and other equal opportunity issues including disabilities, maternity leave, and sexual harassment. This collection also holds an incomplete run of the newsletter "'aaction' profile." Most of these files were created and maintained by Louis Ennis and Herb Hentz.
Radical Pamphlet collection: Spotlight
See images from the collection with background information and description at Special Collections Spotlight.
Sacco and Vanzetti collections: Francis Russell collection: Finding aid
This collection includes documents related to the Citizens National Committee for Sacco and Vanzetti and the Sacco and Vanzetti National League. Also included are drafts of Russell's writings, correspondence, documents, photographs, and videotapes.
Sacco and Vanzetti collections: Gardner Jackson collection: Finding aid
Special Collections has several collections dealing with the Sacco-Vanzetti case. This collection contains writings by and about Gardner Jackson and his involvement in the establishment of the case as a supreme example of American injustice.
Sacco and Vanzetti collections: Mrs. Walter Frank collection: Finding aid
This collection contains correspondence by and to people who belonged to the Sacco-Vanzetti National League (New York) or the Sacco-Vanzetti Defense Committee (Boston), including Gardner Jackson and Felix Frankfurter, as well as other letters and photos.
Sacco and Vanzetti collections: Tom O'Connor collection: Finding aid
Tom O'Connor was a journalist who also served as the secretary for the Vindication Committee of Sacco and Vanzetti. This collection contains newsclippings and correspondence O'Connor collected during his lifelong interest in the case.
Student Activism at Brandeis collection: Finding Aid
Materials come from a 2002 exhibit and mini-conference entitled “Student Protests 1969-1970: Brandeis and America.” It includes photographs, newspaper articles, and video highlighting examples of student activism both on and off-campus dating back to the University’s founding and includes panel discussions on the Ford Hall occupation and the National Strike Information Center. This collection is available online through the database The Sixties at http://tinyurl.com/9roac3x.
Transitional Year Program: Finding aid
Established in 1968, the TYP is a one-year academic program for students who have developed skills through life experiences and personal challenges. It is an integral part of our Brandeis’s commitment to social justice.
William Goldsmith Papers: Finding aid
Goldsmith initiated and participated in numerous programs and committees as a professor at Brandeis. Many of these programs, such as Upward Bound and TYP, were focused on the issues of educating the disadvantaged.
World War II Guernsey scrapbook: Spotlight
This scrapbook, created in the Channel Islands during World War II, includes handwritten records of BBC war broadcasts (illegal at the time) juxtaposed with newspaper clippings of German wartime reports from local commandeered newspapers on the island of Guernsey.

Theater arts

Theater Arts collections include materials related to Joan Crawford, Sophie Tucker, Arthur Laurents, George Froeschel, and others.

American theater programs collection: Online Check-list
This is a collection of 14 linear feet of American theater and stage programs of the late 19th and early 20th century, focusing on the Boston drama scene. A paper finding aid is available in the Special Collections Department (+Z688 .T5 B79 1987) or via the link above.
Joan Crawford awards: Finding aid
This collection consists of awards presented to Joan Crawford for her acting talents, contributions to the community, and business achievements. Awards for acting comprise the majority of the collection.
Joan Crawford awards: Online exhibit
This online exhibit displays a variety of awards that Brandeis Fellow Joan Crawford acquired during her lifetime (finding aid in link above). These awards were donated to Brandeis University in 1966, 1968, and 1973.
Joan Crawford awards: Spotlight
Special Collections Spotlight on awards presented to Joan Crawford for achievements in acting, business, and philanthropy. These awards were donated to Brandeis University from 1966-1972.
Department of Theater Arts: Finding Aid
Founded in 1951 as part of the School of Creative Arts. The materials cover a wide variety of topics related to curriculum and program development, department administration and funding, theatrical productions, professional associations, community relations and awards
John Bush Jones Papers: Finding Aid
Jones joined Brandeis University as a member of the Theater Arts Department in 1978 and directed numerous plays, including "Ruddigore," "Uncommon Women and Others," and "She Loves Me." Items in the collections include newspaper clippings, correspondence, theater festival production papers, publications, and theater posters.
Arthur Laurents collection: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on the Arthur Laurents collection, which consists of correspondence and the annotated typescripts of many of Laurents's works, including West Side Story.
The Lenny Bruce Collection: Spotlight
Read a Spotlight about Lenny Bruce and his bold use of language, his fearlessness in naming social, legal, and political hypocrisies, and his fight for his First Amendment rights paved the way for important changes in this country, not only to its comedic landscape, but also to the rights of its citizens to speak freely and without fear.
Eleonora von Mendelssohn papers: Finding aid
This collection mainly encompasses papers and photographs relating to the actress Eleonora von Mendelssohn (1900-1951). The types of materials range from typed letters, handwritten letters, artwork, and photographs. The materials in this collection are largely undated, with those dated being created between 1919 and 1972, with the majority being circa 1920s-1940s.
Motion picture stills, promotional material, and ephemera: Finding aid
This collections contains theater, film, and promotional material from the 19th to early 20th centuries.
19th century playbooks: Finding aid
This collection contains playbooks from more than 80 plays from the 19th century, including notes on costuming and staging as well as production histories for many of the plays.
19th century playbooks: Spotlight
See a Spotlight about Brandeis' collection of playbooks from the latter half of the 19th Century. Acquired by Victor Berch, Brandeis' first Special Collections Librarian, the collection includes playbooks from over 80 separate plays.
Office of the Arts: Finding Aid
This is a collection focusing on the Office of the Arts' efforts to bring the arts to life at Brandeis. Information for specific exhibits is included.
School of Creative Arts collection: Finding Aid
Most of the materials include programs, schedules, reviews, press guides, and speeches. Of note are the Beaux Arts Ball sourvenir artbooks (1954-55), which contain original advertisements for companies that made donations to the School of Creative Arts. Also included is President Sachar's speech [in print and sound] inaugurating the Festival of the Arts in 1952, and other materials documenting the first Festival such as photographs, sound recordings, and a video of the four-day event.
Spingold Theater Center: Finding aid
This collection includes programs and fliers for both student and professional productions and theater festivals at the Spingold Theater Center. In addition, there are public relations materials such as official public service announcements, newsletters, invitations and subscription fliers.
Sophie Tucker scrapbooks: Finding Aid
This collection consists of a number of scrapbooks created by Sophie Tucker, which incorporate memorabilia, newspaper clippings, greeting cards, and other personal mementos.
Sophie Tucker scrapbooks: Spotlight
Special Collections holds a number of scrapbooks created by Sophie Tucker, incorprating memorabilia, newspaper clippings, greeting cards, and other personal mementos. Please contact the department for access.
Carl Van Vechten photographs: Finding aid
The Carl Van Vechten photograph collection contains images of many theater notables, including James Earl Jones, Tallulah Bankhead, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, and many more.

Women and Gender Studies

Professor Shulamit Reinharz, founding Director of the Women's Studies Research Center and the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute.

Aviva Cantor papers: Finding aid
An early Jewish feminist, Aviva Cantor was the founding editor of Lilith magazine and a founding member of the Jewish Liberation Project.The collection consists primarily of articles and scholarly papers written in the years 1970 to 1990.
Brandeis National Committee (formerly Brandeis University National Women's Committee): Finding Aid
Subjects include bylaws; the history of the organization; national conferences; regional chapters, fundraising; committee membership; study group courses; and the papers of individual members.
Carl Van Vechten photographs: Finding aid
The Carl Van Vechten photograph collection contains images of many notable women, including Josephine Baker, Billie Holiday, Emma Goldman, Mary McLeod Bethune, Zora Neale Hurston, Frida Kahlo, Gertrude Stein and many more.
Dime Novel collection: Finding Aid
The Dime Novel collection at Brandeis documents the publication of sensational popular literature in the United States from the mid-nineteenth to the early twentieth century. Brandeis holds more than a thousand titles. Finding Aid includes a link for a partial list.
E.M. Broner collection: Finding aid
The collection concerns the writings, rituals and correspondence of E.M. Broner, including manuscripts, publications, reviews, correspondence, descriptions of rituals, and more.
Fannie Hurst collection: Finding aid
The Fannie Hurst Collection, 1889-1968, includes typescripts, articles, photographs, correspondence, and other materials related to Hurst's professional and private life.
Franklin Delano and Eleanor Roosevelt collection: Finding aid
One of the most significant components of this collection is the correspondence of Eleanor Roosevelt with Henry S. Hooker, a lifelong friend who was a New York political figure, and couple of close acquaintances, Louise Lazell and Robert S. Benjamin.
Janet Z. Giele Papers: Finding Aid
Professor Emerita at the Heller School of Social Policy and Management and in the Department of Sociology, her research has focused in large part on women’s changing roles, aging and life course, and family policy.
Ma'yan records: Finding aid
This collection consists of eleven linear feet of material documenting Ma'yan, a Jewish feminist organization based in New York City. The records include reports, strategic plans, meeting agendas, class and workshop material, program and exhibit files, photographs and more.
Marcia Freedman papers: Finding Aid
A collection of journals, speeches, lecture notes, correspondence, manuscripts, typescripts and research files created by Marcia Freedman, an American-Israeli activist and feminist.
Marcia Freedman papers: Spotlight
Read a Spotlight about the Marcia Freedman papers consisting of approximately 2.75 linear feet of materials pertaining to Freedman’s life and work as an American-Israeli activist and feminist.
Office of the Associate Vice President and Affirmative Action Officer: Finding aid
Files in this collection were created from 1974 through 2001. Materials include memos, correspondence, reports, meeting minutes, and newsletters. Most of the reports concern the compliance of individual departments and the University as a whole with affirmative action regulations. Other subjects include hiring procedures; the establishment of the Affirmative Action Advisory Committee; and other equal opportunity issues including disabilities, maternity leave, and sexual harassment. This collection also holds an incomplete run of the newsletter "'aaction' profile." Most of these files were created and maintained by Louis Ennis and Herb Hentz.
Rose Jacobs Collection: Finding aid
The Rose Jacobs collection is dominated by a manuscript and supporting documents regarding the history of Hadassah.
Ruth A. Brandwein papers: Finding aid
The Ruth A. Brandwein papers contains published and unpublished papers, reports, research notes, correspondence, and committee information broadly related to welfare policy, women and families, and domestic violence in the United States from the 1960s to 2010
Sandra Butler papers: Finding Aid
The Sandra Butler papers consist of journals, correspondence, photographs, workshop posters and audiovisual materials relating to Sandra Butler's activities as an author and activist in the feminist movement, advocate for Israeli-Palestinian peace, and issues related to breast cancer.
Sophie Tucker scrapbooks: Finding Aid
This collection consists of a number of scrapbooks created by Sophie Tucker, which incorporate memorabilia, newspaper clippings, greeting cards, and other personal mementos.
Sophie Tucker scrapbooks: Spotlight
Special Collections holds a number of scrapbooks created by Sophie Tucker, incorporating memorabilia, newspaper clippings, greeting cards, and other personal mementos. Please contact the department for access.
Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program: Finding aid
These materials focus almost entirely on the work and history of the program.
Women's Studies Research Center at Brandeis University records: Finding Aid
An innovative, interdisciplinary research facility of scholars, students and faculty who study gender issues and women's lives. Founded by Shulamit Reinharz, the WSRC is the home of: The Scholars Program, The Student-Scholar Partnership Program, The Arts Program, and The Hadassah-Brandeis Institute.