Rosa Harvan Papers
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Abstract
Rosa Harvan (1913-1988) was an author, photographer, dental technician, and volunteer medical assistant with the Abraham Lincoln Brigade during the Spanish Civil War. The Rosa Harvan Papers (dated 1939-2009, inclusive; 1937-1961, bulk) consists of a scrapbook documenting Harvan's activities during the Spanish Civil War; photographs documenting her visit to Mexico while filming The Forgotten Village; manuscript drafts for Harvan's novels Lover and Stranger, The Accomplished Days, and Cailin; a scrapbook containing photographs, newspaper clippings, and reviews for the documentary film Crisis; and correspondence concerning the potential publication of Harvan's manuscript Cailin and other shorter works. The collection also contains an interview between Thomas Dublin and Harvan's brother, George.
Biographical Note
Rosa Margaret Harvan (1913-1988) was an author, photographer, dental technician, and volunteer medical assistant during the Spanish Civil War. Harvan was born in Lansford, Pennsylvania to Andrew and Anna Harvan, immigrants from Czechoslovakia. While completing her high school degree, she worked as a dental technician for a local dentist, Dr. Breslin. After graduating high school, she moved to New York City and continued to work as a dental technician.
Harvan joined the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and was sent to Spain on May 10, 1937 on the SS Normandie. While in Spain, she served with the Republican Medical Service, Benicasim. During her time in Spain, she befriended novelist Ernest Hemingway and photojournalist Robert Capa. Harvan returned to the United States on December 8, 1938 on the SS Ausonia.
Harvan was married several times, including a marriage to American filmmaker, Herbert Kline, whom she met in Spain. The two married in 1939 and relocated to Czechoslovakia. Here, they worked together to make the documentary, Crisis (1939), which focused on the 1938 Munich Agreement. Harvan and Kline returned to the United States, settling in New York and then Los Angeles. They worked together on another documentary, The Forgotten Village (1941), which was written by John Steinbeck and focused on growing tensions between the rise of modernization and waning traditional cultural values in a small Mexican village. After this film, the couple divorced.
Arrangement
Materials have been arranged in alphabetical order by topic.
Scope and Contents
The Rosa Harvan Papers (dated 1939-2009, inclusive; 1937-1961, bulk) consists of a scrapbook documenting Harvan's activities during the Spanish Civil War; photographs documenting her visit to Mexico while filming The Forgotten Village; photographs of Harvan, as well as unifentified people and locations; manuscript drafts for her novels Lover and Stranger, The Accomplished Days, and Cailin; a scrapbook of photographs, newspaper clippings, and reviews for the documentary film Crisis, which she worked on with her then-husband, Herbert Kline; and correspondence concerning the potential publication of Harvan's manuscript Cailin and other shorter works. The collection also contains an interview between Thomas Dublin and Harvan's brother, George, which provides insight into Harvan's early years, her time with the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, and her marriage to Herbert Kline. Harvan was married to Allen Chellas at some point and as a result of this marriage, she occasionally signed her work using Chellas as part of her last name.
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Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open to researchers.
Conditions Governing Use
This collection is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use materials in the collection in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Rosa Harvan Papers; ALBA 276; box number; folder number; Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This collection was donated to the Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives by Thomas Dublin in 2009. The accession number associated with this collection is 2009.071.
About this Guide
Processing Information
In January 2025, this collection was processed and described by an archivist. Materials were rehoused into archival boxes and acid-free folders. Original folder titles were retained when possible, but some folders were re-titled to better reflect their contents. Manuscripts housed in three-ring binders were removed from their binders and placed into archival folders. Loose photographs were placed into mylar sleeves. Three scrapbooks were sent to New York University's Barbara Goldsmith Preservation and Conservation Department for stabilization and rehousing. Materials were described on the collection-level and inventoried at the file-level.
