Edward K. Barsky Photographs
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Abstract
Dr. Edward K. Barsky (1897-1975) was a prominent physician who led a group of American medical volunteers in Spain during the Civil War. The images in this collection were either taken by Barsky and his assistant or accrued in the course of his work as a surgeon in Spain. The collection contains portraits of Dr. Barsky, Albert Einstein and Jolliet Curie, Francisco Franco and Benito Mussolini, American Medical Bureau to Aid Spanish Democracy (AMB) doctors and nurses, Canadian nurses affiliated with the MacKenzie-Papineau Battalion, and Spanish doctors and nurses. The collection also contains snapshots of surgeries, medical vehicles, political demonstrations/rallies, Spanish civilians, and scenes of Spanish village life.
Biographical Note
Dr. Edward K. Barsky was a prominent surgeon who led a group of American medical volunteers during the Spanish Civil War. For further biographical information on Edward Barsky, and to review the scope and contents of his manuscript collection see the Edward K. Barsky Papers, ALBA 125. The images in this ollection were either taken by Barsky and his assistant or accrued in the course of his work as a surgeon in Spain.
Arrangement
Folders arranged alphabetically by topic in the prints and negatives series.
The photographic prints are identified by four numbers separated by colons. The first number refers to the collection number, the second to the box number, the third to the folder number, and the fourth to the individual print. For example, the first print in this collection is labeled 125:1:1:1. Negatives are numbered in the same fashion and if there is a matching print, the print number is listed below the negative number.
The files are grouped into 3 series:
Missing Title
- I: Prints
- II: Matched Negatives
- III: Unmatched Negatives
Scope and Content Note
The Dr. Edward Barksy Photograph Collection includes approximately 450 black and white photographs ranging in size from 1 ¾ x 2 ¼ inches to 8 x 10 inches. The approximately 335 negatives range in size from 1 ½ x 1¼ inches to 2 ½ x 5 inches. The negatives are stored separately from the prints, in Box 4 and 5.
Series I: Prints
The approximately 450 black and white prints are arranged alphabetically by topic and most are photographs taken in Spain during the Civil War. Approximately half of the prints relate to the practice of medicine including portraits of doctors and nurses and recovering patients. The series contains portraits of Dr. Barsky, Albert Einstein and Jolliet Curie, Francisco Franco and Benito Mussolini, American Medical Bureau to Aid Spanish Democracy (AMB) doctors and nurses, Canadian nurses affiliated with the MacKenzie-Papineau Battalion, and Spanish doctors and nurses. The collection also contains snapshots of surgeries, AMB ambulances and other medical vehicles, political demonstrations/rallies, bombed/shelled buildings, Spanish civilians, a Spanish campesino shaking the hand of a Mexican campesino, scenes of Spanish village life, and unidentified group photographs. Some of the prints of are credited to: Foto Mayo [Madrid?]; Libsohn-Ehrenberg, New York, New York; General Photographic Co., Inc. New York, New York; and Walter Rosenblum. The photographs taken outside of Spain include portraits of Dr. Barsky for Spanish Refugee Appeal, portraits of Joilot-Curie and Einstein at Princeton, New Jersey and photographs of the mercy ship SS Mexique. The SS Mexique carried Spanish refugees from Spain to Mexico.
Series II: Matched Negatives
There are approximately 170 negatives that match prints in Series I. They are arranged alphabetically by topic.
Series III: Unmatched Negatives
The approximately 170 negatives that do not match any prints are arranged alphabetically by topic. The negatives include portraits of Dr. Barsky, surgeries, medical vehicles, political demonstrations/rallies, Spanish civilians, and scenes of Spanish village life.
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Access Restrictions
Materials are open to researchers. Please contact the Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives for more information and to schedule an appointment, tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu or 212-998-2630.
Use Restrictions
Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives (ALBA), were transferred to New York University in November 2000 by the ALBA Board of Governors. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from the Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives. For more information, contact tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu or 212-998-2630.
Preferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date; Collection name; Collection number; box number; folder number;
Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012, New York University Libraries.
Provenance
The Edward K. Barsky Papers were donated to the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives by Vita Barsky in the late 1970s. The collection came to New York University in January 2001 as part of the original acquisition of Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives collections, formerly housed at Brandeis University. The images in the Barsky Photographic collection were separated from the Barsky manuscript material at the time of processing.
