Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Printed Ephemera Collection on Individuals
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Abstract
The Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Printed Ephemera Collection on Individuals (1873-2017), an artificial collection of vertical files, was accumulated gradually over the years as staff set aside ephemera that was relevant to Tamiment Library's collecting focus but did not belong in discreet collections. This collection consists of biographies, collections of writings, event programs and invitations, promotional materials, flyers, clippings, leaflets, manifestoes, pamphlets, press releases, and other printed ephemera created by or related to individuals connected with the labor movement, trade unionism, radical politics, feminism, civil rights, and other movements.
Historical Note
The Tamiment Library, New York University, a special collection documenting the history of United States radicalism, labor, and progressive social action, accumulated this artificial collection of printed ephemera gradually over the years through purchases, donations, standing orders with publishers, trade unions and other organizations, and through exchanges with other special library collections via the Collectors' Network, which was organized by Russell Benedict at the University of Nevada in the 1970s and promoted through his newsletter Top Secret. Tamiment Library staff added materials to this collection on a regular basis.
Arrangement
Collection is organized into 26 series; one for each letter of the alphabet. Files are arranged alphabetically by file title.
Series are arranged alphabetically.
Scope and Content Note
The Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Printed Ephemera Collection on Individuals (1873-2017) is composed of printed ephemera related to the primary collecting areas of the Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives: Leftist politics and Labor history. This collection includes files created by or related to people who were a part of or of interest to members of the political Left in the United States. This collection includes files created by or related to people who were of a part of or of interest to members of the political Left in the United States, including politicians and political leaders, labor leaders, unionists, activists, and public intellectuals. This collection contains files on Angela Davis, Irving Howe, Vito Marcantonio, Paul Robeson, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, I.F. Stone, and others.
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Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Because of the assembled nature of this collection, copyright status varies across the collection. Copyright is assumed to be held by the original creator of individual items in the collection; these items are expected to pass into the public domain 120 years after their creation. The Tamiment Library is not authorized to grant permission to publish or reproduce materials from this collection.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Printed Ephemera Collection on Individuals; PE 030; box number; folder number or item identifier; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Materials in this collection have been compiled by the Tamiment Library.
Various materials were found in the repository and added to this collection. The accession numbers associated with this material are: 2014.030, 2014.044, 2014.052, 2014.056, 2014.075, 2018.032, and NPA.2001.075.
Alex Baskin donated Mikhail Bakunin lithographs in 1990. The accession number associated with this gift is 2018.035.
Martha Sweezy donated the papers of Paul Sweezy in 2004. There is no accession record associated with this gift.
In 2025, unprocessed materials from accession 2019.056, which is associated with Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Printed Ephemera Collection on Subjects (PE 029), were transferred to this collection.
Custodial History
The provenance of the materials is varied. Items were obtained through purchases, donations, standing orders with publishers, arrangements with labor unions and other organizations, exchanges with other libraries, and ongoing collecting by Tamiment staff.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Decisions regarding arrangement, description, and physical interventions for this collection prior to 2025 are unknown.
In 2025, unprocessed materials from the Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Printed Ephemera Collection on Subjects (PE 029) were transferred to this collection, sorted by individual, and placed in new acid-free folders and boxes. The were materials were physically arranged alphabetically by file title, housed in boxes 34, 35, 36, Shared Tamiment 184, Shared Tamiment 186, and Shared Tamiment 187, and new files were integrated into the collection's existing alphabetical file list.
