Philip Foner Papers
Call Number
Dates
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Historical/Biographical Note
Philip Foner, a prominent and prolific historian of the American labor movement, was born in 1910. Radicalized by the Great Depression, he has been politically close to the Communist Party, and taught courses at several of its schools for workers. While he is best known for his multi-volume History of the Labor Movement in the United States, Foner is the author and editor of dozens of books, pamphlets and articles. For many years, Foner taught at Lincoln College, in Pennsylvania.
Scope and Content Note
This unprocessed collection contains personal and professional correspondence, postcards, flyers, clippings, recordings of lectures, and memorabilia. Topics documented are Foner's relations with family, universities and other employers, the publication of his various works, and his far-flung travels and teaching positions throughout the former socialist bloc and in several developing countries.
Subjects
Organizations
Genres
People
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open to research without restriction.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright to materials in this collection created by Philip Foner was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Philip Foner Papers; TAM 153; box number; folder number; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Materials were donated by the Foner family in 1995; additional materials were donated by Julian and Mildred Chazin in 1999, transferred from Lincoln University in 2006, and donated by Laura Foner in 2014. Accession numbers related to these gifts are 2001.001, 2001.006, and 2014.101.
Custodial History
The Philip Foner Papers came to the library in several accretions over time. The first donation of 5 linear feet of papers came in 1995, shortly after Foner's death in 1994, and was transferred directly from his home. In 1999, Julian and Mildred Chazin donated their correspondence with Foner, which was added to the collection. An additional accretion of 12 linear feet was transferred from Lincoln University in 2006. The accession number associated with this gift is 2001.006. In 2014, Laura Foner donated a small amount of correspondence, which was also added to the collection. The accession number associated with this gift in 2014.101.
Audiocassette tapes 1-24 came to Tamiment Library from Haverford College. Tapes 25-28 were donated to the library by Marvin E. Gettleman in 2008.
Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures
Audiovisual materials have not been preserved and may not be available to researchers. Materials not yet digitized will need to have access copies made before they can be used. To request an access copy, or if you are unsure if an item has been digitized, please contact tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A staff member will respond to you with further information.
Appraisal
In 2006, the library received an accretion of material for this collection from Lincoln University. Among these records, library staff identified a discrete grouping of approximately 1.5 linear feet of original correspondence and other documents relating to and created by Samuel Gompers. These records were clearly of different provenance than the majority of records in the collection created by or related to Philip Foner.
Wisconsin Historical Society holds the records of the American Federation of Labor during the years that Gompers served as its President, including a significant body of correspondence and other records he created in that role. In 2007, the library transferred the Gompers records to Wisconsin Historical Society, so that they would be in the same repository as the other main body of Gompers records held in a public archive.
Separated Materials
Samuel Gompers papers were separated from this collection and transferred to the State Historical Society of Wisconsin in October 2007; a plaque was separated from this collection and returned to the Foner family in 2014.
About this Guide
Processing Information
During initial accessioning, tapes were established as a separate collection, Philip Foner - History of the American Labor Movement Oral History Collection (OH 046). In 2015, they were incorporated into the Philip Foner Papers (TAM 153).
