Charles Recht Papers
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Creator
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Abstract
Charles C. Recht (1887-1965) graduated from New York University Law School in 1910. During and after World War I, he served as general counsel for the New York Bureau of Legal Advice. Recht represented many radicals who faced deportation, served as an officer of the Communist-associated American Committee for the Protection of the Foreign Born, and from 1921-1933, he served as the official representative of the Soviet Union's interests in the United States. He wrote widely on law, politics, theater and Jewish history, and published two novels and a book of poems. His wife, Aristine Munn Recht, was Dean of Women at NYU's Washington Square College. The majority of the collection is made up of his published and unpublished writings.
Historical/Biographical Note
Charles C. Recht (1887-1965) was born in Bohemia to Jewish parents, emigrated to the United States at age thirteen, and graduated from New York University Law School in 1910. He served as general counsel for the New York Bureau of Legal Advice, which provided free legal service to men who resisted the World War I era draft laws. Recht also represented many radicals who faced deportation at that time, and later served as an officer of a the American Committee for Protection of Foreign Born (ACPFB). ACPFB was affiliated with the Communist Party USA, but Recht was never a party member. After Ludwig Martens was deported in 1921, Recht officially represented Soviet interests in the United States until 1933, when diplomatic relations were established. Recht published two novels, Rue with a Difference(1924) and Babylon on Hudson(1932), and a book of poems, Manhattan Made(1930). He also translated the work of August Strindberg and other playwrights, and wrote widely on law, politics, theater and Jewish history. His wife, Aristine Munn Recht, a physician, was at one time Dean of Women at NYU's Washington Square College.
Arrangement
Organized into two series:
Series I: Biographical
Series II: Writings
Subseries A: Published Writings
Subseries B: Unpublished
Sub-subseries 1: Autobiographical Typescript, A World To Win
Sub-subseries 2: Other Unpublished Writings
Folders are arranged alphabetically by subject/author heading.
Scope and Content Note
The brief biographical series contains some personal correspondence, memorabilia, photographs and obituaries. The bulk of the collection consists of Recht's unpublished writings, including: A World to Win, an autobiography (along with several autobiographical fragments) covering Recht's life through the early 1930s, including his travels throughout the Soviet Union; Selector H. One, a satirical science fiction novel written in the 1940s; and an untitled and incomplete novel largely about "Ernest Strohman," an immigrant of Bohemian origin. Other writings include various poems, two untitled plays dealing with Jewish history, and an early (1907) pamphlet-length non-fiction manuscript, The Bohemian in America. The published writings consist of several articles dealing with civil rights and Jewish history.
Subjects
Organizations
Genres
People
Topics
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright (and related rights to publicity and privacy) to materials in this collection created by Charles Recht was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Charles Recht Papers; TAM 176; box number; folder number; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Materials found in repository.. The accession numbers associated with this gift are 1995.006, 1995.008, NPA.2003.016 and NPA.2005.023.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Photographs were separated from this collection during initial processing and were established as a separate collection, the Charles Recht Photographs (PHOTOS 197). In 2013, the photograph collection was reincorporated into the Charles Recht Papers (TAM 176).
Edition of this Guide
Repository
Series I: Biographical, 1906-1976, inclusive
Scope and Content Note
This series contains correspondence, clippings, obituaries of Recht, and photographs. The photographs are made up of a double-sided scrapbook page of photographs from the 1920s and larger black-and-white photographs.
Correspondence, 1961, inclusive
Memorabilia, undated, inclusive
Obituaries, 1965, inclusive
Photographs, undated
Series II: Writings
Scope and Content Note
This series contains both published articles and unpublished manuscripts by Recht.
Subseries A: Published Writings, 1918-1936
Scope and Content Note
This subseries contains his published articles, mostly related to his work with immigrants.
"The Chinese Jew - A Footnote" (The American Hebrew), Oct 23, 1936, inclusive
"The Czechs and the Jews: Past and Present" (The Menorah Journal), Dec 1918, inclusive
"The Glory That Was" (Reprint from: Let the People Vote on War magazine), Apr 1919, inclusive
"Historical Landmarks of the Czechs" (The Public: A Journal of Democracy), Aug 24, 1918, inclusive
"If Europe Were Modern Minded" (The Modern World), Jan 1927, inclusive
The Right of Asylum (New York: The Social Economic Foundation), 1935, inclusive
Subseries B: Unpublished Writings
Scope and Content Note
This subseries mostly contains Recht's unpublished autobiography, A World to Win: The Autobiography of a Non-Conformist. the manuscript is broken up into chapters, containing handwritten notes and drafts. The subseries also contains publishing correspondence and other materials. Other manuscripts include "The Bohemian in America;" a manuscript possibly titled "Ernest Strohman;" an article titled "Walt Whitman in Memoriam;" two plays, one set in the Near East, the other in 18th-19th century Europe; poetry; and three variants of his science-fiction novel, Selector H. One.
