Emma Goldman papers

Source Collection

This digital collection comprises selected materials from the following archival collection at David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library:

Emma Goldman papers 1909-1941 and undated

Collection #RL.11353 | 0.8 Linear Feet

ABSTRACT
Emma Goldman was an anarchist known for her political activism, writing, and speeches. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europe in the first half of the 20th century. The Emma Goldman papers feature over 300 letters, primarily written by Emma Goldman, although other anarchists, activists, and thinkers are represented as authors, including Alexander Berkman, Eugene Debs, Harry Kelly, Alexander Shapiro, and the Socialist Party of New England. Many of the letter recipients are unnamed (as "Comrade"), but the majority of the letters were directed to Thomas H. Keell, an English compositor and editor for the anarchist periodical Freedom, in London. Letter topics most often center around requests made of Keell in support of various writing projects as well as speaking engagements and organizing work completed in Europe, the United States, and Canada, but also touch on visa constraints for Goldman and Berkman, the state of the anarchist movement in various countries, the lack of support for anarchist publications, as well as general position statements, especially in regard to Soviet Russia and the Spanish Civil War. There are also papers related to various prominent anarchists. These include typescript drafts of four articles and letters by anarchists; nine handwritten articles on anarchist themes written in Italian by Errico Malatesta; publications; press releases; ephemera, including tickets, brochures, solicitation letters, handbills and flyers; a contract and room layout for speaking engagements; Thomas H. Keell's list of works on anarchism; newspaper clippings; and six black-and-white photographs. The Emma Goldman papers are part of the Lisa Unger Baskin Collection.

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