Research Catalog

Arthur Alfonso Schomburg papers (additions).

Title
Arthur Alfonso Schomburg papers (additions).
Author
Schomburg, Arthur Alfonso, 1874-1938
Publication
1902-1939
Supplementary Content
Finding aid

Available Online

NYPL Digital Collections

Items in the Library & Off-site

Filter by

3 Items

StatusContainerFormatAccessCall NumberItem Location
Box 1Mixed materialUse in library Sc MG 952 Box 1Schomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives
Box 2Mixed materialRestricted use Sc MG 952 Box 2Schomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives
Box 3Mixed materialUse in library Sc MG 952 Box 3Schomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives

Details

Additional Authors
  • Brawley, Benjamin, 1882-1939
  • Bruce, John Edward
  • Cromwell, John Wesley, 1846-1927
  • Cunard, Nancy, 1896-1965
  • Du Bois, W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt), 1868-1963
  • Frazier, E. Franklin, 1894-1962
  • Locke, Alain, 1885-1954
  • Logan, Rayford Whittingham, 1897-1982
  • Margetson, George Reginald
  • Washington, Booker T., 1856-1915
  • Wesley, Dorothy Porter, 1905-1995
  • Universal Negro Improvement Association.
Description
.83 linear feet (3 boxes)
Summary
  • This collection consists of correspondence, press clippings, and ephemera primarily relating to Arthur Schomburg's activities as a book collector, historian, and curator at the New York Public Library (NYPL).
  • The correspondence files mostly contain letters written to Schomburg, with some of his responses included. Correspondents include Booker T. Washington, lawyer John Wesley Cromwell, poet George Reginald Margetson, author Benjamin Brawley, and heiress and activist Nancy Cunard, among others.
  • The other material includes press clippings, mostly in scrapbooks, of articles by and about Schomburg; printed ephemera; and memorials of Schomburg written after his death. The memorials include remembrances by various friends and scholars including Alain Locke, Rayford W. Logan, Dorothy B. Porter, and E. Franklin Frazier. The file of ephemera and personal papers contains invitations, flyers, and programs for speaking engagements and other events; as well as miscellaneous notes and papers, including a signed testimony from Schomburg acting in his capacity as a clerk at a law firm. Additionally of note are two petitions: one from the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) presented to the League of Nations on behalf of "four hundred million Negros" worldwide, and inscribed to Schomburg from UNIA Special Secretary John E. Bruce, and one presented to the NYPL from W.E.B. DuBois, protesting racial discrimination in Library hiring practices. The NYPL petition is also accompanied by correspondence regarding Schomburg's position as Curator.
Donor/Sponsor
Home to Harlem Project funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Subjects
Genre/Form
  • Clippings (Information artifacts)
  • Correspondence.
  • Ephemera.
  • Obituaries.
  • Petitions.
  • Scrapbooks.
Access (note)
  • Researchers are restricted to surrogate copies of newspapers deemed too fragile for use.
Source (note)
  • This material was retrieved from the Lawrence D. Reddick Papers. Reddick succeeded Schomburg as curator of the Schomburg Collection after Schomburg's death in 1938, serving from 1939-1948. When Reddick's papers were acquired by the Schomburg Center in 1998, this material was found and identified as belonging with the Schomburg papers.
Call Number
Sc MG 952
OCLC
1054911104
Author
Schomburg, Arthur Alfonso, 1874-1938, creator.
Title
Arthur Alfonso Schomburg papers (additions).
Production
1902-1939
Type of Content
text
still image
Type of Medium
unmediated
Type of Carrier
sheet
volume
Restricted Access
Researchers are restricted to surrogate copies of newspapers deemed too fragile for use.
Biography
Arthur (originally Arturo) Alfonso Schomburg (1874-1938) was a collector of books and manuscripts pertaining to black history and culture whose collection formed the basis for the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Schomburg moved to New York City in 1891, settling in Harlem and later, Brooklyn. As a young man, he was an active supporter of Cuban and Puerto Rican independence, cofounding the political club Las Dos Antillas; later, he was involved in several organizations devoted to promoting African American research and scholarship, including the Negro Society for Historical Research and the American Negro Academy. Drawing on his extensive collection of books and historical documents, Schomburg wrote articles on the history of the African diaspora for major black periodicals including The Crisis, Opportunity, Negro World, and The New York Amsterdam News. In 1926, Schomburg sold his collection to the New York Public Library, and served as curator of the Division of Negro Literature, History, and Prints from 1932 until his death in 1938.
Connect to:
NYPL Digital Collections
Finding aid
Local Subject
Black author
Added Author
Brawley, Benjamin, 1882-1939, correspondent.
Bruce, John Edward, inscriber.
Cromwell, John Wesley, 1846-1927, correspondent.
Cunard, Nancy, 1896-1965, correspondent.
Du Bois, W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt), 1868-1963, author.
Frazier, E. Franklin, 1894-1962, author.
Locke, Alain, 1885-1954, author.
Logan, Rayford Whittingham, 1897-1982, author.
Margetson, George Reginald, correspondent.
Washington, Booker T., 1856-1915, correspondent.
Wesley, Dorothy Porter, 1905-1995, author.
Universal Negro Improvement Association.
Research Call Number
Sc MG 952
View in Legacy Catalog