New Accessions and Openings for the 2nd Quarter FY 2006
Presidential Libraries
During the quarter, the library accessioned a portrait of Independence Hall and a 1976 reproduction of the Honolulu News Examiner dated December 7, 1941.
The library received an extraordinary addition to its audiovisual collection this quarter: a photograph of FDR in his wheelchair while on board Vincent Astor's yacht Nourmahal in April 1935.The previously unknown and unpublished photograph first appeared in Robert Cross's book, Sailor in the White House: The Seafaring Life of FDR (Naval Institute Press, 2003). Mr. Cross generously arranged for the donation to the library and for the photograph to pass into the public domain. It is only the third photograph of FDR in his wheelchair in the library's collection.
Major manuscript donations during the quarter included a 14 linear foot accretion to the papers of Henry Field. Dr. Field operated the secret "M" Project for President Roosevelt, a study and analysis of cultures and migration patterns for postwar relocation strategy and planning. After the war, John Franklin Carter, a close associate of Dr. Field and part of FDR's informal intelligence network, gave two locked filing cabinets containing Field's M Project operational records to his assistant Ray L. Murphy for safekeeping. Neither Carter nor Field ever retrieved the cabinets, and the Murphy family recently drilled the locks and donated the materials to the library.
The library also received a 5 linear foot accretion to the papers of Henry Morgenthau, Sr., Special Foreign Affairs Adviser to President Wilson, Ambassador to Turkey, Special Commissioner to Poland and the father of FDR's Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau, Jr. Henry Morgenthau II donated these materials.
The library acquired the papers of Marino Floresca, steward, U.S. Navy, less than one linear foot, ca. 1949–50, consisting of menus and drafts of menus for meals served to President Truman and his party during their vacation trips to Key West, Florida, and on board the U.S.S. Williamsburg, with related items. This collection remains closed pending processing.
The library acquired the papers of James M. Pendergast, Democratic Party leader and friend of Harry S. Truman, ca. 1934–87 (less than one linear foot), consisting of correspondence, printed materials, photographs, and other items concerning the relationship between Truman and Pendergast. This collection remains closed pending processing.
During the second quarter, the museum has acquired 14 new artifacts including greeting cards and first-day issue covers from the archives and a pair of 1952 campaign sunglasses from one of the museum's political items collectors, Dr. John Pendergrass.
New accessions were:
- Christian A. Herter: Additional papers, 1935–67
- Arthur Stanley: Additional papers, 1918–2001
- James H. Guilfoyle: Papers, 1951–2000
- Charles D. Hyson: Papers, 1944–95
- Gladys V. Leahy: Papers, 1953–72
- Wallace Sullivan: Papers regarding Mamie Eisenhower's medical history from 1931 to 1955
A total of 17 hours of videotape recordings were accessioned, and 85 original digital photographs were taken.
Two oral histories were accessioned and finding aids prepared for them: Edward J. McCabe (OH-536) and Julius J. Gottlieb (OH-537).
The library accessioned 32.75 cubic feet of papers, including:
- Accretion to the Personal Papers of Richard Reeves, author. Research papers and other materials for President Kennedy: Profile of Power and President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination. 28 cubic feet. Closed pending processing
- Accretion to the Personal Papers of Dave Armstrong, author. Books about Walter Rostow accumulated for Armstrong's research for his book The True Believer: Walt Whitman Rostow and the Path to Vietnam. 4 cubic feet. Closed pending processing
- Papers of Hans Kraus, M.D. Medical records, notes, and other materials documenting Dr. Kraus's treatment of President John F. Kennedy. 0.25 cubic feet. Closed pending processing
Also, three accretions to the personal papers of Edward M. Kennedy, brother of President Kennedy and Senator from Massachusetts (1962– ) were received: staff files 1978–2004 (32 feet); publications, gifts, three-dimensional objects, 1963–2006 (3 feet). Closed pending deed.
A total of 1,074 photograph items, 36 hours of audio recordings (11 vinyl discs/LPs, 3 CDs, 17 open reel audiotape, 5 audiocassettes), 300 feet of 16mm film, and 30 hours of video recordings (VHS, DVD, other formats) were accessioned this quarter.
The library acquired 60 books, 64 serials, and 12 clippings and miscellaneous items, and disposed of 44 clippings.
Lyndon B. Johnson Library
Accessioned 73 new items into the museum collection: 66 Goldwater political buttons were donated by Arnold Gilbert, and 7 items relating to "A Jubilee Celebration" honoring Lady Bird Johnson on April 28–30, 1988, in Washington, DC, were donated by Shirley James.
The library completed work for 24 accessions this quarter, including the papers of J. Stanley Pottinger (46 feet). Mr. Pottinger was the Director of the Office of Civil Rights for the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (1970–73) and Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights (1973–77). Mr. Pottinger donated this collection to the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming in 1991, but due to a narrowing collecting policy, the center re-donated the materials to the Ford Library.
Also added were accretions to the Robert Teeter Papers, Melvin R. Laird Papers, U.S. Department of Defense Historical Office: Public Statements of Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Gerald R. Ford Scrapbooks, Gerald R. Ford Post-Presidential Office Files, Gerald R. Ford Personal Papers, Ford Library Audiovisual Administrative Files, Composite General Accessions, and the Composite Grand Rapids Accessions.
Recent donations include a NCAA Lifetime Achievement Award presented to President Ford, a world map allegedly used by Dorothy Ford to chart the travels of Gerald and Tom Ford during World War II, an Albert Capraro dress made for Betty Ford in 1974–75, and a gavel from the 1968 Republican National Convention.
The Audiovisual Department accessioned 9 DVD and 65 VHS accretions to the George Bush Post-Presidential Collection. The AV Department also received 48 VHS, DVD, and BETA tapes, transferred from the library's Public Relations Department.
The library opened for research the unpublished autobiography of Edwin W. Pauley, Ambassador and U.S. Representative on the Reparations Commission from 1945 to 1947, ca. 1973 (less than one linear foot). The autobiography, which focuses on Pauley's work as a Democratic Party official, his association with Harry S. Truman, and his service on the Reparations Commission, is part of a larger collection of Pauley's papers that remain closed pending processing.
The library opened for research its transcribed oral history interviews with Greta Kempton (painter of the official portraits of President Truman and Mrs. Truman), Edwin W. Pauley, and Raphael Green (a member of Pauley's staff during his service on the Reparations Commission).
More than 15,400 pages were reviewed and opened for research during the quarter. Reviewing was completed on the following collections:
- Henry S. Aurand: Additional papers, 1968–78
- Dwight D. Eisenhower: Post-Presidential Papers, 1961–69, 1967 Signature File
- Oliver Gale: Papers, 1957–60
- Maxwell Rabb: Papers, 1939–89—spot-reviewed civil rights material
- White House Office, Office of the Staff Secretary: NSC Series records, 1953–61
One accretion to the John F. Kennedy Tributes Collection and three accretions to the Miscellaneous Manuscripts Collection were accessioned, processed, and opened.
Two accretions to the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers Collection:
- Charles L. Donahue, Malaysia, 1967–68. Diary of his experience (0.5 cubic feet)
- Stephen Wells, volunteer and P.C. staff member, Philippines, 1961–69. "What John Kennedy Said to Me" (less than 1 cubic feet)
The unit opened 25 cubic feet and processed an additional 22.5 cubic feet of the personal papers of McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs (1960–66); President, Ford Foundation (1966–80); professor, New York University (1980–90); scholar-in-residence, Carnegie Corporation (1990–96). Personal and professional papers. Processing continues on the remaining 200+ cubic feet.
Processing was completed on the Personal Papers of Jarold Keifer, executive director, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, files related to the creation of the National Cultural Center (later renamed John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts) (4 cubic feet).
Processed and opened the personal papers of William H. Tucker, Commissioner, Interstate Commerce Commission (1961–67); author, Parachute Soldier (1994). Correspondence, reports, speeches, and files of cases (including those pertaining to the famous Freedom Riders of 1961) pending before the ICC; notes, photographs, manuscripts, and book draft (65 cubic feet).
Processing completed on an additional 24 cubic feet of the personal papers of Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. The following series opened this quarter:
- New York Office Correspondence File, 1968–77
- Subject Correspondence File, 1932–82, 1986–88, 1993–94
- Speeches and Appearances File, 1935, 1940–41, 1950–76
Review was completed on the William H. Orrick Papers, Reports to the Attorney General / Daily Reports; 4 items, 12 pages, previously closed were opened.
The following accessioned oral history transcripts are available for research:
- Dorothy Alford, a secretary for the Johnsons, two interviews totaling 35 pages.
- Earl R. Howsam, staff member for Senator Ed Johnson of Colorado, regarding his dealings with Senator Lyndon Johnson, 22 pages.
- Louise Hermy Stanford, volunteer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and Council of Federated Organizations in Mississippi in the summer of 1964, 68 pages.
- Jay Cutler, minority staff director and counsel to Senator Jacob K. Javits on the Senate Health and Human Resources Committee, 21 pages.
- Southwest Texas Group, six people who knew LBJ when he was attending Southwest Texas State University, 36 pages.
- James A. Robinson, faculty member at Ohio State University in the 1960s and author of an unpublished book about LBJ, 15 pages.
- Peter R. Rosenblatt, deputy assistant general counsel for the Agency for International Development (1966) and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Coalition for a Democratic Majority (1973–77), 37 pages.
- Biddle Livingston, staff member for Senator Claiborne Pell (1963–65) and deputy to the chairman for the National Endowment for the Arts (1966–67), 22 pages.
The library reviewed and opened about 400 pages in the White House Social Files PL series containing correspondence regarding Mrs. Ford's appearance on "60 Minutes," 80 pages in the L. William Seidman Files, and about 100 pages in the David Hoopes Files on the Presidents Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board.
The library opened 211,193 pages this quarter in response to FOIA. The opened material included select folders from various staff and office files including staff collections for Appointments and Scheduling Office, Martin Anderson, Lee Atwater, William Ball, Mariam Bell, Morton Blackwell, Elizabeth Board, David Bockorny, Jack Burgess, Joseph Canzeri, Tyrus Cobb, Kenneth Cribb, Robert Dean, Executive Secretariat, NSC: NSC Meetings, Martin Feldstein, Fred Fielding, First Lady Press Office, Steven Galebach, David Gergen, Eric Hemel, Douglas Holladay, Kevin Hopkins, Robert Kimmitt, John Klenck, Linus Kojelis, Richard Levine, Mari Maseng, Edwin Meese, Lucian Pugliaresi, Alan Raul, Peter Rusthoven, Margaret Tutwiler, Richard Saunders, Beryl Sprinkel, Carolyn Sundseth, Robert Sweet, David Waller, and Wendell Willkie. WHORM Subject File categories include select case files within Speeches; CO (Countries); FG345 (Northern Mariana Islands Commission on Federal Laws), and all remaining John Roberts related subject case files.
Major topics covered in the openings include the All Voluntary Force/Military Manpower Task Force, the Iran-Iraq War, Mariana Islands, Whittaker Chambers, Equal Access, the Fairness Doctrine, Libya and the Gulf of Sidra Incident, Cardinal Cooke, PEADs (Presidential Emergency Action Documents) and a Reagan-Thatcher Memorandum of Conversation.
In addition, the library opened the 1984 and 1985 White House Office of Speechwriting: Speech Drafts and the entire Ben Waldman and Edward Lynch collections for research this quarter.
On January 20, 2006, the library officially opened the entire Reagan Library Photograph Collection.