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Walter Lionel Pforzheimer collection

 Collection
Call Number: MS 14

Scope and Contents

The Pforzheimer Collection in Manuscripts and Archives comprises three series: Documents and Papers, Bowling Green Press Records, and Newspapers. Series I is composed of approximately seventy items relating primarily to the military history of France from the Middle Ages through the nineteenth century. Also of special interest is a group of Theodore Roosevelt letters (signed carbon copies) and speeches. Series II consists of correspondence, ledgers, account books, invoices, credit memoranda, and papers filed by the Bowling Green Press to achieve incorporation. The papers in this series cover the years 1927-1931, and appear to have been the property of Arthur Pforzheimer, treasurer of the company. Series III contains first and final issues of several American newspapers dating from the 1980s.

Other material given to Yale by Walter Lionel Pforzheimer (Yale College 1935, Yale Law School 1938) housed in this library include the Wendell Willkie Presidential Campaign Papers and a number of important single manuscripts which are catalogued individually in the Miscellaneous Manuscripts Collection. Mr. Pforzheimer holds a corporation appointment as Advisor on Special Collections, Yale University Library, and specializes in collecting Moliere, rare bindings, Americana, copyright law, and books on espionage and intelligence. He has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the Yale Library Associates since 1936 and as a lawyer is a specialist in the law of copyright and literary property. After serving with Air intelligence during the Second World War, Mr. Pforzheimer assisted in the establishment of the Central Intelligence Agency and worked as its legislative counsel. In 1960, he was appointed Special Assistant to the Assistant Director for Central Reference of the Agency.

The manuscripts in Series I of this collection were donated to the library during the 1940s and 1950s; those of Series III during the 1980s. The Bowling Green Press Records were donated in 1957 by Mr. Pforzheimer as a separate collection, Manuscript Group Number 927, and were incorporated into the present collection in 1983.

Dates

  • 1487-1997

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The materials are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright status for collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Walter L. Pforzheimer, 1940-1982, 1998.

Arrangement

Arranged in three series: I. Documents and Papers II. Bowling Green Press Records III. Newspapers and additional material.

Extent

2.5 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Catalog Record

A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog

Persistent URL

https://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/mssa.ms.0014

Abstract

The collection contains three parts: autograph documents and letters, Bowling Green Press records, and contemporary American newspapers. The most significant part of the collection are the ca. 45 autograph items relating to French military history from the Middle Ages through the 19th century. There are also 12 carbon copies (signed) of letters from Theodore Roosevelt to various recipients (1911-1913) together with notes, extracts, and full copies of Roosevelt speeches (1912-1913). Series II of the collection is made up of the records of the Bowling Green Press of New York City, of which Arthur Pforzheimer was treasurer. Included are correspondence, ledgers, account books and incorporation papers. Contemporary memorabilia collected by Walter Pforzheimer is comprised of the initial issues of the Washington Times and U.S.A. Today and the final issue of the Washington Star.

Biographical / Historical

Yale graduate, lawyer, adviser on special collections to Yale University Library.

Title
Guide to the Walter Lionel Pforzheimer Collection
Status
Under Revision
Author
compiled by Staff of Manuscripts and Archives
Date
November 1969
Description rules
Finding Aid Created In Accordance With Manuscripts And Archives Processing Manual
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Part of the Manuscripts and Archives Repository

Contact:
Yale University Library
P.O. Box 208240
New Haven CT 06520-8240 US
(203) 432-1735
(203) 432-7441 (Fax)

Location

Sterling Memorial Library
Room 147
120 High Street
New Haven, CT 06511

Opening Hours