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Herbert H. Hirschhorn Papers

Call Number

MC.162

Date

1926-2005, inclusive

Creator

Hirschhorn, Herbert H.

Extent

3 boxes

Language of Materials

Materials are in English

Abstract

The Herbert H. Hirschhorn Papers comprise the life and letters of Herbert H. Hirschhorn, an alumnus of New York University. The correspondence included in the collection demonstrates his dedication to New York University throughout his life. The materials span over half a century and include both praise and commendations for actions taken by the University that he strongly supported as well as expressions of disappointment, anger, and feelings of betrayal in response to actions taken by the University that he strongly opposed. The correspondence also demonstrates his philanthropic generosity, relating to myriad gifts to many different departments, schools, and academic entities within and without New York University. There is also a strong concentration of materials from Hirschhorn's religious life, including correspondence with rabbis and speeches made before various congregations. The collection will be of interest to those researching alumni relations with the University, giving practices of University alumni, as well as scholars of Jewish-American culture, doctrine, and the growth and changes that took place therein in the latter half of the twentieth century.

Biography of Herbert H. Hirschhorn

Herbert H. Hirschhorn was born in Brooklyn, New York on April 13, 1909 to Rae and Bernard Hirschhorn. He attended NYU, receiving his AB in 1930, JD in 1932, JSD in 1934 and AM in 1937. He was associated with the founder of the law firm, Dr. Harry A. Gair, and successor firms since December 1932. The firm is now named Gair, Gair, Conason, Steigman & Mackauf.

In his religious life, Hirschhorn was an Honorary Trustee and former President (1955-59) of the Mount Freedom Hebrew Congregation (New Jersey), an Honorary Trustee and former Vice-President of the Prospect Park Jewish Center (Brooklyn, New York), a Founder Member of the Fifth Avenue Synagogue (New York City), and a Member of the Wall Street and Civic Centre Synagogues (both in New York City).

Hirschhorn was married to the former Rose Berger on July 10, 1968. Rose died on February 10, 1996. Herbert and Rose Hirschhorn have scholarships endowed in their names at Washington Square College, the Graduate School of Arts and Science, and the School of Law at New York University. His name is inscribed on the New York University School of Law Wall of Honor. The Hirschhorns also gave tremendously to Bobst Library and many departments within the University. As evinced by the extensive correspondence within this collection, Hirschhorn remained very active within the NYU community throughout his entire life, giving of his time, financial resources, as well as his opinions on the growth and practices of his alma mater.

Arrangement

The Herbert H. Hirschhorn Papers are arranged in a single series, alphabetically by topic. This is the arrangement created by Andrea R. Jackson in March 2002 and used by Connor Gaudet in June 2013 while integrating the 2004 accession materials into the collection. There is a wide range of correspondence divided into various topics including his financial gifts to various NYU institutions, the Randolph Public Library, and his relationship with the NYU Alumni Association.

By integrating the 2004 accessions into the pre-existing arrangement and removing duplicate materials, the size of the collection has been reduced from 4 boxes to 3 boxes.

Scope and Content

The bulk of the Herbert H. Hirschhorn Papers comprise biographical materials, speeches and materials from Hirschhorn's religious life, some of his student notebooks, two Masters' Theses, programs to a number of NYU events and ceremonies, various law associations of which he was a member, and a wide range of correspondence. The correspondence is divided by topic, and deal with Hirschhorn's philanthropic gifts, his strong relationship with the NYU community and his involvement with the Mount Freedom Hebrew Congregation. There are two class notebooks from Hirschhorn's days as an NYU student.

While many duplicates were removed during processing, some materials may appear more than once. This is due to the extended period of several years of material acquisition and the propensity of the donor (Mr. Hirschhorn) to photocopy original materials. This occurs mostly in the correspondence files.

Five or six photographs of an elderly Herbert Hirschhorn attending an unidentified banquet were removed to the Herbert H. Hirschhorn photo file.

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions on access to this collection.

Use Restrictions

This collection is unrestricted for research purposes. Permission to publish materials must be obtained in writing from the:
New York University Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012
Phone: (212) 998-2641
Fax: (212) 995-4225
E-mail: university-archives@nyu.edu

Location of Materials

This collection is located in offsite storage. Please contact the repository for access.

Collection processed by

Andrea R. Jackson in 2002 and Connor Gaudet in 2013.

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-20 17:51:21 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Description is written in: English, Latin script.

Processing Note

The Herbert H. Hirschhorn Collection was originally processed by Andrea R. Jackson in March 2002. This initial collection was added to by subsequent gifts from Mr. Hirschhorn, accessioned in 2004 and 2005. These additional sets of papers were not fully integrated into the collection's arrangement, but kept separately: one kept in a folder labeled "September 2004 Accession," the other in a box (Box 4) that was added to the collection for the purpose. In June 2013, Connor Gaudet organized and integrated the 2004 accession into the arrangement created by Ms. Jackson in 2002. In addition, he created a digital finding aid, updating it in order to reflect the new arrangement of folders within the various boxes and date ranges of the new materials.

The Biographical Note is an edited version of the brief biography Hirschhorn wrote for himself.

Repository

New York University Archives
New York University Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
2nd Floor
New York, NY 10012