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Leonard Sloan Torgoff Papers

Call Number

ALBA.109

Date

1928-1936, inclusive

Creator

Torgoff, Leonard Sloan, 1916-1937

Extent

0.25 Linear Feet (1 box)

Language of Materials

English .

Abstract

Leonard Sloan Torgoff (1916-1937) went to Spain in January 1937 to join the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. The following month he was killed when his truck was ambushed during the Battle of Jarama. This collection contains correspondence and other materials dating from Torgoff's high school and college years, including examples of Torgoff's published and unpublished writings.

Historical/Biographical Note

Leonard Sloan Torgoff was born in 1916. While attending Brooklyn College as an English major, Torgoff organized workers and led a successful strike against Feltman's Restaurant and hotdog stands in Coney Island, for whom he worked. When his mother died in January 1934, Torgoff took a leave of absence from school. Making his living as a plumber, he committed himself to becoming a writer and began to practice his craft. After a hitchhiking trip in Canada, Torgoff enrolled in night school at City College back in New York. In the summer of 1934 he left home again, this time traveling cross-country to Arizona, ending up enrolled in college at University of Denver in Colorado for the school year 1934-1935. There he wrote "Moods and Muses," subtitled "a literary column," for the college newspaper, The Clarion, in which he reviewed art, plays, jazz, food, poetry and books, and offered observations on beauty, love and war, among other topics. During this time Torgoff also continued writing poems, essays and short stories. Torgoff grew homesick for New York, however, and returned home after a year in Colorado.

In January 1937, Torgoff sailed to Spain on the S.S. Champlain to join the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. He was assigned to the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, and in February 1937 was in one of two trucks that were attacked as they drove into the fascist lines during the Battle of Jarama. Reports initially listed Torgoff as having been taken prisoner and executed, but subsequently it was established that he was killed in the course of the ambush.

Torgoff went by the nickname Leo or Leon; Sloan was his mother's maiden name.

Arrangement

Folders are arranged alphabetically within each series; correspondence arranged chronologically.

The files are grouped into two series:

Missing Title

  1. I, Subject Files, 1928-1936
  2. II, Writings, 1932-1936.

Scope and Content Note

Series I: Subject Files, 1928-1936. This series contains correspondence and other materials dating from Torgoff's high school and college years. Letters from Torgoff are mainly to women friends, including one to "Miss Stack," in which he describes his aspirations as a writer. General correspondence consists almost entirely of letters addressed to Torgoff, principally from women with whom he attended school in Colorado. Memorabilia includes a postcard picturing Feltman's Restaurant of Coney Island (where Torgoff worked and against which he led a successful strike) and a program for the American premiere of the film, Carnival in Flanders. Also included are Torgoff's high school yearbook and diploma.

S eries II: Writings, 1932-1936. This series contains examples of Torgoff's published and unpublished writings, and includes essays, poetry, short stories, and notes. Also included are Torgoff's "Moods and Muses" columns, written while attending the University of Denver; and a number of papers written for school.

Access Restrictions

Materials are open to researchers. Please contact the Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives for more information and to schedule an appointment, tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu or 212-998-2630.

Use Restrictions

Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives (ALBA), were transferred to New York University in November 2000 by the ALBA Board of Governors. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from the Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives. For more information, contact tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu or 212-998-2630.

Preferred Citation

Published citations should take the following form:

Identification of item, date; Collection name; Collection number; box number; folder number;
Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012, New York University Libraries.

Provenance

The Leonard Sloan Torgoff Papers were donated to the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives in 1985 by Carl Torgoff, Leonard Torgoff's brother. This collection came to New York University in January 2001 as part of the original acquisition of ALBA collections, formerly housed at Brandeis University.

Separated Material

Photographs from the Leonard Sloan Torgoff Papers have been transferred to the non-print section of the ALBA collection in the Tamiment Library.

Related Material at the Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives

ALBA collections at the Tamiment Library.

Two files of materials by and relating to Leonard Sloan Torgoff, including articles and research material about his death in Spain, can be found in the Robert Steck Papers.

Collection processed by

Wendy Scheir

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-20 16:35:32 -0400.
Language: Description is in English.

Edition of this Guide

This version was derived from torgoff.doc

Repository

Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
2nd Floor
New York, NY 10012