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Toby Jensky Photographs

Call Number

ALBA.PHOTO.055

Date

circa 1937-1938, inclusive

Creator

Jensky, Toby, 1911-1995

Extent

0.25 Linear Feet (1 box)

Language of Materials

English .

Abstract

Toby Jensky (1911-1995) was a nurse with the American Medical Bureau of the North American Committee to Aid Spanish Democracy in Spain (AMB) during the Spanish Civil War. The images in this collection were collected by Jensky in the course of her work as a nurse in Spain. The collection includes photographs of AMB medical personnel at work and leisure, including Jensky, Sara Goldblatt, Fredericka Martin, and Anne Taft. There are also images of Dr. Odio D. Perez and Jensky's future husband, Jason Patrick (Pat) Gurney, soldiers at the front relaxing and engaged in non-combat activities, Spanish children, campesinos, civilians, medical personnel and women washing clothes.

Historical/Biographical Note

Toby Jensky was a nurse during the Spanish Civil War. She sailed for Spain on April 14, 1937, with Dr. Edward Barsky's Fourth Medical Unit. Jensky and Barsky had been colleagues at Beth Israel Hospital in New York City. She met future husband Pat Gurney while tending his wounds. After serving in Spain, Jensky nursed at Beth Israel in New York City until her retirement. She assisted Fredericka Martin in gathering primary sources documenting the history of the American Medical Bureau of the North American Committee to Aid Spanish Democracy in Spain (AMB). She died on April 25, 1995 in Sandisfield, Massachusetts. For further biographical information on Toby Jensky see the Guide to the Toby Jensky and Philip Schachter Papers, ALBA #55

Arrangement

Folders are arranged alphabetically by topic.

The photographic prints are identified by four numbers separated by colons. The first number refers to the collection number, the second to the box number, the third to the folder number, and the fourth to the individual print. For example, the first print in this collection is labeled 55:1:1:1.

The files are grouped into 1 series:

Missing Title

  1. Series I, Photographs

Scope and Content Note

Series I: Photographs. The Jensky Photo Collection consists predominantly of photographs related to the AMB's work in Spain during the Civil War. The collection contains photographs of AMB nurses including Jensky, Sara Goldblatt, Fredericka Martin, Anne Taft, and images of Dr. Odio D. Perez. One photograph depicts a group of AMB nurses in front of an ambulance donated by the MacKenzie-Papineau Battalion and the Communist Party of Canada. The collection also contains images of soldiers at the front relaxing and engaged in non-combat activities, Spanish children, campesinos, civilians, medical personnel and women washing clothes. All of the photographs except six were taken in Spain during the Civil War. Three photographs of Jensky were taken onboard the S.S. Normandieon its way to Spain. The two photographs of Jason Patrick Gurney were taken outside of Spain. One is a passport photograph and one is an image of Gurney with an unidentified man. There is also one image of AMB volunteers on a ship.

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 Toby Jensky Photograph Collection was donated to the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives by Max Schachter in 1996. This collection came to New York University in January 2001 as part of the original acquisition of Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives collections, formerly housed at Brandeis University. The images in the Jensky Photograph Collection were separated from the Toby Jensky and Philip Schachter manuscript material at the time of processing.

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

Toby Jensky and Philip Schachter Manuscript Collection, ALBA 55.

Collection processed by

Evan Daniel

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-20 16:41:27 -0400.
Language: Description is in English.

Edition of this Guide

This version was derived from ALBA PHOTO #55 Jensky Photo Collection.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