Historical/Biographical Note
Charles C. Recht (1887-1965) was born in Bohemia to Jewish parents, emigrated to the United States at age thirteen, and graduated from New York University Law School in 1910. He served as general counsel for the New York Bureau of Legal Advice, which provided free legal service to men who resisted the new draft laws related to the entry of the United States into World War I. Recht also represented many radicals who faced deportation at that time, and later served as an officer of a Communist Party, USA-related organization, the American Committee for Protection of Foreign Born, although he claimed to have never been a Party member. From 1921, when the Soviet Union's representative, Ludwig Martens was deported, until 1933, when diplomatic relations were established, Recht officially represented Soviet interests in the U.S., and thereafter he continued to represent many Soviet citizens and organizations. Recht published two novels, Rue with a Difference (1924) and Babylon on Hudson (1932), and a book of poems, Manhattan Made (1930). He also translated the work of August Strindberg and other playwrights, and wrote widely on law, politics, theater and Jewish history. His wife, Aristine Munn Recht, a physician, was at one time Dean of Women at NYU's Washington Square College.
Return to top
Scope and Content Note
The brief Biographical series contains some personal correspondence, memorabilia, and obituaries. The bulk of the collection consists of Recht's unpublished writings, including: A World to Win, an autobiography (along with several autobiographical fragments) covering Recht's life through the early 1930s, including his travels throughout the Soviet Union, Selector H. One, a social-satirical historical science fiction novel, an untitled and incomplete novel largely about "Ernest Strohman," an immigrant of Bohemian origin, various poems, two untitled plays dealing with Jewish history, and an early (1907) pamphlet-length non-fiction manuscript, The Bohemian in America. The published writings consist of several articles dealing with civil rights and Jewish history.
Return to top
Arrangement |
||
| Organized into two series: I. Biographical; II. Writings (A. Published, B. Unpublished). | ||
| Folders are arranged alphabetically by subject/author heading. | ||
Related Material at the Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
American Committee for the Protection of the Foreign Born Records (Tamiment 086).
New York Bureau of Legal Advice Records.
Return to topSeparated Material
There is no information about materials that are associated by provenance to the described materials that have been physically separated or removed.
Return to topRestrictions
Access Restrictions
Open for research without restrictions.
Use Restrictions
There may be some restrictions on the use of the collection. For more information, contact
Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012
Phone: (212) 998-2630
Fax: (212) 995-4225
E-mail: gail.malmgreen@nyu.edu
Return to top
Administrative Information
Provenance
Gift of John Munn Recht (son), 1995.
Preferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date (if known); The Charles Recht Papers ; Tamiment 176; 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.
Container List
[The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.]
| Series I: Biographical |
|||
| Box | Folder | Title | Date |
| 1 | 1 | Correspondence | 1961 |
| 1 | 2 | Memorabilia | undated |
| 1 | 3 | Obituaries | 1965 |
|
|
|||