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Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Collection of Communist and Socialist Serials

Call Number

TAM.747

Date

1850-2013, inclusive

Creator

Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Communist Party of the United States of America
Revolutionary Communist Party, USA
Progressive Labor Party
Socialist Workers Party
New American Movement (Organization)
Labour Party (Great Britain)

Extent

93.8 Linear Feet in 135 manuscript boxes, 2 half manuscript boxes, and 120 flat boxes

Language of Materials

Materials primarily in English, with some publications in Spanish, French, Yiddish, Russian, and Papiamento.

Abstract

The Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Collection of Communist and Socialist Serials collects 1,945 serials and publications chronicling the activity of national and international Communist and Socialist groups, published between 1850 and 2013, originally received by the Tamiment Library through subscriptions, donations, and as part of archival collections. The majority of the collection consists of incomplete runs of newsletters, newspapers, reports, information bulletins, theoretical journals, and informally prepared communiqués issued by political groups. The serials document the rise and fall of Communism and Socialism at a granular level, rich in detailed first-person accounts of key political events: World War II, the Vietnam conflict, German reunification. Publications originate from national political parties, smaller splinter groups and factions, current affairs magazines, and unions and labor coalitions at the local and national level. The collection contains hundreds of titles documenting Communism and Socialism internationally, in serials and reports emanating from established national political organizations, as well as material documenting political activity in Puerto Rico, Canada, South Africa, and elsewhere. No complete runs of publications are contained herein, and in most cases only a handful of issues of each publication are held.

Arrangement

This collection imposes an artificial arrangement on a range of disparate material separated from the order in which it was originally received at Tamiment Library. The material is separated into two, dividing serials into groups of similar material based on place of publication. The first series, Series I: American Publications, collects serials issued in the United States. The second series, Series II: International Publications, divides serials into two subseries: Subseries II.A consists of broadly-termed 'Soviet' publications, predominantly published in Russia; and Subseries II.B collects the remaining international titles. Within each series, material is arranged at the file level, in alphabetical order by publishing organization. Where possible issues of each publication are organized chronologically, grouped by year. Each title is listed alongside its publishing organization, and city of origin, where this information is available.

Scope and Contents

The Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Collection of Communist and Socialist Serials collects 1,945 serials and publications chronicling the activity of national and international Communist and Socialist groups, published between 1850 and 2013, originally received by the Tamiment Library through subscriptions, donations, and as part of archival collections.

The majority of the collection consists of incomplete runs of newsletters, newspapers, reports, information bulletins, theoretical journals, and informally prepared communiqués. The serials document the trajectories of Communism and Socialism at a granular level, rich in detailed first-person accounts of political events, variously occurring against the backdrop of World War II, the Cold War, the Vietnam war, and the fall of the Soviet Union. Serials provide a detailed accounting and lively discussion of the ideological evolution and division of Communism and Socialism, providing commentary on contemporary news - the trial of the Rosenbergs, McCarthyism, the Vietnam conflict, the reunification of Germany - and ranging in scale from pictorial accounts of community activism undertaken by various subgroups of Students for a Democratic Society to typewritten tracts responding to the death of Mao Zedong. One-off and irregularly published small-run pamphlets and bulletins circulate news, opinion, polemics, rebuttals, manifestos, disquisitions, and propaganda. Among the topics covered are anti-fascist efforts, labor negotiations, black liberation movements, the formation of solidarities between political constituencies, tensions and fissures in local and national groups, the "red scares" of the 20th century, and anti-Semitism in the United States.

Publications originate from national political parties, smaller splinter groups and factions, current affairs magazines, unions and labor coalitions at the local and national level, and publishing houses distributing essays explicating political policies and philosophies. Among the organizations well represented in the collection are the Communist Party of the USA; the Revolutionary Communist Party; the Progressive Labor Party; the Socialist Workers Party; the Revolutionary Socialist League; New American Movement; the British Labour party; as well as numerous reports and essays issued by Pioneer Publishers; New Century Publishers; Foreign Languages Press; and Getting Together Publications. Among the titles held in significant volume are the Bulletin, published by the Workers League; Burning Spear, published by the African People's Socialist Party; the Revolutionary Socialist League's Torch; the Party for Workers Power's Spark; the Revolutionary Communist Party's Revolution; The Militant; Unity; and variants of Quatrieme Internationale.

In addition to American publications, there are also hundreds of titles documenting Communism and Socialism abroad, in serials and reports emanating from large, established governmental and independent organizations - China's Foreign Languages Press; Russia's Novosti Press Agency; and Britain's Fabian Society, among others - as well as accumulations of material describing political activity in Puerto Rico, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, and elsewhere. No complete runs of publications are contained herein, and in most cases only a handful of issues of each publication are held.

Conditions Governing Access

Open to users without restriction.

Conditions Governing Use

Because of the assembled nature of this collection, copyright status varies across the collection. Copyright is assumed to be held by the original creator of individual items in the collection; these items are expected to pass into the public domain 120 years after their creation. Repository is not authorized to grant permission to publish or reproduce materials from this collection.

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, date; Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Collection of Communist and Socialist Serials; TAM.747; box number; folder number; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.

Location of Materials

Materials are stored offsite and advance notice is required for use. Please contact tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu at least two business days prior to your research visit to coordinate access.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

This collection combines serials relating to the labor movement drawn from two discrete groups of material held by the Tamiment Library. The first was a partially inventoried backlog of serials, received by the library through donations, subscriptions, and in archival collections. The second group consisted of around 1,700 serials, newspapers, and magazines, organized by title as an artificial collection, referred to as Periodicals.001 or Boxed Newspapers. This material was combined, inventoried, and arranged and described in subject-based categories in 2017. The accession number related to this collection is 2017.049.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Due to the fragile nature of certain original materials, researchers may be required to consult microfilm copies, preservation photocopies, or digital images of material in this collection.

Existence and Location of Copies

In some instances researchers may be required to consult microfilm copies of material held in this collection. Information on microfilm copies is included below each title listing.

Collection processed by

Molly A. Cross, Jennifer Gargiulo, Mark Simon Haydn, Mara Lasky, Alexa Logush, and Victoria Messana.

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-20 16:44:51 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Finding aid written in English

Processing Information

The material in this collection was assembled from various backlogs of uncataloged material held by the Tamiment Library. This material was inventoried, separated according to its subject matter, and arranged in a series of subject-based artificial collections. Accumulations of similar material relating to Communist and Socialist movements were identified, and grouped according to their place of publication. Within each series, serials are arranged alphabetically by publishing organization, with titles generally listed alongside their publishing organization and place of publication.

Revisions to this Guide

April 2019: Updated by Megan O'Shea and Alexa Logush to incorporate titles omitted in initial processing of the collection

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