New-York Historical Society World War II collection
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Abstract
The World War II collection is an "artificial" collection of subject-related materials acquired by the New-York Historical Society at different times from a variety of sources. Letters to New-York Historical Society superintendent Garrett H. Winter from nine employees on active service describe different war experiences in different branches of the armed services during basic training and from combat. There are also letters from Britain by Edward Tempest in Yorkshire describing air raids and British morale during the blitz. Other correspondence includes an account by a sailor on board the USS Hilary P. Jones of a search and rescue operation for American sailors whose ship was sunk off the coast of Iceland by a German U-boat, V-mail, and an exchange of letters from 1942 about the ban on taking photographs in New York Harbor. Documents in the collection include ration books, a civilian service award, and a war damage insurance policy.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in three series:
Series I: New-York Historical Society Employees Letters
Series II: Edward Tempest Letters from Britain
Series III: Other Correspondence and Documents
Folders are arranged alphabetically within series by the name of the correspondent, or alphabetically by format. Correspondence and documents within folders are arranged chronologically.
Scope and Contents
The World War II Collection is an "artificial" collection of subject-related materials that were donated by or acquired from a variety of unrelated sources at different times. A group of letters to The New-York Historical Society superintendent Garrett H. Winter from nine employees on active service describe a range of servicemen's war experiences: working as a radar operator in Washington State; guarding prisoners of war in Delaware; serving in India; witnessing surrender in Germany; and hospitalization for "operational fatigue, in other words, nerves."
Other servicemen's experiences are documented in a letter from "Johnnie" to his mother, describing a Navy search and rescue mission off the coast of Iceland for survivors of a ship sunk by a German submarine. The collection includes accounts and artwork by servicemen through V-mail, or Victory-mail, that was a unique form of microfilmed correspondence used during World War II to screen messages and reduce bulk on cargo ships. Correspondents would write on special V-mail letter-sheets, which were then reviewed by military censors and reduced to thumb-nail size on microfilm. The reels were then sent to receiving stations near the addressee where miniature facsimilies of the original V-mail letter sheets were reproduced and delivered.
The experiences of British civilians during the German air raids are also documented in this collection. A group of letters by Edward Tempest from Yorkshire, Britain to American friends were circulated in round robin letters--a wartime penpal exchange sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor. Tempest's letters are a vivid portrait of everyday life during the blitz yet were clearly written for a broad public with the purpose of fostering solidarity between British and American civilians.
War-time deprivations, restrictions, and civilian activities to support the war effort are exemplified in numerous documents. The collection includes several ration books and stamps, including one that had been issued to a 12-year-old boy; these are primarily ration book numbers 3 and 4, but there is also a sheet of fuel oil ration stamps from 1942.
The collection also includes an identification card of a hostess of a Stage Door Canteen. Broadway's wartime service organization, the American Theatre Wing sponsored the popular Stage Door Canteens for the exclusive entertainment of uniformed military personnel. There is also a Civil Service Award by the Navy Department for "outstanding performance and loyalty" to the chief of construction on the docks of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Other items include an exchange of letters regarding the ban on taking photographs in New York Harbor, a war damages insurance policy, and the logistical plan for a 1942 "New York at War" parade in Manhattan.
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Conditions Governing Access
Materials in this collection may be stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.
Use Restrictions
Taking images of documents from the library collections for reference purposes by using hand-held cameras and in accordance with the library's photography guidelines is encouraged. As an alternative, patrons may request up to 20 images per day from staff.
Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282.
Copyrights and other proprietary rights may subsist in individuals and entities other than the New-York Historical Society, in which case the patron is responsible for securing permission from those parties. For fuller information about rights and reproductions from N-YHS visit: https://www.nyhistory.org/about/rights-reproductions
Preferred Citation
This collection should be cited as the World War II Collection, MS 672, The New-York Historical Society.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This is an artificial collection composed of World War II material acquired by the New-York Historical Society at various times and from various sources. More recent sources of particular material in the collection are noted in the container list.
Accruals
Occasional small acquisitions of documents may be added from time to time to the collection.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Alison Dundy initially processed the collection in 2012. Small accruals were subsequently added by various other archivists through 2019.