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Carl Nold was a German-born anarchist who was involved in the Homestead Strike (1892) and served prison time for being involved in the plot to assasinate Henry Clay Frick. This collection is comprised of his correspondence, some photos, news clippings, articles about or by Nold, and court documents.

Papers of this German immigrant anarchist include correspondence, an essay entitled "Six Pathfinders," and court documents for indictments of Henry Bauer and Carl Nold by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the 1892 cases resulting from the attempted assassination of Henry C. Frick by Alexander Berkman. Among the correspondents are Hippolyte Havel, A. Isaac, Harry M. Kelly, Kate Rotchek, as well as Lucy Parsons, whose letters concern anarchists, the International Labor Defense, and criticism of Emma Goldman's autobiography. Also included are poems and an essay by Robert Reitzel, a photo, and a scrapbook about Reitzel's death. The papers are in English and German.

Finding aid for the Cigar Makers' International Union Collection which includes corrrespondence, internal records, and publicity materials relating to the Cadillac Michigan Local 393 chapter of the Cigar Makers' Internation Union dating from 1896 to 1910.

The Cigar Makers' International Union Collection (1896-1910) contains 0.5 linear feet of the organizations internal documents, correspondence, a ledger of membership dues, union application forms in German, and a variety of printed items relating to public promotion of the union. Among the correspondence are numerous appeals requesting support for ongoing strikes to various affiliates, including but not limited to: the Lithographers' Union, the Stove Mounters' and Steel Ranger Workers' Union, the United Garment Workers of America, the Pie Bakers' Union and more. A notable letter includes a union statement signed by P.J. McArdle, activist and president of the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel, and Tin Workers.

The membership and dues ledger from the Local 393 Cigar Makers' International Union (Cadillac, MI) has entries beginning in 1896 through early 1901. Additionally, among the publicity materials are two posters on linen fabric promoting union made cigars to the general public.

This collection documenting the history of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and of labor organizing in North America was assembled by Don Stewart, owner of the Vancouver bookstore MacLeod's Books since 1973. The collection is arranged into five series. Organizational Records comprise records of the central IWW administration, such as general convention minutes (1913-1969 with gaps), general executive boards letters and minutes (1959-1964), financial statements (1918-1944 with gaps), membership cards, and documents from the general defense committee relating to IWW prisoners during World War I. Reflecting the IWW's internal structure, Constituent Unions Records are organized by industrial trade numbers and include administrative documents and organizing literature. Constituent Unions Records also include a few folders relating to the Western Federation of Miners, which pre-dates IWW's founding in 1905 The Colorado Coal Strike Archive is a set of letters, telegrams between labor organizers, bulletins to workers, and other documents relating to the Columbine Mine Massacre of 1927. Topical Literature contains general ephemera by the IWW and literature related to the IWW and labor unions, including a transcript of the play "The Wobblies" by Ronald Weihs and a memorial booklet for Carlo Tresca. Finally, International Material contains foreign print materials about IWW or labor more generally. It also contains records and letters from the Canadian division of IWW in the Vancouver area, including letters from Fred Thompson and Pete Seeger.

Don Werkheiser was a teacher, writer, and philosopher-reformer active in the last half of the 20th century. He is best described as an individualist anarchist and libertarian. Most of his writings center on the philosophy of Mutual Option Relationship, which he developed and promoted throughout his life. It is multidisciplinary in its nature but based mainly on principles of equal rights and freedom of the individual. The eight linear feet of papers consist primarily of Werkheiser's writings (in the form of notes, drafts, and finished typescripts), correspondence with friends and colleagues, and related ephemera. A small number of photographs, materials documenting Werkheiser's interests and activities, and works by associates of Werkheiser are also present.

Don Werkheiser, like many of his peers, received little recognition for his ideas and efforts during his lifetime, even among the relatively small circle of individualist anarchists within which he interacted. The papers consist mainly of various iterations of his Mutual Option Relationship philosophy and methodologies for realizing it, as well as his thoughts on the numerous social, economic, and political problems that he saw in contemporary American society. There is also correspondence with friends and associates in his intellectual and ideological sphere. The ephemera in the collection--consisting of newspaper clippings; pamphlets; and extracts from periodicals, books, and monographs, are significant because of their subject area (mainly freedom of speech), their relative obscurity, and also Werkheiser's extensive annotations. These materials are supplemented by a very small number of photographs.

The Don Werkheiser Papers (8 linear feet) have been divided into six series: Writings, Correspondence, Other Activities, Works by Others, Photographs, and Ephemera. Originally included with the Don Werkheiser Papers was a large collection of books and pamphlets by Theodore Schroeder, an important influence on Werkheiser, as well as published works by other authors. These have been removed and cataloged separately.

There is a significant amount of material in the Don Werkheiser Papers having to do with Theodore Schroeder. In addition to championing free speech causes, Schroeder developed a system of psychological thought which he named "evolutionary psychology." He was also interested in erotogenic interpretations of religious practices, and his writings on this topic generated much controversy in his day. Werkheiser was profoundly influenced by evolutionary psychology and other areas of Schroeder's thought, especially his advocacy of free speech. This is indicated not only in Werkheiser's own writings, but also in his substantial files of material by and about Schroeder and in a small amount of correspondence between the two, and between Schroeder and others. (As a point of clarification, Schroeder's evolutionary psychology appears to be entirely unrelated to the discipline of the same name established by Leda Cosmides and John Tooby in the 1990s.)

There is also a substantial amount of material related to the School of Living (mainly the one in Brookville, Ohio) and the ideas associated with it: decentralism, cooperative living, monetary and tax reform, alternative education, permaculture, wilderness and farmland preservation, and the environment. Its founders, Ralph Borsodi and Mildred Loomis, are also well-represented in the collection--particularly Loomis, who was a close friend of Werkheiser's. (As another point of clarification, the School of Living's journal-newsletter, Green Revolution, is unaffiliated with--and even in direct ideological opposition to--the Green Revolution in agriculture begun in the mid-1940s that encouraged large-scale chemical applications as a means to boost agricultural productivity.)

Other important influences on or associates of Werkheiser represented in the collection are Georgism and Henry George (on which Werkheiser wrote extensively), Laurance Labadie, Ralph Templin, and Arnold Maddaloni. There is also some material by the science fiction writer Robert Anton Wilson.

This collection documents the activities of Esther Newton (1940-), a professor, cultural anthropologist, and author who is a founder and prominent scholar of LGBTQ studies. The collection contains correspondence; research files; drafts and manuscripts of Newton's published and unpublished writings; coursework, notes, course syllabi, exams, and bibliographies from Newton's time as both a student and professor; presentations, speeches, lecture notes, and programs from conferences and public appearances; newsletters and meeting minutes from professional organizations; genealogical research and photographs of Newton's relatives; and photographs documenting Newton's life and research.

This collection documents the activities of Esther Newton, a professor, cultural anthropologist, and author who is a founder and prominent scholar of LGBTQ studies. The collection contains both personal and professional correspondence; research notes and files; drafts and manuscripts of Newton's published and unpublished writings including essays, books, articles, and journal entries; contracts, reprint permissions, reader's reports, reviews, and correspondence with literary agents and editors; coursework and notes from Newton's undergraduate and graduate student career; course syllabi, quizzes and exams, and bibliographies from Newton's career as a professor; lectures and speeches, paper presentations and proposals, and event programs from academic and professional organization conferences and other public appearances; newsletters and meeting minutes from professional organizations, recommendation letters, proposal reviews, and exhibition planning materials; and personal materials such as summer camp publications, academic transcripts, real estate records, publicity, and interviews.

The collection also contains genealogical materials including family trees and charts; photographs of Newton's family members dating back to the late-1800s; correspondence belonging to Newton's mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother; scrapbooks and photograph albums depicting the Bash family, Newton's mother and maternal grandparents; newspaper articles written in the late-1800s by Newton's maternal great-grandmother Lucia Gilbert Runkle; and research and correspondence relating to Newton's father, Saul Newton.

The collection contains photographs depicting the life of Esther Newton, including photographs of Newton's childhood, friends, romantic partners, and events such as birthdays and vacations. Other photographs depict places, events, and people related to Newton's research, particularly Cherry Grove, New York and drag queen performers in the 1960s. Titles denoted in quotes in the finding aid are transcribed from Newton's original titles of folders and envelopes.

Series 2, Research, contains files of Newton's research relating to her studies, career, and writing. The folders contain scholarly articles, journals, newspaper and magazine articles, book chapters, and written and typescript notes. The files are arranged alphabetically by the author's last name, and by topic if publications are mixed.

Series 3, Writings, contains drafts, manuscripts, and research material relating to the books and articles Cherry Grove, Fire Island; The Future of Gender; A Hard Left Fist; Margaret Mead Made Me Gay; Mother Camp; My Butch Career; The Mythic Mannish Lesbian; Sex and Sensibility; Too Queer for College; Womenfriends; and the unpublished Alice-Hunting; as well as various other essays and articles.

Consists of 7 outgoing and 344 incoming letters, largely from 1896-1903. Chiefly concerns Bool's financial support of anarchists and their publications, especially Benjamin R. Tucker and Liberty, and Moses Harman and Lucifer, the light-bearer, distribution of literature, particularly Bool's pamphlet Liberty luminants, the philosophy and activities of anarchist friends and acquaintances, notably John W. Lloyd, as well as personal and business affairs.

The Correspondence series includes several outgoing letters from Bool, but mostly consists of incoming letters. These primarily address Bool's financial support of anarchists and their publications, especially Benjamin Tucker and Liberty, and Lillian and Moses Harman and Lucifer, The Light-Bearer. Portions of the correspondence are concerned business matters as well as with anarchist philosophy and publishing, particularly the distribution of literature such as Bool's pamphlet Liberty Luminants. Anarchist and Labadie Collection founder Jo Labadie is well-represented.

The Archival series consists of one folder containing notes, typed and handwritten, concerning Bool's donation, via Jo Labadie, of pamphlets and booklets. Also included is a short memoir written in 1932 by Agnes Inglis, the original curator of the Labadie Collection, remembering Jo and "Mama" Labadie, Judson and Margaret Grenell, and Henry Bool.

The Hobohemia Collection contains materials from 1905-1997. The materials are original correspondence and manuscripts, photographs, serials, pamphlets, ephemera, clippings, and realia. The collection centers around soap box culture, radical thought, and open forums for free speech in Chicago that were popular from mid-1910’s to the early sixties. Jack Sheridan and to a much greater degree, Slim Brundage and The College of Complexes, are the main focus of this collection.

The Hobohemia Collection is composed of personal and business correspondence, manuscripts, business records, serials, ephemera, photographs, and clippings. It revolves around Jack Sheridan, an active Dil Pickler, and Slim Brundage, founder of the College of Complexes, as well the business workings of the College. The Jack Sheridan series (.5 linear feet), includes correspondence with professional peers and friends, family letters and correspondence, several of his manuscripts, personal records, and related news clippings. Correspondence includes Jack Conroy, liberal labor writer and activist, and John Quinn Brisbon who was an activist and in later years ran for VP and President representing the Socialist Party USA. Notes and plans for a "handwriting" TV series in which Jack would analyze viewers’ handwriting and response from the showing of one segment are included also. Family correspondence includes exchanges with Jimmy Sheridan, Jack’s twin brother and hobo, letters from James Sheridan, Jack’s father, to his family, dated 1917 and 1943, and documents from a federal INS investigation.

Manuscripts include a dedication to the reopening of the Dil Pickle Club in 1944 and a tribute to author and fellow Dil Pickler Max Bodenheim who was murdered. Poems to Jack Sheridan by Max Bodenheim and J. Q. Brisbon and poems by Jack Sheridan for Ben Reitman and in tribute to Hobo College are also part of this series. Personal records include school and service records, a letter of reference, parental certificates, and a copy of a US Treasury document denying Jack Sheridan as a merchant seaman.

The Slim Brundage series (11.66 linear feet), is comprised of personal and business correspondence, and material relating to family, Slim’s manuscripts, and material about the College of Complexes. Correspondence is listed by name and also chronologically. Personal correspondence includes that with writer Carl Sandburg (1937), an important Pickler, Thornton Wilder (1937), and hobo poet Axel Dragstedt.

Business correspondence relates to Slim’s workmen’s compensation regarding a fall he took as a painter and problems obtaining social security benefits. There are also letters to editors regarding submission of manuscripts and some subsequent responses.

Manuscripts comprise 3.5 cubic feet of this series. They include poetry, plays, articles, speeches, radio shows, and books. Most are undated and unsigned but the style consistent. Many of his short essays, or Ravings, are included here. The layout for his only book publication, Ravings of a Manic Depressive, is included. This book was a disappointment for Slim because of its hurried and sloppy assembly. Some manuscripts exist under differing titles; Slim also writes under the pseudonyms Malarkey McCarthy, Manuel Labor, and Casa Pintura.

Family material holds correspondence from Slim to his brother and children, his colorful autobiography which claims his place of birth as an insane asylum and a scrapbook compiled by his daughter, Anna Brundage, which coincides with the establishment of College of Complexes. The scrapbook also contains photographs of the family.

Materials on Margaret Brundage, who married Slim in 1927, include papers on her divorce from Slim in 1933 (official 1939) and custody of their only child, Kerlyn. There is a letter from Margaret to her lawyer explaining how Slim fit into Kerlyn’s life. Personal records and memberships include Slim’s union membership cards and certifications.

Materials under Kay Brundage, to whom Slim was married in 1940, includes correspondence with Slim regarding his painting accident in New York and recuperation, letters from her mother which shed light on Kay and Slim’s financial situation, flooding in Missouri, and the Truman administration. Other material relates mainly to her involvement, and to a lesser degree, Slim’s involvement, in the administration and activities of the Chicago Repertory Theatre and Child Guidance Center.

The College of Complexes subseries includes Business Records. These are marketing promotions such as the Miss Beatnik Contest, extensive business records which include donations to various pro labor and community organizations, mailing lists, IWW support, potential openings of College of Complexes locations in New York and San Francisco, and a large assortment of check stubs, ledgers, daily records, gate receipts, and steno pads recording College of Complexes daily monetary transactions.

Business Records also include correspondence and documents from the US Internal Revenue Service, the Illinois Internal Revenue Service, various vendors to whom Slim owes money, and lawyers regarding the dissolution of Slim’s business partnership with Margaret due to their divorce. There is a letter from Ann Landers and a letter to Hugh Hefner.

The Curriculum files contain typed monthly schedules of speakers enlisted for the College of Complexes. It was traditional to include essays by Slim known as Ravings into each Curriculum. Ephemera contains humorous items such as the Schizo Certificate, Slim’s business card from Mexico, a "pickup" card, play money, and certificates issued to speakers. There are newspaper articles that cover the Beats and the Miss Beatnik contest.

The Other Forums/Events/Organizations series (.75 linear feet), briefly addresses other open forums of the period. Slim and Kay Brundage were longtime Wobblies in the Council for Union Democracy. There are several essays that were written by Slim while committed to this organization as well as general member correspondence and business materials. Materials on the Dil Pickle Club include ephemera such as Volume 1, Number 1 of the Dil Pickler, a pamphlet of writings with the Dil Pickler Lending Library, as well as a small pamphlet with lecture schedule. Druid Society materials include a certificate establishing Jack Sheridan as a witness to the appointed trustees of the Druid Society.

The Writings by Others series (.5 linear feet), contains typed and some handwritten manuscripts by people active in Slim’s circle and the College of Complexes. The Anthology of Love is a collection of poetry written by others that Slim hoped to have published. Almost every poem has an attached typed commentary by Slim. There are handwritten poems by Max Bodenheim on truth and beauty and a guestbook for the Guild of Young Writers, 1932. There are writings by Kay Wood, who married Slim in 1940, John Krzton, "World’s Foremost Authority on Garbage" who reviews Slim’s Ravings, and Malarkey McCarthy, pseudonym for Slim Brundage.

The Serials series (.5 linear feet), contains literary publications from as early as 1905, The Crank, to 1960, The Tab. Amazing Stories and the Washington Square News contain articles by Jack Sheridan. The Tab contains photos and an article about the Miss Beatnik contest held at the College of Complexes in New York.

The Pamphlets series (.25 linear foot), contains materials that may have been used for reference by Jack Sheridan or Slim Brundage. Roger Payne’s The Hobo Philosopher, priced at 10 cents, explains how he can "maintain himself, working as a hobo, in about one day a week, instead of the usual six." The Isle of Mona is a Druidic fantasy written by Francis Lambert McCrudden, who corresponds with Jack Sheridan.

The Photographs series (.125 linear foot), contains many photographs that relate to the collection. Interior photographs of the College of Complexes, circa 1950’s, as well as photographs of Meta Toeber and Franklin and Penelope Rosemont at the 1997 COC Reunion. There are photos of Margaret and Slim Brundage, Slim’s son, Kerlyn, Slim in the hospital, and Slim’s well recognized portrait as housepainter. Photographs of The Place (San Francisco), its manager, Jack Langan, and photographs of Jack Sheridan’s family are among others. Several are unidentified.

The Newsclippings series (.125 linear foot), is arranged primarily by decade and relates to social protest, the free press, labor, unions, Cuba, and the Socialist Party.

The Ephemera series (.5 linear foot), is arranged by decade, subject, and title. There are flyers and bulletins on labor, Cuba, Vietnam, civil rights, post war housing, IWW, the March on Hunger to City Hall, and an Irwin Corey for President button. This material may have been used as reference by Slim for his writings and education. There is also a folder that contains many actual copies of The Curriculum, 1953-1990.

Isaac E. Ronch was a Yiddish writer, teacher, and journalist active in Jewish immigrant circles in Chicago and New York from the 1920s through the 1980s. Ronch was also a good friend of artist Marc Chagall. This collection includes correspondence, writings, and books documenting Ronch and Chagall's friendship, as well as publications, manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, ephemera, and clippings relating to Ronch's own life and works.

The Marc Chagall Materials Series is made up of records documenting Chagall and Ronch's friendship. The donor, Ronch's son, included a handful of books about the history of Jewish arts and identity in Russia to contextualize Chagall's work with Itzik Feffer, which led to his first meeting with Ronch.

The Landsmanshaften Book Series includes a signed copy of the book Di Yiddishe Landsmanshaften foon New York (The Jewish Landsmanshaften of New York), as well as papers relating to the creation of the Landsmanshaften book.

The Writings Series consists of Ronch's creative and journalistic writings. Books include books of prose and poetry, primarily written in Yiddish. Ronch's two serialized novels are preserved as compilations of newspaper clippings placed in composition books.

The Collected Publications Series is made up of three publications (or photocopies of publications) found in Ronch's papers: a 1902 issue of the periodical Di Yiddishe Familie, which includes an article by Sholem Asch, the 1982 Bulletin of the Reuben Brainin Children's Clinic in Tel Aviv, and photocopied pages of a Holocaust Memorial/Yizkor Book for Konin that includes likely relatives of Ronch under the surname Ronchkovski.

The Correspondence Series consists of a single postcard from Sol Liptzin, a scholar of Yiddish and German literature.

The Photographs Series includes photos of Ronch with his students at the Chicago shul where he taught, photos of Ronch giving lectures at Camp Kinderland and Camp Lakeland, and photos of Ronch with as-yet unidentified colleagues sometime in the 1930s.

The Clippings and Ephemera Series comprises newspaper clippings and ephemera relating to Ronch's activities or colleagues, as well as a obituaries for Ronch.

The Jean Fagan Yellin/Harriet Jacobs Research Collection (1855-2017, majority between 1968-2010) spans approximately 10 linear feet with 7 series covering the work done by Jean Fagan Yellin on Harriet Jacobs and related materials on slavery, abolitionism, and feminism. The collection includes correspondence, drafts, reports, notes and annotations, clippings, photographs, and various research files collected, created, and utilized for Yellin's research, writings and publications, and speaking engagements to public and scholarly audiences. Notable materials include extensive evidence of Yellin's engagement with public and scholarly audiences on topics related to Harriet Jacobs, research files and other materials related to Harriet Jacobs and individuals originating from the 1800s and descendants, and files including correspondence proving the authenticity of "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" as an autobiographical work by Harriet Jacobs.

The Jean Fagan Yellin/Harriet Jacobs Research Collection is approximately 10 linear feet and contains materials between 1855-2017 and primarily between 1968-2010. The collection focuses on the work of Jean Fagan Yellin with most attention to Yellin's research and engagement regarding Harriet Jacobs through correspondence, research files, drafts, reports, clippings, photographs, clippings, and other collected materials.

Other notable topics include her works on antislavery, abolitionism, and feminism during the nineteenth century through additional writings, drafts, and research that would connect with Yellin's work on Harriet Jacobs. Notable strengths of the collection include files related to extensive outreach efforts to public and scholarly audiences about Harriet Jacobs, research files with notes and other documentation including those created during Harriet Jacobs' lifetime, correspondence with the North Carolina archivist George Stevenson in researching "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl", and a 1993 interview with Dr. William Knox Jr., a family member of Harriet Jacobs.

Audiovisual materials in the collection have not been digitized.

Jean Fagan Yellin also used extensive abbreviations to describe various professional associations, organizations, projects, and titles within individual files and folder names such as the following:

AAUW: American Association of University Women AHA: American Historical Association ALA: American Literature Association ASA: American Studies Association CAAR: Collegium for African American Research CLA: College Language Association EIAAT: European Imprints of African American Texts HJFP: "Harriet Jacobs Family Papers" ILSG: "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" MELUS: Society for the Study of Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States MLA: Modern Language Association NCFA: National Collection of Fine Arts, now Smithsonian American Art Museum NEH: National Endowment for the Humanities NEMLA: Northeast Modern Language Association NHI: National Humanities Institute NYC: New York City Humanities Program OHA: Organization of American Historians SHA: Southern Historical Association

J. Louis Engdahl (1884-1932), editor and journalist, was an advocate for labor, socialist, and communist causes. The collection includes letters Engdahl wrote to his wife and daughter, trial transcripts, photographs; Engdahl's original writings; and published works in various formats. Also included are memorabilia, clippings, pamphlets, and other printed material, and artwork.

The J. Louis Engdahl Papers (6.5 linear feet) are divided into seven series: Correspondence, Writings, Chicago Socialist Trial, Scottsboro Trial, Photographs and Artwork, Personal and Memorabilia, and Printed Material.

Highlights of the collection include the letters Engdahl wrote to his wife and daughter, in which loving epithets and stories of day-to-day life mingle with accounts of his work and that of other prominent labor, socialist, and communist figures. The collection contains several pieces of Engdahl's original writings, along with numerous published works in various formats. Causes for which Engdahl fought, both on his own behalf and that of others, are documented through letters, clippings, trial transcripts, and images. Over sixty photographs, as well as various pieces of personal memorabilia, depict both family life and professional associations. Also of note is a portrait of Engdahl by the artist Mitchell Siporin.

A note on names: Throughout the collection, certain individuals are referred to by various alternate names and nicknames. Engdahl himself went by "J. Louis" or more informally, "Louis," rather than his given name of "John." Sophia Levitin Rodriguez is addressed variously as "Sophia," "Sophie," "Sonia," and even by her middle name, "Vera." As mentioned in the biographical portion of this finding aid, Pauline and Louis Engdahl's daughter is also named Pauline. To avoid confusion, within this finding aid, Engdahl's wife is referred to as "Pauline Levitin Engdahl" and their daughter as "Pauline Engdahl." Pauline Engdahl had the family nickname of "Chootch," with variants "Chootchie," "Chuche," etc.