Collections : [University of Michigan Special Collections Research Center]

The Correspondence series (2.5 linear feet) is comprised of handwritten and typed letters, greeting cards, postcards, and telegrams and is grouped into three subseries: J. Louis Engdahl's outgoing correspondence; Engdahl Family correspondence, comprised of letters written by his wife, daughter, sister-in-law and brother-in-law, and other relatives in the Engdahl, Levitin, and Rodriguez families; and Others, listed alphabetically by name. Ralph Korngold, Frank Hayes, and Ruth Benedict are among the correspondents. Most of the Engdahl Family correspondence is comprised of Pauline Levitin Engdahl's letters to Louis.

Included in the Others subseries are two folders of "Sympathy Letters," written to Pauline Levitin Engdahl at the time of her husband's death. Notable among these are letters from William L. Patterson, chairman of the International Labor Defense. Some of the letters in these folders also discuss memorial and financial arrangements. Included with the sympathy letters are an undated, unsigned poem, "A Monument to Love," and an empty envelope addressed to Pauline Levitin Engdahl and dated 1927. The association of these items to the rest of the materials in this grouping is unclear.

Engdahl's letters to his wife, especially, and also to his daughter, comprise most of the Correspondence series. They recount in detail Engdahl's daily activities, his hopes and fears, and his affection and longing for his loved ones during his time apart from them (long and frequent periods of separation being an unfortunate consequence of his life's work). In earlier correspondence, dating from the 'teens, Louis and Pauline Engdahl both comment frequently on Victor Berger and his work. Later letters deal primarily with Louis's work for the ILD on behalf of the Scottsboro defendants. One can trace, too, the evolution of J. Louis Engdahl's relationship with Pauline Levitin (Engdahl), from good friends and allies in a common cause, to sweethearts, and finally spouses.

The Correspondence series consists of personal correspondence as well as general correspondence in the form of open letters or participation in online forums. It consists mostly of e-mail written between 1998 and 2001. The most comprehensive correspondence is with George Salzman.

The Correspondence series consists primarily of letters written to Chaplin, although it includes one outgoing telegram. The series includes a number of letters from Eugene Debs and Bill Haywood. Much of the other correspondence concerns Chaplin's imprisonment and his writing and publications.

The Correspondence series consists of approximately 0.6 linear feet of material. The vast majority of the correspondence consists of handwritten letters from Danny Kaye to Holly Fine. Although the letters span the years 1934 to 1986, the bulk of the correspondence dates from late 1934 to late 1937. Kaye’s letters are very affectionate and personal. The letters center mostly on the relationship between Kaye and Fine, but Kaye also mentions developments in his career, including the shooting of his first short film in 1937. Most of the correspondence dating from the 1950s is brief and relatively insubstantial. The correspondence series also includes a subseries of letters to Holly Fine from other correspondents, including several from Kaye’s wife, Silvia Fine, Kaye’s brothers Sparky and Larry, and Bea Marcus, and other people involved with the Marcus show. The Larry Kaye correspondence, in which he sometimes addresses his relationship with his brother Danny, his brother’s career, and his brother’s marriage, is the most noteworthy of this subseries.