University of Pennsylvania Finding Aids

Documents, notebooks, and diary entries relaying the narrative of the Aitala family’s migration through and immigration from Italy to the United States during and after World War II.

August Mencken (1889-1967) was an American civil engineer and author. This collection comprises August Mencken’s correspondence regarding his brother, H.L. Mencken, his research and work on a scale model of the Confederate cruiser Alabama, and miscellaneous collected writings from friends and colleagues.

Burton Rascoe (1892-1957) was an American literary critic, journalist, editor, and author working in the first half of the 20th century. His confrontational style stirred up much debate and helped generate interest in up-and-coming writers that Rascoe believed showed promise; most notably, Rascoe was an early champion of writers such as James Branch Cabell, Theodore Dreiser, and H. L. Mencken. The collection consists of his correspondence, including some with famous literary figures; writings by Rascoe in draft and published form; papers relating to a lawsuit with Max Annenberg; diaries and notebooks; photographs; and clippings.

Holden Furber (1903-1993) was a professor of South Asian studies at the University of Pennsylvania from 1948 to 1973. His papers include his correspondence to his family while traveling; records relating to his education from grammar school to graduate school; his writings; his research; and his professional papers, largely as a professor.

Howard Melvin Fast (1914-2003) was a best-selling and prolific American author of historical fiction, mysteries, and science fiction, known for his books on themes of patriotism, social justice, and the immigrant experience. He wrote nearly 100 books and more than 150 short stories, as well as numerous screenplays, stage plays, and newspaper columns. The Howard Fast papers include correspondence, journals, appointment books, address books, financials, writings, promotion and reviews, scrapbooks, biographies, profiles, chronologies, bibliographies, interviews, governmental and political files, vital records, personal documents, awards, photographs, artwork, and audiovisual materials. The papers were deposited at the University of Pennsylvania over the course of 45 years and represent nearly all facets of the writer's life.

Collection of correspondence, writings, memorabilia, and photographs of Jack Rosenfeld, mainly pertaining to his service in the United States Army during the Second World War, from September 1942 to November 1945. Rosenfeld's extensive wartime correspondence with his fiancée, family members, and friends offers glimpses into the experiences of everyday Americans during the war, both from the point of view of individuals serving in the Armed Forces, and from that of the civilian community at home, especially in Philadelphia. The correspondence also gives an impression of Jewish community life in Philadelphia at the time, and of the perspectives of American Jews on the war. A little more than half of the correspondence is in the form of the miniaturized facsimiles known as Victory Mail, or V-Mail. Jack Rosenfeld's writings include a memoir about his wartime experiences (dated 1995), and an autobiographical essay about his family and childhood. Documents and ephemera from Rosenfeld's military service include materials related to his participation in musical theater productions by the Army's Entertainment Section of Special Services. The majority of the photographs were taken during the Second World War in the locations where Rosenfeld was stationed in North Africa, Italy, France, and Germany.

James DePreist (1936-2013) was an African-American conductor of international renown. This collection primarily documents James DePreist's conducting career, with a focus on the 1980s and 1990s with the Oregon Symphony, including organizational records, concert programs, press coverage, scores, and recordings.

Some personal papers of Leopold Stokowski, including correspondence to and from Stokowski, notebooks, calendars, bank statements, royalty statements, insturance records, and contracts; this includes some correspondence and contracts related to Stokowski’s tenure as conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra (bulk 1937-1946). Also includes writings by and about Stokowski, obituaries, programs, photographs, scrapbooks, clippings, awards, memorabilia, and issues of three newsletters devoted to Stokowski. Also includes administrative correspondence of the former curator of the Leopold Stokowski Collection at the Curtis Institute of Music, Dr. Edwin E. Heilakka, 1980-1994.

Research materials, photographs, and sound recordings for Oliver Daniel’s uncompleted biography of orchestral conductor Dimitri Mitropoulos, which was later completed by William R. Trotter as Priest of Music: The Life of Dimitri Mitropoulos (1995). Includes Daniel's correspondence, photocopies of some of Mitropoulos's correspondence, other writers' biographical works on Mitropoulos, oral history interview transcripts, reminiscences, research notes, clippings, programs, reviews, photographs, and sound recordings of interviews, radio programs, and musical works.

One third of the collection comprises correspondence, including exchanges with professional colleagues and clients as well as a few family members. With the exception of a substantial group of letters written by Cret to his wife while serving in World War I, there is little personal material. None of the correspondence files contains comprehensive representation of the transactions of Cret and/or his firm on any given project. The remainder of the Papers includes writings by Cret, project and teaching materials (incomplete), notes, biographical material, and photographs.

Paul Schrecker (1889-1963) was an Austrian-born philosopher and University of Pennsylvania professor who edited the works of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz from 1929 to 1933 and Nicolas Malebranche from 1934 to 1940. This collection of his professional and personal papers consists of the teaching materials, correspondence, writing, and research materials accumulated throughout his career. This collection is of value to scholars interested in research on Enlightenment philosophers and the culture of 20th century academia.