Despite its title, the collection does not actually represent the records of the Biosophical Institute; rather it consists of a voluminous quantity of messages, “sharings,” letters, and other mimeographed literature distributed by the Institute that was collected by Robert and Diane Langer, two early members of the movement. In addition, the Langers collected some of Kettner's original letters, as well as original typed minutes of the Biosophicum, the Worker Group, and of college classes offered by the Institute. There is no evidence in the papers to explain when or why these original documents came into the Langers' possession. Because of this background, the collection contains a great deal of information about the philosophy of Biosophy and the spiritual condition and strivings of its adherents, but there is very little about the Institute's administrative and organizational structure or its internal operations.
The material was originally filed in chronological order by the Langers and placed in 85 three-ring notebooks. To facilitate access, the material was rearranged in the archives into five functional series: History and Background, Correspondence, Subject Files, Activities, and Publications and Writings.
The HISTORY AND BACKGROUND section consists of general introductory material, biographical information about Kettner, research material and a history of the Institute prepared by the Langers' daughter in 1972, and several miscellaneous items dating to the early days of the movement (a Spinoza Center scrapbook, 1929-1932, and two group journals). The material collected by Barbara Langer in 1972 includes two folders of questionnaires completed by former members of the Institute about the impact of Biosophy on their lives. Also here is a letter from Robert Langer concerning his desire to donate the collection to the University of Illinois which explains some of the provenance of the papers. This letter refers to some Kettner diaries then also in the Langer's possession but not part of the collection. One of the few documents in the collection that concerns Biosophy as an experiment in group living can be found in the introductory material. Photographs of Kettner received with the papers are available in the Name File of the Visual Materials Archive.
CORRESPONDENCE consists of Kettner's letters, both original and mimeographed, a small file of administrative correspondence, and a large file of intra-group letters and communications. Kettner's correspondence consists of four compilations of mimeographed letters which cover the period 1934 to 1944, as well as loose chronological correspondence covering the longer period 1931 to 1957. The two types of correspondence have not been compared for duplication.
The function of the small, chronologically-arranged administrative correspondence file is not clear; but it is probably the correspondence of Doris Snyder, who served as secretary of the Institute. An additional file of her letters to Kettner is included in the Subject Files.
The Intra-Group correspondence begins in the early 1930s although this type of material did not become extensive until later in the decade; eventually it came to represent one of the largest categories of material in the collection. The Intra-group correspondence consists of chronologically-arranged mimeographed letters and messages written by various members of the movement that were meant to be circulated widely within the group for spiritual self-study and educational purposes. Generally this correspondence concerns individual spiritual struggles and revelations rather than particular events in the lives of members.
The alphabetically-arranged SUBJECT FILES also consist of fragmentary correspondence, together with various other types of documents. This section provides rapid, although not necessarily complete, access to information about many of the Institute's activities and projects. In addition, there are interesting files of several members such as Edith Montlack and the artwork and concerts which she gave to benefit the Institute and some information on the Walt Whitman Fellowship with which Langer was also associated after his move to Chicago.
The ACTIVITIES files are arranged alphabetically by activity type, together with a general file of announcements that provides overall chronological access to the Institute's programs. Most valuable here are the files on the Institute's peace efforts. These include information on the Four Freedom Center, the Peace University proposal, the motion picture made for the 1939 World's Fair, and the campaign for a Secretary of Peace. Documentation present includes correspondence, publicity, and speeches. However, no print of the film “World Leaders on Peace and Democracy” is available as part of the collection.
Other documented activities include instructional materials, handouts, and detailed typed minutes from college classes held at the Institute during the 1940s and typed minutes on lectures and discussions of the Biosophicum and of meetings of the Worker Group. There are also similar typed proceedings for meetings with Kettner and other guests and speakers.
PUBLICATIONS AND WRITINGS are alphabetically arranged as clippings, lectures, newsletters and journals, notes, and poetry. Although the collection includes extensive representations of the biosophical philosophy, it does not include a copy of Kettner's book Biosophy and Spiritual Democracy: A Basis for World Peace. The newspaper articles consist of both printed releases issued by the Institute and its various programs, as well as other printed material by others about the Institute. Although many of the lectures are not identified, they seems to consist primarily of Kettner's work. Because he lectured widely around the country, this section probably represents only a small portion of the public expression of his philosophy. Similarly the material identified as poetry and meditations probably consists largely of Kettner's writings. During its lifetime the Institute and its members produced a large number of publications. These ranged from newsletters (frequently referred to as “Awakeners”) that were briefly issued by individual members to a well-respected quarterly that attracted articles by Nicholas Murray Butler, Albert Einstein, John Haynes Holmes, Cordell Hull, Edgar Lee Masters, Henry Morgenthau, Ezra Pound, Leverett Saltonstall, Francis B. Sayres, Booth Tarkington, Henry A. Wallace, Wendell Willkie, and others. These publications are arranged together alphabetically by title under the heading Publications.
