Summary Information
Leon Kramer Papers 1874-1964
UWM Manuscript Collection 183
2.8 cubic ft. (3 boxes)
UW-Milwaukee Libraries, Archives / Milwaukee Area Research Ctr. (Map)
Records of a Russian-born, New York bookseller with interests
in radical political organizations. The collection consists of business correspondence,
booklists and catalogues issued by Kramer, photographs of the Kramer family, and
miscellaneous printed material produced by mainstream and radical American political
parties.
The political ephemera in the collection includes meeting announcements,
party and union memberships, as well as photographs and postcards from political
organizations such as the United States Socialist Party, the International Socialist Party,
the Communist Party, Workers Parties, and union organizations. The remainder of the
collection consists of educational materials produced by workers' education organizations in
the 1920s and 1930s. English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-mil-uwmmss0183 ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Born in 1899 Leon Kramer was an idealist, philosophical anarchist, and bookseller, who
began his radical career in the town of Godorok, near Minsk, Russia. He made speeches in an
effort to organize local workers. In 1904, at the age of 15, he was arrested for his
political activities, jailed in Minsk, and then sent to Siberia. The five years Kramer spent
in Siberia served not as a cure, but as a confirmation of his political beliefs.
Kramer came to the United States in 1913, at first living with relatives in Boston and
finally moving to New York around 1929. He initially worked as a subscription salesman for
the anarchist publication, Freie Arbeiter-Stimme (Free Voice of Labor); however still interested in social problems
and their potential political solutions, he began avidly collecting radical literature. He
quickly became known by radicals, booksellers, and book collectors as a specialist in his
field. His career as a bookseller began with him buying and selling duplicate copies of
books in his own collection. By 1930, he was working full-time as a rare book dealer
specializing in the fields of economics, social sciences, and radical literature.
Kramer issued his first catalogue in 1934, by which time he had also opened a store in his
New York apartment. Kramer ran the business and continued to issue catalogues until the year
of his death, 1962. After Kramer died, his daughter Jean Kramer ran the business until
1964.
Scope and Content Note
The collection contains papers, photographs, and ephemera relating to the business and
political interests of Russian-born, New York bookseller, Leon Kramer.
Scope and content notes for each series are included in the contents list.
Arrangement of the Materials
The files are organized into the following two series:
-
Business Files, 1929-1964
-
Political Files, 1874-1960
Preferred Citation
Citation Guide for Primary Sources
Related Material in the UWM Libraries
Administrative/Restriction Information
There are no access restrictions on the materials, and the collection is open to all
members of the public in accordance with state law.
The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel,
privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection (Wisconsin
Statutes 19.21-19.39).
The collection was acquired from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in 1997 (accession
2001-115).
Gareth Evans processed the collection in June 2002. Karen Bjork completed the finding aid
in 2003.
Contents List
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Series: 1. Business Files, 1929-1964 : The bulk of the Business Files contain material from the period 1930-1960, related to
Leon Kramer's work as a bookseller. This series contains booklists, correspondence,
catalogues, and photographs of the Kramer family from the mid-1930s to the early 1960s.
The correspondence largely concerns orders and purchases made by librarians at various
American Universities, including Dartmouth College, Duke University, the University of
California--Berkeley, the University of Chicago, the University of Florida, the
University of Kentucky, and the University of Texas. Other correspondence includes
letters Kramer sent to the American writer Waldo Frank, and the American critic and
novelist Edmund Wilson.
The collection also contains catalogues produced by
used and antiquarian booksellers in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and
the Soviet Union. Included also are a small amount of miscellaneous book trade ephemera
dating from roughly 1920 to 1960.
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Box
1
Folder
1
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American and European Booksellers, Catalogues, 1929, 1958, 1959,
undated
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Box
1
Folder
3
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Book Trade Ephemera, undated
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Box
1
Folder
2
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Booklists and Catalogues, undated
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Box
1
Folder
4
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Books Wanted Lists and Customer List, 1964, undated
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|
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Catalogues
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Box
1
Folder
5
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Economic Catalogues, No. 1-7,
undated
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Box
1
Folder
6
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General Economics, No. 1-5, 1938-1940,
undated
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Box
1
Folder
7
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General Economics, No. 6-10, 12,
undated
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Box
1
Folder
8
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General Economics, No. 13-16, 18-20,
undated
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Box
1
Folder
9
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General Economics, No. 22a-26, 28,
undated
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Box
1
Folder
10
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Colby College, Correspondence, 1941-1942
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Box
1
Folder
11
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Correspondence, 1942-1944
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Box
1
Folder
12
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Correspondence, 1950-1964, undated
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Box
1
Folder
13
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Correspondence, Miscellaneous, 1932, 1936-1937, 1939
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Box
1
Folder
14
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Dartmouth College, Correspondence, 1942
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Duke University
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Box
1
Folder
15
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Correspondence, 1937-1939
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Box
1
Folder
16
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Correspondence, 1940
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Box
1
Folder
17
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Correspondence, 1941
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Box
1
Folder
18
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Correspondence, 1942
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Box
1
Folder
19
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Correspondence, 1943
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Kramer Family
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Box
1
Folder
20
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Photographs, undated
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Box
3
Folder
1
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Photographs, undated
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Box
1
Folder
21
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Kramer, Jean, Correspondence, 1963-1964
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Box
1
Folder
22
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Miscellaneous, Tamiment Institute Library
Bulletin, Memorial to Leon Kramer, 1962
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Box
1
Folder
23
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Russian Bookseller, Catalogues, undated
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Box
1
Folder
24
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University of California-Berkeley, Correspondence, 1942
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Box
1
Folder
25
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University of Chicago, Correspondence, 1937-1945
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Box
1
Folder
26
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University of Florida, Correspondence, 1942
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Box
1
Folder
27
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University of Kentucky, Correspondence, 1942
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Box
1
Folder
28
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University of Texas, Correspondence, 1942
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Box
1
Folder
29
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Workers Alliance, Correspondence, William P. Smith, 1939
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Box
1
Folder
30
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Young Communist Movement, Catalogues and Booklists, No. 30-31, 33, 36,
undated
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Series: 2. Political Files, 1874-1960 : The Political Files chiefly contains material from 1870 to 1960. This series documents
Kramer's political interests and contains miscellaneous political ephemera from the
following political parties and organizations: the Communist Party of the United States
of America, the Communist Youth International, the International Communist League, the
International Socialist Party, the National Council for the Prevention of War, the
Socialist Party of United States, the War Resister's League, and the Workers Party. The
series also includes: certificates of affiliations, correspondences, educational
materials, essays on strikes, Stalinism and Communist factionalisms, photographs of
Norman Thomas and other Socialist Party leaders, political cartoons, postcards, reports,
and resolutions.
The educational materials in this series is comprised of
annual reports, newspaper clippings, reading material, syllabi, and teaching material
from the Brookwood School, the Communist Party United States of America, the
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, the Jefferson School of Social Science,
and the Workers School.
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Box
2
Folder
1
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Anonymous, "Defense of the USSR in the Present War," undated
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Box
2
Folder
2
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Anonymous, Taxation Essays, undated
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Box
2
Folder
3
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Blackwell, Russell Negrete, Correspondence, 1938
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Brookwood School
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Box
2
Folder
4
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Annual Report, 1933-1934
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Box
2
Folder
5
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News Releases, Reports, Statements, 1933, 1935, undated
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Box
2
Folder
6
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Syllabi, Teaching Materials, 1929-1932
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Box
2
Folder
7-15
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Teaching Materials, 1925-1934, undated
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Box
2
Folder
16
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Carter, Joseph, "Stalinist Russia: A Bureaucratic Collectivist Society,"
undated
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Box
2
Folder
58
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China's Children Fund, 1947
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Box
2
Folder
17
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Communist Party, Photographs, undated
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Communist Party United States of America
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Box
2
Folder
18
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"The Drive Towards War and Fascism,"undated
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Box
2
Folder
19
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Educational Materials, 1938-1950
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Box
2
Folder
20
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Letters and Reports, 1933-1960
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Box
2
Folder
21
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Communist Youth International, Reports and Statements, 1928,
undated
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Box
2
Folder
22
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Field, B. J., et al, "Lessons of the New York Hotel Strike,"
undated
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Box
2
Folder
23
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Granges, Circulars, Washington D.C. and Iowa, 1874, undated
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Box
2
Folder
24
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Herworth, Frieda von, "The German Woman," 1938
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Box
2
Folder
25
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International Communist League, Resolution, undated
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International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union
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Box
2
Folder
26
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Course Materials, 1936-1940, undated
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Box
2
Folder
27
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Study Outlines and Syllabi, 1935-1936
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Box
2
Folder
28
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International Socialist Party, Resolutions, undated
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Jefferson School of Social Science
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Box
2
Folder
29
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Annual Reports, 1945-1947
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Box
2
Folder
30
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Syllabi, 1952, undated
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Box
2
Folder
31
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Lanzitt, Mortimer, "Employers Problems in Operating a Collective Bargaining
Agreement," 1937
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Liberal Party, United States
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Box
2
Folder
32
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Amendment, Program, Platform, 1944, 1946
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Box
2
Folder
33
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Resolution, Rules, 1944
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Box
2
Folder
34
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MacDonald, Dwight, "Shamefaced Defensism," undated
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Box
2
Folder
35
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National Council for Prevention of War, Publications, 1933-1934,
undated
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Box
2
Folder
36
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Pell, Orlie, "Annotated List of Pamphlet Material for Workers' Classes,"
Labor Education Services, 1940
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Box
2
Folder
37
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Political Ephemera, undated
|
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Box
2
Folder
38
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Republican National Committee Research Division, Miscellaneous Reports,
1938
|
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Box
2
Folder
39
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Sedition Trial, Minneapolis, Miscellaneous Printed Materials,
1941
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Box
2
Folder
40
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Socialist Party, Songs, Lyrics, Miscellaneous, undated
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Socialist Party, United States
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Box
2
Folder
41
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Certificate of Affiliation, Illinois, undated
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Box
2
Folder
42
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Flyer, 1945
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Box
2
Folder
43
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Miscellaneous Printed Materials, 1912-1919
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Box
2
Folder
44
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Miscellaneous Printed Materials, 1921-1923
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Box
2
Folder
45
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Photographs, Events, undated
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Box
2
Folder
46
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United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, Intellectual Workers
of America, 1938-1939, undated
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Box
2
Folder
47
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War Resisters League, Promotional Materials, undated
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Box
2
Folder
48
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Workers Alliance, Party Announcement, undated
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Box
2
Folder
49
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Workers Party, United States, Report and Statements, 1935
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Workers School
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Box
2
Folder
50
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Reading Materials, Lenin, Vladimir, undated
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Box
2
Folder
51
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Reading Materials, Marxism-Leninism I, undated
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Box
2
Folder
52
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Reading Materials, Trade Union Strategy and Tactics, 1935,
undated
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Box
2
Folder
53
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Student Notebook, undated
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Box
2
Folder
54
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Syllabi, 1936, undated
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Box
2
Folder
55
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"Thesis Adopted by Fifth Congress of Red International Labor Union,"
undated
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Box
2
Folder
56
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Workers Schools, Newspaper Clippings, 1924-1925
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Box
2
Folder
57
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Workers Unions, Miscellaneous, 1933-1934, 1942, undated
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