The Zalinski Collection consists primarily of correspondence from Edward Robin Zalinski, a young man studying in Europe, addressed to his aunt and uncle, Simon and Anne Adler, and to his father, Edmund Louis Grey Zalinski, an army officer and inventor of some note. While some of these letters talk of his studies at the University of Leipzig and the Professors he studied under, most of these letters are concerned with his travels, the people he has met and the good times he has had. During vacations, instead of returning home, he travels around Europe. His descriptions of his adventures in the company of princes, consuls, professors, and beer-chugging German students are vivid and often quite funny. He considers English girls “a strong, healthy looking set” and generally has a good time with them. In London, he meets a “Mr. Maxim, the inventor of the Maxim rapid fire gun,” which he gets to test himself. A particularly funny story from Italy relates how he got to see the Pope. Also included is a letter to Edward Robin Zalinski from the Alumni Association of Lehigh University, where he graduated with a B.S. in metallurgy in 1900, requesting verification of his biographical information for an upcoming school publication and noting donations to the Alumni Association and reporting meeting minutes.
Additionally, correspondence from Mark Adler, graduate of Cornell and Harvard Law School and son of Simon and Anne, to his parents is included. These letters are mostly from his travels in Europe, but some are from in the United States. His trip to Europe encompasses France, England and Belgium. These letters contain mainly tourist observations of famous sites he visits with his friend McLean and his mother. In the final letters he mentions his cousin “Eddo” (Edward R. Zalinski) in Leipzig, with whom he will travel to Russia.
Also included are several miscellaneous letters. Two are addressed from Edmund L. G. Zalinski while he was in a New York Hospital oneeach to Anne and Simon Adler. Two are from a “Viola” addressed to her parents and sister, Mrs. Sarah H. Knible. There are also several miscellaneous papers.
