The papers relate exclusively to Bornet's research in 20th century labor history and to his
special interest in locating original manuscripts of labor leaders and of state federations
of labor. The collection is available both in original paper form and on microfilm. It is
organized in two sections: correspondence and research materials. The correspondence is
divided between general correspondence, and correspondence with Clifford Lord while Lord was
director of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. The general correspondence file
consists mainly of letters regarding Bornet's article, "The New Labor History" published in
The Historian (Autumn, 1955). Other subjects discussed are
Bornet's dissertation on labor and politics in 1928, manuscript locations, oral history, and
the American Federation of Labor (AFL) archives. Of special interest are letters from the
following: Selig Perlman on labor history; Edwin Witte on Bonnet's publications; and Norman
Thomas with information on the location of his papers and permission to quote from them. The
correspondence with Clifford Lord concerns the AFL papers, the attempt to acquire them for
the State Historical Society of Wisconsin manuscript collections, and some mention of the
destruction of the central files of the AFL.
The Research File consists of materials Bornet used in his dissertation, and in "The New
Labor History." Included are responses to a 1951 survey of AFL state federations regarding
support of presidential candidates in 1928. The notebook, "The Trip East" (1952), is a
collection of Bornet's applications for admission to manuscript repositories, requests for
information on collections in labor history, and responses to those requests, including
listings of the manuscript holdings of some archives. Also included are a reprint of
Bornet's "The New Labor History"; handwritten notes on the location of labor manuscripts and
published works in the field of labor history; a preliminary inventory of the AFL records,
and a preliminary survey of the central file room of the archives of the AFL, which Bornet
completed in 1954.
