Manuscript Division Publications

• General Catalogs and Acquisition Reports
• Published Registers of Personal Papers and Organizational Records
• Presidential Papers Indexes
• Calendars
• Subject Bibliographies, Guides, and Other Publications
• Brochures and Pamphlets
• Outside Publications Describing the Division's Holdings

General Catalogs and Acquisition Reports

The Master Record of Manuscript Collections serves as the basic guide to the division's collections. It consists of Master Record I, a brief checklist of all collections in the division's custody, and Master Record II, a more comprehensive catalog containing summary descriptions of collections and an index to the names and key terms cited in these descriptions. Neither Master Record I nor II has been published, but copies are available in reading rooms throughout the Library. In addition, Master Record II may be accessed through the Library's online catalog which is available on-site and through the Internet. Published lists and descriptions of the division's holdings include the following:

U.S. Library of Congress. Handbook of Manuscripts. Washington, 1918. 750 pp. This volume is a comprehensive, thoroughly indexed guide to those collections in the division's custody at the time of its publication. Although now much out of date, the 1918 Handbook, as it is known, provides useful descriptions of many of the collections received in the division's early decades.

________. List of Manuscript Collections in the Library of Congress to July 1931. Compiled by Curtis W. Garrison. Washington, 1932. (Reprinted by the Library from the American Historical Association, Annual Report, 1930, vol. 1, pp. 123-249.) Updates the 1918 Handbook.

________. List of Manuscript Collections Received in the Library of Congress July 1931 to July 1938. Compiled by C. Percy Powell. Washington, 1939. (Reprinted by the Library from the American Historical Association, Annual Report, 1937, vol. 1, pp. 115-45.) Updates the 1918 Handbook and the Garrison list.

________. Annual Report of the Librarian of Congress. Washington, 1897 to date. See especially those reports of manuscript acquisitions for the period from July 1938 to July 1943 to fill the gap between the Powell list and the Quarterly Journal.

________. Quarterly Journal of the Library of Congress. Washington, 1943-83. (Before 1964 titled Quarterly Journal of Current Acquisitions.) Contains lists of manuscript acquisitions and articles about specific collections.

________. Manuscript Division. Library of Congress Acquisitions: Manuscript Division. Washington, 1981 to date. Describes acquisitions annually beginning with the calendar year 1979.

________. Manuscript Division. Library of Congress Manuscripts: An Illustrated Guide. Washington, 1993. 64 pp. An introductory chapter discusses the historical and cultural significance of manuscripts, provides a brief history of the Manuscript Division, and describes the division's acquisitions, processing, and reference functions. Subsequent chapters, devoted to specific themes, describe and illustrate some of the division's many treasures. Top of Page

Published Registers of Personal Papers and Organizational Records

Since about 1950, registers have been prepared to describe and facilitate the use of the larger collections in the Manuscript Division. More than sixteen hundred registers have been prepared and are available for research use in the reading room. Although registers occasionally vary in format according to the nature of the collection, most include information on the provenance of the collection, a scope and content note, brief biographical details about the person or family covered, a description of the various series or groups of manuscripts in the collection, and a container list. The container list normally describes the contents by folder title. A few registers contain partial or complete name indexes to the correspondence contained in the collection.

Since 1958, a limited number of registers have been selected for publication each year. They are printed in small editions, and single copies are distributed free of charge to libraries on request. Distribution to individuals is necessarily limited. The registers are designed to acquaint a scholar with the nature of a collection before a research trip or to facilitate a photoduplication order. Listed below are the collections for which registers have been published. The abbreviation NHF indicates that the papers are part of the Naval Historical Foundation Collection.

Presidential Papers Indexes

In addition to registers, name indexes to the correspondence and writings in the division's twenty-three presidential collections have been published. Within each index, every item is listed by name of writer or recipient, together with the date, series number, page count, and other information as appropriate. Listings are in alphabetical order, with more than one listing for a particular name in chronological order. Each presidential index includes a provenance essay, a series description, a microfilm reel list, and when needed, a list of subject and legal case files. With the exception of the Garfield and Wilson guides, all of the presidential indexes are out of print. Copies of them, however, are available in many federal depository libraries throughout the nation and in the more than one hundred research libraries in this country and abroad which have purchased copies of the presidential microfilm. The Manuscript Division also makes available through the interlibrary loan system a microfilm edition that includes all of the presidential indexes. Listed below are the presidential collections for which indexes were published. An index was not published for the Martin Van Buren Papers, because the Library's comprehensive 1910 calendar of those papers was considered an effective finding aid to the microfilm edition.

Calendars

Clemence, Stella R., comp. The Harkness Collection in the Library of Congress. Washington, 1932-36. 2 vols.

Feamster, Claudius N., comp. Calendar of the Papers of John Jordan Crittenden. Washington, 1913. 335 pp.

Fitzpatrick, John C., comp. Calendar of the Correspondence of George Washington, Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, with the Continental Congress. Washington, 1906. 741 pp.

________. Calendar of the Correspondence of George Washington, Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, with the Officers. Washington, 1915. 4 vols.

________. List of the Washington Manuscripts from the Year 1592 to 1775, Prepared from the Original Manuscripts in the Library of Congress. Washington, 1919. 137 pp.

Ford, Worthington C., comp. List of the Benjamin Franklin Papers in the Library of Congress. Washington, 1905. 322 pp.

________. List of the Vernon-Wager Manuscripts in the Library of Congress. Washington, 1904. 148 pp.

________. Papers of James Monroe, Listed in Chronological Order from the Original Manuscripts in the Library of Congress. Washington, 1904. 114 pp.

Friedenwald, Herbert, comp. A Calendar of Washington Manuscripts in the Library of Congress. Washington, 1901. 315 pp.

Leech, W. R., comp. Calendar of the Papers of Franklin Pierce. Washington, 1917. 102 pp.

Lincoln, Charles H., comp. A Calendar of John Paul Jones Manuscripts in the Library of Congress. Washington, 1903. 316 pp.

________. Naval Records of the American Revolution, 1775-1788, Prepared from the Originals in the Library of Congress. Washington, 1906. 549 pp.

West, Elizabeth H., comp. Calendar of the Papers of Martin Van Buren. Washington, 1910. 757 pp. Top of Page

Subject Bibliographies, Guides, and Other Publications

Although the registers, presidential indexes, and acquisition reports have constituted the bulk of the division's publication efforts, the division has periodically published or sponsored the publication of other guides and indexes, many of which are listed below. Most of these publications are available from either the Library or the Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. Reference copies may also be found in the Manuscript Division Reading Room.

Bickel, Richard B., comp. Manuscripts on Microfilm: A Checklist of the Holdings in the Manuscript Division. Washington, 1975. 82 pp.

Dorosh, John, and Elizabeth Dorosh, comps. Index to Baptisms, Marriages, and Deaths in the Archives of the Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church in Alaska, 1900-1936. Washington, 1964. (A microfilm edition of this index is available for interlibrary loan from the Manuscript Division.)

Gawalt, Gerard W., ed. Justifying Jefferson: The Political Writings of John James Beckley. Washington, 1995. 281 pp.

Griffin, Grace Gardner. A Guide to Manuscripts Relating to American History in British Depositories Reproduced for the Division of Manuscripts of the Library of Congress. Washington, 1946. 313 pp.

Ham, Debra Newman, ed. The African-American Mosaic: A Library of Congress Resource Guide for the Study of Black History and Culture. Washington, 1993. 300 pp.

The Harkness Collection in the Library of Congress: Manuscripts Concerning Mexico, A Guide. Washington, 1974. 315 pp.

Haynes, John E. "Labor History Sources in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress." Labor History 31 (Spring/Summer 1990); and in Labor History Archives in the United States: A Guide for Researching and Teaching. Edited by Daniel J. Leab and Philip P. Mason. Detroit, 1992. 286 pp.

Hensen, Steven L., comp. Archives, Personal Papers, and Manuscripts: A Cataloging Manual for Archival Repositories, Historical Societies, and Manuscript Libraries. Washington, 1983. 51 pp.

Index to Baptisms, Marriages, and Deaths in the Archives of the Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church in Alaska, 1816-1866. Washington, 1970. 3 vols. (A microfilm edition of this index is available for interlibrary loan from the Manuscript Division.)

Index to Baptisms, Marriages, and Deaths in the Archives of the Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church in Alaska, 1867-1889. Washington, 1973. 2 vols. (A microfilm edition of this index is available for interlibrary loan from the Manuscript Division.)

Kalnins, Zuzanna Dagmara, comp. Index to Baptisms, Marriages, and Deaths in the Archives of the Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church in Alaska, 1890-1899. Washington, 1965. 258 pp. (A microfilm edition of this index is available for interlibrary loan from the Manuscript Division.)

Lund, Christopher C., and Mary Ellis Kahler, comps. The Portuguese Manuscripts Collection of the Library of Congress: A Guide. Washington, 1980. 187 pp.

McDonough, John J., comp. Members of Congress: A Checklist of Their Papers in the Manuscript Division, Library of Congress. Washington, 1980. 217 pp.

Nasatir, Abraham P., and Gary Elwyn Monell, comps. French Consuls in the United States: A Calendar of Their Correspondence in the Archives Nationales. Washington, 1967. 605 pp.

Naval Historical Foundation Manuscript Collection: A Catalog. Washington, 1974. 136 pp.

Sellers, John R., comp. Civil War Manuscripts: A Guide to Collections in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress. Washington, 1986. 391 pp.

Sellers, John R., Gerard W. Gawalt, Paul H. Smith, and Patricia Molen van Ee, comps. Manuscript Sources in the Library of Congress for Research on the American Revolution. Washington, 1975. 372 pp.

Smith, Paul H., ed., and Gerard W. Gawalt and Ronald M. Gephart, assoc. eds. Letters of Delegates to Congress, 1774-1789. Washington, 1976 to date. 24 vols.

Warren, J. Benedict, comp. Hans P. Kraus Collection of Hispanic American Manuscripts. Washington, 1974. 187 pp. Top of Page

Brochures and Pamphlets

The following are informational brochures which are available free of charge from the Manuscript Division

U.S. Library of Congress. Manuscript Division. The Foreign Copying Program. Washington, 1980. 4 pp. (revision of 1964 brochure)

________. Literary Papers and Manuscripts: Their Place in the National Collections. Washington, 1985. 2 pp.

________. Manuscript Division, Library of Congress. Brochure for readers. Washington, 1978 (rev. 1994). [5 pp.]

________. The Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress. Washington, 1990. [8 pp.]

________. Material Missing from the Felix Frankfurter Papers. Washington, 1974. [6 pp.]

________. The Presidential Papers Program of the Library of Congress. Washington, 1985. 3 pp.

________. Private Papers: A Plea for Their Preservation and an Explanation of Their Importance to the National Collections. Washington, 1980 (rev. 1985). 3 pp.

________. Q & A: Questions and Answers about Personal Papers. Washington, 1977 (rev. 1994). [6 pp.]

________. Reference Aids to Manuscript Collections in the Library of Congress. Washington, 1984. 12 pp. Top of Page

Outside Publications Describing the Division's Holdings

Hamer, Philip M., ed. A Guide to Archives and Manuscripts in the United States. New Haven, 1961. 775 pp.

Hinding, Andrea, ed. Women's History Sources: A Guide to Archives and Manuscript Collections in the United States. New York, 1979. 2 vols.

Kohn, Gary J., comp. The Jewish Experience: A Guide to Manuscript Sources in the Library of Congress. Cincinnati, 1986. 166 pp.

National Inventory of Documentary Sources in the United States: Manuscript Division, Library of Congress. Teaneck, N.J., 1983. This is a Chadwyck-Healy microfiche publication which reproduced 762 of the Manuscript Division's published and unpublished registers. A printed name index, compiled by Victoria Agee, accompanies the microfiche.

Nunn, G. Raymond, ed. Asia and Oceania: A Guide to Archival and Manuscript Sources in the United States. New York, 1985. 5 vols.

Robbins, J. Albert, ed. American Literary Manuscripts: A Checklist of Holdings in Academic, Historical, and Public Libraries, Museums, and Authors' Homes in the United States. 2d ed. Athens, Ga., 1977. 387 pp.

South, Aloha, ed. Guide to Non-Federal Archives and Manuscripts in the United States Relating to Africa. New York, 1989. 2 vols.

U.S. Library of Congress. National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections. Washington, 1959-93. 37 vols.

Wigdor, Alexandra K. The Personal Papers of Supreme Court Justices: A Descriptive Guide. New York, 1986. 226 pp.

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Scholars' Guide to Washington, D.C. Washington, 1977 to date. Volumes published thus far relate to Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, and Russia or the former Soviet Union.