RG 30. Personal Papers

Scope and Contents The Charles Family papers document the lives of two generations of the family. A substantial portion of the documentation is personal correspondence between Harriet Blood Charles and Thomas Charles, their four daughters: Ethelwyn Charles, Mary Agnes Charles, Grace Miriam Charles and Alice Bell Charles Reid, and various friends and relatives. Many of these letters provide descriptions of student life at Oberlin College around 1893-1902. Of a separate special interest are letters from invited...

Scope and Contents The Nat Brandt Papers primarily document Brandt’s research and writing on three Oberlin related topics: the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue of 1858; the Oberlin missionaries who were killed during the Boxer Rebellion in China in 1900; and, Oberlin College Football (late 1890s) and John Heisman as coach of the team. The titles of Brandt’s books are identified in the series descriptions below.  Many of the documents in the collection are photocopies of the original materials that were used by Brandt...

Scope and Contents The Robert W. Wheeler Papers comprise biographical materials, correspondence, materials from Wheeler’s time at Oberlin College and Harvard Law School, and two photographs. The small collection is not divided into series. The bulk of the collection consists of legal briefs written for Harvard’s Ames Moot Court Competition from 1924 to 1926. Wheeler’s success in the competition resulted in his winning the most prestigious award bestowed upon law students at Harvard. Other materials include two...

Scope and Contents

The Charles Sutphin Papers is a small collection that primarily reflects Pendleton’s years at Oberlin College, from 1897 to 1903. The materials provide insight into student life at the time, including athletics, exhibitions, concerts, social life, the college’s Mock Convention, commencement, and the inauguration of President Henry Churchill King. The collection holds very little correspondence.

Scope and Contents The Lois Blakely Orbell Papers is a small collection of correspondence, musical performance programs, a clipping, and two panorama photographs of students at Oberlin College. The letters from Lois to her family span 1904-1928, with the majority written from Oberlin. A few letters are from Lois’ parents to Lois. After Lois Orbell’s death in 1985, two friends sent letters to an Orbell relative about her.The programs, with one exception, feature piano performances by Lois Blakely...

Scope and Contents The Jorge Luis Borges Collection primarily comprises interviews, ephemera, clippings, photographs, and audio and video recordings documenting Borges’ visit to Oberlin College in May 1983, as well as other interviews with Borges by Ana Cara. Most of the materials were used in the Oberlin College Libraries' digital Jorge Luis Borges Collection published in 2012. The project was one of many developed at Oberlin and the...

Scope and Contents The papers of George A. Lanyi document his career as a teacher and scholar of political science. The collection contains both Lanyi's work as a student and teacher; these documents provide a wealth of information concerning issues of national and international politics. Noteworthy are materials concerning British appeasement of Germany prior to World War II, communist foreign policy, the Middle East, and the beginning of the Cold War. The collection also contains professional correspondence...

Scope and Contents The Mark Mortimer Heald Papers primarily document his early life in Illinois, Oberlin (1910-16), Minnesota (1916-17), and Germany and France both during and after World War I (1918-19). Specific periods of interest represented by the collection are Heald’s high school days in Illinois (1906-10), his time as a college student (1910-14), his work at Oberlin Academy and Oberlin College (1914-16), his fellowship at the University of Minnesota (1916-17), his military service (1917-1919), and Mark...

Scope and Contents

The materials in the Arthur Ludwig and Arthur Ewing Princehorn Collection span ca. 1900 through 2014. The collection primarily consists of photographic prints and negatives taken by Arthur Ludwig or Arthur Ewing Princehorn.

Series five consists of a small collections of objects, including cameras used by the Princehorns and a plaque.

Scope and Contents The Paul B. Arnold Collection represents only a portion of the life and work of professor and artist Paul B. Arnold. The materials in the collection are diverse and represent Arnold’s varied and prolific career as an artist and as a professor at Oberlin College and Conservatory. The bulk of the collection is made up of course materials, published writings, and speeches relating to Arnold’s teaching career between 1942 and 1985 at Oberlin College and Conservatory. The collection also...