Max Eastman papers

id
4215
origination
Eastman, Max, 1883-1969
date statement
1916-1968 [bulk 1916-1921]
key date
1916
identifier (local_mss)
21313
org unit
Billy Rose Theatre Division
call number
*T-Mss 1994-008
b-number
b11928497
total components
8
total series
0
max depth
1
boost queries
(none)
component layout
Default Layout
Extended MARC Fields
false
Extended Navigation
false
created
2013-04-01 15:04:58 UTC
updated
2026-08-15 02:28:29 UTC
status note
(missing)
Display Aeon link
true

Description data TOP

physdesc
{"format"=>"simple", "value"=>".25 lin. ft. (1 box)."}
unitid
{"value"=>"*T-Mss 1994-008", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"21313", "type"=>"local_mss"}
unitdate
{"value"=>"1916-1968", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1916/1968"}
{"value"=>"1916-1921", "type"=>"bulk", "normal"=>"1916/1921"}
date_inclusive_start
1916
date_inclusive_end
1968
keydate
1916
unittitle
{"value"=>"Max Eastman papers"}
repository
{"value"=>"The <span class=\"corpname\">New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. <span class=\"subarea\">Billy Rose Theatre Collection.</span></span> <div class=\"address\"> <span class=\"addressline\">New York, New York</span></div>"}
abstract
{"value"=>"The Max Eastman papers contain primarily photographs of the silent film stars Florence Deshon and Charlie Chaplin."}
prefercite
{"value"=>"<p>Max Eastman Papers, *T-Mss 1994-008, Billy Rose Theatre Collection, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.</p>"}
origination
{"value"=>"Eastman, Max, 1883-1969", "type"=>"persname"}
bioghist
{"value"=>"<p>Editor, writer and translator, Max Eastman founded and edited <span class=\"title\">The Masses</span> (1913-1917), and <span class=\"title\">The Liberator</span> (1918-1922), and was an editor of the Reader's Digest from 1941.</p> <p>He published 25 books on a variety of subjects including poetry, the psychology of literature and laughter, and critiques of Marxism. He also translated some of the works of Leon Trotsky and others and compiled and narrated a film history of the Russian Revolution. He was part of the Greenwich Village (N.Y.) leftist, intellectual and artistic circle in the 1910s and 1920s. During this time he met Florence Deshon, a stage and screen actress from Tacoma, Washington. He and Charlie Chaplin competed for her affections. She died of accidental gas asphyxiation in February 1922, despite a transfusion of Eastman's blood. Shortly thereafter, Eastman went to Russia to learn the language and study the Soviet system, but left after an early disillusionment with Stalin.</p>"}
scopecontent
{"value"=>"<p>The collection is primarily photographs of Eastman's silent film star friends, Charlie Chaplin and Florence Deshon.</p> <p>It contains drawings (undated and unidentified) by Chaplin, personal and family photographs including ones he sent as Christmas cards (1968 and earlier), and negatives and prints from his <span class=\"title\">The Kid</span> (1921). The Deshon material consists primarily of photographs and clippings, particularly relating to her film, <span class=\"title\">Jaffery</span> (1916) with C. Aubrey Smith, and includes a letter from Smith and one (1919) from Samuel Goldwyn concerning her employment in his studio. The collection also contains photographs of Paulette Goddard and other film personalities, an Actors' Equity Benefit Program (1919) annotated by Eastman, and a copy of the Provincetown Plays (1916).</p>"}
acqinfo
{"value"=>"<p>Purchased from Yvette Eastman (Mrs. Max)</p>"}
accessrestrict
{"value"=>"<p>Photocopying prohibited.</p>"}
userestrict
{"value"=>"<p>Unrestricted.</p>"}
arrangement
{"value"=>"Arranged alphabetically by subject"}
processinfo
{"value"=>"<p>Processed by Elisabeth Elkind; machine-readable finding aid created by Mary Ellen Rogan.</p>"}
date_start
1916
date_end
1968
date_bulk_start
1916
date_bulk_end
1921

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