- unitid
-
{"value"=>"1620", "type"=>"local_mss"}
{"value"=>"MssCol 1620", "type"=>"local_call"}
- unitdate
-
{"type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1936/1970", "value"=>"1936-1970"}
- date_inclusive_start
-
1936
- date_inclusive_end
-
1970
- keydate
-
1936
- date_start
-
1936
- date_end
-
1970
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Bernard Katz papers"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"1.93 linear feet (5 boxes)"}], "supress_display"=>true}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">The New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division.</span> <div class=\"address\"> <span class=\"addressline\">Stephen A. Schwarzman Building</span> <span class=\"addressline\">Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018-2788</span></div>"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"The papers, consisting of miscellaneous correspondence received, personal miscellany, notes, essays and autobiographical writings, reflect the career of Bernard Katz as an advertising executive in New York City; and his avocational interests as a researcher and writer on Black history, American jazz and other subjects"}
- langmaterial
-
{"value"=>"Materials in English"}
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"<p>Bernard Katz papers, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library</p>"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Katz, Bernard, -1970", "type"=>"persname"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Bernard Katz (1902-1970), advertising art director, was raised in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn in surroundings which brought him, as he reports in his unpublished autobiographical writings, into contact at an early age with several personalities who were later to achieve success in the theater and in motion pictures. During one of his summer vacations from school he was employed as copy boy in the sports department of the N. Y. <em render=\"italic\">Sun</em>. At age eighteen, continuing his journalistic bent, he edited and published (in Bensonhurst) a monthly scandal sheet entitled \"The Town Gossip\", which, although ephemeral, succeeded in attracting at least one literary contribution (a novelette) from the novelist, Oscar Schisgal.</p> <p>His literary and artistic talents led him into the field of advertising. Following employments as production manager at Namm's, and as art director at Abraham & Straus, both leading department stores in New York City, Mr. Katz became advertising and promotion director of Hearns, a department store located at 14th Street and Tompkins Square. At the time of his appointment in 1932 Hearns was floundering in the depths of the Great Depression and was virtually bankrupt. By employing, in his own words, \"some of the maddest institutional, sales and promotion stunts in advertising history\", he contributed to the transformation of Hearns into a thriving success with a multi-million dollar annual volume. Mr. Katz left Hearns in 1950 to became art director of Fairfax, Inc., a small but established advertising agency in New York City where he remained for some eighteen years until his retirement.</p> <p>Mr. Katz had a lifelong interest in African-American history and music. He was the compiler a work entitled <em render=\"italic\">The Social Implications of Early Negro Music in the United States</em> (N. Y., Arno Press, 1969); and with his son, Jonathan Ned Katz, he co-authored <em render=\"italic\">Black Woman: A Fictionalized Biography of Lucy Terry Prince</em> (1973). He accumulated a large collection of sound recordings of American jazz and was acknowledged authority on the subject. He served as script-writer and impresario for a series of jazz concerts held at Town Hall in New York City on New Years Day.</p> <p>Bernard Katz was married to Phyllis Brownstone Katz. They resided for many years in Manhattan's Greenwich Village at 81 Jane Street. Two of their sons have become noted historians: William Loren Katz, who specializes in Black history; and Jonathan Ned Katz, who is an authority on the history of gay men and lesbians in America.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The papers, consisting of miscellaneous correspondence received, personal miscellany, notes, essays and autobiographical writings, reflect the career of Bernard Katz as an advertising executive in New York City; and his avocational interests as a researcher and writer on Black history, American jazz and other subjects.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p class='list-head'>The Bernard Katz papers are arranged in four series:</p>\n<ul class='arrangement series-descriptions'>\n<li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mss/1620#c1043685'>I. Correspondence & Personal Miscellany</a></div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The correspondence, which is arranged chronologically in the period 1943, 1946, 1950 (and undated) consists mainly of miscellaneous letters received by Mr. Katz from friends, acquaintances and librarians. There are also a few drafts of outgoing letters. The correspondence relates to his book on early Negro music, his researches on Shakespeare, and miscellaneous personal matters. Included is a letter (undated) from the noted American artist, Stephen Longstreet. There is a separate file of letters (1970) addressed to his wife, Phyllis Brownstone Katz, which express condolences on the death of Bernard Katz.</p> <p>The personal miscellany includes papers (1936-40) relating to the advertising department of Hearns department store; personal notes; a snapshot of Bernard and Phyllis Katz; and a humorous vignette (\"The Return of Mr. Squidge\"), handwritten and illustrated by Mr. Katz, which was intended apparently for a young nephew and niece.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mss/1620#c1043689'>II. Notes</a></div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The series consists of holograph and typewritten notes (and printed matter) on the history of jazz, Negro music, slavery and slave songs, William Shakespeare, and black regiments in the Spanish-American War.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mss/1620#c1043690'>III. Writings</a></div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The writings consist of manuscript and typescript drafts of autobiographical writings and of essays on miscellaneous subjects including American jazz, William Shakespeare, and on black regiments in the Spanish-American War. The autobiographical writings include Mr. Katz's reminiscences of his boyhood in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn where he encountered theatrical and vaudeville personalities; and humorous accounts of tricks and gags played by office-mates upon one another when business was slack in the advertising field during the \"middle years\" of the Great Depression.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mss/1620#c1043691'>IV. Printed Ephemera</a></div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The printed ephemera reflect the advertising career of Bernard Katz. Included are copies of printed advertisements, brochures, and flyers for merchandise offered by retail stores and other commercial establishments. There are also a few pencil sketches on tracing paper.</p></div></li></ul>\n", "type"=>"arrangement"}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Gift of Jonathan Ned Katz, December 6, 1993</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"type"=>"processing", "value"=>"<p>John D. Stinson, April 1995</p>"}
- relatedmaterial
-
{"value"=>"<p>Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p>Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture</p>"}
- extent_statement
-
1.93 linear feet (5 boxes)