Guide to the Papers of the Muehsam Family, 1828-1999

AR 25021 / MF 736

Subgroup I: Alice Muehsam,  1848-1969.

Arrangement:

Topical.

Scope and Content:

The subgroup reflects the life and work of Alice Muehsam, an archeologist, art historian, and conservationist. The bulk of material relates to her life after she left Germany and arrived in the United States; however some of her personal documents and academic records in Series 1: Personal date back to the early 1920s and 1930s. One can also find documents from the 19th century that belonged to the father of Alice Muehsam, Isidor Freymark, and his family here.

Series 2: Correspondence is comprised of correspondence, both professional and personal.

Series 3: Publications documents the process of creation and publication of the books written by Alice Muehsam. Articles published in Hebrew in the journal Hetteva’ Wehaaretz (Nature and Country), and early reviews and articles on art by Alice Muehsam are also included in this series.

Series 1: Personal, undated, 1848-1968.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical.

Scope and Content:

The identification documents, university decrees, and various certificates can be found in Series 1: Personal. The process of immigration and naturalization after Alice Muehsam left Germany is documented here as well. The documents that belong to the Freymark family, especially to the father of Alice Muehsam, Isidor Freymark, are also filed in this series. This series also contains the curricula vitae and various testimonials and references of Alice Muehsam. The documents that relate to the restitution of the property the Muehsam family had to abandon in Germany can also be found here, but researchers should be aware of the fact that many of the most relevant letters between Alice Muehsam and the layers involved in this issue are filed with the correspondence of Ruth Marton in Series II: Correspondence, Subseries 1: Family. The restitution folders follow original arrangement, instead of having been consolidated.

Series 2: Correspondence, 1914-1968.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical.

Scope and Content:

Professional correspondence constitutes a great deal of this series. Condolences addressed both to Ruth Marton and to Gerd Muehsam are another substantial unit of this series. The folder of Kurt Muehsam’s correspondence holds two postcards sent from Albania in 1914 and two letters written shortly before his death from Italy. The series also contains letters from Alice Muehsam’s children. All the other correspondence is in the folder named Personal.

Series 3: Publications, 1896-1969.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical.

Scope and Content:

This series documents the process of creation and publication of the books written by Alice Muehsam. The dissertation Die attischen Grabreliefs in roemischer Zeit occurred in two versions: as a type-written manuscript given to the examining body, and later as a printed one. This book was later published in English and the copy is part of the collection, as well as corrections of the draft. The subseries related to the last publication of Alice Muehsam, Coin and Temple, contains not only background material, corrections, drafts, and reviews, but also plaster coin impressions of the old Hebrew coins from the period of Bar Kochba. This series also contains articles published in Hebrew in the Jewish journal Hetteva’ Wehaaretz (Nature and Country) in the years 1937 and 1947. The early concert reviews and articles on art written by Alice Muehsam during 1916-1922 are also to be found here.

A) Attic Grave Reliefs from the Roman Period

B) Coin and Temple

C) German Reading II

D) Articles

Subgroup II: Gerd Muehsam, 1900-1986.

Arrangement:

Topical.

Scope and Content:

Series 1: Personal contains personal documents of Gerd Muehsam, not only various identification cards, but also her school reports, certificates and diplomas from her studies at the University of Vienna, as well as her papers from Case Western University in Cleveland, Ohio. Her immigration to the United States is also well documented.

Papers connected to the professional activities of Gerd Muehsam, mainly related to her assignments as an art librarian and educator at Cooper Union School and Queens College can be found in the Series 2: Professional. Along with professional newsletters, texts of lectures, and drafts of papers, this series also documents the academic career of Gerd Muehsam.

Series 3: Correspondence contains letters both personal and professional. The professional correspondence mostly relates to publication of Gerd Muehsam’s books. Except the Get-Well cards, the siblings and mother of Gerd Muhsam produced most of the personal correspondence.

Gerd Muehsam became a reputable figure in the world of art librarianship; she often lectured and organized workshops on the subject of art resources and reference. Later she compiled two well-received reference books on visual arts. The drafts and correspondence that is mainly concerned with her publications French Painters and Painting and Guide to Basic Information Resources in the Visual Arts can be found in the Series 4: Writings.

Series 1: Personal, 1900-1986.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical.

Scope and Content:

Despite the fact that Gerd Muehsam was born in Berlin, Germany, and lived there until she was forced to leave, like her sister Ruth Marton and mother Alice Muehsam, she was an Austrian citizen due to her father Kurt Muehsam’s Austrian citizenship. This series contains her personal documents and identification cards that were produced by Austrian and German officials, as well as Gerd Muehsam’s documents after she landed in the United States.

In 1933 Gerd Muehsam started her studies in Musicology and Art History at the University of Vienna. This series contains her university records and examination certificates, as well as her PhD diploma. After Gerd Muehsam completed her studies, she returned to Berlin and passed an exam as a private music teacher; the original of this certificate and several copies of it later used for the purposes of immigration are also to be found here. After Gerd Muehsam’s arrival to the United States she started library studies at Case Western University in Cleveland, Ohio. Several papers from that time and her diploma from Case Western University are part of the collection.

Immigration is another significant issue of this series. Gerd Muehsam first left Germany for England, where she waited for her visa to Australia, her intended emigration destination. However, after she did not get the visa, she went to the United States instead. All the documents, various invitations, and affidavits both from Britain and the U.S., together with some correspondence, are filed in this series.

The series also includes music scores of Gerd Muehsam’s own compositions, together with several musicological publications written by Siegfried Borris.

Series 2: Professional, 190-?, 1940-1980.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical.

Scope and Content:

This series contains material related to Gerd’s Muehsam professions, both as an educator and a librarian. The documents without immediate connection to any of her major employing institutions, i.e. Queens College and Cooper Union, were filed in the section General. It includes lectures and papers, the unpublished article 'A Philosophy for the College Librarian', and also texts originating at the time when Gerd Muehsam worked at NYPL Donnell Library.

Other lectures or correspondence that can be linked to the educational work of Gerd Muehsam either at Queens College or Cooper Union, are filed appropriately under the respective institution. The resignation of Gerd Muehsam from Cooper Union followed discussions about the new role of the art library at Cooper Union and provoked a wave of support among students for her position. The circumstances are documented partly in the newsletters at the Cooper Union, partly in the correspondence in this series. Other folders hold information about her courses Music and Western Ideas or Philosophy of Music. Material on courses for students should not be confused with material on lectures.

The most prominent topic pertaining to Gerd Muehsam’s teaching at Queens College is her promotion from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor in 1972 and her effort to be promoted to Professor in 1979. However, in spite of great support and acknowledgement of her work, Gerd Muehsam’s effort to become a Professor was not successful.

A) General

B) Cooper Union

C) Queens College

Series 3: Correspondence, 1937-1980.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical.

Scope and Content:

The professional correspondence in this series mainly deals with publishing. Most of the correspondence one finds here are the get-well cards Gerd Muehsam received the last year of her life when her health was already frail, as well as the condolence letters Ruth Marton received after the death of her sister. Gerd Muehsam’s brother, Helmut Muehsam, and his wife Brouria probably had some of their mail sent to Gerd Muehsam’s address; after her death this mail was kept with her other papers on a lawyer’s advices. This series also contains correspondence of Gerd Muehsams’ parents and siblings.

Series 4: Publications, 1948-1979.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical.

Scope and Content:

Series 4: Publications includes the materials, such as correspondence, drafts, and reviews related to the reference sources compiled by Gerd Muehsam, French Painters and Paintings and Guide to Basic Information Resources in the Visual Arts. Besides these two books, one can also find the other works of Gerd Muehsam, Chronicle of the Museum for the Arts of Decoration of the Cooper Union, and the first publication by Gerd Muehsam, D. Edzard.

A) French Painters and Painting

B) Guide to Basic Information Resources in the Visual Arts

C) Other

Subgroup III: Helmut Muhsam, 1920-1980.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical.

Scope and Content:

Subgroup III is the smallest of the collection, and contains the few materials attributed to Helmut Muhsam. Helmut’s Autograph book contains signatures, including that of Erich Muehsam. Correspondence in this series is between Helmut and his sisters. Much of it concerns the deterioration of the health of his mother Alice Muehsam and her subsequent death. Correspondence with Ruth Marton deals mainly with Gerd Muehsam's death. Articles in this series are Helmut Muhsam’s published statistical writings in scholarly journals.

Subgroup IV: Kurt Muehsam, 1905-1932.

Arrangement:

Topical.

Scope and Content:

Subgroup IV holds the papers of Kurt Muehsam, the father of Ruth Marton, Gerd Muehsam, and Helmut Muhsam. Kurt Muehsam was a journalist with keen interest in the film industry. This interest is mainly reflected in Series 1: Personal that consists of personal papers, identification documents and his birth certificate.

The correspondence of Kurt Muehsam can be found in Series 2: Correspondence that besides letters written by Kurt Muehsam's children also contains some letters that relate to his occupation as journalist and editor. It also contains various invitations and some photos. The published worksof Kurt Muehsam are part of Series 6: Publications of the Subgroup VI: Ruth Marton.

Series 1: Personal, 1905-1932.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical.

Scope and Content:

In addition to personal papers such as identification documents, obituaries, photos, and his will, Series 1: Personal also contains documents on events Kurt attended, awards he was given, and documents from events he attended. Among the documents is a course catalog from the Women’s High School in Berlin, where Kurt is listed as a teacher of cultural history and journalism. Military papers contain commands and travel passes for Kurt during the First World War.

After Kurt Muehsam arrived in Berlin, he took part in the social life of the Austro-Hungarian Community in the German capital and later became the president of the Austro-Hungarian Club in Charlottenburg. He also became member of several professional associations.

The portrait of Kurt Muehsam by an artist identified only by his/her last name Epstein is also part of the series.

Series 2: Correspondence, 1907-1931.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical.

Scope and Content:

Series 2: Correspondence holds correspondence between Kurt Muehsam and his children, as well as some from friends and acquaintances. The correspondence from Gerd Muehsam, Helmut Muhsam, and Ruth Marton is concerned with cultural events they attended or their school work. The Various folder contains letters written to editors of the newspapers in which Kurt Muehsam worked in various functions, some invitations, and photos.

Subgroup V: Other Family Members, undated, 1883-1982.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical by last name.

Scope and Content:

In this subgroup are aggregated materials of all the other members of the Muehsam family. Since the name Muehsam is rather unusual, it is possible to trace the family relationships back to the sons of Pinkus Pappenheim – Muehsam, who was granted that name by the Prussian King Frederic II (1712-1786, King of Prussia 1740-1786) at the end of the 18th century, Seligmann and Joseph. Ruth Marton collected clippings and materials that mentioned the name Muehsam/Mühsam/Muhsam. Many of these people are descendents of Samuel Muehsam, the rabbi in Graz, Austria, who was the father of Kurt Muehsam, hence grandfather of Ruth Marton, Gerd Muehsam, and Helmut Muehsam. Erich Muehsam, poet and leftist politician, and Hans Muehsam, briefly a collaborator of Albert Einstein, belong to the Luebeck lineage of Siegfried Seligmann Muehsam. Betty Newman, who was briefly a personal assistant of Albert Einstein, was the daughter of Isidor and Flora Neumann née Muehsam, a sister of Kurt Muehsam. The exact relationship of the Martons to the Muehsam family is not clear, besides the fact that they were related, originated in Hungary and Alice Muehsam signed her card to Otto Marton as "Tante Alice".

Series 1: General, undated, 1902-1979.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical.

Scope and Content:

This small series contains general information about the Muehsam family, consisting of two family trees. A brief family history explaining the origins of the name Muehsam is in the folder Family History and Tree.

Series 2: Individual Members of the Muehsam Family, 1878-1988.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical by the last name.

Scope and Content:

Scope Note: The materials in this series focus on Erich, Hans, Margarete, Marianne, Paul, and Samuel Muehsam, Dorothy and Oliver Marton, Flora Neumann, and her daughter Betty Newman (Neumann before her immigration to the United States). Many of the items in this series focus on Betty’s secretarial work for Albert Einstein. A short memoir written by Betty about her experiences with him is located in the folder named Albert Einstein – Memorabilia. Photos in this section feature many photos of Betty Newman herself, at various ages, her mother Flora, father Isidor, and brother Herbert, who was killed by the Nazis in Auschwitz. Numerous photos of members of the Muehsam family are also included here, often with unidentified individuals. There is also some correspondence between Ruth and other family members about Betty’s death and her estate. Other materials in this series include clippings and correspondence with Ruth Marton about Hans Muehsam.

Erich Muehsam was a writer, poet, and anarchist. He contributed to a number of leftist oriented periodicals. In 1911-1914 Erich Muehsam published in his own magazine Kain with the subtitle 'Magazine for humanity'. After the Bavarian Councils’ Republic was suppressed in 1919, in which Erich Muehsam actively participated, he spent five years in prison, but did not stop writing. He continued in his journalistic and political activities even after he was released from the jail. In 1933 he was arrested by Gestapo and in 1934 murdered in the concentration camp Oranienburg. Materials about Erich Muehsam in this series were collected by Ruth Marton, who assembled newspaper clippings about Erich Muehsam, some of his personal correspondence, letters where she wrote about him.

A) Erich Muehsam

B) Hans Muehsam

C) Margaret T. Muehsam

D) Marianne Muehsam

E) Paul Muehsam

F) Samuel Muehsam

H) Dorothy and Oliver Marton

I) Flora Neumann

J) Betty Newman

Subgroup VI: Ruth Marton (Muehsam), 1864-1999.

Arrangement:

Topical.

Scope and Content:

Ruth Marton was the original collector of the whole Muehsam Family Collection, so it is only logical that the subgroup that relates to her life is the greatest part of it. It also offers the most to students of the German Jewish exile in the United States and offers scholars an unusual perspective and almost first hand experience of the German Hollywood Community in the 1940s.

Series 1: Personal contains several personal documents of Ruth Marton, her passports, and her immigration and naturalization papers. This series also holds several folders with photographs: some from her childhood, some which may have been part of her acting portfolio. Ruth Marton also kept her various diaries and pocket calendars where she jotted down her appointments and performances that she had attended, often with short comments.

Series 2: Correspondence constitutes a unit which may be of the greatest interest to a researcher of Ruth Marton. It is also the largest series in the collection. Comprising almost 10 linear feet, it holds letters written by Ruth Marton’s family, her friends, and also correspondence from the period when Ruth Marton worked as a literary scout of several distinguished European publishing houses. The correspondence also contains copies of letters she wrote. Ruth Marton used many of these letters for writing her memoirs and commemorative essays of individuals.

Series 3: Manuscripts contains texts written by Ruth Marton, whether they were her original writings, translations, or synopses that were commissioned by film-producing companies or publishing houses. Her memoirs and manuscripts of her fiction works represent the greater part of this branch of the collection. The series, however, also contains her opinion pieces on various subjects stretching from the problem of dogs in New York City and fashion issues to her comments on various film or theater performances. The scripts for Lilli Palmer’s TV Show, for which Ruth Marton worked as researcher and script writer, are also to be found in this series.

Series 4: Erich Maria Remarque documents Ruth Marton’s friendship with the German novelist Erich Maria Remarque that started shortly after Ruth Marton arrived in the United States and lasted until Remarque’s death in 1970. This collection does not contain any actual correspondence between Ruth Marton and Erich Maria Remarque, since this was donated to the Erich Maria Remarque-Archiv In Osnabrück by Ruth Marton. However, it holds correspondence with the director of this archive, Tilman Westphalen, and other scholars interested in Remarque’s life and work. Correspondence concerning Ruth Marton’s account of Erich Maria Remarque, My Friend Boni, is part of this series along with related correspondence with publishing houses and background notes as well. The manuscript of My Friend Boni will be found in Series 3: Manuscripts with her other writings, and the published book is located in Series 6: Publications.

Series 5: The Huston Family is comprised of material on actor Walter Husten, his son, actor and director John Huston, and John Huston’s family. Ruth Marton was a close friend of both Walter and John Huston. The series is dominated by clippings recounting the film careers of not only Walter and John Huston, but also the activities of three of the children of John Huston: Anjelica, Danny and Tony. Although some clippings reflect their personal views, and depict basic life events in the Huston family, they mostly cover individual movies in which members of his clan appeared or were involved.

Series 6: Publications contains books and publications written by Ruth Marton, by her family members, or books that were in the possession of Ruth Marton and came with her papers. The published works of Ruth Marton, her sister Gerd Muehsam, and her parents Kurt and Alice Muehsam can be found here along with other books dedicated to Ruth Marton by her friends.

Series 7: Audio is comprised of audiocassettes, records, and one reel. The records mostly contain music. Researchers may be interested in the four double-sided audiocassette tapes which contain an extensive interview with Ruth Marton that is complementary to her memoirs and correspondence, since the interview is mainly biographical.

Series 8: Objects gathers miscellaneous objects that were found in the papers of Ruth Marton.

Series 1: Personal, 1913-1999.

Arrangement:

Topical.

Scope and Content:

This series contains the personal documents of Ruth Marton who like her sister Gerd Muehsam and mother Alice Muehsam held an Austrian passport due to the Austrian citizenship of her father, her certificate of Austrian citizenship is also part of this collection, as well as her naturalization certificate after Ruth Marton became the US citizen in 1944. Photos from childhood, from the mid-1930s, the 1950s, and the 1960s can be found here as well.

Ruth Marton’s diaries spanning throughout much of her life make Subseries B: Diaries, Calenders and Address Books to larger engagement books, and include concert and theater books as well as diaries and calendars that she used to keep track of events. Very often, especially in the earlier calendars, Ruth Marton wrote down the productions she attended, such as films or plays. To differentiate different pocket calendars from the same year, the exact name written on the individual calendar is given in parentheses.

Subseries A: Documents, 1913-1999.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical.

Scope and Content:

The smaller portion of this series is made up by the documents of Ruth Marton. Besides the immigration and naturalization papers, one can also find materials here that relate to her profession of an actress before the war, i.e. British Actors’ Equity Association card and set of photos from years 1934-1935 that may have been part of her artistic portfolio. Included among such documents are Ruth Marton’s certificate for having passed the Acting Test of the Genossenschaft Deutscher Bühen-Angehörigen and the Deutschen Bühnenverein, as well as a letter from them in 1933 stating that she would face difficulties as an actress during the present time. The subseries also contains photos from the childhood of Ruth Marton and also later pictures from the 1950s through 1970s. A drawing, presumably, a portrait of Ruth Marton, can also be found here.

Subseries B: Diaries, Calendars, and Address Books, 1920-1999.

Arrangement:

Chronological by year.

Scope and Content:

Ruth Marton kept diaries throughout much of her life – spanning more than seventy years. These books are of all sizes, ranging from tiny pocket calendars to larger engagement books, and include concert and theater books as well as diaries, engagement books, and calendars, and she used them to keep track of events. Very often, especially in the earlier calendars, Ruth Marton kept track of the productions she attended, such as films or plays, often with a short description of her opinion of the piece and who else attended with her. Other entries mention events she attended, usually mentioning the other people she knew at the event, or who she met there. Close friends who were met often are usually identified simply by their first initial instead of their entire name. Many of the diaries are small pocket calendars. The diaries rarely contain long entries with explicit detail of the day’s events, although there are a few longer entries. The earlier diaries contain longer entries, while the later ones mainly contain dates such as birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, and appointments, and planned activities.

To differentiate different pocket calendars from the same year, the exact name written on the individual calendar is given in parentheses.

Series 2: Correspondence, undated, 1913-1999.

Arrangement:

Topical.

Scope and Content:

The correspondence of Ruth Marton represents the greatest part of the Muehsam Family Collection, and for a researcher of German Jewish Exile in the United States it offers an interesting glance into the German Hollywood Community or into the life of several German writers. Series 2: Correspondence is arranged topically. Subseries A: Family comprises letters written by the family of Ruth Muehsam, another by her friends, and the third group contains letters pertaining to Ruth Marton’s occupation both as a literary scout and as an author.

Part of the family correspondence is also communication with lawyers involved in restitution claims of Ruth Marton and her mother, Alice Muehsam, and her sister, Gerd Muehsam. They all asserted compensations for war damages, emigration costs and inheritance of the estates of Ruth Marton’s grandmother and her uncle. It does not only contain letters to and from the lawyers, but also personal correspondence commenting on the legal procedures.

Subseries B: Friends is the bulk of this series and it is probably of the greatest value for a student of German intellectual life in the United States. Many of those Ruth Marton counted among her friends belong to the important personalities of the Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s, i.e. Paul Kohner, Franz Lang, Jacques François, or John and Walter Huston. Later, the correspondence with writers, i.e. Eleanor Breese, Lion Feuchtwanger Denver Lindley, gains in prominence. The documents pertaining to her relationship with Erich Maria Remarque are part of Series 4: Erich Maria Remarque, however, the correspondence between them is part of the collection housed at Erich Maria Remarque-Peace Center (Erich Maria Remarque-Friedenszentrum) in Osnabrück. Her close relationship with Austrian writer Alexander Lernet-Hollenia is not represented in this series, for Ruth Marton donated these letters to the Austrian National Library (Oesterreichische Nationalbibliothek), where it is part of the collection Teilnachlaß Ruth Marton.

The last Subseries C: Professional relates to Ruth Marton’s professional activities mainly as an editorial scout for several European publishing houses, mainly S. Fischer Verlag in Germany. Some of the originally professional relationships turned into friendships later, so mainly official memos and reports to the editors of the respective publishing houses can be found here.

Subseries A: Family, undated, 1920-1989.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains the correspondence of the members of the Muehsam family. It is further divided between the correspondence created and received by Ruth Marton’s parents Kurt and Alice Muehsam and her siblings Gerd and Helmut, and correspondence produced by other relatives (cousins, aunts, etc.). The subsubseries c) Restitution differs from the more personal and intimate nature of the other parts of Subseries A: Family, but the family issues are also at the center of attention and its appearance in this subseries seems logical.

The Family Correspondence is arranged by the sender. The correspondence written by Ruth Marton’s mother, Alice Muehsam, is often and in certain periods always accompanied by letters from Ruth Marton’s sister Gerd. The letters are often signed by a nickname instead of the name of the sender. Alice Muehsam signed her letters to Gerd or Ruth as Mulli, Gerd signed hers as Olle and Ruth Marton used Maus in her letters to Alice Muehsam.

The Other Family Correspondence is filed under the name of the Ruth Marton’s relatives, but often contains correspondence with children and husbands as well as the relatives themselves. Ofra Peled née Muhsam is the niece of Ruth Marton and the daughter of Helmut Muhsam. Edith Rosen was Ruth Marton’s cousin and Judy Joël also addresses Ruth Marton as her cousin. Erna Foertsch née Rosenthal and Elsa Rosenthal are cousins of Ruth Marton, as well as Hans Landau and Felix M. (Maulwurf?). The relationship of Henny Marton is not clear, but her correspondence was filed with other family letters nor Paul Vermont’s, who addressed Alice as aunt. The letters are in German and English.

The Restitution Correspondence contains letters of Ruth Marton, Alice and Gerd Muehsam, and their lawyers who attempted to obtain compensations from the German government and recover some of the property the Muehsam family possessed before they fled Germany. Ruth Marton claimed compensation for war damages, emigration costs, and also inheritance of her uncle and grandmother’s estates. Since Ruth Marton, Gerd and Alice Muehsam coordinated their activities, this correspondence contains letters written by all of them. In general, the original arrangement of files has been retained. An intended topical arrangement is discernible, but the claims are often intertwined and multiple issues discussed in single letters, therefore the files are named after the respective lawyers who were handling the cases of the Muehsams. Letters to various friends that report on the restitution proceedings are also part of this subseries, most prominently those by and to Anuschka Deutsch. The last will of Alice Muehsam’s mother, Lina Freymark, is also part of this subseries, for her testament was one of the crucial documents in one of the inheritance cases.

a) Family

b) Other Family Members

c) Restitution

Subseries B: Friends, 1929-1999.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical. by the last name of the correspondent.

Scope and Content:

The subseries Friends contains letters that Ruth Marton exchanged with her friends and acquaintances. It is divided between a) Autographs and Greetings and b) Letters. Section a) Autographs and Greetings contains various Greeting cards, Seasonal cards, Thank-you Notes or singular letters that did not evolve into correspondence. These documents were originally in a box labeled Autographs. Ruth Marton annotated some of those letters and cards, but in some instances when it was not possible to identify the senders the mail was placed in the folder A-C. Besides the aforementioned mail, two folders of newspaper clippings labeled General Files can be found here too.

Ruth Marton seems to have been an avid correspondent and her letters are a major part of this collection. Most of this correspondence is in the subdivision b) Letters, which reflects many of the relationships that Ruth Marton maintained with people on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Many of these friendships stretch over several decades and the letters document the rich social and intellectual life of the actress, translator, literary scout, and author Ruth Marton. Some of the correspondence deals with Ruth Marton’s work, her friends and their life struggles, but often with more personal issues – for example, the letter exchange between Ruth Marton and Peter H. Behrend, who coordinated the arrival of Alice and Gerd Muehsam from New York while she dwelled on the East Coast.

Thanks to her father and her earlier career in Europe she met many people from the film industry, personalities like Paul Kohner, Heinz Herald, Franz Lang, or Max Reinhardt. Many of her friends became prominent actors, most notably Ernst Deutsch, John Huston, Walter Huston, or the French actor Jacques François (Ruth Marton was also in friendly relationship with his mother Madeline Bergeret), but also her friend from the acting school in Berlin, Lilli Palmer, who later hosted her own television talk-show. Other friends from the film industry included Ruth Albu Morgenroth, Bruce Anderson, Agnes Bernelle, Filippo Del Guidice, Ruth Ford, and Peter van Eyck.

In Hollywood Ruth Marton did not continue her career as an actress, but took several clerical employments, did some translating and modeling, and worked as a sales person. She continued to attend the social life of the German exiled artists in Hollywood. Most significantly, she started to write fiction, encouraged by her friends, among others by Erich Maria Remarque. The process of writing is a significant topic in Ruth Marton’s correspondence, both private and professional. Ruth Marton often discussed her work; the correspondence with Eleanor Breese, her friend from the pre-war times on the west coast, offers a particularly detailed view into Ruth Marton’s writing, with many comments and historical explanations to it. Correspondence with Heinrich Schnitzler, son of author of Der Gruene Kakadu, Arthur Schnitzler, can also be found here. However, the correspondence with Erich Maria Remarque and Alexander Lernet-Hollenia another friend of Ruth Marton, are not part of this collection. Ruth Marton bestowed those letters to Erich Maria Remarque-Peace Center (Erich Maria Remarque-Friedenszentrum) in Osnabrück, and to the Austrian National Library (Oesterreichische Nationalbibliothek) respectively.

Many of Ruth Marton’s professional relationships transformed into friendships, and at the same time many of her friends were instrumental in judging and reviewing her work. Some of the correspondence is clearly identified as professional and personal, and the original order is respected. For this reason the letters of Denver Lindley, a translator of Heinrich Mann, Erich Maria Remarque, and Alfred Kubin into English, but also a senior editor at the Harcourt, Brace and the Viking Press, are all included in this subseries and labeled as Denver Lindley - Professional. The correspondence of Paola Dalai or André and Marie-Pierre Bay can also be found in Subseries 3: Professional Correspondence, under Aldo Garzanti Editore and Libraire Stock respectively. The file of Ruth Marton’s Swiss literary agent and editor at Mohrbooks, Rainer Haumann, contains all kinds of correspondence.

This subseries also includes letters Ruth Marton exchanged with researchers interested in Lion Feuchtwanger (Nortrud Gombringer), the German enclave in Hollywood (Lutz Bacher, Jürgen Becher, Thomas Koebner), or German Jewish Emigration in the USA (Henri Jacob Hempel, Renate Heuer). Letters from institutions and scholars regarding Erich Maria Remarque are included in Series 4: Erich Maria Remarque; in Series 7: Audio.

Some correspondents do not fit into the above mentioned general categories of actors/actresses or authors, but their correspondence often covers an extended period of Ruth Marton’s life. Among these are Charles and Jacqueline Rousseau, Marvin Fox, Fini Littlejohn, and Fabio Rieti. Charles Rousseau was a leading French expert in International Law, representing France at the International Court at Hague, Marvin Fox was a physicist, allegedly involved in the Manhattan project, Fabio Rieti was an artist with whom Ruth Marton maintained a long friendship and Fini Littlejohn was a life-long confident of hers.

Ruth Marton was a devoted fan of her friends and diligently collected newspaper clippings in which her friends or people related to them were mentioned, no matter how cursory that mentioning could be. Sometimes, it is not clear why a clipping is attached to that person, but the original arrangement was respected and the clippings kept. Many of the correspondents of Ruth Marton helped her to collect articles, catalogues and other memorabilia that they thought might be of interest to her. Some of these attachments to the letters were not filed with the person to which they were related, but remained with the sender and are therefore filed with the sending person.

The correspondence contains not only the letters Ruth Marton received, but also copies of those she sent. These are usually interlaced with the received mail and arranged in chronological order. Some correspondence is accompanied with short memoirs devoted to friends of Ruth Marton. Since Ruth Marton used her correspondence for writing her memoirs, books, and various commemorative essays, some of the folders contain letters addressed to someone else, but describing some details from the life of the person with whose correspondence the letter is filed.

a) Autographs and Greetings

b) Letters

Subseries C: Professional, 1913-1988.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical.

Scope and Content:

Subseries C: Professional correspondence mainly consists of the documents that relate to Ruth Marton’s activity as an editorial and literary scout for the German publishing house S. Fischer Verlag in the years 1955-1961. Besides the S. Fischer Verlag she also did some scouting for the Aldo Garzanti Editore, Italy; H. Aschenhoug, Norway; Libraire Stock, France; Werner Söderström, Finland, and Gyldendal Ltd., Denmark. As a representative of the respective publishing houses she mediated between them and their partners in the USA, was in contact with authors and their literary agents, and tried to obtain the rights for translation. Correspondence with these publishing houses constitutes the majority of the documents in this subseries both sent and received by Ruth Marton. Ruth Marton commented in greater detail on the works of various U.S. writers and the legal circumstances of possible publication of their works in Europe in her letters. The folder Reports on Announced Books holds the actual reports that might have been of interest to those publishing houses that Ruth Marton represented. The S. Fischer Verlag was the main focus of Ruth Marton’s scouting and therefore many of the letters destined for more than one publishing house are filed in the S. Fisher folder.

The folder Work-Related Documents contains letters of recommendations, thank-you notes, but also announcements of her resignation as a scout of the aforementioned European publishing houses.

Some of the autographs belonged to Ruth Marton’s father Kurt Muehsam and some are addressed to Heinz Herold.

Series 3: Manuscripts, 1934-1997.

Arrangement:

Topical.

Scope and Content:

Ruth Marton came to Hollywood together with many other writers, actresses, actors, and artists who were denied work in Germany and Austria. They contributed to the social and cultural life of the West Coast. It is only natural that Ruth Marton who participated in the social life of the German Jewish exile community tried to give her account of events she witnessed and people she met. Subseries A Memoirs holds different drafts of the memoirs, notes and also correspondence that related to Ruth Marton’s writing or publishing of these memoirs. She later adapted passages about Erich Maria Remarque and wrote another book My Friend Boni devoted to her friendship with Remarque which was later published in Germany. Correspondence with publishers concerning this book is part of Series 4: Erich Maria Remarque.

Since the early 1940s Ruth Marton tried to establish herself as an author and writer. Her novels and short stories can be found in Subseries B: Fiction. Only the first part of her trilogy, The Divorcees was ever published, the rest of her writing is available only in manuscript.

Other of Ruth Marton’s nonfiction writings were mostly of opinion pieces often dealing with film industry that are filed in Subseries C: Nonfiction and Opinion Pieces.

Native knowledge of German and excellent French proved to be very useful in the first years of Ruth Marton’s stay in the United States, for they enabled her to earn some living by translating plays and scripts into English. She also translated a few non-fiction books. The manuscripts of these translations are in Subseries D: Translations.

The writing did not support Ruth Marton and she had to take various clerical jobs, one of them was reading plays, scripts, and books in foreign languages and wrote a short synopsis in English. The ranged from couple of paragraphs to several pages. These texts can be found in Subseries E: Synopses.

Subseries F: Lilli Palmer TV Show documents the show that Lilli Palmer hosted in 1951 and where Ruth Marton participated in it as script writer. It contains some clippings and scripts fore the show.

There are also some manuscripts in the collection that can’t be attributed to Ruth Marton, but came into her possession throughout the late 1940s and 1950s. These are to be found in Subseries G: Other Manuscripts.

Subseries A: Memoirs, 1935-1997.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical.

Scope and Content:

The first section, memoirs, is comprised of several different drafts of the memoirs, as well as notes and correspondence relating to them or used to write them. The original title of Ruth’s memoirs was Cat of Many Lives, but she later changed it to Lost and Found. There are numerous drafts of the memoirs, especially of the first half of the manuscript. These drafts are listed by chapter title. It should be noted that the memoirs essentially end in 1950, after the death of Walter Huston. The chapter 'My Friend Boni' in Ruth Marton’s memoirs should not be confused with the manuscript of her manuscript My Friend Boni, which was published in Germany in translation and is available in Series 6: Publications. The correspondence included here discusses Ruth Marton’s attempts to have her memoirs published. In addition, there are diary entries and notes mainly focusing on the years 1944 through 1945. The folder entitled Autobiography - Background Information contains older correspondence, notes, her Curriculum Vitae, and clippings that Ruth Marton used in her memoirs, including many references to her relationship with Walter Huston.

Main focuses in the memoirs are Ruth Marton’s teenage years; her flight from Germany and early life in America in the late 1930s and early 1940s; her friendship with Erich Maria Remarque (Boni); her relationships with various men, especially Franz Ludwig Hörth (Lu), Alexander Lernet-Holenia, John and Walter Huston (Wallie), and Josef von Sternberg (Jo), among others. In addition, there is also a brief biography here, written in English and German, apparently written shortly after publication of the Divorcees.

Subseries B: Fiction, 1939-1974.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical.

Scope and Content:

Ruth Marton’s fictional writings include novels and short fiction. Of these, only The Divorcees was ever published, although The Shattered Mask was bought by a publisher. In addition to the completed manuscripts, this subseries also includes notes, correspondence, and several drafts of the manuscripts. The folder entitled Fragments contains notes on ideas for fiction stories. Among the short stories, Sketches is a collection of short stories bound together, which are also listed as individual stories.

Some stories were written in collaboration with others. Salto Mortale, also known as Circus, was written by Ruth Marton from an idea given to her by John Huston. Mammina was written by Ruth Marton and Lilli Palmer, and there is both a manuscript and screenplay version of this work. Flyer Story was written by Ruth Marton in collaboration with William Surovy, and marked the first time she was paid for writing. Flight from Yesterday was written in collaboration with Laszlo Willinger.

a) Novels

b) Short Stories

Subseries C: Nonfiction and Opinion Pieces, 1940s-1988.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical.

Scope and Content:

The majority of Ruth Marton’s nonfiction writings are opinion pieces, many of which deal with topics or individuals involved in the film industry, especially actors, such as articles dealing with Rex Harrison, John Huston, and Greta Garbo. Two articles, "A Visit to a Monastery" and "Regina Laudis and the Lady Abbess" resulted from a visit by Ruth to a monastery in Bethlehem, Connecticut. All of the pieces are short, usually only a few pages. Folders entitled Television Show Ideas are drafts and correspondence of Ruth to television producers concerning her ideas for new shows. The folder Fragments contains notes for nonfiction writings.

Subseries D: Translations, 1940-1963.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical.

Scope and Content:

Most of Ruth Marton’s translations are shorter pieces translated from a foreign language into English. Many of the original pieces were in French or German. Although the majority of writings are fiction, a few are non-fiction.

Subseries E: Synopses, 1939-1975.

Arrangement:

Alphebetical.

Scope and Content:

Synopses in this series are comprised of Ruth Marton’s readings of foreign language material for publishers and film producers. Although most of the works are fiction, she also wrote synopses of a few nonfiction works. Synopses range in size from short paragraphs to several pages. Many are from the time when Ruth Marton lived in Hollywood.

Subseries F: Lilli Palmer TV Show, 1951-1952.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical.

Scope and Content:

Materials pertaining to the Lilli Palmer TV Show are from a weekly fifteen-minute show that was filmed in New York. The show featured a different country or topic every week, and Lilli read poetry or sang a song from the country and interviewed a representative guest. Correspondence concerning the show can be found in the correspondence series. Ruth Marton wrote many of the scripts, and assisted on others.

Subseries G: Other Manuscripts, 1939-1961.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical.

Scope and Content:

In addition to her own writings, this subseries also lists some manuscripts acquired by Ruth Marton, most of which are scripts. The Blank Wall was presumably received by her while she worked on the production of Max Ophul’s film The Reckless Moment, based on the novel The Blank Wall.

The origins of the other scripts are not as certain. Several of the manuscripts are by or concern individuals Ruth knew, including Test 606 by John Huston; Of Human Bondage by Lester Cohen; Voyage Home, with a translation by Denver Lindley; The Immortal Husband, a comedy by James Merrill; and The Shanghai Gesture , a film in which Walter Huston starred in 1941.

Series 4: Erich Maria Remarque, 1916?, 1957-1998.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical.

Scope and Content:

The friendship of Ruth Marton and Erich Maria Remarque started in Hollywood in the late 1930s when they met at one of the parties in Hollywood. Erich Maria Remarque encouraged Ruth Marton in her effort to become an author and comment on her progress. Series 4: Erich Maria Remarque reflects this relationship. It does not contain correspondence between Erich Maria Remarque and Ruth Marton, since Ruth Marton donated that to the Erich Maria Remarque-Archive of the Erich Maria Remarque-Peace Center in Osnabrück.

The correspondence with the director of this archive, Tilman Westphalen, makes a substantial part of this series. Ruth Marton was in often assisting other scholars interested in details related to Remarque’s life and work, among others Ruth Marton helped Reinhold Neven du Mont, Wilhelm Sternberg, and Harley U. Taylor. Ruth Marton herself tried to give an account of her relationship with Remarque in a book which was later published by Kiepenheuer & Witsch under the title Mein Freund Boni (My friend Boni). The background materials, notes, and diary-entry-like clippings ordered chronologically and often assigned the page number corresponding to that one to the manuscript that Ruth Marton kept together under the label "Diary Letters" also represent a substantial part of this series.

The series contains a manuscript of Remarque’s novel Borrowed Life ( Geborgtes Leben) autographed by Erich Maria Remarque and photocopied facsimiles. Besides the clippings about Erich Maria Remarque, Ruth Marton also collected clippings about his wife Paulette Goddard Remarque.

Part of the series is also mail that Ruth Marton received from the Erich Maria Remarque Society that consists newsletters, clippings and various memos.

Series 5: The Huston Family, 1942-1998.

Arrangement:

Topical.

Scope and Content:

This series contains material on members of the Huston family, who were friends of Ruth Marton, and includes John, Walter, Anjelica, Tony, and Danny Huston. The vast majority of items are clippings, most of which focus on John and Walter Huston’s film careers and movies. Several film folders contain information about more than one Huston: A Walk with Love and Death, Prizzi’s Honor, The Dead, and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, each of which involved more than one Huston in the film. Folders marked "Other Films" contain clippings of films in which John or Walter Huston performed or directed for which there are only a few clippings. Both Walter and John Huston were involved in Hollywood’s efforts to support World War II.

Subseries A: Family, 1944-1989.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical.

Scope and Content:

Although the correspondence in this subseries mainly focuses on John Huston, it also discusses other family members, especially his children. Most of it is between Ruth and John Huston’s assistant, Gladys Hill, later Joan Blake. There is also much correspondence between Ruth Marton and her friend Betty O’Kelly, who had worked for John Huston when he lived in Ireland, discussing John Huston or his family. One letter from 1944 appears to be from Ruth Marton to Walter Huston, even though his name is not in the opening of the letter. In this same folder is a handwritten letter from Walter Huston to her from 1949. Notes on John and Walter Huston seem to be for Ruthm Marton’s memoirs, and a few of these notes contain page numbers.

Subseries B: John Huston, 1942-1989.

Arrangement:

Topical. The Performances section is arranged alphabetically by the title of the play or movie.

Scope and Content:

This subseries mainly contains clippings concerning John Huston. The majority focus on movies made by him, although there is also a large amount of clippings containing biographical information on John Huston from World War II until his death. Some folders contain clippings of topics in which he was interested such as the colorization of movies and the film industry and the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Other topics include Ireland, where John Huston not only lived but became a citizen of. Clippings in General folders mention his name, but are not related to specific films or topics. In addition to clippings, correspondence with John Huston, drawings by and of him, and a few photos of him are available. There are also condolence letters and cards sent to Ruth Marton after John Huston ’s death. Production material and programs from film premieres of a few of his films are also located here, as are two manuscripts by Ruth Marton about John Huston.

Most of the collection is composed of clippings.

a) Personal

b) Performances

Subseries C: Walter Huston, 1941-1998.

Arrangement:

Topical. The Performances section is arranged alphabetically by the title of the play or movie.

Scope and Content:

As in the previous subseries, this one also contains mostly clippings which give information about the movies in which Walter Huston starred. Also included in this subseries are clippings concerning biographical information. Walter Huston was heavily involved in the political activities of his time, mainly concerning the support of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and World War II, and acted in several wartime films. He participated in several films and fundraisers promoting the Russians as war allies and also was involved in relief efforts for the Russians during the war. One such film Mission to Moscow was made by Warner Bros. at the request of President Roosevelt, only to be noticed by the House Committee on Un-American Activities four years later for its depiction of the Russians as war allies. The folder "Political Activities" also includes clippings on his narrations of war films, one of which was The Prelude to War. In addition, this Subseries also contains condolence letters sent to Ruth Marton by friends after Walter Huston’s death.

a) Personal

b) Performances

Subseries D: Other Huston Family Members, 1951-1990.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains materials pertaining to the children of John Huston. Much of Anjelica Huston’s correspondence are thank-you letters for cards or gifts. Most of her letters are from her childhood and teenage years, ending in 1968, with only two from the 1980s. Clippings for Anjelica Huston focus on the films in which she starred, as well as some that are biographical. Ruth Marton also collected clippings on Jack Nicholson, who maintained a close relationship with Anjelica Huston for several years. Anjelica Huston also worked as a model for a short time in the 1980s, and there are some clippings from magazines of her work. Photos of Anjelica Huston working with her father in her first film are located in subseries B: John Huston, in the folder " A Walk With Love and Death - Photos".

Correspondence with Tony Huston is more extensive than with Anjelica Huston; much of it concerns acknowledgements of gifts and discussion of his hobbies, such as falconry, as well as news of John and Anjelica Huston. The later correspondence with Tony Huston features information on his own work, family, and children.

a) Anjelica Huston

b) Danny Huston

c) Tony Huston

Series 6: Publications, 1864-1996.

Arrangement:

Topical.

Scope and Content:

This series contains books and publications written by Ruth Marton or her family members, with dedications to Ruth Marton, or publications that came with the papers of Ruth Marton. Subseries A: Ruth Marton contains books written by Ruth Marton. Books written by the relatives of Ruth Marton are in Subseries B: Muehsam Family. Dedicated publications can be found in Subseries C: Dedicated and other books that were part of this collection were in Subseries D: Other Books.

Subseries A: Ruth Marton, 1965-1966, 1993.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical by title.

Scope and Content:

The writings of Ruth Marton comprises the first subseries of this series. The majority are translations of Ruth’s fictional work, The Divorcees. This work was published in German, Norwegian, and Italian. Copies of the magazines in which these translations were published are included here, as well as the book form of the German and Italian versions. In addition, Ruth’s memoir of her friend Erich Maria Remarque, published only in German translation, Mein Freund Boni, is here as well.

Subseries B: Muehsam Family, 1864-1978.

Arrangement:

Alphabetically by the name of the author.

Scope and Content:

Subseries B contains works by Muehsam family members. This includes books and publications that are written, edited, or translated by other members of the Muehsam family and other relatives. Many of those books were written by Kurt Muehsam. Alice Muehsam assisted in editing the vocabulary lists for German Reading I by Margarete Bieber, edited Herod Agrippa I by Wolf Wirgin, and together with Norma A. Shatan translated The Sense of Form in Art: A Comparative Psychological Study by Heinrich Wölfflin from German where it was published under the title Italien und das deutsche Formgefühl.

a) Alice Muehsam

b) Gerd Muehsam

c) Kurt Muehsam

d) Other Family Members

Subseries C: Dedicated, 1908-1996.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical by the title of the work.

Scope and Content:

Included in this series are also books with dedications, mostly to Ruth Marton with the exception of Nachlass Wilhelm Bode, which has a clipping with the book dedicated to Kurt Muehsam, and D. Edzard, which was dedicated to Gerd Muehsam.

Subseries D: Other Books, 1871-1977.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical by title.

Scope and Content:

Books not written by members of the Muehsam family or which are not dedicated to them will be found under other books. A book Ruth worked on as a translator, My Beloved Exakta, is here. A cassette recording of her interview by the author is available in Series 7: Audio. The book, Von Babelsberg nach Hollywood: Filmemigranten aus Nazideutschland mentions Ruth Marton as one of the young actresses who fled to Hollywood from Nazi Germany. Several of the books included here were sent to Ruth Marton as gifts from her publishers, including the one concerning the speeches given at the memorial to Rainer Heumann, her agent in Switzerland, after his death.

Series 7: Audio,  undated, 1964-1979.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical.

Scope and Content:

This series is comprised of audiocassettes, records, and one reel. Most of the records contain music. One of these has the September Song sung by Walter Huston, which was used in his film, Knickerbocker Holiday. There is also a recording of Rip Van Winkle, read by Walter Huston.

The audio cassettes mostly appear to be recordings of interviews. Almost all audiocassette tapes in this series are in good condition, with clear recordings. One of these is an interview of Ruth Marton by Lutz Bacher for his book Max Ophuls in the Hollywood Studios. Other tapes, entitled Ruth Marton, contain an interview with her in German, with biographical information. A large part of this interview focuses on Ruth’s life before her emigration to the United States. Side 2 of these tapes is slightly less clear and quieter than other tapes found in this series.

A) Cassettes

B) Phono Discs

C) Reel to Reel

Series 8: Objects, undated, 1917-1949.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical.

Scope and Content:

Objects relate to various Muehsam family members. Small white sculpture of a wall was dedicated to Ruth from Max Ophuls, from their work on The Reckless Moment, originally titled The Blank Wall. Several items are unidentified, including a cigarette holder, an identified piece of woven cloth, and a plaque of Wilhelm von Bode.