Irving Massey Research Collection

The Irving Massey Research Collection consists of documentation of Irving Massey's research that culminated in his book, Philo-Semitism in Nineteenth-Century German Literature. The collection includes numerous notes, correspondence, photocopies of articles, relevant portions of books, and archival material, bibliographic lists and search results, drafts of sections of his abovementioned book, newspaper clippings, a few photographs, and other papers. The collection represents original order established by an assistant of Irving Massey.

The collection consists of two series. Series I holds documentation that pertains to various chapters of the book, while Series II relates to the section on Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. Both series include copies of articles and research related to the subject of philo-Semitism, although Series II's papers focus on the philo-Semitism in evidence in Leopold von Sacher-Masoch's writings, while Series I relates to the broader subject of philo-Semitism in the nineteenth century and the portrayal of Jews in literature. Both series also include many notes on works that relate to the topic. Series I additionally holds a large amount of notes, lists, and bibliographic search results that document the numerous sources consulted by him in his research. Handwritten drafts of parts of Massey's book will primarily be found in Series I, among the folders of notes. Computer disks with drafts of his book have been removed to the LBI Audiovisual Collection.

Both series also contain correspondence. Many of the letters of the collection are between Irving Massey and other academics, researchers, or librarians, in which he requests information or discusses his project. The correspondence of Series I also includes many letters with publishers, both those from Niemeyer Verlag, who published his book on philo-Semitism, as well as with the publication Aschkenas, for which he wrote an article.

Series I additionally holds a few photographs and illustrations related to Irving Massey's research, especially to his research into the genealogy of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch.