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Contact information: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm73047571
Collection material in English
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
The papers of Felix Frankfurter, law professor, author, and associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, were deeded to the Library of Congress in 1955 by Frankfurter. The Library received the papers from 1967 to 1969. Additions have been made through gift, purchase, and transfer between 1971 and 2020.
In 1970, Anita Nolen organized the Frankfurter Papers and prepared a register published by the Library in 1971. In 1972, certain items in the papers were discovered to be missing. Subsequently, some of the missing material was recovered in photocopied form. These items, marked with an X for identification purposes, have been incorporated into the papers in place of the originals. Other items known to be missing and not represented by photocopies are listed in the Appendix to this register. Additional information can be found in the Library's brochure "Material Missing from the Felix Frankfurter Papers."
In 1983, additions to the Frankfurter Papers through that year were appended to the papers as a final series, and the papers and a revised published edition of the register entitled
The original register prepared in 1970 was revised and expanded in 1997 by Connie L. Cartledge. An addition was processed and the finding aid revised in 2023 by Nate Scheible.
Related collections in the Manuscript Division include microfilm copies of the Felix Frankfurter Papers (https://lccn.loc.gov/87010467) and Sacco-Vanzetti Case Records (https://lccn.loc.gov/mm80018119) at Harvard University, and the Felix Frankfurter Collection of Zionist Papers at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem (https://lccn.loc.gov/mm80017871).
Copyright in the unpublished writings of Felix Frankfurter in these papers and in other collections of papers in the custody of the Library of Congress has been dedicated to the public.
The papers of Felix Frankfurter are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.
A microfilm edition of part of these papers is available on 165 reels. Consult reference
staff in the Manuscript Division concerning availability for purchase or interlibrary
loan.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container or reel number, Felix Frankfurter Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The papers of
The Frankfurter Papers consist of diaries, correspondence, subject files, a speech, article, and book file, a legal file, miscellaneous material, and an addenda of additions to the collection. Also included are
papers of William Henry Moody
(1853-1917), United States attorney general and associate justice of the
In his correspondence,
Frankfurter was as likely to expound his philosophy of life and law to a graduate
student or an aspiring author as to a distinguished and cherished friend, a fact which
makes the correspondence series particularly important.
Letters from the British economist
Frankfurter's correspondence with his wife,
Significant letters can also be found in the Special Correspondence series, the organization of which as
a separate entity reflects the organization of Frankfurter's files. The
Subject files in the
Frankfurter Papers are as important as the personal correspondence. They are especially
relevant for those interested in the development of legal and social institutions.
Compiled for the most part during his years at the
For an analysis of the relation between law and social action, files on independent
regulatory commissions and industrial relations are informative. The files of the
As an unofficial adviser to
The Frankfurter Papers are also of value for literary historians. Frankfurter once
wrote, "When all is said letter writing is the most abidingly fascinating literary form"
(letter to his wife, 3 October 1922), and it was a form in which he certainly excelled.
Indeed, the whole collection is a superb example of the art of belles lettres, as can be
seen in Frankfurter's correspondence with
As one of the original group influential in founding the
Not to be overlooked is the Miscellany series, which includes research notes, memoranda, biographical material, copies of favorite quotations, and typed copies of a Civil War diary and correspondence of Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. A memorandum of conversations with Brandeis records commentary on Supreme Court personalities and their judicial philosophies.
The final series in the collection, Addenda, consists of additions acquired by the Library from
1971 to 2020. The 1983
addition includes letters from Frankfurter to his sisters
The 1997 addition consists
of correspondence between Frankfurter and
The 2023 addition contains letters from Frankfurter to
Benjamin Cohen, Thomas Corcoran, and Harold Laski discussing Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
Other letters from Frankfurter addressed to Everett R. Clinchy and to Gilbert Harrison
relate, in part, to the
Papers of William Henry Moody
(1885-1917), associate justice of the
This collection is arranged in ten series:
Microfilm edition available. Accession number 18,868
Diaries, diary notes, appointment books, and address files kept by Frankfurter.
Arranged chronologically.
Letters sent and received between family members. Includes a file of Frankfurter's correspondence with his wife, their correspondence with their respective families, and miscellaneous papers, such as passports and visas.
Arranged chronologically.
Letters received and copies of letters sent, memoranda, and miscellaneous attachments.
Arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent and therein chronologically.
Frankfurter's correspondence while he was visiting professor at Oxford University, 1933-1934, letters received on his appointment and declination thereof to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, his appointment to and retirement from the U.S. Supreme Court, birthday messages, condolences, and get-well greetings.
Arranged by occasion and alphabetically by correspondent within each file.
Correspondence, memoranda, minutes of meetings, newspaper clippings, notes, printed and near-print material, and reports.
Arranged alphabetically by subject. A partial list of correspondents is included with some of the subjects.
Handwritten and typewritten drafts, galleys, and near-print and printed copies, and correspondence relating to speeches, articles, remarks, tributes, letters to the editor, and books.
Containers 194-200 constitute a chronologically arranged set of bound volumes of the final printed copies of most of Frankfurter's speeches and publications. Containers 201-215 contain individual files for the various works, arranged alphabetically by title. Containers 215-217, containing material concerning works written by other persons, are arranged alphabetically by author.
Typewritten, near-print, printed, and photocopies of memoranda and opinions concerning various cases in which Frankfurter had an interest.
Arranged chronologically.
Newspaper clippings, printed matter, photographs, miscellaneous notes and research material, and copies of legal examinations and quotations.
Arranged by type of material.
Letters received and a few copies of letters sent.
Arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent and chronologically therein.
Family correspondence, general correspondence, subject file, financial papers, and miscellany.
Correspondence, writings, and printed matter.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material and therein chronologically.
Correspondence.
Arranged chronologically.
31 Oct. 1939
18 Dec. 1941
2 Jan. 1942
26 May 1942
3 Dec. 1942
4
Nov. 1943
13 Nov. 1943
26 Dec. 1944
11 June 1947
31 Dec. 1948
18 May 1950
4 Nov. 1950
5 Mar. 1952
24 Oct. 1952
19 Feb. 1953
12 Jan. 1954
7 May 1954
15 Dec. 1964
3 memoranda (Oct. 1940; 25 Jan.
1961; undated)
1963-1964
19 May 1961
1957-1960; 1963-1964
1927-1931; 1937; 1956 (Earlier diaries are typewritten on note paper for 3-ring binder, circa 5" x 8")
On due process, 1953-1954
Material relating to
Holmes-Laski letters, 1935-1939