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Contact information: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm78012534
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 Edward L. Bernays, public relations counsel, were given to the Library of Congress between 1966 and 1995. Part I of the papers was deposited in two installments in 1966. Numerous additions received between 1968 and 1979 comprise Part II of the papers. Part III consists of material sent by Bernays as a deposit in 1991 and material bequeathed by the Bernays estate in 1995. All other deposits were converted to gifts upon receipt of the final installment of the papers.
The papers of Edward L. Bernays were arranged and described in 1967 by John P. Butler and William Gralka. Subsequent material received from 1968 to 1979 was processed as Part II in 1979 by Paul Ledvina. Part III, consisting of items received between 1991 to 1995, was processed in 1996 by Connie L. Cartledge with the assistance of Patrick Kerwin, Susie H. Moody, and Sherralyn McCoy.
A description of the Bernays Papers appears in
Sound recordings have been transferred to the Library's Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division. Most of the photographs have been transferred to the Prints and Photographs Division, and an inventory of this material is available in their finding aid. Some single-issue newspapers and a volume of rotogravure etchings have been transferred to the Serial & Government Publications Division. Transferred material in each division is identified as part of the Bernays Papers.
Copyright in the unpublished writings of Edward L. Bernays in these papers and in other collections of papers in the custody of the Library of Congress has been dedicated to the public.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 Edward L. Bernays 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.
Selected documents from the Edward L. Bernays Papers are available on the Library of Congress website at https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms003016.001.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Roman numeral designating the Part followed by a colon and container number, Edward L. Bernays Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Parts I and II of the papers of Edward L. Bernays span the years 1890-1979, with the bulk of the material within the period 1920 to 1975. The papers consist mainly of correspondence, publicity material, and scrapbooks, supplemented by surveys, reports, printed matter, memoranda, research notes, photographs, lists, speeches, articles, drafts of books, and miscellaneous material. Series include Family Correspondence; General Correspondence; Client, Institution, and Organization File; Speech and Article File; Book File; Edward L. Bernays' Foundation File; Doris Fleischman Bernays File; Lists; Miscellany; Scrapbooks; Speeches and Writings File; and Oversize.
Recording the work of more than half a century, the collection documents not only the career of a pioneer in the public relations field, but also the origins, growth, and development of public relations as a profession in the United States from its beginnings before World War I to its present state of influence in American life. The collection further reflects the changing mores of American society from the early 1900s through the 1960s.
A guide to much of the material in the collection can be found in Bernays's
Bernays's professional career began during the World War I period and is extensively documented in the Client, Institution, and Organization File of Part I; the Client, Institution, and Organization File subseries of the Part I: Scrapbooks series; and the Oversize series of Part I. Some of the earliest material covers Diaghileff's Ballets Russes, containing correspondence and oversized scrapbooks. For the 1920s, there is material on the arts, clients such as Cartier and Seligmann & Company, and the French industrial exposition of 1925. Industrial subjects include George W. Hill and the American Tobacco Company, the soap sculpture contests of Procter & Gamble, George H. Phelps and the automotive industry, Philco and Columbia Broadcasting Company's activities in the burgeoning radio industry, William B. Ward and the bread industry, the Light's Golden Jubilee recreating in 1929 the birth of the electric light by Thomas A. Edison, and many others.
Material on the stock market crash records its effects on the American economy. The Depression is reflected in files about President Herbert Hoover's Committee on Employment, the Committee on the Cost of Medical Care, and the plight of the construction industry, which are located in the Part I: Client, Institution, and Organization File. The corporate activities of such companies as Allied Chemical & Dye Corporation and General Motors and the fight of Amadeo Peter Giannini and the Bank of America against government control are also featured for this period. Files on the United Brewers Industrial Foundation depict the brewing industry's adjustment to the post-prohibition era.
World War II files in the Client, Institution, and Organization File series of Part I often focus on international problems. The America Self-Contained Committee, various war loan campaign movements, government agencies, and papers relating to the United States Sugar Beet Association present the public relations counsel's approach to the problems brought about by the war years and the wartime economy.
In the postwar era, Bernays assisted organizations and companies such as the American Nurses Association, the pharmaceutical industry, Mack Trucks, and the United Fruit Company to adjust their activities to a more industrialized and centralized economy. Files of the United Fruit Company, which cover a twenty-year period, document its fight against communism in central American republics. Papers on the India Information Service concern the efforts of Jawaharlal Nehru and India to regain American goodwill following India's neutrality during the Korean conflict.
The papers also document Bernays's affiliation in the 1950s with the New York City Anniversary Committee, the New York State Psychologists Association, and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. His interest in the mass communications media and his efforts to promote public relations as a profession are reflected throughout Parts I and II. He authored a number of works in the public relations field, wrote numerous articles published in a wide range of publications, and gave speeches on a variety of communications topics.
The Client files and the General Correspondence series in Part I relating to
A number of surveys in the collection reflect pioneering efforts in the field of public relations research. Research on the downtown area of the city of New York, studies on buying habits, studies done for government officials at the federal, state, and municipal levels, and for the greeting card industry, Merritt-Chapman & Scott, the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation, the New York theater industry, the American Nurses Association, and the American Optometric Association indicate the approach taken by Bernays in applying public relations principles to individual as well as corporate needs.
Among the more prominent correspondents in this collection are Paul Bern, Frances Payne Bingham Bolton, Lucius Boomer, Daniel J. Boorstin, Homer E. Capehart, Jacques Cartier, Willoughby S. Chesley, Myron M. Cowen, E. A. Filene, Sigmund Freud, Norman Bel Geddes, James W. Gerard, Amadeo Peter Giannini, Eric Frederick Goldman, George W. Hill, Hubert H. Humphrey, Otto Hermann Kahn, Marc Klaw, Alfred A. Knopf, Ivy L. Lee, Erich Leinsdorf, Clare Boothe Luce, Henry Robinson Luce, Joseph V. McKee, William M. Martin, H. L. Mencken, David Page, William S. Paley, Vijayalakshmi Pandit, George H. Phelps, A. N. Spanel, Lawrence E. Spivak, Albert Payson Terhune, Robert F. Wagner, Henry Agard Wallace, and Edmund S. Whitman.
Part III of the Edward L. Bernays Papers spans the years 1777-1994, with the majority of the papers concentrated in the period 1923-1990. The papers supplement files in Parts I and II and pertain primarily to Bernays's career in public relations. Part III is organized largely according to the arrangement of Parts I and II and include seven series: Family Papers; General Correspondence; Client, Institution, and Organization File; Subject File; Speeches and Writings File; Miscellany; and Oversize.
The Family Papers, 1831-1993, consist primarily of correspondence between Bernays and family members and the papers of his wife, Doris Fleischman Bernays. The majority of the letters concern family matters and local news. Correspondence between Bernays and his wife provides a glimpse of their business activities as well as their personal relationship. Also included are photocopies of letters from Bernays's uncle, Sigmund Freud, and correspondence with Freud's children, Anna, Ernst, and Martin. Also notable in the series are drafts of writings about Sigmund Freud by Freud's sister, Anna Freud Bernays, and his niece, Lilly Freud-Marlé. The writings of Doris Bernays comprise the bulk of her papers, including a draft of her book,
Papers in the General Correspondence series, 1905-1994, chronicle Bernays's varied interests. The letters consist mainly of incoming correspondence relating to personal and professional matters. The majority of the correspondence is concentrated from 1962 through 1994 after Bernays's relocation from New York to Cambridge, Massachusetts. Many of the items in this series, the Subject File, and in the Miscellany series were received by the Library in photograph albums with adhesive pages. Most of these items were detached by Library staff; those that could not be removed were photocopied. Notable correspondents in the series include Sam Black, Daniel J. Boorstin, George Creel, Herbert Hoover, Lyndon B. Johnson, Clare Booth Luce, Henry Robinson Luce, Gypsy Rose Lee, H. L. Mencken, Sinclair Lewis, Arthur B. Spingarn, Lawrence E. Spivak, Robert F. Wagner, and Henry Agard Wallace.
Comprising almost one-fourth of Part III is the Client, Institution, and Organization File, 1913-1992. The series supplements the voluminous client files of Parts I and II and includes correspondence, reports, surveys, press releases, photographs, and background material. Clients and topics prominently featured in this series are the Book Publishers Research Institute, the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the United Fruit Company, the Light's Golden Jubilee, the Bernays Public Relations Counseling Letter, and surveys conducted by Bernays. Two of the more substantive surveys are "What the British Think of Us" and identifying the top ten newspapers in the United States.
The Subject File, 1919-1994, illustrates Bernays's diverse activities and interests. The series chronicles his service and affiliation with various committees, foundations, and organizations such as the Citizens' Emergency Committee to Save Memorial Drive, the Edward L. Bernays' Foundation, and Boston University. Bernays used his public relations influence to assist in the environmental campaign to save Memorial Drive in Cambridge from expansion that could have lessened the park-like atmosphere of the area. The most prolific files in the series relate to the sponsorship of the Anglo-American international relations contest by the Bernays Foundation, a contest Bernays supported to dispel false images and myths Americans and British had of each other. This series also documents Bernays's promotion of the public relations field and his advocacy of licensing public relations practitioners. Also reflected is his interest in social issues such as crime, cigarette smoking, and aging.
The Speeches and Writings File, 1912-1992, includes speeches, articles, books, book reviews, editorials, and newsletters. The bulk of the writings relates to his memoirs,
The Miscellany series in Part III, 1777-1993, consists chiefly of award certificates, financial and legal papers, biographical information, printed matter, sketches, scrapbooks, and manuscripts and pamphlets of others collected by Bernays. The scrapbooks contain both personal and client material. The "Manuscript and Pamphlet Collection" folder includes a colonial broadside of the state of Massachusetts regarding the Continental Army and a commission signed by Adolph Hitler removing individuals from active military service.
The collection is arranged in three parts composed of twenty-five series:
Part I:
Part II:
Part III:
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm78012534
Letters received and a few copies of letters sent supplemented by memoranda and printed material.
Arranged alphabetically by name of family member and therein chronologically.
Incoming and outgoing letters supplemented by memoranda, printed material, surveys, and reports.
Arranged chronologically by year and therein alphabetically by name of person or organization, topic, or type of material.
Correspondence, memoranda, printed matter, reports, surveys, newspaper clippings, financial papers, photographs, lists, press releases, and notes.
Arranged alphabetically by name of person, organization, or topic and therein chronologically, except for the Procter & Gamble Co. file which is arranged alphabetically.
Drafts, printed copies, press releases, notes, research material, correspondence, and inquiries.
Arranged chronologically. A partial index is filed in Container I:422.
Drafts, galley proofs, notes, research material, correspondence, and inquiries.
Books are arranged in chronological order of publication. Research notes for
Correspondence, minutes of meetings, legal documents, press releases, and financial papers.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material, except for financial papers which are filed at the end of the series.
Drafts, galley proofs, printed copies of speeches and articles, research notes, correspondence, and a daily appointment book.
Index cards and printed lists of names and organizations.
Arranged chronologically. The majority of the lists consist of index cards arranged by subject within each year.
Newspaper clippings, notes, memoranda, press releases, photographs, desk diaries, notebooks, a ledger, research files, a biographical file, lecture notes, student memorabilia, printed matter, and financial material.
Newspaper clippings, magazine articles, pamphlets, invitations, press releases, programs, and awards.
Arranged alphabetically by subject and therein chronologically.
Newspaper clippings, magazine articles, photographs, pamphlets, invitations, press releases, programs, and awards.
Arranged chronologically.
Oversize scrapbooks.
Organized and described separately.
Incoming and outgoing correspondence between Bernays and family members.
Arranged chronologically.
Incoming and outgoing correspondence with accompanying enclosures, memoranda and reports.
Arranged chronologically.
Correspondence, memoranda, printed matter, reports and surveys, clippings, photographs, lists, press releases, and notes.
Arranged alphabetically by name of person, organization, or subject.
Manuscript drafts, research notes, and printed copies.
Essay entries for the Anglo-American International Relations Contest in 1969 and general correspondence, press releases, financial papers and newspaper clippings.
Arranged alphabetically by topic or type of material.
Correspondence, biographical material, drafts and printed copies of speeches and writings, research notes, and newspaper clippings.
Correspondence, memoranda, notes, newspaper clippings, reports and studies, printed matter, bills and receipts, cards and invitations, grammar school and college notebooks and related memorabilia, photographs, lists, and bibliographies.
Arranged alphabetically by name of person or organization, topic, or type of material.
Correspondence primarily between Bernays and family members. Other papers include a diary, financial and legal items, speeches, writings, notes, genealogical material, newspaper clippings, and printed matter.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material and therein alphabetically by name of family member.
Correspondence and memoranda, including attachments, between Bernays and friends, acquaintances, clients, and the public relating to his personal and professional activities.
Arranged chronologically.
Correspondence, memoranda, reports, minutes of meetings, newsletters, background information, surveys, notes, financial and legal papers, press releases, photographs, newspaper clippings, and printed matter.
Arranged alphabetically by name of person or organization, topic, or type of material and therein chronologically.
Correspondence, memoranda, reports, minutes of meetings, background information, notes, interviews, press releases, photographs, lists, newspaper clippings, and printed matter.
Arranged alphabetically by name of person or organization, topic, or type of material and therein chronologically.
Correspondence, memoranda, speeches, articles, book drafts, book reviews, editorials, forewords and introductions, newsletters, pamphlets, background material, notes, bibliographies, outlines, poetry, announcements and programs, evaluations, newspaper clippings, and printed matter.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material and therein chronologically. Arranged alphabetically into two categories, writings by Bernays and writings by others, which are further arranged alphabetically by type of material.
Correspondence, financial and legal papers, certificates, collected items, broadsides, pamphlets, sketches, scrapbooks, biographical material, newspaper clippings, and printed matter.
Arranged alphabetically by topic or type of material and therein chronologically.
Oversize scrapbooks.
Removed and organized and described separately. Arranged alphabetically into two categories, client, institution, and organization, and personal. The client scrapbooks are further arranged alphabetically by subject and the personal scrapbooks chronologically.