Collection Summary
Boris Brasol Papers
1919-1954
1919-1954
MSS13672
Brasol, Boris, 1885-1963
22,000 items
64 containers
25.6 linear feet
English
Russian
Collection material in English and Russian
Manuscript Division, Library of Congress
Washington, D.C.
Russian author and critic, criminologist,
and lawyer. Correspondence, speeches, drafts and typescripts, notes, memoranda, and
other material relating to Russia and the Soviet Union and to Brasol's writings and work
as a criminologist.
Selected Search Terms
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.
People
Bernstein, Herman, 1876-1935--Trials, litigation, etc.
Brasol, Boris, 1885-1963.
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor, 1821-1881. Dnevnik pisateli︠a︡. English.
Ford, Henry, 1863-1947--Trials, litigation, etc.
Holland, Vyvyan Beresford, 1886-1967--Correspondence.
Nicholas II, Emperor of Russia, 1868-1918--Assassination.
Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849.
Romanov, House of.
Von Koeppen, Vladimir.
Wade, Allan, 1881-1955--Correspondence.
Wheelock, John Hall, 1886-1978--Correspondence.
Wilde, Oscar, 1854-1900--Correspondence.
Wilde, Oscar, 1854-1900.
Organizations
Columbia University. School of Law.
Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore (Md.)
Subjects
Antisemitism--United States.
Criminal investigation--Europe.
Criminology.
Criticism.
Jews--United States.
Russian literature.
Soviet literature.
Zionism.
Places
Russia.
Soviet Union--Foreign relations--United States.
Soviet Union.
United States--Foreign relations--Soviet Union.
Titles
Protocols of the wise men of Zion.
Occupations
Authors.
Criminologists.
Critics.
Lawyers.
Acquisition Information
The papers of Boris Brasol, Russian author and critic, criminologist, and lawyer, were
given to the Library of Congress by Brasol between 1938 and 1959. An additional gift was
made in 1955 by Charles Scribner's Sons.
Processing History
The papers of Boris Brasol were arranged and described in 1953. The finding aid was
revised in 2011 by B. K. Zobrist. The finding aid was updated in 2024 by Maria Farmer as
part of a division-wide remediation project by the Inclusive Description Working
Group.
Copyright Status
Copyright in the unpublished writings of Boris Brasol in these papers and in other
collections of papers in the custody of the Library of Congress has been dedicated to
the public.
Access and Restrictions
The papers of Boris Brasol 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.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information:
Container number, Boris Brasol Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress,
Washington, D.C.
Biographical Note
Date
Event
1885, Mar. 31
Born, Poltava, Russia
1908
B.L., Saint Petersburg Imperial University, Saint Petersburg, Russia
1910
1916
Prosecuting attorney in the Russian Ministry of Justice
1912
Studied forensic science, Lausanne University, Lausanne, Switzerland
1914
1916
Served as second lieutenant, Imperial Russian Guard, on the Polish
front
1916
Russian representative in the United States, Interallied Conference
1917
Stayed in the United States as an emigrant following the October Revolution in
Russia
1918
1963
Practised law, New York, N.Y., specializing in Russian law, while pursuing a
career as a literary critic and criminologist
1920
Published
Socialism vs. Civilization.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons
1921
Published
The World at the Cross Roads.
Boston: Small, Maynard and Co.
1922
Published
The Balance Sheet of Sovietism.
New York: Duffield
1927
Published
Elements of Crime.
New York: Oxford University Press
1934
Published
The Mighty Three: Poushkin, Gogol, Dostoievsky.
New York: William Farquhar Payson
1938
Published
Oscar Wilde: the Man, the Artist, the Martyr.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons
1949
Translated Fyodor Dostoyevsky's
The Diary of a Writer.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons
1963, Mar. 19
Died, New York, N.Y.
Scope and Content Note
The papers of Boris Leo Brasol (1885-1963) span the years 1919-1954. The collection
consists of correspondence, drafts and typescripts, notes, memoranda, reports, printed
matter, and miscellaneous material relating to Russia and the Soviet Union, criminology,
the Zionist movement, and Brasol's writings and various subjects of his literary
criticism. The papers are in English and Russian and are organized into the following
series: [Political
Correspondence](pol), [Personal
Correspondence](per), [Anti-Soviet Campaign](anti), [Scrapbook](scrap), [Post-Revolutionary Russia](post), [Legal File](leg), [Vladimir von Koeppen File](vlad), [Speeches](spee), [Literary File](lit), [Newspaper
Clippings](news), and [Addition](add).
Subjects of interest include investigations into the assassinations of the Romanovs and
crime detection in European countries as compiled by the Criminological Survey of the
Columbia University Law School. The [Literary File](lit) contains material relating to Oscar Wilde including
correspondence with Vyvyan Holland, John H. Wheelock, and Allan Wade concerning Wilde
and typescript copies and extracts of Wilde's letters located in other repositories
which Brasol used for his book
Oscar Wilde: the Man, the Artist, and the Martyr.
The series also includes the printer's typescript draft with handwritten
corrections of Brasol's translation of
Diary of a Writer
by Fyodor Dostoyevsky and material relating to Edgar Allan Poe including
correspondence of the Edgar Allan Poe Society.
Brasol was purported to have aided in the translation of the American edition of the
anti-Semitic tract
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,
and the papers contain correspondence and related reference material exploring
various Jewish issues in the [Newspaper Clippings](news) series. Brasol also participated in arranging a series of
commentaries on the protocols that were to be published in Henry Ford's paper the
Dearborn Independent.
The [Legal File](leg)
contains correspondence and other papers concerning the legal case brought against Ford
by Henry Bernstein, who, in 1921, had written a book exposing the protocols as
fraudulent and sued Ford to retract their publication.
The [Anti-Soviet Campaign](anti)
series highlights efforts of White Russian émigrés to deny the Soviet Union official
international recognition as the legitimate government of Russia.
Arrangement of the Papers
This collection is arranged in eleven series:
-
[Political Correspondence,
1922-1952](pol)
-
[Personal Correspondence,
1934-1952](per)
-
[Anti-Soviet Campaign,
1919-1948](anti)
-
[Scrapbook, 1927](scrap)
-
[Post-Revolutionary Russia,
circa 1919-1922](post)
-
[Legal File, circa
1925-1950](leg)
-
[ Vladimir von Koeppen File,
1921-1927](vlad)
-
[Speeches, circa 1922-1930](spee)
-
[Literary File, 1920-1954](lit)
-
[Newspaper Clippings, circa
1919-1921](news)
-
[Addition, 1925-1941](add)
Catalog Record: [https://lccn.loc.gov/mm81013672]
Container List
Container
Contents
1-6
Political Correspondence, 1922-1952
1922-1952
Correspondence, publicity material, book reviews, political criticism.
Arranged chronologically.
1
Chronological file
1
1922-1937
1922-1937
2
1933
1933
3
1941-1944
1941-1944
4
1950-1952
1950-1952
5-6
Publicity, book reviews, and political
criticism
7-11
Personal Correspondence, 1934-1952
1934-1952
Correspondence and miscellaneous material.
Arranged chronologically.
7
Chronological file
7
1934
1934
8
1934-1937
1934-1937
9
1948-1951
1948-1951
10
1949-1952
1949-1952
11
Miscellaneous correspondence
12-15
Anti-Soviet Campaign, 1919-1948
1919-1948
Correspondence and miscellaneous material concerning efforts to deny the Soviet
Union official international recognition as the legitimate government of
Russia.
Arranged chronologically.
12
1919, 1933
1919,
1933
13
1933-1935
1933-1935
14
1935
1935
15
1935-1936, 1946-1948
1935-1936,
1946-1948
16
Scrapbook, 1927
1927
Scrapbook of clippings concerning Brasol's
Elements of Crime
(1927).
16
Scrapbook, 1927
1927
17-22
Post-Revolutionary Russia, circa 1919-1922
circa 1919-1922
Notebooks containing correspondence and miscellaneous material.
Organized numerically by notebook number.
17
Nos. 7, 10, and 12
18
Nos. 13 and 15-16
19
Nos. 17-19
20
Nos. 20-22
21
Nos. 23-25
22
No. 26 and unnumbered
23-25
Legal File, circa
1925-1950
circa 1925-1950
Correspondence, legal records, and miscellaneous material.
Organized into two groups: Herman Bernstein v. Henry Ford and miscellaneous
records
23-24
Herman Bernstein v. Henry Ford, circa
1925-1927
circa
1925-1927
25
Miscellaneous records, circa
1926-1950
circa
1926-1950
26-32
Vladimir von Koeppen File, 1921-1927
1921-1927
Correspondence and miscellaneous material concerning Vladimir von Koeppen.
Arranged chronologically.
26-32
1921-1927
1921-1927
33-34
Speeches, circa
1922-1930
circa 1922-1930
Speeches.
Arranged chronologically.
33-34
circa 1922-1930
circa
1922-1930
35-52
Literary File, 1920-1954
1920-1954
Correspondence, drafts, notes, proofs, typescripts, and miscellaneous material
relating to Brasol's books, translations, and literary criticism.
Arranged by subject or topic.
35
Books
35
Socialism and Civilization,
1920
1920
36
The World at the Crossroads,
1921
1921
37
The Mighty Three: Poushkin, Gogol, Dostoievsky,
1934
1934
38
Oscar Wilde: The Man, the Artist, and the Martyr
38
Photostats, 1938
1938
39
Correspondence
39
To 1954
To
1954
40
1938
1938
41
Translations and miscellaneous
writings
41
Cartwright, Beatrice, correspondence and
notes concerning memoirs, 1944
1944
41
"The Nobel Dynasty," typescript,
1943
1943
42
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor,
Diary of a Writer,
translated by Brasol
42
Draft
43
Draft and page proof
44
Miscellaneous material
45
Varneke, B. V.,
History of the Russian Theatre,
draft and typescript of Brasol's translation, 1951
1951
46-47
"Walter Pater," correspondence, draft, and
typescript 1946-1952
1946-1952
48
"Avinoff: a Study in Genius," notes,
1952
1952
49
"Criminal Institutes on the Continent of
Europe," draft
50
Sikorsky, "Ideas inspired by the Lord's
Prayer"
50
Miracle Letter Club
51-52
Poe, Edgar Allan, correspondence concerning,
1920-1928, 1939, undated
1920-1928, 1939,
undated
53
Newspaper Clippings, circa 1919-1921
circa 1919-1921
Newspaper clippings mostly regarding Jewish topics.
Arranged chronologically.
53
circa 1919-1921
circa
1919-1921
54-64
Addition, 1925-1941
1925-1941
Correspondence, articles, reports, and miscellaneous material.
Arranged by subject, topic, or type of material.
54
Correspondence
54
1925-1927
1925-1927
55
1927-1928
1927-1928
56
1929-1931
1929-1931
56
Social Science Abstracts,
correspondence, 1930-1931
1930-1931
56
"Police Science in U.S.A.,"
1930-1931
1930-1931
57
Correspondence, 1930-1941
1930-1941
57
"Crime, Criminology and Criminological
Institute," correspondence, 1938
1938
58
"Methods of Criminal Investigation," English
translation of Brasol's Russian text
58
National Crime Commission, 1927
1927
59
Columbia University, New York, N.Y.,
correspondence, 1929-1930
1929-1930
60
"Columbia Reports," 1929-1930,
undated
1929-1930,
undated
61
"International Criminalistic Academy,
International Congress," Lausanne, Switzerland, 1938
1938
61
"Police Scientifique Centers in Europe,"
1926-1929
1926-1929
62-63
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor,
Diary of a Writer,
translation by Brasol
63-64
Criminology, correspondence, articles, and
reports