The A. Curtis Wilgus Papers document the pioneering efforts by historian and author A. Curtis Wilgus (1898-1981) in the area of Latin American studies and the emergence of "Pan Americanism." The correspondence, writings, research files, photographs and other materials also document the evolution of a trend in higher education during the 1920's and the 1970's, an increase in global awareness reflected in the introduction of "area studies" programs at many universities.
The Aviation ephemera collection contains posters, reports, postcards, brochures, programs, pamphlets, and other ephemera from all parts of the globe relating to the subject of aviation and its vast history.
This collection contains fragmentary texts and images documenting cultural expressions from the Caribbean and South America. Many of the transitory materials grouped under ephemera include posters, postcards, leaflets, tracts, special editions, programs and menus published in countries such as the Bahamas, Brazil, Cuba, Curaçao Grenada, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Charles Deering was a collector of art and a friend to many notable artists including John Sargeant and Augustus St. Gaudens. Painting, scrulpture, prints, rugs and many other items combined to decorate and furnish the Deering Estate in Florida. He collected a wide range of artwork, and the Print Department of the Art Institute of Chicago received his fine collection.
The Charles T. Simpson collection contains photographs, account statements, letters, minutes, contracts, typescripts, articles, certificates, membership cards, manuscripts, notes, photocopies, and a plant specimen, which document the lengthy botanical and zoological career of the early 20th century naturalist.
The E. G. Barnhill Collection contains negatives of Florida homes and birds, as well as glass plate negatives of Florida scenes. The collection also contains hand-colored postcards by Barnhill depicting Florida scenes (ca. 1910s-1930s), early Florida ephemera, several biographical pages and scrapbooks put together by Barnhill with many resourceful historical clippings from the early half of the 20th century on pirates, Native Americans, archaeological exploits, early technology, and treasure hunting.
The Finlay B. Matheson collection includes more than 2,411 photographs; 112 maps, surveys, and architectural plans; and 13 books related to William John Matheson and his immediate family. Estate documents and other documents containing historical and biographical information pertaining to the Matheson family and their various business ventures can also be found within this collection, as well as drawings, postcards, and some of the first aerial view photographs of Key Biscayne, Coconut Grove, the Miami River, and the Florida Keys. Florida's landscape during the early 20th century is captured throughout the various albums and scrapbooks and attests to a more leisurely lifestyle before the advent of skyscrapers and multi-lane highways. Furthermore, the collection provides an in-depth glimpse into the burgeoning social life of early inhabitants who gathered at the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club.
Florida has long been a prime tourist destination, with its tropical environment, natural beauty, and numerous attractions. Postcards are a colorful way to advertise the wonders of Florida and promote tourism. The Florida Postcard Collection includes postcards from throughout the state, capturing both the natural landscape and the built environment.
Gareth and Janet Dunleavy were historians of Irish literature and culture. The Gareth and Janet Dunleavy Collection was donated by Gareth and Janet Dunleavy in memory of Bernard Benstock, a colleague who served the University of Miami in many capacities.
The collection contains typescripts and articles by Gareth and Janet Dunleavy, as well as research materials for projects by both authors. Prominently featured are research materials on Mary Lavin, an Irish short story and novella writer who died in 1996. Of special interest among these research materials are copies of Lavin's working manuscripts, obtained by Professor Janet Dunleavy in the 1970s with the permission of Mary Lavin. Janet Dunleavy had planned a critical study of Lavin's work based on these materials, but had abandoned the idea. The collection also contains notes, letters, and other documents assembled during Gareth and Janet Dunleavy's preparation of their Douglas Hyde: A Maker of Modern Ireland (1991) and O'Connor Papers (1977).
Dr. Granville Fisher was the head of the Psychology department at the University of Miami, and an independent artist. He founded the Granville Galleries on Ponce de Leon and Bird Road in 1959. The Granville Fisher Collection contains materials documenting his work as a psychologist and as an artist. The collection holds two scrapbooks as well as periodicals, pamphlets, programs, certificates, awards, letters, postcards, photographs, negatives, clippings, and one illustration with poetry dedicated to his son.
The Hurford Janes papers contain about 200 pages letters to and from Hurford Janes for his proposed biography of James A. M. Whistler, the American painter. The collection also contains several newspapers, photocopies of old letters, postcards, pages of poetry, and two manuscripts: one of the biography and one titled "The Whistler Mystery."
The Isaac Bashevis Singer Collection consists predominantly of correspondence written to Singer during the years 1978 to 1982. The correspondence is divided topically into the following categories: agent correspondence, autograph and photograph requests, fan mail, financial papers, Hebrew and Yiddish correspondence, legal affairs, miscellaneous, "new writer" requests (letters from authors asking Singer to read their work), personal, protocol, publicity, publisher and producer correspondence, requests for information, requests for money, and requests for interviews or speaking engagements.
Also included are manuscripts by Singer, periodicals, brochures, photocopies, and clippings with content from or about Singer, and writings by other authors.
The James Baxter collection contains Florida related materials. Included are a deed of sale and title of a house in Flagler; theater publications from the Coconut Grove Playhouse, the Miami Summer Star Theater, and the Dade County Auditorium Playgoer; postcards from Key West, Ft. Lauderdale, Port Everglades, Fort Myers, Palm Beach, and Miami Beach; a series of photographs of historic sites in Florida, largely lighthouses; a 1903 periodical titled "Liberty Boys of '76: The Liberty Boys in Florida, 1903"; an 1883 Vol XIX issue of Dime Beadle's New York Library, subtitled "Alligator Ike; or The Secret of the Everglade. A Tale of the Outlaws of the Okeechobee"; and a photocopy of the latter periodical.
Dr. José Agustín Balseiro (1900-1991) was an award-winning author, poet, and scholar of Latin American Studies and Hispanic literature. He was also a professor of Hispanic Literature at the University of Miami from 1946 to 1967.
Throughout his career, Dr. Balseiro exhibited a strong interest in Latin American and Hispanic-American studies, Latin American and Spanish literature, and Puerto Rican history and literature. His papers, donated to the University of Miami, reflect all of these interests and range in date from his earliest activities as a writer in Spain to his final days working as a consultant to the University of Miami Libraries starting in 1974. Much of the content consists of correspondence, clippings, typescripts, and periodicals in which Balseiro’s writings were featured. Also included is sheet music belonging to his father, Rafael Balseiro, who was a Puerto Rican composer.
Of special note are three bronze medallions: (1) from the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriquena, commemorating el primer Centenario del Natalicio de Luiz Muñoz Rivera (the centennial of the birth of Luiz Muñoz Rivera); (2) from the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriquena, commemorating el Centenario de la Abolición de la Esclavidud in Puerto Rico (the centennial of the abolition of slavery in Puerto Rico); and (3) from the University of Panama commemorating the first 25 years of the University’s existence.
The majority of the collection consists of official publications documenting a variety of facets of Perón's political career, including his involvement in the 1943-1946 military government, his first two presidential terms (1946-1955) and his third (1973-1974). Most of these official publications are reports on his policies and political activities, his own writings, or transcripts of speeches. Several of these record conjoined efforts by Perón and Eva, his well-known first wife, as well as with Chilean president Carlos Ibáñez Del Campo.
Also contained in the collection are pamphlets and other materials which treat Peronism (or Justicialism) and its critics; two series of satirical pro-Peronist periodicals called "Alpargatas Humorísticas" (6 issues) and "Descamisada" (31 issues); 8 postcards which depict aspects of Eva Perón's social work; two paper masks of Juan Domingo Perón and Eva Perón; two autographed photographs of Juan Domingo Perón and Eva Perón; and other ephemera.
The Louinès Louinis Haitian Dance Theatre collection contains photographs, pamphlets, programs, ephemera, audio-visual materials (VHS and DVDs), clippings, correspondence, and other archival materials documenting the history of the theater and its founder, Louinès Louinis.
The Miami Centennial Commission Collection contains two plate dishes from the Hotel Royal Palm commemorating the February 24, 1996 Miami Centennial Ball, three different kinds of postcards inviting guests to the Miami Centennial Ball, tickets to the July 28, 1996 AT&T Miami Centennial Birthday Extravaganza at Bayfront Park, and an April, June, and September issue of the News of the Century: A Miami Centennial '96 Update newsletter.
Michael J. Maxwell was an architectural consultant whose firm, Michael Maxwell Associates, Inc., consulted the city of Opa-locka in the mid-80s on appraisal and restoration matters. This culminated in a Master Plan for the Restoration of Historic Opa-Locka City Hall, and a Nomination Proposal of several historical sites in Opa-Locka to the National Register of Historic Places. These two documents, as well as the planning materials, are held in the Michael J. Maxwell collection.
The collection also contains other Opa-locka related materials. Included are 1926-1927 Opa-locka price lists, a 1953 charter, copies of the Opa-locka Times from 1926 and 1927, letters including a 1926 letter petitioning for the establishment of a Post Office at Opa-locka, a history of Opa-locka brochure and preparation materials for the brochure, and other items.
The Nicaragua collection documents the Nicaraguan diaspora living in Miami during the 1980s and the political and social conditions in Nicaragua from the 1979 Sandinista revolution onward until their loss of power in 1990.
Many of the materials falling into the latter category are from the United States in origin, such as anti-Soviet propaganda endorsing the anti-Sandinista "Contra" Freedom Fighters, pamphlets that describe the Sandinista government and Central America in general from an American perspective, and periodicals and reports about Nicaragua written to an American audience. The materials that document the Nicaraguan diaspora are mostly fliers, menus, calendars, brochures, and other genres that were from local Nicaraguan businesses, restaurants, clubs, and other organizations. Some of the materials transcend these two categories, as many that concern the political conditions are addressed to or produced by Nicaraguan exiles.
A large part of the collection consists of photocopies of news articles.
Writers that are especially represented by the collection include Ruben Dario, Esteban Duque-Estrada, and Luis Mejia Gonzalez. Associations and organizations that are especially represented include Alanzia Revolucionaria Democrática (ARDE), American Defense Foundation, American Defense Lobby. Asociación Nicaragüenses en el Exilio, Asociación Nicaragüense pro Derechos Humanos, Bloque Opositor del Sur (B.O.S.), Council for Interamerican Security, Fundación Ruben Dario, Nicaraguan American Solidarity (NICAS), Nicaraguan Freedom Fighters, Partido Conservador de Nicaragua, Partido Socialcristiano de Nicaragua en el Exilio, Resistencia Nicaragüense, and Unidad Nicaragüense Opositora (UNO). Materials from some of these were grouped together in a series titled "Associations."
Also of notice are brochures advertising tourism to Nicaragua during the Sandinista regime, and memorabilia such as a handmade Nicaraguan crest, Nicaraguan paper money from the Sandinista era, and a pin that says "If you like Cuba you'll love Nicaragua."
The Randy Liebermann Collection contains five photo albums and one scrapbook of Pan American World Airways materials. The materials primarily concern the Latin American Division, but also airplane models and company policy at large. The Scrapbook contains newsletters, pamphlets, clippings, certificates, letters, envelopes, stickers, postcards, stamps, and other materials.
