The University of Miami celebrated its first annual Giving Day on April 8, 2019, which was a 24-hour online and social media extravaganza that brought together students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the UM community in an effort to support, celebrate, and give back to the University. This particular day was chosen because the University of Miami was officially incorporated on April 8, 1925.
The collection contains a cardboard "giving box," filled with promotional posters, flyers, postcards, and other memorabilia, such as a luggage tag, balloons, an acrylic standee, and a t-shirt.
The historical blueprints and the drawings of UM buildings are important components of the University Archives. The items in the collection are identified by building name, architect, location, types of materials, and date. Materials range in date from the earliest days of the University in the 1920s to current day materials.
The Thomas de Valcourt and Michael Lerner collection contains materials concerning 19th century New England poets and authors, most prominently Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, but also Henry David Thoreau, Washington Irving, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Walt Whitman, and minor figures. Much of the materials - which predominantly consists of prints, photographs, clippings, photocopies, newspapers, periodicals, postcards, reprints, poetry, and other formats - concerns their famous New England homes and their families' homes, and other literary landmarks in the vicinity. Most of the materials date from the late 19th and early 20th century.
Also included are a scrapbook of clippings of poetry, a 1962 plaster cast bust of Henry David Thoreau by Melvina Hoffman, an 1864 ceramic bust of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow by M. Milmore, two paperweights with depictions of the Longfellow house, a brick noted as "being used by Thoreau when adding to the family house on Virginia Road in Concord," and one copper ashtray.
The Theodore Spicer-Simson Collection contains the Spicer-Simson medallions as well as photographs, correspondence, typescripts and other related material.
The bulk of the collection consists of the Spicer-Simson medallions. These are portrait medallions cast in bronze of major world and literary figures from Spicer-Simson's lifetime. All of these were sculpted from life. Notable among these are David Fairchild, Padraic Colum, Henry Ford, Sir Ernest Rutherford, Sherwood Anderson, Theodore Dreiser, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and other important figures in addition to person friends and family members of Spicer-Simson.
The collection contains many other examples of Spicer-Simson medals in the form of medals, awards, and sculptings that Spicer-Simson created. Included in these are medals sculpted for the National Academy of Sciences, Princeton University, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the U.S. Congress. The collection also contains clay and plaster molds of medallions, including some small pieces of sculpture. In addition to all his sculpture and medallions, the collection contains examples of Spicer-Simson's other artwork in the form of sketches, drawings, and bookplates.
Spicer-Simson's autobiography, A Collector of Characters is held in the collection, along with the typescripts of the book. The collection's correspondence includes correspondence from Hervey Allen, Padraic Colum, H.L. Mencken, Eleanor Roosevelt, Sir Ernest Rutherford, and Marjory Stoneman Douglas. The photographs include mostly photographs of medallions and sculpture, including some not in the collection, but also contain many photos of Spicer-Simson's subjects, some of these mounted and autographed.
The Spencer Family papers contains a number of personal items pertaining to various members of the Spencer family, in the form of books, clippings, journals, manuscripts, memorandums, news bulletins, newspapers, notebooks, pamphlets, periodicals, photographs, poetry, postcards, reports, and scrapbooks.
Simón Daro Dawidowicz was a businessman and art collector who resided in Miami, Florida. A long-time resident of Colombia, Dawidowicz had a strong interest in Latin American liberator Simón Bolívar and his lasting influence on Latin America. Dawidowicz was a member of several Bolivarian societies, president of the Bolavarian Review, and founded the non-profit organization Darien Action Committee, which sought to promote the completion of the Panamerican Highway from Panama to Colombia. Dawidowicz had strong connections with several prominent Latin American artists including Leopoldo Richter and David Manzur. He was a curator as well as a collector of their and others' work, and donated a number of their pieces to museums and institutions including the University of Miami. A mural titled "Bolívar and Humboldt" by Leopoldo Richter was donated by Dawidowicz to the University, and currently stands in front of the Otto G. Richter Library.
The Simón Daro Dawidowicz Bolivarian collection contains items pertaining to all of the above pursuits and interests. Much of it is correspondence and official records, or newspapers clippings and photographs that document his activities. There are a number of audiocassettes and film reels, and a single videocassette as well.
Of particular interest are a bust of Simón Bolívar that Dawidowicz had commissioned as a gift for former President Lyndon Johnson, as well as a box containing photographs, photographic prints, brochures, periodicals, and other forms of material depicting the works of a number of Latin American artists. These include David Manzur, Leopoldo Richter, German Tessarolo, Marlene Hoffman, Enrique Grau, Edgar Silva, Armando Villegas, Patricia Tavera, Ràmon Carulla, and Miguel Rojas Niño. Some of these items are signed by the artists.
Two family members of Dawidowicz, Miriam and Sylvia, were curators and donors of Latin American art as well, and several documents detailing their efforts are held within the collection.
Finally, the collection contains assorted personal photographs and several short stories written by Dawidowicz.
The Ralph E. Shikes papers consists primarily of letters to and from Camille Pissarro, a French-Danish Impressionist painter. In addition, the papers contain Mr. Pissarro's will.
This collection also contains papers and letters from other artisits, such as Vincent Van Gogh, as well as various photographs, negatives, postcards, and a thesis written by Alexander Seltzer covering the topics of anarchism, antisemitism, the press and the Dreyfus affair.
This collection features an array of scrapbooks, many of which are homemade, from the 19th and 20th centuries. Subjects covered in these scrapbooks include fashion, advertising, history, Robert Louis Stevenson, Pat Cannon's congressional run, garden clubs, cruises, and more. These scrapbooks are comprised of portraits, photographs, postcards, newspaper clippings, programs, brochures, maps, drawings, telegrams, and more. Some of the creators are unknowns or names without renown, but these scrapbooks highlight their personal tastes and interests, offering some unique insight into their lives.
Samuel Hirsch was a theater professor, producer, and theorist who produced a number of plays in the Miami area. The collection consists of many photographs, clippings, programs, and correspondence of various plays that Hirsch produced from the 1940s to 1960s. The collection also contains a scrapbook with clippings, cards, and programs regarding the Musicomedy Series of theater productions directed by Hirsch, which was held in Miami in 1957. Included is an issue of the English Leaflet, Winter 1964, Vol. LXIII, No. 4 which contains an article by Samuel Hirsch titled "The Theatre of the Absurd," and an audiotape titled "Prof Samuel Hirsch, 'Some Thoughts on the Theatre of the Absurd,' the English Lunch Club, 3/14/1964."
The Robert Huff collection contains exhibit catalogs, postcards, flyers, gallery guides, other ephemera documenting South Florida artists and art-related events in Miami, and materials from the Gloria Luria Gallery, the National Gallery of Sciences, the Gallery of 24, and the Miami Book Fair. The collection also includes materials documenting South Florida sculpture and sculptors, along with many items relating to the work of South-Florida artist Robert Huff and an oversized Rauschenberg Tropic cover, signed "Bob."
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.
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 Mildred Merrick collection consists of administrative documents, organization reports, ephemera, correspondence, postcards, travel photos, audio tapes, and other items collected by Mrs. Merrick, who was a former reference and acquisition librarian at the University of Miami Libraries.
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 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.
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 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.
This collection includes materials collected by the Cuban-born art dealer and historian José Martínez-Cañas. It includes letters of the Cuban painter Fidelio Ponce (1895-1949); a letter written by General Calixto García and probably addressed to General Mario García Menocal during the independence war in Cuba ;and two postcards signed by Alfredo Zayas and Manuel Sanguily. The collection also contains texts and other materials related to the violin as an object and its history in Cuba. The Martínez Cañas family previously owned the 1715 Lipinski Stradivarius and the 1712 Hrimlay Stradivarius violins, among others.
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 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.
