Description
The J. Tilman Williams, Oazo de Esperanto, and Esperanto Club of Los Angeles Collection (JTW, ODE, and EKLA Esperanto Collection
for short) includes over 400 works of non-fiction and fiction literature, periodicals, dictionaries, vocabularies, grammar
books, yearbooks, directories, correspondence, photographs, ephemera, and realia related to Esperanto and the Esperanto speaking
community. Subjects include the Esperanto Klubo of Los Angeles, Esperanto studies, and Esperanto associations. Some material
in this collection has been digitized and is available online.
Background
Esperanto is a constructed language that was created by L.L. (Ludwig Lazar) Zamenhof in the late 1800s. Zamenhof was born
in 1859 to a Jewish family and was the oldest out of four brothers and three sisters. His family lived in Bialystok, a city
in Poland that had a history of being part of Prussian and Russian territory. Several different communities resided within
Bialystok, including Jewish, German, Russian, and Polish, which created a linguistic and cultural divide. This divide was
one of Zamenhof's influences in the construction of the universal language, Esperanto. Some of the material within the collection is from members of the Esperanto Club of Los Angeles which was later known as the
Esperanto Association of Los Angeles. The club was founded by Joseph Scherer, William Braff, and Mr. Branson in 1927. The
meetings were initially held at the Central Public Library but moved to the Boos Brothers Cafeteria and private homes so they
could sing and play music. In the early 1930s, the club grew and included Charles Chomette, Donald Evans Parrish, John F.
Clewe and their families. Later members of the club included William West Glenny, Brian Neil Burg, and J. Tilman Williams.
Extent
38 boxes
29 document boxes, 1 photograph box, 8 boxes in various sizes, and 15 over sized folders.
Restrictions
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Archives
and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical
materials and not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Availability
There are no access restrictions on this collection.