Collection Summary
Information for Researchers
Administrative Information
Biographical Information
Scope and Content of Collection
Collection Summary
Collection Title: Flora J. Arnstein papers.
Date (inclusive): 1897-1990,
Date: undated,
Date (bulk): bulk 1926-1985
Collection Number: BANC MSS 85/144
Creators :
Arnstein, Flora J.
Extent:
Number of containers: 4 cartons, 1 box, 1 filebox, 6 oversize volumes
Linear feet: 7.5
Repository: The Bancroft Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California, 94720-6000
Phone: (510) 642-6481
Fax: (510) 642-7589
Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu
URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/
Abstract: The Flora J. Arnstein Papers document the career of a San
Franciscan alternative educator and writer.
Languages Represented: Collection materials are in English
Physical Location: Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite
and advance notice may be required for use. For current information on the location of these
materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Information for Researchers
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from or otherwise use collection materials must
be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University
of California, Berkeley, 94720-6000. Consent is given on behalf of The Bancroft Library as
the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from
the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner. See:
http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html.
Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of
digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Flora J. Arnstein Papers, BANC MSS 85/144, The Bancroft
Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Alternate Forms Available
There are no alternate forms of this collection.
Related Collections
Ongoings: poetry, teaching, family in San Francisco, 1885-1985 : oral history transcript
(BANC MSS 86/92)
Lawrence Arnstein papers, 1915-1979 (BANC MSS 80/83)
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
library's online public access catalog.
Women authors, American--California
Women poets, American--20th century
Alternative education--California
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
The Flora J. Arnstein Papers were given to The Bancroft Library by Edith Jenkins on June
12, 1990.
Accruals
No additions are expected.
System of Arrangement
Arranged to the container level.
Processing Information
Processed by Anastasia Karel and Rachel Gulbraa in 2009.
Biographical Information
Flora Jacobi was born on August 10, 1885, in San Francisco. She married Lawrence Arnstein
in 1910, and was a co-founder of the Presidio Open Air School (now Presidio Hill) with her
sister-in-law Helen Salz in 1917. She began writing poetry at the age of 40, and
incorporated it into her teaching. Two of her notable pupils were Pierre Salinger and Arthur
Hoppe. In addition to publishing poems in various periodicals and as collections, she wrote
several articles and a book on the benefits of teaching poety to children.
On the occasion of her 100th birthday, Arnstein was interviewed for Berkeley's Regional
Oral History Office. This transcript provides a much fuller biography. Arnstein continued to
write and publish until her death in February 1990.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Flora J. Arnstein Papers contain many of her writings, some teaching materials and
other personal items. Her correspondence, much of which is in Series 1, is not extensive but
does represent important relationships during her life, including her parents. There are
also six oversize scrapbooks that document the different parts of Arnstein's life.