Finding Aid to the Flora J. Arnstein Papers, 1897-1990, undated, bulk
1926-1985
Finding Aid written by Anastasia Karel
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/
© 2007
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Finding Aid to the Flora J. Arnstein Papers, 1897-1990, undated, bulk
1926-1985
Collection Number: BANC MSS 85/144
The Bancroft Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California
- Finding Aid Written By:
- Anastasia Karel
- Date Completed:
-
July 2009
© 2009 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
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.
Series 1
Correspondence
1897-1990,
undated
Physical Description:
0.4 linear feet (22 folders)
Arrangement
Alphabetical
Scope and Content Note
This series contains a mix of Arnstein's professional and personal correspondence.
Carton 1, Folder 1
Bush, Martin H.
1964-1967
Carton 1, Folder 2
Brandenstein, Henry
1928
Note
to Fred Jacobi, FJA's brother; all copies
Carton 1, Folder 3
Clark, Walter Van Tilburg
1964-1969
Carton 1, Folder 5
Elkas, Jon
1956-1973,
undated
Carton 1, Folder 6
Fields, Sara
1927-1954,
undated
Carton 1, Folder 7
Hutchinson, Robert
1969-1980,
undated
Carton 1, Folder 8
re:
I Met Death One Clumsy Day
1967-1971
Carton 1, Folder 9
Kaufman, Shirley
1965-1990,
undated
Carton 1, Folder 10-11
Letters from students
1933-1978,
undated
Carton 1, Folder 12
Lopate, Phillip
1976-1979,
undated
Carton 1, Folder 14
Parents (FJA's)
1897-1925
Carton 1, Folder 15
Poetry magazine
1929-1983
Carton 1, Folder 17
Salinger, Mabel
Circa 1925-1951
Carton 1, Folder 18
Stegner, Wallace
1951; 1982-1989
Carton 1, Folder 22
Unidentified
1929-1989,
undated
Series 2
Writings
1897-1989,
undated
Physical Description:
3.4 linear feet (2 cartons, 8 folders, 2 oversize volumes, 1 filebox)
Arrangement
Alphabetical
Scope and Content Note
This series contains many of Arnstein's writings, separated into two subseries, poems
and other. The majority of these writings are in draft or unpublished form; exceptions
are noted.
SubSeries 2.1
Poems
1926-1989,
undated
Physical Description:
1.7 linear feet
Arrangement
Alphabetical
Scope and Content Note
Primarily collections of poems around a theme, some include annotations or criticism
by friends and colleagues.
Carton 1, Folder 23
After Their Kind: a Bestiary
1928,
undated
Carton 1, Folder 24
Along the Way (Aphorisms)
Circa 1988
Carton 1, Folder 25
And Now Good Morrow to Our Waking Souls
1934
Carton 1, Folder 26
Animals, with criticism by Shirley Kaufman
Undated
Carton 1, Folder 28
Copies of three collections
undated
Note
Of shoes and ships and sealing wax;
A pocketful of wry;
And
cabbages and kings
Carton 1, Folder 29
Criticism by Laurence Hart
unated
Carton 1, Folder 32-33
Light Widening
1979-1989,
undated
Lists of published poems
Undated
Note
includes place of publication
Carton 1, Folder 35-37
A Moment's Transit
Undated
Carton 1, Folder 40-41
Ordered Turbulence
Undated
Carton 1, Folder 42-43
Prolong the Day
1988,
undated
Carton 1, Folder 44
Published
1930-1968,
undated
Oversize Volume 1
Published poems
1954-1982
Carton 2, Folder 1-3
Select publications
1929-1976
Note
includes issues of
Poetry, and the
National Poetry Anthology from 1953
Carton 2, Folder 10-15
Time Out of Mind
1987,
undated
Carton 2, Folder 16
Two Poems
Undated
Note
with comments by Walter V. T. Clark
SubSeries 2.2
Other
1897-1984,
undated
Physical Description:
1.6 linear feet
Arrangement
Alphabetical
Scope and Content Note
Contains articles about poetry and education, stories, graded essays for school, and
writings not by Arnstein. There are also unpublished drafts of book-length prose.
Adventure into Poetry
1951-1957
Carton 2, Folder 19
Correspondence and reviews
1951-1954
Oversize Volume 2
Scrapbook of reviews
1951-1957
Carton 2, Folder 20
Bay Leaf and Fool's Gold
1983
Note
children's poems published by Oakland Unified School District
Carton 2, Folder 22
Early pieces
1897
Note
published in
The Pastime, a periodical created by
Helen and Gertrude Arnstein while students at Miss Murison's, a private school in
San Francisco
Carton 2, Folder 23-24
Education-related
1939-1972
Note
includes drafts, published versions, and correspondence
Carton 2, Folder 25
Education publications
1938; 1963-1977
Carton 2, Folder 26-39
Essays for school
1951-1957,
undated
Note
two folders of general and twelve folders of titled essays, by FJA for classes in
writing; many essays are graded
Carton 3, Folder 1
Gerontology in Person
1978
Carton 3, Folder 2
A Girl and Her Grandparents
1981
Note
published in
Western States Jewish Historical
Quarterly
Carton 3, Folder 3
Growing Up in the Nineties
1976
Note
photocopy of article published in
San Francisco
Chronicle
Carton 3, Folder 4
The Growth of Poetic Criteria in Children
1938
Note
published in
Progressive Education
Carton 3, Folder 5
Honeymoon Vignette
Undated
Carton 3, Folder 6
I Met Death One Clumsy Day
Undated
Carton 3, Folder 7-9
Lengthening Days
Undated
Note
autobiographical, unpublished
Carton 3, Folder 12
Pony Pegasus radio scripts
1941-1949
Note
program on KPFA; includes correspondence about idea
Carton 3, Folder 13
Poetry in the Elementary Grades
1939
Carton 3, Folder 14
Report on Project to Bring Education in Child-rearing to Housebound Mothers
of Young Children
Undated
Carton 3, Folder 15
Reviews
1951-1984
Note
about FJA's writings
Carton 3, Folder 20
Teachers & Writers Magazine
1977
Note
vol. 8, issue 2, in honor of FJA
Series 3
Teaching Materials
1928-1975,
undated
Physical Description:
1.2 linear feet (33 folders, 1 oversize volume)
Arrangement
Alphabetical
Scope and Content Note
The materials in this series are primarily from Arnstein's work at the Presidio Open
Air School. Of note are the student projects, which include handmade books of poems and
yearbooks; the majority of these items date from the 1930s.
Poems by students
1931-1975,
undated
Carton 4, Folder 1-11
Groups III, IV, V, and unidentified
1931-1975,
undated
Carton 4, Folder 12
Programs for plays
1932-1939,
undated
Carton 4, Folder 14
Record of teenagers' group
1928-1929
Note
likely a group that met at FJA's home
Carton 4, Folder 15
Salinger, Pierre
1982
Note
student of FJA; three items including letter from FJA
Oversize Volume 3
Scrapbook created by students
1936
Carton 4, Folder 17
Student newsletter
1935-1936
Carton 4, Folder 19
Utah children's poems
1936
Carton 4, Folder 20-21
Yearbooks
1932-1934
Note
primarily poems, includes some photographs
Carton 4, Folder 22
Young Eyes
Circa 1960s
Note
unpublished copy of children's poems (likely students at Presidio school)
Series 4
Personal
1917-1990,
undated
Physical Description:
2.5 linear feet (1 box, 14 folders, 3 oversize volumes)
Arrangement
Alphabetical
Scope and Content Note
This series contains materials that are not writings or teaching materials. There is
some correspondence here that could not be separated without losing some of the original
context of the materials. The educational materials here are from Arnstein's personal
academic pursuits, specifically the courses she took to improve her writing.
Carton 4, Folder 23
Correspondence and related materials
Oversize Volume 5
102nd birthday scrapbook
1987
Oversize Volume 6
103rd birthday scrapbook
1988
Carton 4, Folder 25
104th birthday
1989
Note
pages from a scrapbook
Carton 4, Folder 26-29
Arnstein, Lawrence
1917-1979
Carton 4, Folder 30
Biographical
Undated
Note
includes family tree
Carton 4, Folder 31-33
Cheyney-Trent Correspondence courses in poetry
1929-1930
Note
includes lessons, poems by FJA, and correspondence from instructor
Carton 4, Folder 34
Course on how to write a novel
Undated
Note
lecture notes and assignments; UC Extension
Carton 4, Folder 35-36
In Memory of Flora J. Arnstein
1990
Box 1, Folder 1
Materials on group for enriched aging
1980-1983
Note
led by Marge Lozoff, includes poems by FJA
Box 1, Folder 2-10
Notebooks
1930-1989,
undated
Box 1, Folder 11
Notes
1951,
undated
Note
possibly from lectures on how to write
Box 1, Folder 13
Writers Conference at University of Utah
1947-1956