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Buchman (Alexander H.) papers
84075  
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Table of contents What's This?
  • Access
  • Use
  • Acquisition Information
  • Preferred Citation
  • Biographical Note
  • Scope and Content of Collection
  • Related Materials
  • Digitized Content

  • Title: Alexander H. Buchman papers
    Date (inclusive): 1920-2003
    Collection Number: 84075
    Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
    Language of Material: English
    Physical Description: 4 manuscript boxes, 17 microfilm boxes, 10 envelopes, 5 motion picture film reels, 2 videocassettes, 14 slides, 6 sound cassettes (7.5 Linear Feet)
    Abstract: Correspondence, writings, police reports, printed matter, motion picture film, still photographs, negatives and slides relating to Leon Trotsky and Trotskyism, especially in China and the United States, to the Trotskyist C. Frank Glass, and to Rayna Prohme, revolutionary American journalist in China.
    Creator: Buchman, Alexander H., 1911-2003
    Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives

    Access

    Original film negatives in Boxes 5-21 closed due to the fragility of the materials; these materials have been digitized. The remainder of the collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.

    Use

    For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

    Acquisition Information

    Materials were acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1984.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Alexander H. Buchman papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

    Biographical Note

    American engineer and photographer; resident of China, 1933-1939; guard for Leon Trotsky, Coyoacan, Mexico, 1939-1940.
    1911 Born, Cleveland, Ohio
    1933 Received degree in aeronautical engineering from Case School of Applied Science
    1933-1939 Lived in Shanghai, China
    1939-1940 Lived in Cayoacan, Mexico; served as Leon Trotsky's bodyguard
    2003 Died, Los Angeles, California

    Scope and Content of Collection

    The Alexander H. Buchman papers document Buchman's activities as an amateur photographer living in Shanghai, China and Coyoacan, Mexico, and his relationship with Leon Trotsky. The collection includes film and photographs of Leon Trotsky and members of his entourage, including his wife, Natalia Sedova, Diego Rivera, and others, in Coyoacan, Mexico between 1939 and 1940. Buchman's photographs of Shanghai and other areas of China include scenes of the bombing of Shanghai in 1937 and executions of leftists in China between 1927 and 1932. The collection also includes a sound recording of a telephone address to followers in the United States made by Trotsky from Mexico in 1938.
    Among Buchman's papers is also correspondence with friends and colleagues who shared his interest in the history of Trotskyism, including Baruch Hirson, Susan Weissman, and Trotsky's grandson, Esteban Volkov.

    Related Materials

    Collection ID 73095: Heisler (Ivan C. F) motion picture film, 1938

    Digitized Content

    Content from this collection has been digitized and is available via the Hoover Institution Library & Archives Digital Collections portal .

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    China -- Pictorial works
    Audiotapes
    Video tapes
    Slides (Photography)
    Communism -- United States
    Motion pictures
    Americans -- China
    Communism -- China
    Sino-Japanese War, 1937-1945
    Shanghai (China)
    Trotsky, Leon, 1879-1940
    Fourth International
    Glass, C. Frank (Cecil Frank), 1901-1988
    Prohme, Rayna, -1927