Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Pathfinder Press
- Abstract:
- Collected by Pathfinder Press for use in illustrating its publications, the collection includes photographs, drawings, and printed reproductions of illustrations, depicting Leon Trotsky, leading figures of the Russian Revolution, leaders of the Fourth International, leaders of the Socialist Workers Party of the United States, and scenes related to all of the above.
- Extent:
- 31 manuscript boxes, 2 oversize boxes, 3 card file boxes (14.4 Linear Feet)
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Pathfinder Press photographic collection, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The Pathfinder Press Photographic Collection consists of photographs collected by the press for possible publication in books and pamphlets. There are also a small number of original drawings and cartoons. Cartoons by Laura Gray constitute the first series. The photographic series which follow include a Russian File (concentrating on the Russian Revolution and the history of the Bolshevik/Russian Communist Party through the 1920s), a Leon Trotsky File (depicting Trotsky at all stages of his life, but especially during his last three years in exile in Mexico), a Socialist Workers Party File (depicting leaders of the party from the 1920s through the 1990s), and a General Subject File (depicting Fourth International leaders from outside the United States, other notable leftist leaders from the United States and abroad, and world figures of all political stripes). There is also a small Publications File of photographs arranged by title of Pathfinder Press publication in which they appeared. Oversize items constitute a separate Oversize File.
Photographic prints often bear negative numbers on their backs. These will direct the user to a large file of negatives, arranged in numerical order. There is also a file of contact sheets, arranged numerically by negative number. An index card file of names of individuals depicted (mainly members or associates of the Socialist Workers Party) is also keyed to negative number.
Users of the Pathfinder Press Photographic Collection should be aware of the existence in the Hoover Institution Library & Archives of the Pathfinder Press Collection consisting of copies of publications of the press, and also of The Militant Photographic Collection, consisting of photographs created or collected by the staff of The Militant, the newspaper associated with the Socialist Workers Party. Negatives of photographic prints to be found in the latter collection are interfiled in the Numerical Negative File of the Pathfinder Press Photographic Collection.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Pathfinder Press was established in New York City in 1969 as a successor to Pioneer Publishers (1930-1965) and Merit Publishers (1965-1969), and has been associated with the Socialist Workers Party. It has been the principal English-language publisher of works of Leon Trotsky, and has also published documentary works on the Communist International, Fourth International and Socialist Workers Party, writings of Fidel Castro, Nelson Mandela, Malcolm X and other American and international leftist leaders, and historical and analytical works on a variety of national and international political issues.
A Pathfinder Press Collection, donated by the Anchor Foundation, was established in the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1992, and consists of record copies of publications of the press. This separate Pathfinder Press Photographic Collection was received from the Anchor Foundation in 2004.
- Acquisition information:
- Materials were acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 2004
- Arrangement:
-
The collection is organized into 11 series, Cartoons, Russian File, Leon Trotsky File, Socialist Workers Party File, Oversize File, General Subject File, Publications File, Numerical Contact Sheets File, Numerical Negative File, Filmstrips, and Card File.
- Physical location:
- Hoover Institution Library & Archives
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Box 34 closed. 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.
- Terms of access:
-
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Pathfinder Press photographic collection, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives
- Location of this collection:
-
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford UniversityStanford, CA 94305-6003, US
- Contact:
- (650) 723-3563