Guide to the Jelisaveta "Seka" Allen papers
Finding aid prepared by Christopher Rockwell
California State University, Sacramento Special Collections & University Archives
University Library
2000 State University Drive
Sacramento, CA, 95819-6039
916-278-6144
scua@csus.edu
March 2016
Title: Jelisaveta "Seka" Allen papers
Identifier/Call Number: MSS 2002/56
Contributing Institution:
California State University, Sacramento Special Collections & University Archives
Language of Material:
Multiple languages
Physical Description:
1.0 Linear feet
(2 manuscript boxes)
Date (bulk): Bulk, 1975-1992
Date (inclusive): 1878-1997
Abstract: Contains the personal papers of Jelisaveta Allen, who worked as a librarian at Dumbarton Oaks Center for Byzantine Studies
in Washington, D.C.
Language of Materials note: Language of materials is in Greek, French, and English.
Preferred Citation note
[Identification of item including date], [Folder Title], MSS 2002/56, Jelisaveta "Seka" Allen papers, Department of Special
Collections and University Archives, University Library, California State University, Sacramento.
Biographical/Historical note
Jelisaveta "Seka" Allen (1920-1998) was born in Belgrade, Serbia. During World War II, she studied art history and took a
course in museum curatorship at the National Museum in Belgrade. In 1948, she received a degree from the University of Belgrade
where she studied history, art history, and archeology. After working at the National Museum, she later was employed at the
Institute for the Protection and Preservation of the Monuments of Culture of the People's Republic of Serbia. This job allowed
her to travel throughout Serbia in search of archaeological and culturally significant sites. In 1950, she married George
Edmund Morris Allen and traveled to Vienna, Paris and, finally, Washington, D.C. She attained a career at the Dumbarton Oaks
Research Library, where she worked as a cataloging librarian. Throughout her career, she published many scholarly works, including,
"Bibliography of Speros Vryonis, Jr." in
Studies in Honor of Speros Vryonis, Jr.. She was also a founding member of the North American Society for Serbian Studies and served as editor of
Serbian Studies from 1993 until her death in 1998.
Scope and Contents note
Contains the papers of Jelisaveta "Seka" Allen, a former Byzantine Studies librarian at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington D.C.
Most of the collection is comprised of correspondence (non-English), articles and clippings relating to Hellenic and Byzantine
topics. Also included is a folder of material from the time when Allen was on the editorial board of
Studies in Honor of Speros Vryonis, Jr. and was organizing "Festschrift" in his honor.
Conditions Governing Access note
Collection is open for research. Some restrictions may apply.
Copyright
Copyright is protected by the copyright law, Chapter 17 of the U.S. Code. Requests for permission to publish, quote, or reproduce
from collections must be submitted in writing to the Head of the Department of Special Collections and University Archives.
Permission for publication is given on the behalf of the Department of Special Collections and University Archives, The Library,
California State University, Sacramento as the owner of the physical item and is not intended to include permission of the
copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
Immediate Source of Acquisition note
The papers were created and assembled by Jelisaveta "Seka" Allen. After her death, they were donated to the Speros Basil Vryonis
Center for the Study of Hellenism. After the closure of the Vryonis Center in 2000, it arrived at the CSUS University Library
in 2003 as part of the Vryonis Center's library, which was renamed the Tsakopoulos Hellenic Collection.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Allen, Jelisaveta (“Seka”)
Dumbarton Oaks. Center for Byzantine Studies.
Tsakopoulos Hellenic Collection.
Vryonis, Speros, 1928-
Byzantine Empire--Study and teaching.
Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
Correspondence
Serbia and Montenegro.
Box 1, Folder 1
[Correspondence & Articles mostly in Greek],
1965-1997
Box 1, Folder 2
[Maps, Articles, & Correspondence mostly in Greek],
1966-1993
Box 1, Folder 3
[Festschrift related material mostly in Greek],
1975-1990
Box 1, Folder 4
[Greeting Cards, Correspondence, Photographs, & Articles mostly in Greek],
1982-1992
Box 1, Folder 5
[Articles written in Greek] (1 of 2),
undated
Box 1, Folder 6
[Articles written in Greek] (2 of 2),
undated
Box 2, Folder 1
Vryonis Festschrift materials,
1991-1992
Box 2, Folder 3
[Articles on War in Serbia],
circa 1992
Box 2, Folder 4
Capodistra, Tony
1983-1987
Box 2, Folder 5
[Notebook written in Greek],
undated
Box 2, Folder 6
[Correspondence],
1878-1983
Box 2, Folder 7
History of Science Society,
1912-1932
