Holzwarth (Adam) Anarchist Collection, ca. 1909 -1929

Summary

Title:

Adam Holzwarth Anarchist Collection,

Dates:

ca. 1909 -1929

Creators:

Holzwarth, Adam

Extent:

.4 linear feet (1 document box)

Language:

English.

Preferred citation:

Adam Holzwarth Anarchist Collection. Mss 48. Department of Special Collections, Davidson Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection contains two series: Correspondence and Ephemera.

Abbreviations used in the container list:

ADS

Autographed Document Signed (in the hand of the author)

AL

Autographed Letter Unsigned

ALS

Autographed Letter Signed

AN

Autographed Note Unsigned

ANS

Autographed Note Signed

n.d.

no date

TL

Typed Letter Unsigned

TLS

Typed Letter Signed

Biographical / historical:

The little that is known about Adam Holzwarth is drawn from the material in the collection. Holzwarth apparently was an early 20th century anarchist who lived in Oregon (Hillsboro and Portland). He had a brother, Charles, and a wife, Mary (who appears in the collection both as Mary Holzwarth and Mary Trautner). He and his wife were active supporters of Emma Goldman and Margaret Sanger, and they kept in touch with others of similar political beliefs.

It does not appear that any of the Holzwarths were close friends or associates of Goldman, Sanger, or other major figures of the time. In her autobiography, Living My Life, Goldman briefly describes three visits to Portland. She mentions only a few people in connection with these trips; Adam Holzwarth is not one of them. Judging from the material in this collection, he was one of the many who helped support the movement by attending lectures and gatherings, subscribing to periodicals, purchasing books and pamphlets, and personally spreading the word.

One of the most interesting letters from Goldman to Holzwarth is dated May 10, 1912 and is written from San Diego, giving several directions for upcoming lectures and meetings in Portland. One part of the arrangement still needs to be discussed with her manager, Ben Reitman, and Goldman writes, "He is not with me now, but I am going back to LA today and we'll talk the matter over." It was on this trip to San Diego that Reitman was kidnapped and, with the complicity and encouragement of the city's mayor and police chief, kicked, beaten, burned, and then tarred and feathered (news clippings in the collection describe the incident). This letter may have been written from the hotel room in San Diego where Goldman was waiting to hear from Reitman.

Another item in the collection demonstrates the depth of Adam and Mary's personal commitment to the ideals of the movement. This is their marriage contract, a document they drew up to confirm their union, which they refused on principle to legalize with a license:

Portland, Oreg., Sept. 10th 1911.

We, Adam Holzwarth and Mary Trautner, believing in the right of each person to control their own lives and denying the right of the State to tax for the privilege of getting married. Hereby agree to live together as husband and wife. And I, Adam Holzwarth promise and agree, so help me God, to care of Mary Trautner and any children that may be born but shall be free to separate unless our marriage can always be on mutual love and affection. And if she separates from me, never-the-less, I will help care for her and any children. And I recognize her as my true wife.

Adam Holzwarth
Mary Trautner

Acquisition information:

Purchase, ca. 1969.

Physical location:

Del Sur

Related resources

Related material:

At UCSB Special Collections:

Mother Earth Publishing Association. Special Collections has a number of works published by Mother Earth, ca. 1907-1916. These have been cataloged separately and can be searched on Pegasus, the UCSB Libraries online catalog.

Marie Stopes Birth Control Collection (Mss 122). Contains personal papers and correspondence, and birth control devices of the British birth control advocate. Stopes (1880-1958), trained as a paleobotanist, also was a pioneer in family planning. Also, numerous published works by Stopes.

Published works on birth control, radical movements, and related subjects are cataloged separately and can be searched on Pegasus, the UCSB Libraries online catalog.

Elsewhere:

University of California, Berkeley. The Emma Goldman Papers Project has a website, detailing their work, at: http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Goldman/

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:

Processed by D. Tambo and E. Fields

Date Prepared:

© 2003

Date Encoded:

Machine-readable finding aid in EAD v. 1.0 derived from MS Word 2000 file by David C. Gartrell. Date of source: 04 September 2003 .

Restrictions:

None known.

Terms of access:

Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Department of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained.

Preferred citation:

Adam Holzwarth Anarchist Collection. Mss 48. Department of Special Collections, Davidson Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Location of this collection:

UC Santa Barbara, Special Research Collections

UC Santa Barbara Library

Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9010, US

Contact:

(805) 893-3062

special@library.ucsb.edu

Website