Alexander H. Buchman papers, 1920-2003

View only results with digital items
Printable guide [HTML]
Request items

Summary

Creators:
Buchman, Alexander H., 1911-2003
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.
Extent:
4 manuscript boxes, 17 microfilm boxes, 10 envelopes, 5 motion picture film reels, 2 videocassettes, 14 35mm slides, 6 sound cassettes (7.5 Linear Feet)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

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

Background

Scope and content:

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.

Biographical / historical:

American engineer and photographer; resident of China, 1933-1939; guard for Leon Trotsky, Coyoacan, Mexico, 1939-1940.

Date Event
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
Acquisition information:
Materials were acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 1984.
Physical location:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

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.

Terms of access:

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

Preferred citation:

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

Location of this collection:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003, US
Contact:
(650) 723-3563
hooverarchives@stanford.edu
Website