Overstreet mss., 1894-1985
Papers, 1894-1985, of Harry Allen Overstreet at the Lilly Library, Indiana
University, Bloomington, Indiana
Electronic finding aid encoded by Beth Benda.
Summary Information
Repository
Lilly
Library (Indiana University, Bloomington)
Indiana University
1200 E. Seventh St.
Bloomington, IN 47405-5500
Phone: 812-855-2452
Fax: 812-855-3143
Email: liblilly@indiana.edu
http://www.indiana.edu/~liblilly
Creator
Overstreet, H. A. (Harry Allen),
1875-1970
TitleOverstreet mss., 1894-1985
Collection no:
LMC 1957
Extent
ca. 18,304 items
Language
Materials are in English.
Abstract
Consists of the correspondence, writings,
lecture material and memorabilia of Harry Allen Overstreet and his wife Bonaro Wilkinson
Oversteet.
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research.
Acquisition InformationGift. 1967, 1968, 1969, 1972, 1978, 1980.
Bequest. 1986
Usage RestrictionsPrior arrangements are not necessary before coming to the Library, however, patrons
from out of town are encouraged to communicate with the Library in advance of their
visits to ascertain availability of materials.
Photocopying permitted only with permission of the Curator of Manuscripts, Lilly
Library.
Preferred Citation
[Item], Overstreet mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
Biographical Note
Philosopher Harry Allen Overstreet, 1875-1970, was born in San Francisco, California,
and attended the University of California, Berkeley, receiving his B.A. degree in
1899 and B.S. degree in 1901. He began his career as an educator and instructor in
philosophy at Berkeley in 1901. He left Berkeley in 1911 to become chair of the
Department of Philosophy and Psychology at the City College of New York, a position
he held until his retirement in 1939. He also taught in the continuing education
program of the New School for Social Research as well as adult education courses for
the International Ladies' Garment Workers Union from 1924 through 1936. In 1938
Overstreet lectured at Town Hall and was instrumental in the development of its
educational program "America's Town Meeting of the Air." Poet and psychologist Bonaro
Wilkerson Overstreet, 1902-1985, was born in Geyserville, California. She received a
B.A. from University of California, Berkeley in 1925 and an M.A. from Columbia
University. She and Harry were married in 1932, shortly after his divorce from his
first wife. Both separately and together, the Overstreets wrote books covering such
topics as psychology, philosophy, sociological studies, political science, adult
education, and poetry. Their co-authored work
What we must
know about Communism
became a national best-seller in 1958, but it was
their study of the FBI in 1969,
The FBI in our open
society,
which received the most publicity. They also traveled and
lectured extensively across the country.
Scope and Content Note
Consists of the correspondence, writings, lecture material and memorabilia of Harry
Allen Overstreet and his wife Bonaro Wilkinson Oversteet.
Arrangement/Organization
Organized into the following series: I. Correspondence; II. Writings; III.
Miscellaneous.
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Indexing Terms
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The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
IUCAT, the IU Libraries' online
catalog. Materials about related topics, persons or places can be found by searching the
catalog using these terms.
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Names
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United States.
Federal Bureau of Investigation.
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Soviet Union
--Foreign relations --1945-1991.
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United States.
Congress. House. Committee on Un-American Activities.
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Overstreet, H. A. (Harry Allen),
1875-1970.
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Overstreet, H. A.
(Harry Allen), 1875-1970 --Correspondence.
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Overstreet, Bonaro
Wilkinson, 1902- --Correspondence.
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Overstreet, Bonaro Wilkinson,
1902-
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Topics
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Authors, American --Correspondence.
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Communism --United States.
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Communism --Soviet Union.
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Cold War.
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Leisure.
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Mind and body.
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Psychology, Applied.
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Adult education.
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Labor unions and socialism
Series:
Correspondence, 1894-1985
A partial index of correspondents is available in the Library.
Box 1
1894-1940, May
Box 2
1940, Jun-1945, Mar
Box 3
1945, Apr-1951, Oct
Box 4
1951, Nov-1954, Aug
Box 5
1954, Sep-1957, May
Box 6
1957, Jun-1960, Feb.
Box 7
1960, Mar-1962, Jul
Box 8
1962, Aug-1964, Nov
Box 9
1964, Dec- 1966
Box 10
1967-1971, Apr
Box 11
1971, May-1985
Box 12
Undated correspondence, alphabetically arranged by correspondent
16 folders
Correspondence, pertaining to the Overstreet's alleged Communist
connections and investigation by House Committee on Un-American Activities
1923-1965
13 folders
Series:
Writings
Subseries:
Articles
Box 12
"Adult education and I"
"Adventures in perfidy"
"American democracy"
"Another Copernican revolution?"
"Art, economics, and our American future"
"As we grow older"
"An Asian affirmative"
"Born free --of bigotry"
"Calling all philosophers"
"Can this be another Renaissance?"
"Churches and the extreme right"
"Comecon and the Common Market (or free world
breakthrough)"
"Communism and the future"
"Communism's "class morality""
"Decline of communism"
"Don't let grassroots die"
"The drama of growing"
"The emotional health of the teacher"
"Evidence of song"
"The experience of poetry"
"Faces of good and evil"
"Franklin Delano Roosevelt"
"Fundamentally sound"
"Fundamentals of Marxism-Leninism"
"The future of God"
Box 13
"The great misinterpretation"
"The growing self"
"Gus Hall on campus"
"History made and in the making"
"Homo sapiens: New model"
"The how and why of the panel method"
"How to talk about communism"
"How to talk about communist agriculture"
"How to talk about communist education"
"How to talk about freedom"
"The illusion of public ownership"
"In a time of new beginnings"
"The indispensable negative"
"Is communism here to stay?"
"The language of communism"
"Learning: An adult adventure"
"Lest we all become obsolete"
"Libraries for a lifetime"
"Maginot mentality and its corrective"
"A matter of basic assumptions"
"Mind in the community"
"The mind of the negro"
"Modern man confronts the unknown god"
"More music than gold"
"A new logic of peace and war"
"No iron curtain of the mind"
"Off record - The FBI and present problems of
internal security"
"On taking the initiative"
"On the morality of unbalancing the "balance of
terror""
"Philosophy behind the curtain"
"The plateaus of growth"
"The poet and the individual"
"Pre-structuring"
"Propaganda policy for a democracy"
"The prospects for moral autonomy"
"Proud to be human"
"The question of social ownership"
"The roots of justice"
"The self --and much more"
"Strengthening the bulwarks of democracy"
"Testament of loneliness"
"To Chautauqua, with love"
"Two people, three cities, and an age"
"What America means to me"
"What communism intends for the human
mind"
"What emotional health looks like"
"What free men can do"
"When you are called a communist"
"Why Karl Marx missed the boat"
"Words as weapons"
"The year that begins now"
"The young citizen in a world like this"
Subseries:
Major Works
Box 13
The FBI in Our Open Society.
Typescript, research and galleys15 folders
Box 14
The FBI in Our Open Society (cont'd).
3 folders
Hands Laid Upon the Wind.
Typescript, galleys 10 folders
The Iron Curtain.
Galleys, printer's copies11 folders
Box 15
"The Mature Mind. "
Outline, promotional material, book jacket
"Mind Alive. "
Jacket design, promotional material, review
"The Mind Goes Forth. "
Promotional material, book jacket, sales figures
"Our Free Minds. "
Reviews
"The Poetic Way of Release. "
Corrected typescript, reprint request, promotional material 2
folders
"The Relation of Thought to Reality. "
A
dissertation...Oxford University, May 1901, by
H.A. Overstreet.
Bound typescript
"Signature. "
Typescript, printer's copy, proofs, mock up, review, promotional
material, galleys6 folders and Oversize 3
"The Strange Tactics of Extremism. "
Corrected typescript, reviews, promotional materials, sales
figures7 folders
"Transparencies. "
Typescript
"The War Called Peace. "
Galley proofs 2 folders
Box 16
"The War Called Peace. "
Galley proofs, printer's copies, reviews, promotional
material9 folders
"We Move in New Directions. "
Promotional advertisements
"What We Must Know About Communism. "
Miscellaneous notes, printer's copies, galley proofs, plate proofs,
contract, reviews, sales figures, promotional materials13 folders
and Oversize 4
Box 17
Unknown book(s) and fragments of books
8 folders
Subseries:
Lectures
Box 17
Lectures.
29 folders
Arranged alphabetically by title
Lecture notes, including notes for BAO's poetry classes
13 folders
Box 18
Lecture-related materials, 1923-1971.
Includes programs, advertisements, contracts, itineraries, etc. Arranged by
year
Box 19
Lecture-related materials (cont.), 1972-1984.
Subseries:
Miscellaneous
Box 19
Bibliographies
Book reviews, by HAO and BWO
2 folders
Class papers written by BWO for HAO's Education 185 class, 1929-1931
Introductions and forewords, by HAO and BWO
Poetry, by BWO, including acknowledgement for anthology
5 folders
Poetic aberrations, by HAO
Radio program: "Mature Mind"
Radio scripts: "The Overstreet Outlook"
Research notes, mostly on Communism
16 folders
Box 20
Research notes
15 folders
Miscellaneous writings
7 folders
Production materials. Includes royalty payments, ads, blurbs, etc.
10 folders
Box 21
Writings by others.
BWO radio interview with Robert Scruton, Rome, Georgia, Nov. 11,
1970
Reviews of books by the Overstreets
Two boys under the hammer &
sickle,
by Constantin and Peter Georgescu;
Communism in the United States, by J.
Edgar Hoover (published later as
Masters of
deceit)
Series:
Miscellaneous
Box 21
Address books (9)
Artwork (by BWO?)
Awards and certificates
Biographical information
Commemorative albums
1) in honor of HAO's 90th birthday
2) poems dedicated to HAO and written by his students, UC-Berkeley,
1929
Composition books (4)
Box 22
Diary of Edward Wilkinson, Dec. 24,
1892-Apr. 27, 1893
Diaries of BWO (14) 1912-1939
1945
4 folders
Documents.
Includes: divorce papers, deed, powers of attorney, insurance papers,
etc. 3 folders
Family information.
Includes: family tree and history, death certificates
Fiddler's Green
Household
Memorial book and other items related to HAO's death
Music notebooks
Passports
Save the children sponsors
Transcripts; diploma from Geyserville High School (BWO)
Travel.
Includes: receipts, itineraries, etc.
Newspaper clippings.
Includes: articles about and by HAO and BWO, reviews of books 10
folders
Box 23
Newspaper clippings (cont.)
23 folders
Photographs.
Includes photographs of HAO and BWO, family, travel, etc.7
folders, two albums
Box 24
Photographs (cont.)
6 folders
Printed material
2 folders
Income tax papers, 1923-1951
Box 25
Income tax papers, 1952-1980
Box 26
Calendars (60), 1911-1965
Box 27
Calendars (31), 1950-1984
Travel diaries (2)
Address books (5)
Ledgers (25)
Box 28
Notebooks (69)
Box 29
Reel-to-reel tapes (22)
Cassette tapes (3)
Realia
medal "Education for Democracy"
medal "...Husband and Wife of the Year, National Father's Day
Committee, 1959"
medal "Parent's Magazine...1949"
pencil that belonged to "Grandmother Bonaro"
print block of HAO
plaque "The Adult Education Association USA Pioneer Award to Bonaro
Overstreet...1974"
Oversize 1-2
Awards, certificates, photographs, etc.
Oversize 3
Galleys,
Signature
Oversize 4
Galleys,
What We Must Know About
Communism
Oversize 5
Keuka College diploma (Doctor of Humane letters) and graduation
hood
Oversize 6
Film
What emotional health looks like
2 reels
