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Finding Aids to Personal Papers and Special Collections in the Smithsonian Institution Archives

Record Unit 7187

Ginsburg, Isaac, 1886-1975

Isaac Ginsburg Papers, circa 1911-1919, 1924-1958

Repository:Smithsonian Institution Archives, Washington, D.C. Contact us at osiaref@si.edu.
Creator:Ginsburg, Isaac, 1886-1975
Title:Isaac Ginsburg Papers
Dates:circa 1911-1919, 1924-1958
Quantity:4.11 cu. ft. (7 document boxes) (1 half document box) (1 5x8 box)
Collection:Record Unit 7187
Language of Materials:English
Summary:

The papers of Isaac Ginsburg chiefly document his career with the Bureau of Fisheries from 1922 to 1956. There is extensive correspondence concerning the fishes of the Gulf coast and ichthyological nomenclature, and lesser amounts about his war work and Bureau affairs. The collection also contains materials concerning Bureau investigations that were probably sent to Ginsburg in connection with his research, including notes and logs of William W. Welsh and Samuel Frederick Hildebrand on their investigations in New England and the Gulf of Mexico, and photographs, probably relating to Hildebrand's work in Central America and the southern United States.

Historical Note

Isaac Ginsburg (1886-1975) was born in Lithuania and came to the United States as a boy. He studied ichthyology at Cornell University and after graduating, spent a short time as an aid in the Division of Fishes, United States National Museum, in 1917. In 1922, he received an appointment with the Bureau of Fisheries and worked there until his retirement in 1956.

Ginsburg's chief scientific interest was the marine fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. Though at one time he intended to prepare a large work on the shore fishes of the Gulf, necessary revisionary work on those groups took up most of his time. In addition, he worked on the problem of species and their subdivisions. Other duties at the Bureau of Fisheries included handling of the correspondence concerning marine fishes and war work in connection with the coordination of fisheries in 1943-1944.

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Introduction

This finding aid was digitized with funds generously provided by the Smithsonian Institution Women's Committee.

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Descriptive Entry

The papers of Isaac Ginsburg chiefly document his career with the Bureau of Fisheries from 1922 to 1956. There is extensive correspondence concerning the fishes of the Gulf coast, ichthyological nomenclature, and Ginsburg's war work, as well as Bureau of Fisheries affairs. The collection also contains materials concerning Bureau investigations that were probably sent to Ginsburg in connection with his research. This material includes notes and logs of William W. Welsh and Samuel Frederick Hildebrand on their investigations in New England and the Gulf of Mexico and photographs, probably of Hildebrand's work in Central America and the southern United States.

Correspondents include Elbert H. Ahlstrom, Allan Hancock Foundation, American Museum of Natural History, American Society of Ichthyologists And Herpetologists, William W. Anderson, Edgar L. Arnold, Jr., Richard H. Backus, Edward W. Bailey, Reeve M. Bailey, Thomas Barbour, John Lafferty Baugham, Barton A. Bean, Henry M. Bearse, Elinor Helene Behre, Henry Bryant Bigelow, Bingham Oceanographic Laboratory, James Erwin Bohlke, Alva Esmond Brandt, Charles Marcus Breder, Jr., William Bridges, Vernon E. Brock, E. Milby Burton, Louella E. Cable, David Keller Caldwell, Leonard Carmichael, Chicago Natural History Museum, Eugene Clark, Robert Ervin Coker, Edwin Grant Conklin, Edwin H. Dahlgren, Myvanwy M. Dick, Forrest V. Durand, Howard H. Eckles, Theodore Engelbach, William E. Fahy, Wilbur Irving Follett, Henry Weed Fowler, Isaac Ginsburg, William A. Gosline, James Nelson Gowanloch, Clifford C. Gregg, Gordon Gunter, William J. Hargis, Jr., Robert R. Harry, Edward Sturtevant Hathaway, Earl S. Herald, Albert W. Herre, Elmer Higgins, Henry H. Hildebrand, Samuel Frederick Hildebrand, Carl Leavitt Hubbs, Clark Hubbs, Theodor Just, Robert H. Kanazawa, A. Remington Kellogg, Joseph E. King, Milton Jerome Lindner, Irene McCulloch, Donald L. McKernan, John C. Marr, Ernst Mayr, Giles W. Mead, Daniel Merriman, Robert C. Miller, Robert Rush Miller, James E. Morrow, Museum of Comparative Zoology, George Sprague Myers, Robert A. Nesbit, Morris Graham Netting, New York Zoological Society, James B. Nichols, John Treadwell Nichols, J. R. Norman, Yngve H. Olsen, Albert Eide Parr, Raymond Pearl, John C. Pearson, Max Poll, Edward C. Raney, George K. Reid, Jr., Luis Rene Rivas, Luis Howell Rivero, C. Richard Robins, William F. Royce, Leslie W. Scattergood, Karl Patterson Schmidt, Waldo LaSalle Schmitt, William C. Schroeder, Leonard Peter Schultz, Hurst Hugh Shoemaker, F. G. Walton Smith, Society of Systematic Zoology, Stewart Springer, Victor G. Springer, H. Steinitz, Frank Stick, Royal Dallas Suttkus, John Tee-Van, Texas Academy of Science, Paul E. Thompson, Lionel A. Walford, Alfred C. Weed, William W. Welsh, John W. Winn, Loren P. Woods, Joe Young, Woodhull B. Young.

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This collection is indexed under the following access terms. These are links to collections with related topics, persons or places.

Name

Subject

Physical Characteristics of Materials in the Collection

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Preferred Citation

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7187, Isaac Ginsburg Papers

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Container List

Series 1

CORRESPONDENCE, 1925-1958.

Box 1

Folder 1 Ade - Audant.

Box 1 of 9

Folder 2 American Museum of Natural History, 1957.

Box 1 of 9

Folder 3 American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, 1951, 1953, 1957; group picture, 1949.

Box 1 of 9

Folder 4 William W. Anderson, 1947-1948, 1950-1955.

Box 1 of 9

Folder 5 Backus - Burrows.

Box 1 of 9

Folder 6 John Lafferty Baugham, 1945, 1947-1952.

Box 1 of 9

Folder 7 Bingham Oceanographic Laboratory, includes correspondence with Daniel Merriman, James E. Morrow, Yngve H. Olsen, Albert E. Parr and William C. Schroeder, 1931-1940, 1942, 1946, 1950, 1952-1954.

Box 1 of 9

Folder 8 Biological Abstracts, 1930, 1940-1941, 1950-1952.

Box 1 of 9

Folder 9 Charles Marcus Breder, Jr., 1932-1933, 1936, 1938-1939, 1941-1942, 1948, 1951, 1957.

Box 1 of 9

Folder 10 William Bridges, 1938-1939, 1942 1951, 1953-1954.

Box 1 of 9

Folder 11 Bureau of Fisheries. Includes reports on work and correspondence with Edward W. Bailey, Elmer Higgins, and Samuel Frederick Hildebrand, 1925-1940.

Box 1 of 9

Folder 12 Bureau of Fisheries travel orders and memoranda of expenses, 1931-1932, 1934, 1937.

Box 1 of 9

Folder 13 E. Milby Burton, 1933-1939, 1941, 1948-1949.

Box 1 of 9

Folder 14 Cabirac - Cooper

Box 1 of 9

Folder 15 Cambridge trip. Includes vouchers for expenses and correspondence with Edward W. Bailey, Elmer Higgins, and Leonard Peter Schultz concerning trip to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to conduct commercial fishery investigations and assist in the work of fishery coordination in connection with the war effort. September 1943-March 1944.

Box 1 of 9

Folder 16 Civil Service Commission. Includes job descriptions of Isaac Ginsburg, 1925, 1947-1952.

Box 1 of 9

Folder 17 Dagry Freres - Dunson

Box 1 of 9

Folder 18 Edmondson - Evermann

Box 1 of 9

Box 2

Folder 1 Fahy - Fowler

Box 2 of 9

Folder 2 Field Museum. Includes correspondence with Clifford C. Gregg, Robert H. Kanazawa, Karl Patterson Schmidt, Stewart Springer, Alfred C. Weed, John C. Winn and Loren P. Woods. 1933, 1936, 1941, 1948-1952.

Box 2 of 9

Folders 3-4 Fish and Wildlife Service. Includes memoranda, vouchers for expenses, time and attendance reports, travel authorizations and orders, a 1943 report on the fisheries of Manchuria and correspondence with Edward W. Bailey, Edwin H. Dahlgren, Howard H. Eckles, Elmer Higgins, Paul E. Thompson and Lionel A. Walford, 1940-1948.

Box 2 of 9

Folder 5 Fish and Wildlife Service, Annual Reports of Isaac Ginsburg, 1947-1957.

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Folder 6 Fish and Wildlife Service. Time and attendance reports of Isaac Ginsburg. 1945-1950.

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Folder 7 Gaige - Greenberg

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Folder 8 Gulf Coast correspondence. Correspondents include Louisiana State University personnel, William W. Anderson, Elinor Helene Behre, Forrest V. Durand, Theodore Engelbach, James Nelson Gowanloch, Gordon Gunter, Edward Sturtevant Hathaway and John C. Pearson. 1930-1938, 1940.

Box 2 of 9

Folder 9 Gordon Gunter, 1932-1933, 1936, 1939-1940, 1942, 1951-1957.

Box 2 of 9

Folder 10 Hand - Hubbs

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Folder 11 Allan Hancock Foundation. Includes correspondence with Irene McColloch. 1938, 1940, 1942.

Box 2 of 9

Folder 12 Drawings of histology of insects by Ginsburg. Undated.

Box 2 of 9

Folder 13 Carl Leavitt Hubbs, 1929, 1931-1939, 1942, 1944-1945, 1948-1949, 1951-1953.

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Folder 14 Ichthyological Research and Development Corporation - Innes

Box 2 of 9

Folder 15 Correspondence and journal concerning fisheries in Israel. Correspondents include H. Steinitz. 1946, 1952-1954, 1957.

Box 2 of 9

Box 3

Folder 2 Keegan - Kuri

Box 3 of 9

Folder 3 Lachner - Luling. Includes photographs of Isaac Ginsburg filed under Thomas H. Langlois.

Box 3 of 9

Folder 5 Donald L. McKernan, 1953-1954.

Box 3 of 9

Folder 6 John C. Marr, 1953-1955.

Box 3 of 9

Folder 7 University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. Includes correspondence with Reeve M. Bailey and Robert Rush Miller. 1939, 1941, 1944, 1947-1956.

Box 3 of 9

Folder 8 Museum of Comparative Zoology. Includes correspondence with Thomas Barbour, Myvanwy M. Dick and William C. Schroeder, 1930-1932, 1934, 1937-1938, 1940-1942, 1949-1954.

Box 3 of 9

Folder 9 George Sprague Myers, 1937-1939, 1941-1942, 1949.

Box 3 of 9

Folder 10 Nani - Norton

Box 3 of 9

Folder 11 John Treadwell Nichols, 1932-1933, 1938-1939, 1951-1953.

Box 3 of 9

Folder 12 Correspondence, notes, questionnaire and related material concerning ichthyological nomenclature. Includes notices for Nomenclature Discussion Group. 1930, 1951-1953, 1957.

Box 3 of 9

Folder 13 Ochiai - Prasad.

Box 3 of 9

Folder 14 Publications. Includes 1958 bibliography of Isaac Ginsburg, correspondence requesting reprints, lists of persons to whom reprints were sent and Fish and Wildlife Service outside publication cards. 1937-1942, 1946-1948, 1951-1956.

Box 3 of 9

Box 4

Folder 1 Quast - Royce

Box 4 of 9

Folder 2 Edward C. Raney, 1940, 1947, 1949-1953, 1957-1958.

Box 4 of 9

Folder 4 F. G. Walton Smith

Box 4 of 9

Folder 5 Society of Systematic Zoology. Includes membership material. 1951.

Box 4 of 9

Folder 6 Stewart Springer, 1932-1933, 1935-1939, 1950-1954, 1956.

Box 4 of 9

Folder 7 Royal Dallas Suttkus, 1948, 1952, 1957.

Box 4 of 9

Folder 8 Taranto - Tyson

Box 4 of 9

Folder 9 John Tee-Van, 1932-1934, 1937, 1940, 1942, 1952-1953.

Box 4 of 9

Folder 10 Texas Academy of Science. Includes correspondence, notices of meetings and newsletters. 1951-1955.

Box 4 of 9

Folder 11 United States National Museum. Includes correspondence with Leonard Carmichael, A. Remington Kellogg, George Sprague Myers and Leonard Peter Schultz. Also includes biographical sketch of Schultz. 1931-1934, 1944, 1950-1955, 1957.

Box 4 of 9

Folder 12 Van Engel - Wolf

Box 4 of 9

Folder 13 Verger - Young

Box 4 of 9

Folder 14 Notes concerning foreign language, probably Yiddish or Hebrew.

Box 4 of 9

Folder 15 Unidentified correspondence.

Box 4 of 9
NOTES, LOGS AND RELATED MATERIALS CONCERNING BUREAU OF FISHERIES INVESTIGATIONS, 1911-1917, 1919, 1926-1927, 1930.

The notes in this series are not necessarily those of Isaac Ginsburg. The only authors identified are William W. Welsh and J. V. Green. It is probable that these notes were sent to Ginsburg by the Bureau in connection with his work on Gulf coast fishes, as most of them deal with that area.

Box 5

Folder 1 Potomac River investigations. No author. December 7-14, 1911.

Box 5 of 9

Folder 2 Chesapeake Bay fisheries. No author. April 8-30, 1912.

Box 5 of 9

Folder 3 Florida investigations of Fish Hawk. William W. Welsh. December 10, 1912 - January 18, 1913.

Box 5 of 9

Folder 4 Gloucester, Massachusetts Haddock investigation. William W. Welsh. March 14 - May 1, 1913.

Box 5 of 9

Folder 5 Gloucester, Massachusetts. Trip on steamer Bethulia. William W. Welsh. May 2 - June 18, 1913.

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Folder 6 New England, rough list and tin tags for fish eggs. Grampus. June 11 - July 18, 1913.

Box 5 of 9

Folder 7 New England. Grampus stations 10057 - 10077, log. July 8-24, 1913.

Box 5 of 9

Folder 8 New England and New Jersey scallop investigations. Grampus stations 10106-10156. William W. Welsh. August 20 - September 15, 1913.

Box 5 of 9

Folder 9 Grampus - Bache Expedition: Washington to West Indies. William W. Welsh. January 16 - March 23, 1914.

Box 5 of 9

Folder 10 Grampus - Bache Expedition: Washington to West Indies. J. V. Green. January 20 - March 23, 1914.

Box 5 of 9

Box 6

Folder 1 Maine, New England and New Jersey coasts. Grampus stations 10213-10264. July 19 - August 28, 1914.

Box 6 of 9

Folder 2 Gloucester, Massachusetts and Maine coast. Grampus stations 10273-10301. William W. Welsh. April 17-22 and May 10 - July 15, 1915.

Box 6 of 9

Folder 3 Wood's Hole, Massachusetts and vicinity. Grampus stations 10302-10339. William W. Welsh. July 19 - October 27, 1915.

Box 6 of 9

Folder 4 New England. Grampus stations 10340-10377. July 19 - August 10, 1916.

Box 6 of 9

Folder 5 New England coast. Grampus stations 10377-10397. William W. Welsh. August 10-28, 1916.

Box 6 of 9

Folder 6 Grampus stations 10399-10487. Temperature readings, apparently corrected or revised in 1919. October 31, 1916 - April 4, 1917.

Box 6 of 9

Folder 7 New England, North Carolina, Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana. Grampus stations 10399-10463. October 31, 1916 - February 14, 1917.

Box 6 of 9

Folder 8 Louisiana, Texas and Florida. Grampus stations 10464-10487. February 14, 1917 - April 4, 1917.

Box 6 of 9

Folder 9 Virginia, North Carolina, Gulf Coast and Cuba. Stations 20001-20040 (unidentified ship). Hydrographic data. October 30 - December 14, 1919.

Box 6 of 9

Folder 10 Notes on Texas fisheries. November 5, 1926.

Box 6 of 9

Folder 11 Fishes collected near Corpus Christi, Texas. November 9, 1926 - May 19, 1927.

Box 6 of 9

Folder 12 Notes on Florida fisheries, especially near Pensacola. August - September 1930.

Box 6 of 9

Folder 13 South Carolina. March 28 - 1 April 1 (no year).

Box 6 of 9

Folder 14 Havre de Grace, May 1 - May 7 (no year); trip on fishing vessel Crest from Boston, June 15 - July 4 (no year).

Box 6 of 9

Folder 15 Descriptions of fishes giving measurements, locality, species and date collected. No author.

Box 6 of 9
NOTES, CORRESPONDENCE, ILLUSTRATIONS AND RELATED MATERIALS CONCERNING BUREAU OF FISHERIES WORK OF WILLIAM W. WELSH AND SAMUEL FREDERICK HILDEBRAND, CIRCA 1916-1917, 1924.

The material in this series is not the work of Isaac Ginsburg, but was apparently sent to him by the Bureau in connection with his investigations. There is a possibility that some of the material may have been sent to Samuel Frederick Hildebrand, who also worked for the Bureau at the United States National Museum, but it is difficult to determine positively.

Box 7

Folder 1 Illustrations and notes of William W. Welsh. Subjects include sharks' teeth and puffers. Undated.

Box 7 of 9

Folder 2 Correspondence and notes concerning Bureau of Fisheries investigations conducted in 1916-1917 by William W. Welsh in Texas. The investigation was made at the request of congressmen from Texas and concerned the feasibility of establishing and expanding the fishery business in Texas.

Box 7 of 9

Folders 3-5 Notes on young fishes by William W. Welsh. Includes notes, measurements, dates of capture, locality, drawings and related data on fishes. Arranged alphabetically by species.

Box 7 of 9

Folder 6 Data gathered from Grampus stations 10435-10487, January 4 to April 4, 1917. Top card marked "The data have some bearing on camera lucida drawings filed under Notes by Welsh." Includes hydrographic data.

Box 7 of 9

Folder 7 Notes, probably on young fishes, by William W. Welsh. Same type of material as in Folders 3-5, but labeled "miscellaneous."

Box 7 of 9

Folder 8 Notes on fishes of El Salvador, Central America by Samuel Frederick Hildebrand, 1924.

Box 7 of 9

Series 4

PHOTOGRAPHS, 1924-1925, 1933-1937.

These photographs appear to concern Samuel Frederick Hildebrand's work in Central America and the southern United States. They were apparently sent to Ginsburg along with some of Hildebrand's notes or were left by Hildebrand in the United States National Museum where they were kept with Ginsburg's papers.

Box 8

Folder 1 Print of spoonbill catfish, Undated. For negative, refer to number on print.

Box 8 of 9

Folder 2 Prints of buildings, people, and alligators in Silver Springs, Florida. Undated. For negatives, see Folder 33.

Box 8 of 9

Folder 3 Postcards from Puerto Rico. Undated.

Box 8 of 9

Folder 4 Prints of lakes, rivers, and shorelines of Central America. 1924. Some identified. For negatives, refer to number on prints.

Box 8 of 9

Folder 5 Prints of urban scenes, railroads, and buildings in Central America, 1924. For negatives, refer to number on print.

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Folder 6 Prints of mountain scenes in Central America, 1924. For negatives, refer to number on print.

Box 8 of 9

Folder 7 Prints of harbor and bridge in Central America, 1924. For negatives, refer to number on print.

Box 8 of 9

Folder 8 Prints of vegetation in Central America, 1924. For negatives, refer to number on print.

Box 8 of 9

Folder 9 Prints of unidentified persons in Central America, 1924. For negatives, refer to number on print.

Box 8 of 9

Folder 10 Prints of village scenes in Central America, 1924. For negatives, refer to number on print.

Box 8 of 9

Folder 11 Prints of river scenes, particularly fishing activities, in Central America, 1924. For negatives, refer to number on print.

Box 8 of 9

Folder 12 Print of ship in Gatun Locks, Panama Canal Zone, 1924.

Box 8 of 9

Folder 13 Prints of flotage and smart-weed control areas, hydrolea experimental enclosure, lotus, and primrose-willows in Greenwood, Mississippi, 1925. For negatives, see Folder 34. Print removed to Folder 40.

Box 8 of 9

Folder 14 Prints of fishing activities, including equipment and sites; lakes, rivers, and creeks; and game wardens and fishermen in Mississippi, April - June 1933. For negatives, see Folder 35.

Box 8 of 9

Folder 15 Prints of people and localities in Puerto Rico, particularly those concerned with the fishing industry, 1934. For negatives, see Folder 36 or refer to number on print.

Box 8 of 9

Folder 16 Print of Samuel F. Hildebrand and others, seining creek in Puerto Rico, March 1934. No negative.

Box 8 of 9

Folder 17 Prints of people and localities in Puerto Rico, particularly those connected with the fishing industry, 1935. No negatives.

Box 8 of 9

Folder 18 Prints of fish specimens and of people and localities in Panama, particularly those connected with the fishing industry, 1935. For negatives, see Folder 37 or refer to number on print.

Box 8 of 9

Folder 19 Prints of Gatun Locks, landscapes and fishermen in Panama, 1935. No negatives.

Box 8 of 9

Folder 20 Prints of fishing activities in Mississippi, 1936. For negatives, see Folder 38 or refer to number on print.

Box 8 of 9

Folder 21 Prints of fish investigations in locks of Panama Canal, 1937. For negatives, refer to number on print.

Box 8 of 9

Folder 22 Prints of Panama shoreline, 1937. For negatives, refer to number on print.

Box 8 of 9

Folder 23 Prints of unidentified people in Panama, 1937. For negatives, refer to number on print.

Box 8 of 9

Folder 24 Prints of fish specimens, Panama, 1937. For negatives, refer to number on print.

Box 8 of 9

Folder 25 Prints of vegetation and landscapes of Panama, 1937. For negatives, refer to number on print.

Box 8 of 9

Folder 26 Prints of fishing activities in Panama, 1937. For negatives, refer to number on print.

Box 8 of 9

Folder 27 Prints of Madden and Gatun Lakes and San Francisco Beach, Panama, 1937. For negatives, refer to number on print.

Box 8 of 9

Folder 28 Prints of Gatun-Saddle Ridge and Goodyear Rubber Plantation, Panama, 1937. For negatives, refer to number on print.

Box 8 of 9

Folder 29 Prints of urban scenes in Panama, 1937. For negatives, refer to number on print.

Box 8 of 9

Folder 30 Prints of bridges, paths, and boat landings in Panama, 1937. For negatives, refer to number on print.

Box 8 of 9

Folder 31 Prints of New York City, including Statue of Liberty, 1937. For negatives, refer to number on print.

Box 8 of 9

Folder 32 Prints of unidentified coasts and landscapes, possibly of Jamaica, and of an unidentified ship, 1937.

Box 8 of 9

Folders 33-38 removed to nitrate storage.

Folder 33 Negatives of Silver Springs, Florida, undated. For prints, see Folder 2.

Box 8 of 9

Folder 34 Negatives of Greenwood, Mississippi, 1925. For prints, see Folder 13.

Box 8 of 9

Folder 35 Negatives of Mississippi, 1933. For prints, see Folder 14.

Box 8 of 9

Folder 36 Negatives of Puerto Rico, 1934. For prints, see Folder 15.

Box 8 of 9

Folder 37 Negatives of Panama, 1935. For prints, see Folder 18.

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Folder 38 Negatives of Mississippi, 1936. For prints, see Folder 20.

Box 8 of 9

Folder 39 Photograph of Isaac Ginsburg.

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Folder 40 Print removed from Folder 13.

Box 8 of 9

Box 9

Copy Negatives

Box 9 of 9