seek Arthur Rothstein files from 1936

Hi Russ,

A colleague from NARA's Still Pictures unit offers these suggestions:

"For textual materials more relevant to the photo operation, the inquirer is going to have better luck with the Roy Stryker Papers (1935-43) at the Archives of American Art (lots of direct Stryker-Rothstein correspondence in this set of microfilmed papers), the Roy Stryker Papers (1924-1972) at the University of Louisville Photographic Archives (also microfilmed), and the Resettlement Administration-Farm Security Administration-Office of War Information Written Records: Office Files, Caption Lists, Supplementary Reference Files (1935-1943) in the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division (on microfilm as well). There isn't going to be correspondence or other background documentation on each and every RA/FSA assignment, but there are references of one sort or another to a good many, so these sources are worth checking."

Good luck with your search!

Hello Russ,

The papers of Arthur Rothstein in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress are part of a larger collection titled the Arthur Rothstein Collection of which the major portion is housed in the Prints and Photographs Division at the Library of Congress. Most photographs, negatives, and contact sheets from the Rothstein Papers have been transferred to the Library’s Prints and Photographs Division where they are identified as part of the Rothstein Collection. The papers of Arthur Rothstein (1915-1985) span the years 1936-2000, with the bulk of the material dating from 1952 to 1985. The collection includes correspondence, speeches and writings, and subject files. The focus of the papers is Rothstein’s fifty-year career as a photographer and his work as a teacher and writer on the subject of photography. You can access the Rothstein papers finding aid here: http://findingaids.loc.gov/exist_collections/service/mss/eadxmlmss/eadpdfmss/2010/ms010244.pdf?loclr=hhub

Arthur Rothstein donated his photographic collection, including prints, negatives, and color transparencies, to the Library’s Prints and Photographs Division in 1972. His work is also represented in that division’s Farm Security Administration Collection and Look Magazine Photograph Collection.

We hope this information proves useful in your search.

Reference Staff

Manuscript Division

Library of Congress

Hello Russ,

I read your research request with interest.  I am also seeking information on Mr Rothstein’s correspondence from the  May 1936 period.  My grandparents were living on the South Sioux City farmstead at this time, and my father was born May 5, 1936 on the farmstead.  I believe that Mr Rothstein stayed in southern Nebraska and did not travel to the northern part of the state.   Let me know if you’d be willing to share any insights you’ve discovered. Thank you