Max M. Laserson Papers, 1900-1951

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Series I: Correspondence, 1915-1951

The series consists of Max Laserson's personal and professional correspondence with various people and organizations, as well as family correspondence. Letters are in English, Russian, German, Hebrew, Yiddish, French, Latvian languages. Arranged in three subseries: Correspondence with Individuals; Family Correspondence; Correspondence with Organizations. There are letters from European and American professors, lawyers, prominent people such as Julius Genss, Oskar Gruzenberg, Vladimir Jabotinsky, and Mark Vishniak.


Subseries I.1: Correspondence with Individuals, 1921-1950

(Arranged alphabetically. Unidentified and outgoing correspondence stored at the end)



Box 1 Folder 1 Akzin, V., 1932-1937


Box 1 Folder 1 Andreates, undated


Box 1 Folder 2 Babb, Hugh W., 1936, undated


Box 1 Folder 2 Bain, R., 1939, undated


Box 1 Folder 2 Bentwich, Norman, 1937


Box 1 Folder 2 Bernstein, Ludwig, 1930, 1936


Box 1 Folder 2 Bing, Ludwig, 1936


Box 1 Folder 2 Bonsirver, J., 1939


Box 1 Folder 2 Brandeis, 1936


Box 1 Folder 2 Bruns, 1930


Box 1 Folder 2 Brutzkus, B., 1932


Box 1 Folder 3 Cardozo, B., 1936


Box 1 Folder 3 Carlyle, A., 1939


Box 1 Folder 3 Caspi, M., 1928, undaed


Box 1 Folder 3 Centnerszwer, M., 1921, 1934


Box 1 Folder 3 Csekye, Stephan v., 1933


Box 1 Folder 4 Dikshtein, 1934


Box 1 Folder 4 Elkin, Boris, 1931


Box 1 Folder 4 Epshtein, I., 1935


Box 1 Folder 4 Freund, Heinrich, 1926


Box 1 Folder 5 Genss, Julius, 1932


Box 1 Folder 5 Goldman, Nachum, 1934


Box 1 Folder 5 Gordon, E., 1935-1939


Box 1 Folder 5 Gringauz, S., 1933


Box 1 Folder 5 Gruzenberg, Oskar, 1925-1932


Box 1 Folder 5 Gulak, A., 1934


Box 1 Folder 6 Gurvich, G. D., 1921-1939


Box 1 Folder 7 Hallenstein, 1936


Box 1 Folder 7 Heller, Josef, 1933

(including Laserson's biographical note)


Box 1 Folder 7 Herlitz, Nils, 1933, undated


Box 1 Folder 7 Hirschmann, D. B., 1932


Box 1 Folder 8 Iakobson, 1932-1933


Box 1 Folder 9 Iashchenko, Aleksandr, 1932-1934


Box 1 Folder 10 Imaisumi, K., 1933-1935


Box 1 Folder 11 Jabotinsky, Vladimir, 1927-1928


Box 1 Folder 12 Jennings, W., 1939


Box 1 Folder 12 Joffe, 1928


Box 1 Folder 12 Joseph, Bernard, 1937


Box 1 Folder 9 Kabalkin, 1932


Box 1 Folder 13 Kelsen, Hans, 1934


Box 1 Folder 13 Khirooka, undated


Box 1 Folder 13 Kholuts, Iakov (or Kholuf), 1935


Box 1 Folder 13 Kulisher, A., 1935


Box 1 Folder 13 Levy, Jacob J., 1935


Box 1 Folder 13 Maborinskii, V., 1923


Box 1 Folder 13 Moreins, Zalmon, 1935


Box 1 Folder 14 Robinzonas, Jokubas, 1935


Box 1 Folder 14 Sobolbitz, A. (or Sobolvitz), 1935


Box 1 Folder 14 Vishniak, Mark, 1935


Box 1 Folder 14 Vulig (or Vaulig, or Vollig), 1935


Box 1 Folder 14 Washburn, Stanley, 1950


Box 1 Folder 14 Yehuda, Zalman, 1932


Box 1 Folder 14 Zeliksons, L., 1935


Box 1 Folder 15-17 Unidentified, 1929-1950


Box 1 Folder 18 Outgoing, 1932-1949, undated


Box 1 Folder 29 Various


Subseries I.2: Family Correspondence, 1934-1949, undated

(Correspondence with family members, including Laserson's mother and brother Maurice)


Box 1 Folder 19 Laserson, Eleazar, undated

(including his writings)


Box 1 Folder 20 Laserson, Herman, 1935


Box 1 Folder 21 Laserson, Maurice, 1934-1946

(incoming and outgoing)


Box 1 Folder 22 Laserson, Vladimir, undated


Box 1 Folder 23 Mother, undated

(see also: letter of 01.15.1935 in Box 1, Folder 20)


Box 1 Folder 23 Mariamy, undated


Box 1 Folder 24 Rene; Leopold; Simon; Flora; Minna; unidentified, 1935-1949


Subseries I.3: Correspondence with Oraganizations, 1915-1951

(Consists of correspondence with various organizations, including universities, Jewish organizations and agencies, Zionist associations, state institutions, publishers, congresses, etc. Arranged alphabetically)


Box 1 Folder 25 A-D, 1930-1951


Box 1 Folder 26 E, 1930-1933


Box 1 Folder 27 G-I, 1915-1937


Box 1 Folder 28 J-Z, 1925-1950

Series II: Writings, 1919-1951

The series comprises published and unpublished works of Max Laserson, including articles, monographs, talks, reports, etc. Arranged in five subseries.


Subseries II.1: Articles and Monographs, 1927-1951

(Manuscripts, typescripts, notes and drafts of Laserson's complete and incomplete works. Also includes reprints and books. Arranged alphabetically)


American Impact on Russia: Diplomatic and Ideological, 1784-1917, undated



Box 2 Folder 1-12 Typescritp (1st copy of the original)


Box 2 Folder 13-19 Manuscript



Box 3 Folder 1-7 Manuscript (cont.)


Box 3 Folder 8-11 Drafts and notes


Box 3 Folder 12 Highlights of Ameican Imapct on Russia (for a journal)


Box 3 Folder 13 Reviews


Box 3 Folder 14 Various



Box 5 Folder 2 Democracy as a regulative idea and as an established regime: the democratic tradition in Russia and Germany (reprint), 1947


Development of Soviet foreign policy in Europe, 1917-1942: a selection of documents (New York, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Division of Intercourse and Education), 1943



Box 4 Folder 2-4 Germany and Russia, 1940s-1950s, undated

(notes and research materials, including clippings and publications)


Box 4 Folder 5-6 Hebrew Roots of International Law, undated

(typescript, manuscript, notes, drafts)



Box Unknown Folder Unknown John Selden and the Commandments to International Law: see Hebrew Roots of International Law, undated



Box 4 Folder 7-14 Law, Ethics and Politics (alternative title - Law and Politics in the Making), 1946-1947

(typescripts, manuscripts, notes, drafts, research and reference materials)



Box 5 Folder 1-6 Law, Ethics and Politics (cont.), undated


Box 5 Folder 7 Memorandum on Unexplained Absence in Latvian Law, undated

(typescript, notes)


Box 5 Folder 8 On the Making of the Constitution of Israel, 1950

(includes Laserson's biographical note)


Box 5 Folder 9 On the Mandate of Palestine, [1948]


Box 5 Folder 10 On Universal and Regional Federalism (reprint), 1940a


Box 5 Folder 11 Political history of Latvian Jewry (1918-1934), undated


Box 5 Folder Unknown Reflection on the Israeli Consitution, undated



Box 4 Folder 8 Rights, Righthandedness, and Uprightness (reprint), undated



Box 5 Folder 13 Russische Rechtsphilosophie (Berlin-Grunewald: Rothschild), 1933



Box 6 Folder 1 Spinoza, undated


Box 6 Folder 2 Staat, souveranitat und minoritat (Riga, Berlin: Bernhard Lamey Verlag), 1927


Box 6 Folder 3 Work of Leon Petrazhitskii: inquiry into the psychological aspects of the nature of law (reprint), 1951



Box 1 Folder 26 Zur Lage der Jud. Mindarheit in Lettland (Addendum re: Jewish minority in Latvia. See Correspondence with Organizations, box 1, folder 26), undated


Subseries II.2: Loose Notes and Drafts, 1946-1950, undated

(Fragments, loose pages, notes, notebooks, research and reference materials on various subjects including law, social philosophy, politics and others. Related to his writings and university courses)



Box 6 Folder 4-7 Fragments, loose pages, undated


Box 6 Folder 8-11 Notebooks, 1946-1950

(Latvijas parlament un Zidivinos; Soviet [legal and] social philosophy; untitled)


Subseries II.3: Lectures, Talks, Reports, 1919, undated

(In alphabetical order)


Box 6 Folder 12 On Soviet foreign policy (lecture), undated


Box 6 Folder 13 Reports on Latvia and Estonia (in relation to minority rights), undated


Box 6 Folder 14 Sushchnost' i razvitie estestvennogo prava (talk abstract and notes), 1919


Subseries II.4: Diary


Box 6 Folder 15 Personal entry, [1931]


Subseries II.5: Bibliography of Works of Max Laserson


Box 6 Folder 16 Bibliography of chief works and scholarly articles, 1947, undated

Series III: Teaching at Columbia University, 1945-1951, undated

The series consists of course proposals, internal correspondence and documents.



Box 7 Folder 1 Course proposals and syllabus, 1949-1950, undated


Box 7 Folder 2 Internal correspondence and documents, 1948-1949, undated


Box 7 Folder 3 Student papers and employment, 1945-1951, undated


Box 7 Folder 4 Notes, undated

Series IV: Documents, 1942, 1947, undated


Box 7 Folder 5 Laserson's application for Guggenheim Memoria Foundation project "Toward Justice: a Legal and Political Philosophy", 1947

(contains biographical information)


Box 7 Folder 6 Reports and announcements, 1942

(Laserson's report and American Jewish Congress announcement)


Box 7 Folder 7 Letterheads, undated

Series V: Photographs and Postcards, 1900, undated


Box 7 Folder 8 Max Laserson, 1900


Box 7 Folder 8 Tel Aviv, undated

Series VI: Research and Reference Materials, 1932-1951, undated

The series comprises reprints, clippings, newspapers with materials on subjects related to Laserson's writings and teaching.


Box 7 Folder 9 Library book requests (call slips), undated


Box 7 Folder 10 Clippings and publications, 1932-1951



Flat Box 8 Folder 1-3 Oversize clippings and newspapers, 1935-1951