Series 7: Miscellaneous (M), 1810, 1844-1939

Personal matters and family correspondence are the subject of our seventh series, Miscellaneous (M). Here can be found Brandeis' early letters to his parents, Frederika and Adolph Brandeis; a few letters written to his wife, Alice Goldmark Brandeis; Dembitz/Brandeis family correspondence, the earliest dated 1810; a quantity of letters to his brother Alfred; and an exchange of letters with his niece, Fanny Brandeis of Louisville, who guided his University of Louisville projects. Some of the family correspondence was written in German and remains untranslated. There are also many birthday letters, telegrams, and cards. All of the letters have been filmed, but only every fifth routine card and telegram was filmed. Additional correspondence with officials of the University of Louisville and with the National Home Library Foundation on the reissue of Brandeis' book, The Curse of Bigness, are also found.

Several groups of letters that were added to the collection after 1941 have been interfiled. In these instances cover letters remain in place and have also been filmed. Included in this category are notes on some family correspondence, probably written by Pauline Goldmark, in answer to A. T. Mason's request for translations. Typescript copies of all or parts of some letters, Louis D. Brandeis to Alfred Brandeis, had previously been made. When available, they were filmed immediately following the letter.

Reel 111 Miscellaneous 1810, 1844-1908

Series 7, Miscellaneous (M) begins on this reel, with family correspondence: letters between Brandeis and his parents, his sister Amy, brothers-in-law Otto Wehle and Charles Nagel, and brother Alfred. Also found is early Dembitz/Brandeis family correspondence, to which Pauline Goldmark had added some notes at the request of Brandeis biographer A. T. Mason (Boxes M 1, 2-1/4e)

Reel 112 Miscellaneous 1879-1927, 1932-1939

Correspondence between Louis Brandeis and Alfred Brandeis, including some xerox copies provided by the family, continues on reel 112. There is also correspondence with Samuel Warren, Brandeis' early law partner; letters to his daughter, Elizabeth Brandeis Raushenbush; additional letters to his parents and to his mother-in-law, Regina Wehle Goldmark; and miscellaneous correspondence from such people as Felix Frankfurter, Learned Hand, Harold Laski, Charles Evans Hughes, William Howard Taft, and Herbert White. The reel ends with further correspondence to his brother, Alfred, which includes letters to cousins Fred, Stella, and Emily Dembitz, enlisting their support for his University of Louisville projects. (Boxes M 2-4e/8, 3, 4-1/4f)

Reel 113 Miscellaneous 1922-1935

Reel 113 continues correspondence from Brandeis to his brother, Alfred, and begins a series of letters to his niece, Fanny Brandeis, who assumed the oversight of Brandeis's projects for the University of Louisville when her father, Alfred's, health began to decline. There are also letters to Rabbi Joseph Rauch of Louisville, discussing plans for the University of Louisville library. Correspondence with Vanguard Press and author Alfred Lief about a proposed collection of Brandeis' Supreme Court opinions, The Social and Economic Views of Mr. Justice Brandeis; and letters, telegrams, and cards sent to the Justice on the occasion of his 75th birthday (every 5th card and telegram was filmed) are also found. The reel ends with correspondence from the National Home Library Foundation (Mrs. Brandeis served on its "Committee on Rural Education") discussing the foundation's current plans and future projects. (Boxes M 4-4g/6, 5, 6-1/3a)

Reel 114 Miscellaneous 1932-1937

Correspondence with the National Home Library Foundation continues on reel 114, and includes copies of scripts for a radio broadcast, "An American Fireside," sponsored by the foundation, hosted by Norman Hapgood, and aired in January and February, 1935. Greetings for Brandeis' 77th, 78th, and 80th birthdays, with all letters filmed and every fifth telegram and card sampled (see reels 111 and 113) is also found. There is also correspondence with his sister-in-law, Josephine Goldmark on her book, Democracy in Denmark, and correspondence with Clarence M. Lewis and Osmond K. Fraenkel on the reissue of Brandeis' book The Curse of Bigness. (Boxes M 6-3b/3c, 7, 8)

Reel 115 Miscellaneous 1936-1937

Reel 115 contains birthday greetings received for Brandeis' 80th birthday, November 13, 1936. Among the well-wishers are Edward A. Filene, Arthur Dembitz, Louis Jaffe, Gifford Pinchot, Rose Jacobs, and William Sutherland. Also found on this reel is incoming miscellaneous correspondence for 1937, with comments on current events and requests to visit Brandeis. Correspondents here include William P. Hapgood, David Sarnoff, William Z. Ripley, Dean Acheson, Jack Gilbert, Fola LaFollette, William H. Ingersoll, and Representative Ewing C. Sadler of Oklahoma. The reel ends with 81st birthday greetings. (Boxes M 9, 11, 12-1a/1b)

There is no box M 10.

Reel 116 Miscellaneous 1924-1938

Greetings to Brandeis on his 81st birthday continue on reel 116. Correspondence from Sherman F. Mittell, detailing publishing plans of the National Home Library Foundation, is also found, as are 82nd birthday wishes. Greeters include Samuel Boorstin, Josephus Daniels, William H. Ingersoll, Willard Hurst, Ewing C. Sadler, and Richard Neuberger. The remainder of the reel contains documentation of Brandeis' interest in the University of Louisville. This includes Robert Miller's December 7, 1929 memo to Dr. Raymond Kent, President of the University, outlining Brandeis' interest in and gifts to the University School of Law. In addition, correspondents include Alfred Brandeis, Neville Miller, Fanny Brandeis, Raymond A. Kent, Joseph A. McClain, Bernard Flexner, and Hattie Bishop Speed. (Boxes M 12-1c/2, 13, 14, 15-1a/1h)

Reel 117 Miscellaneous 1881-1939

Reel 117 continues correspondence from University of Louisville officials on activities at the school. There are also letters in which Brandeis supports Charles Tachau's project to develop a collection for the university library, as well as incoming correspondence with his niece, Fanny Brandeis, who oversaw all of the library projects for the Justice. Additional correspondents include another niece, Adele Brandeis, and other Louisvillians Evelyn J. Schneider, Raymond A. Kent, Ernest C. Hassold, and Hattie Bishop Speed. The reel ends with miscellaneous letters from notables Albert B. Otis, James B. Thayer, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., Norman Hapgood, Mahlon Pitney, William Howard Taft, William G. McAdoo, Phillip F. LaFollette, Julian W. Mack, John M. Keynes, Hugh Johnson, Charles Evans Hughes, and Woodrow Wilson. (Boxes M 15-1i/2, 16, 17-1/3)

Reel 118 Miscellaneous 1881-1939, 1956, 1959

Reel 118 continues letters of congratulations from notable persons on the occasion of the Justice's 80th birthday in 1936. Also found is correspondence written in 1939 following Brandeis' announcement of his retirement from the Court, as well as Brandeis letters to the Palestine Economic Corporation, 1925-1938 and to Bernard Flexner, 1927-1939. Correspondents of note include Henry Ford, Albert Einstein, Franklin D. Roosevelt, David Ben-Gurion, Ernest Gruening, Julian W. Mack, Robert W. Woolley, Harold Laski, David E. Lilienthal, Frank Murphy, Harold Ickes, William O. Douglas, and Charles Poletti. Series 7 ends with facsimile copies of Brandeis correspondence to Harold Laski, 1917-1933. These were sent to the University of Louisville by the Yale Law Library in 1956 and incorporated into the collection. Their cover letter has been filmed. (Boxes M 17-4/5, 18)