SERIES I: CORRESPONDENCE AND MANUSCRIPTS

The Philip I. and Muriel M. Berman Papers: Collection I contains records ranging in date from 1915 to 1999, the earliest dated item being apparently a letter from the painter Walter Elmer Schofield (Box 76 Folder 3). Most of the records belong to the period 1960-1997. Comprising a variety of formats, such as handwritten and typed correspondence, photographic prints, slide transparencies, books, posters, and miscellaneous printed ephemera, the Collection occupies some 132 linear feet. The Collection is organized into nine series, of which all but one are further subdivided into a total of 37 subseries. For each subseries, a detailed introduction is provided in this guide.

Format has determined the contents of some of the series, as for instance Series VI contains some 4,313 photographic prints, some 4,388 slide transparencies, and an assortment of motion picture films, video cassettes, and audio tapes. Series VII contains newspaper clippings and other miscellaneous printed items; Series VIII contains books, Series IX various oversize items. Other series are determined largely by subject, as for instance Series II contains the business records of Fleetways and of Hess's, Series III includes several files on areas of civic involvement, Series IV focuses on philanthropy, and Series V contains family memorabilia. Series I contains correspondence and manuscripts, subdivided by subject.

Pervading all the files, however, are two major themes: the passion for art, and the tireless support for Jewish causes, especially those sponsored by Hadassah. Thus in Series I, by far the largest component is Subseries F, the Art Correspondence, filling nearly 60 boxes. A staggering range of artists is represented here, and not only by letters but also by photographs, newspaper and magazine articles, catalogs of shows, invitations, and so on. Even so, this file is only a fraction of the material relating to art found throughout the Collection. Similarly there is in Series IV a subseries on Special Projects in Israel, another on the Jewish Studies Center, and yet another on the American Jewish Committee, yet records of support for Jewish causes are to be found throughout the entire Collection.

Highlights of the Collection are far too numerous to list here or even to suggest through a representative sample, but mention might be made of such items as the photographs of the Bermans presenting to Pope John Paul II the portrait bust by Celestino Giampaoli, the correspondence with Francoise Gilot, the letters from Sir Edmund Hilary, the photograph of Golda Meir inscribed to Philip Berman, the framed reproduction of Paul Gauguin's painting of which the original once hung in the Bermans' living room.

For researchers seeking the most basic facts, however, beyond this guide a good starting point may be Folder 15 of Box 195 containing the obituaries of Philip Berman.