Emanuel Celler Collection
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Guide to the Emanuel Celler Collection Brooklyn Public Library Grand Army Plaza Brooklyn, NY 11238 Contact: Brooklyn Collection Phone: 718.230.2762 Fax: 718.857.2245 Email: [email protected] www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org Finding aid prepared by Joy Holland Copyright © 2012 Brooklyn Public Library. All rights reserved. Descriptive Summary Creator: Emanuel Celler Title: The Emanuel Celler Collection Date Span: 1914-1981 Abstract: The collection consists of four series. Series I: Miscellaneous invitations, honors and other papers Series II: Speeches and other writings by Emanuel Celler Series III: Photographs, legislative bills and other memorabilia Series IV: Bronze bust of Emanuel Celler by Nathan Rapoport Quantity: 7 boxes, 14 unboxed framed items, and one bust Location: Morgue, Shelves 10.4, 10.5, 10.6 Repository: Brooklyn Public Library – Brooklyn Collection Reference Code: BC0212 Biographical History Emanuel Celler was born on May 6, 1888 in a frame house on Sumner Avenue near Floyd St in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the third of four children. His father owned a “whisky rectifying” business, but when it failed the elder Celler began working as a wine salesman. Emanuel graduated from Boys’ High School in 1906, and after his father’s death took over his wine route, while at the same time studying law at Columbia University. In 1914 he married Stella Baar. The couple had two daughters, one of whom suffered from cerebral palsy. Stella Baar Celler died in 1966. In 1922 Celler was asked if he would like to be the Democratic party’s nominee for Congress in the 10th District, which had thus far never sent a Democrat to Congress. Celler campaigned hard and won the election by just over 3,111 votes, remaining in Congress for fifty years until Elizabeth Holzman, 53 years his junior, beat him in the primary of 1972. Celler’s tenure in Congress endured through nine presidencies. An active and feisty legislator, he devoted himself to the struggle for civil rights legislation, helping to craft the landmark Civil Rights act of 1964. He was also particularly interested in antitrust laws and was a forceful voice in reforming exclusionary immigration laws. His battles on this front culminated in the Hart-Celler Law of 1965 which eliminated national origin as a basis for exclusion. During the 1940s he worked to allow victims of the Holocaust to enter the U.S., castigating as “cold and cruel” the immigration policy of the day. He was also a vocal opponent of McCarthysim. Celler served as Chair of the House Judiciary Committee from 1949 to 1973. A strong supporter of Israel, he was honored by several Jewish organizations, receiving an honorary doctorate from Yeshiva University. Brooklyn College also conferred upon him an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. In later years Celler lived at 9 Prospect Park West. After retiring from the House the former Congressman remained busy, speaking on the many issues that had occupied him through his years in Congress. He died at the age of 92 on January 15, 1981. Scope and Content The Emanuel Celler Collection consists of mementoes, awards and photographs documenting Celler’s fifty-year career in Congress. It contains invitations to events such as Presidential Inaugurations and White House dinners, speeches given at award ceremonies, and the awards themselves, many of which decorated the walls of Celler’s study. There are also two small notebooks containing jokes and aphorisms, presumably for use in writing speeches, as well as cartoons and newspaper articles that signal Celler’s importance in public life. The other significant components of the collection are a series of framed Public Laws passed by Congress and Constitutional Amendments, with which Celler was associated as principal author. The pen with which the President at the time signed the Act into law was framed alongside the act and presented to the author. The bulk of Emanuel Celler’s papers are located at the Library of Congress. A collection of photographs, many of them signed by the donors, document Celler’s warm relationships with prominent statesmen and lawmakers. A large bronze bust of Celler is by Nathan Rapoport, a sculptor well known for his various Holocaust memorials. Restrictions Access Restrictions Collection is located in the Brooklyn Collection at the Central Branch at Grand Army Plaza. The collection may only be used in the library and is not available through interlibrary loan. Requests to view the collection must be made at least 48 hours in advance of visit. Use Restrictions While many items in the Brooklyn Collection are unrestricted, we do not own reproduction rights to all materials. Be aware of the several kinds of rights that might apply: copyright, licensing and trademarks. The borrower assumes all responsibility for copyright questions. Guide to the Emanuel Celler Collection 2 of 8 Brooklyn Public Library – Brooklyn Collection Access Points Subject Topics: Celler, Emanuel 1888-1981 United States—Politics and government—20th century Legislators—New York (State) Presidents—United States—inauguration Antitrust law Civil Rights Federal Reserve banks Palestine Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous) 1913-1994—Impeachment Equal Rights Amendments Related Materials Emanuel Celler, You never leave Brooklyn. New York: John Day Co, 1953. Brooklyn Collection Ref B C3929 Oral history interview [transcription] with Emanuel Celler, Member of Congress from New York, 1923- 1973 recorded by Ronald J. Grele and Charles T Morrissey for Former members of Congress Inc as part of its project The Modern Congress in American History, April 3, 1978. Brooklyn Collection Ref B C3929 C Civil Rights in Brooklyn Collection. Brooklyn Collection, map room BBF file, Celler, Emanuel Brooklyn Daily Eagle morgue clippings Photographs: NEIG 1303, CLUB 0082, CLUB 0088, WORK 0781, PORT 0240 Administrative Information Provenance Gift of Mrs. Jane Wertheimer (daughter of Emanuel Celler) Preferred Citation This collection should be cited as the Emanuel Celler Collection, Brooklyn Public Library – Brooklyn Collection. Guide to the Emanuel Celler Collection 3 of 8 Brooklyn Public Library – Brooklyn Collection Arrangement The collection is arranged thematically into four series. A box listing that details the location of each item is at the end of this document. Series 1. Miscellaneous invitations, honors and other papers 1.1 Materials pertaining to the inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jan 20th 1945. Includes: invitation to inaugural dinner at Mayflower Hotel; dinner program and menu; seating list; 2 admission tickets numbered 311 and 312 to inaugural ceremonies; program of ceremonies attending the inauguration; invitation to White House luncheon after inaugural ceremonies; invitation to Democratic National Committee reception, Jan 19 1945 1.2 Materials pertaining to the inauguration of Harry Truman and Alben W. Barkley, Jan 20, 1949 1. Invitation to inaugural ceremony 2. Platform ticket 3. Inauguration ceremonies program 4. Registered card G1695 to inaugural dinner 5. Seating list, inaugural dinner at Mayflower Hotel 6. Program and menu, inaugural dinner 7. Program, inaugural ball 8. 2 tickets 5769 and 5770 to inaugural ball, Jan 20, 1949 9. Menu, inaugural dinner, National Truman Barkley Club, Jan 18, 1949 1.3 Invitation to the 1961 inauguration of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Baines Johnson (two copies. Includes ticket to President’s platform) 1.4 White House and other Invitations from 1930s and 1940s: 1. President and Mrs. Roosevelt, Jan 23, 1936 2. Tea with Mrs. Roosevelt Jan 17, 1938 3. President and Mrs. Roosevelt, reception Jun 12, 1937 4. President and Mrs. Roosevelt, reception Jan 31, 1935. Includes dried boutonniere 5. President and Mrs. Roosevelt, reception Jan 28, 1937 (includes ticket for display on car) 6. President and Mrs. Roosevelt, reception, Jan 18, 1938 7. Invitation to inauguration of Herbert H. Lehman at Governor of NY State, Jan 1, 1935 1.5 1. Namm Loeser’s certificate and photograph, Celler honored as “Brooklyn Personality of the Week,” Aug 5, 1953 2. Member of Congress Certificate of Service 1923-1973 3. Copy of marriage license certifying marriage on June 30, 1914 to Stella Baar. Dated 4/17/1964 5. Citation for outstanding contribution in field of government, Who’s Who in the East, Oct 25, 1965 6. Letter thanking Celler for creation of Judith Celler Shakespeare Scholarship at Brooklyn College, CUNY, March 28, 1971 7. Two tickets to dedication ceremony of Emanuel Celler Federal Building, Oct 26, 1973. 8. American Bar Association fifty years of membership certificate 9. Brookdale Hospital Center resolution to name a new staff residence the Stella Baar Celler Staff Residence. May 12, 1967 (11.5” x 15.5”) Guide to the Emanuel Celler Collection 4 of 8 Brooklyn Public Library – Brooklyn Collection 1.6 Commemorative Book II (there is no Book I) dated 1967 on spine, but contents are all dated 1972. Approx 80 letters of appreciation for Celler’s 50 years of service. Writers include Vernon Jordan (then Executive Director, national Urban League); Lord Janner, and many lawyers, businessmen and ordinary citizens. 1.7 Brooklyn College Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree, certificate, program of commencement exercises, correspondence and Celler’s remarks at the ceremony, June 5, 1973 1.8 1. Register of friends who called (probably to sit Shiva after Celler’s death.) Borough President Howard Golden is second in the list. 2. Congressional Record, Monday Feb 2, 1981. Contains tributes to Emanuel Celler pp. 307 ff. 3. Remarks of Judge Irving Ben Cooper at the Funeral Services for Congressman Emanuel Celler, New York City, January 18, 1981 (2 copies) 4. In Memoriam Emanuel Celler, January 23, 1981 Memorial Service remarks by Hugh Carey, Jacob Javits, Ed Koch and others. 1.9 Obituaries, 1981 1.10 Two academic hoods, one Doctor of Laws from Brooklyn College CUNY, the other possibly Yeshiva University (Doctor of Laws 1971) Series 2. Speeches and other writings by Emanuel Celler 2.1 1.