Leser, Paul; Papers ger058 This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on March 01, 2021. M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections & Archives Leser, Paul; Papers ger058 Table of Contents Summary Information .................................................................................................................................... 3 Biographical Sketch ....................................................................................................................................... 3 Scope and Contents ........................................................................................................................................ 6 Arrangement of the Collection ...................................................................................................................... 7 Administrative Information ............................................................................................................................ 7 Controlled Access Headings .......................................................................................................................... 8 Collection Inventory ....................................................................................................................................... 9 Series 1 - Biographical materials, documents ............................................................................................ 9 Series 2 - Diaries, notebooks, account books, address books .................................................................. 19 Series 3 - Family and legal correspondence ............................................................................................. 27 Series 4 - Maria (Mira) and Heinrich (Heinz) Lingemann Collection ..................................................... 45 Series 5 - General Correspondence ........................................................................................................... 82 Series 6 - Correspondence with institutions, associations, publishers, etc. ............................................ 216 Series 7 - Writings of Paul Leser ........................................................................................................... 268 Series 8 - Fritz Graebner Collection ....................................................................................................... 289 Series 9 - Julius Lips Collection ............................................................................................................. 297 Series 10 - Jugendbewegung Collection ................................................................................................. 309 Series 11 - Course (teaching) materials .................................................................................................. 316 Series 12 - Notes on various topics, notebooks ...................................................................................... 322 Series 13 - Photographs, negatives, slides .............................................................................................. 327 Series 14 - Manuscripts, reprints and publications by other authors ...................................................... 330 Series 15 - Pamphlets .............................................................................................................................. 400 Series 16 - Hartford Seminary Foundation materials ............................................................................. 408 Series 17 - Student records/papers .......................................................................................................... 415 Series 18 - Clippings on individuals ....................................................................................................... 460 Series 19 - Materials on various subjects ............................................................................................... 469 Series 20 - Miscellaneous memorabilia .................................................................................................. 484 Series 21 - Periodicals ............................................................................................................................. 485 - Page 2 - Leser, Paul; Papers ger058 Summary Information Repository: M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections & Archives Title: Paul Leser Papers ID: ger058 Date [inclusive]: 1850-1984 Physical Description: 95 cubic ft. Physical Location: The materials are located onsite in the department. Language of the English , German . Material: Abstract: The Paul Leser Papers document not only the life and career of anthropologist Paul Leser, but also contain materials pertaining to Leser's sister, Maria Lingemann and her husband Heinrich Lingemann, and earlier members of the Leser family. Although the collection contains correspondence between Paul and his brother, Albert (Leser) Lestoque, a separate collection, the Albert (Leser) Lestoque Papers, held at the University at Albany's Department of Special Collections & Archives documents the life and career of Paul Leser's brother as well as providing additional Leser family documents and material. Preferred Citation Preferred citation for this material is as follows: Identification of specific item, series, box, folder, Paul Leser Papers 1850-1984. M. E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University at Albany, State University of New York (hereafter referred to as the Leser Papers). ^ Return to Table of Contents Biographical Sketch Paul Leser was born on February 23, 1899 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, the youngest of Wilhelm and Helene (Rikoff) Leser's three children. He attended schools in Frankfurt and was graduated from the Goethe Gymnasium in 1917 with his Abitur. That year, Leser was inducted into the German Army and served in World War I; he later became ill and recuperated in the Army Hospital. During his - Page 3- Leser, Paul; Papers ger058 hospitalization, he began taking classes at the University of Bonn. In 1919, he became a member of the Nerother-Bund, a part of the German youth movement which was founded by the brothers Karl and Robert Oelbermann. Also in that year, he returned to the University of Bonn to study under his mentor Fritz Graebner, one of the principal exponents of the cultural-historical approach to ethnology. He graduated from the University of Bonn with his Ph.D. in 1925. Leser held positions at the Frankfurter Bund für Volksbildung and at the Ethnological Museum in Frankfurt before becoming a Privatdozent for Ethnology at the Darmstadt Institute of Technology. During this time period he became involved in the case against Dr. Julius Lips of the Raustenstrauch- Joest Museum, who was accused by Leser and others of plagiarizing from the works of Graebner, Schmidt, and Koppers. The case dragged on until 1933, when many of the participants were removed from their positions by the Nazis. Though the case took up much of his time in the early 1930's, his main interest was his own work on the history of the plow. In 1931, his most renowned work Entstehunq und Verbreitung des Pfluges was published (it was eventually reprinted in Denmark in 1971). In 1936, because of the increasingly hostile political climate in Germany, Leser was forced to immigrate to Sweden. He took a position as translator for Folk-Liv in Stockholm. In 1941, he immigrated to the United States. Leser served in the United States Army in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy from 1942-1945. After the war, and a brief stint as a civilian employee at the U.S. War Department, Leser returned to the world of academia. Beginning in 1947, he held positions as Professor of Anthropology at Olivet College in Michigan, Black Mountain College in North Carolina, and The Hartford Seminary Foundation in Connecticut. In 1967, he retired from his teaching position at the Hartford Seminary and became an Emeritus member of the faculty. At the time of his death in December of 1984, Leser was a Research Professor of Anthropology at the University of Hartford. Leser died in Hartford at the age of 85 and was buried in the family plot in a cemetery in Frankfurt am Main. Chronology of Events 1899 February 23, born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany to Wilhelm and Helene (Rikoff) Leser. 1908-1917 Attended Goethe Gymnasium in Frankfurt 1917-1919 Served in the German Army 1917-1918 Attended the University of Bonn while in Army Hospital 1919-1924 Attended the University of Frankfurt and the University of Bonn 1919-1936 Member of the Nerother Wandervogel 1925 Graduated with Ph.D. from University of Bonn - Page 4- Leser, Paul; Papers ger058 1924-1933 Lecturer in Ethnology, Frankfurter Bund für Volksbildung 1928-1933 Junior Assistant Curator, Ethnological Museum, Frankfurt am Main 1929-1933 Privatdozent for Ethnology, Darmstadt Institute of Technology 1931 Publication of major work Entstehung und Verbreitung des Pfluges 1936 Immigrated to Sweden 1937-1941 Translator for Folk-Liv, Stockholm, Sweden 1941 Immigrated to the United States 1942-1945 Served in U.S. Army in N. Africa, Sicily, and Italy 1945-1947 Civilian employee, U.S. War Dept. 1947-1949 Professor of Anthropology, Olivet College, Olivet, Michigan 1949-1951 Professor of Anthropology, Black Mountain College, Black Mountain, North Carolina. 1951-1952 Assistant Professor of Anthropology, The Hartford Seminary Foundation, Hartford, CT 1952-1967 Professor of Anthropology, The Hartford Seminary Foundation 1957 Visiting Professor of Anthropology, New School for Social Research,