Heinrich A. Rattermann Collection of German-American Manuscripts
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GUIDE TO THE HEINRICH A. RATTERMANN COLLECTION OF GERMAN-AMERICAN MANUSCRIPTS Robert B. Downs Publication Fund No. 4 LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAICN Coll. C CL 017.143 ISL6g cop. 3 RARE BOOK ROOM GUIDE TO THE HEINRICH A. RATTERMANN COLLECTION OF GERMAN-AMERICAN MANUSCRIPTS by Donna-Christine Sell and Dennis Francis Walle Robert B. Downs Publication Fund No. 4 A joint publication of the University of Illinois Library and the Graduate School of Library Science Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Illinois. University at Urbana-Champaign. Library. Guide to the Heinrich A. Rattermann collection of German-American manuscripts. (Robert B. Downs Publication Fund ; no. 4) 1. Rattermann, Heinrich Armin, 1832-1923--Manu- scripts--Catalogs. 2. German Americans--History-- Sources--Bibliography--Catalogs. 3. German Americans- History--Manuscripts--Catalogs. 4. Illinois. Univer- sity at Urbana-Champaign. Library--Manuscripts-- Catalogs. I. Sell, Donna-Christine. II. Walle, Dennis F., 1938- III. Title. IV. Series: Robert B. Downs Publication Fund series ; no. 4. Z6616.R334I44 1979 (PT3919.R25J 017'. Is (338] ISBN 0-87845-052-1 79-16018 1979 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois Coll. a. /?/ TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE v HEINRICH A. RATTERMANN 1 THE HISTORY AND CONTENT OF THE RATTERMANN COLLECTION 19 PART I: THE PAPERS OF HEINRICH A. RATTERMANN 25 Organization Statement Correspondence Incoming Correspondence (R.I) Outgoing Correspondence (R.2) Third Party and Family Correspondence (R.3) Literary Works : Addresses and Essays (R.4) Biographical Sketches (R.5) Poetry (R.6) Galley Proof Sheets (R.7) Bound Miscellaneous Transcriptions and Literary Works; Catalogs (R.8) Copies of Historical Documents and Literary Works (R.9) Lists and Notes (R.10) Music Related Materials (R.ll) Legal and Business Papers (R. 12) Newspaper Clippings and Miscellaneous Printed Matter (R. 13) Pictorial and Graphic Documents (R.14) PART II: WORKS SUBMITTED TO HEINRICH A. RATTERMANN (SI - S57) 101 Organization Statement Works Submitted PART III: THE ADDITIONAL COLLECTIONS (Al - A52) Ill Organization Statement Collections PART IV: PAMPHLETS AND NEWSPAPERS 163 Organization Statement Publications of American Organizations (P.I) Publications of American National Organizations (P. 2) American Newspapers and Periodicals (P. 3) Foreign Newspapers and Publications (P. 4) Miscellaneous Publications (P. 5) ADDENDA 173 INDEX 179 iii PREFACE The University of Illinois Library purchased the Heinrich A. Rattermann collection of German-Americana in 1915. The Illinois Historical Survey Library archivally organized the manuscript materials in 1973. This guide is a direct outcome of that organization. It is the hope of the authors that this work will significantly aid the evaluation of the German impact on America and the study of American ethnic history. The Heinrich A. Rattermann Collection contains four groups of material: Rattermann's own papers, the works submitted to him for publication or comment, the separate or additional collections that Rattermann acquired, and the pub- lished materials in the collection. Because of the collection's diversity, the organization of the guide is controlled by a numbering system. A descrip- tion of each of the four groups precedes each section. Locating and assembling the manuscripts in the collection, determining the organization and the form of description, and the basic sorting of most of the collection were primarily the work of this writer. Mrs. Donna-Christine Sell provided invaluable and necessary expertise with the German language, German -American literature, and German script. Besides translating and helping to identify the papers in the collection, she assisted extensively in the final sorting and compiled the lengthy lists of Rattermann's correspondence. Without her work and analysis, this publication could never have been accomplished. The writing of this guide was shared by both authors. The authors are indebted to numerous members of the staff of the Univer- sity of Illinois Library and University Archives who assisted this publication. Several were particularly helpful in identifying Rattermann manuscripts and approving or aiding their transfer to the Illinois Historical Survey Library. These individuals include: Jean Seyfarth, Circulation Librarian; Stella Mos- borg, Assistant Stacks Librarian; Maynard Brichford, University Archivist; and especially N. Frederick Nash, Librarian of the Rare Book Room, and Mary Ceibert and Louise Fitton of the Rare Book Room staff. Mr. Nash generously approved the transfer of the largest group of Rattermann manuscripts to the Illinois Historical Survey Library. The authors also wish to express their appreciation to Robert M. Sutton, Professor of History and Director of the Illinois Historical Survey Library, for approving the transfer of manuscripts into the Survey Library and for his for- bearance during this time-consuming project. In addition, we thank Rainer Sell, Assistant Professor of German at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, who acted as consultant on German civilization and culture, for his valuable assistance in identifying several very difficult items. Scott Bennett, Editor of the Downs Publication Fund series, offered many useful suggestions. Dr. Robert E. Ward, Editor, Journal of German-American Studies, and Frederic C. Jaher, Professor of History at the University of Illinois, critically read the manuscript and recommended a number of improvements; we are grateful for their assistance. In addition, we would like to express our thanks to Clayton Gray of the Department of Germanic Languages and Literature at the University of Illinois, and Nancy McGlathery for aiding in the identification of several Dutch manu- scripts. Finally, we are deeply indebted to the Robert B. Downs Publication Fund Editorial Board for approving this publication. Dennis F. Walle VI HEINRICH A. RATTERMANN Today, the study of German-American history and literature is inconceiv- able without the major scholarly and editorial work of Heinrich Armin Ratter- mann (1832-1923). He devoted his life and energies to the history of German- Americans, particularly those in the Midwest. The central role he played in nineteenth-century German-American cultural affairs may be measured by the quality and diversity of his friendships, by the number of local and nation- al affiliations he maintained, and by his literary activities. Rattermann, the editor and journalist, was also an historian of merit, an author and po- et, the founder of a prosperous insurance company, and a prominent figure in Cincinnati's civic and cultural affairs. In a land that Rattermann considered "most prominently the Country of Autodidacts and self-made men,' he pursued the life of a self-taught man of the mind rather than that of a self-made man of property. His position as Secretary of the German Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Cincinnati from 1858 to 1923 provided him with moderate wealth, which he spent primarily on German-American research, valuable books, and the costly publication of two journals and his own works. Material gain for its own sake, the obsession with money, was one of the prime targets of his frequent invectives against Anglo-American culture. Idealism, nurtured by German classical literature and bound to clash with the pragmatic American approach to life, defines Rattermann 's attitude toward art, poetry, history, politics, and his editorial activities. He had no understanding for the contemporary movement of Naturalism in France and Germany, whose authors he denounced as dungbeetles, and their products as filth. 3 in politics, he supported the movements against temperance, slavery, corruption in government, and against religious interference with public ed- ucation. But he showed no tolerance for the political maneuvering required to realize such goals. Compromises were difficult for this idealistic, stub- born, and occasionally self-righteous man. Disagreement with members of the "Mannerchor" caused Rattermann to leave that group and co-found the rival "Orpheus" society. When the majority of the members of "Der deutsche Pio- nier-Verein von Cincinnati" (The German Pioneer Society of Cincinnati) be- came unwilling to support the financially ailing Per Deutsche Pionier (The German Pioneer), for which Rattermann was both editor and chief contributor, Rattermann left rather than see his achievement compromised. Culturally, Rattermann remained rather a stranger in the land to which his father had moved. He had a nostalgic and idealized view of German life and culture, which was heightened by the most powerful motive in his life and work: championing the German contribution to the development of America that had largely been ignored by writers of American history. This motive led to some of the most valuable work in German-American history. By the same token it was the source of a deplorable cultural chauvinism, which mars some of Rattermann's writings and makes him blind to Anglo-American achieve- ments. Although we can assume the promise of a more prosperous existence among relatives already settled in America as a major reason, Rattermann does not give any specific explanation for his father's decision to emigrate to Amer- ica in 1846. Nor does he comment on his personal feelings about emigrating. ^ Rattermann left Germany at the age of 14, at the end of his formal education, when his thirst for knowledge and interest in literature and the arts had reached a first peak. His