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Harry W. Selden right wing materials collection

 Collection
Call Number: MS 2069

Scope and Contents

The collection comprises pamphlets, newsletters, and other materials collected by Harry W. Selden and concerning conservative and right-wing politics and activism from the 1950s to the 1980s. Materials include newsletters, pamphlets, mass mailings, flyers, press clippings and photocopies, correspondence, and other printed and published materials. The material covers a wide range of topics, including the United Nations, disarmament, anti-communism, and Republican and conservative politics, and represents a large number of right-wing organizations. The collection also includes pamphlets and flyers for political candidates, primarily Republicans, along with a small number of newsletters and pamphlets from left-wing organizations. Some materials have handwritten notes and underlining by an unidentified author, possibly Selden. The collection also includes a partial inventory, possibly prepared in the 2010s.

Dates

  • 1952-circa 2010s

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The materials are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright status for collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Transferred from the Kaplanoff Librarian for American History, 2016

Arrangement

The papers are arranged in five series: I. Pamphlets, newsletters, and other materials, circa 1950s-circa 1980s. II. Subject files, circa 1950s-circa 1980s. III. Correspondence, 1968-1969. IV. News clippings and reprints, 1959-1975. V. Ephemera, circa 1960s-circa 2010s.

Extent

2.83 Linear Feet (3 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Catalog Record

A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog

Persistent URL

https://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/mssa.ms.2069

Abstract

The collection comprises pamphlets, newsletters, and other materials collected by Harry W. Selden and concerning conservative and right-wing politics and activism from the 1950s to the 1980s. Materials include newsletters, pamphlets, mass mailings, flyers, press clippings and photocopies, correspondence, and other printed and published materials. The material covers a wide range of topics, including the United Nations, disarmament, anti-communism, and Republican and conservative politics, and represents a large number of right-wing organizations. The collection also includes pamphlets and flyers for political candidates, primarily Republicans, along with a small number of newsletters and pamphlets from left-wing organizations. Some materials have handwritten notes and underlining by an unidentified author, possibly Selden. The collection also includes a partial inventory, possibly prepared in the 2010s.

Biographical / Historical

Harry Wythe Selden (1915-2003) was a Virginia farmer and John Birch Society member. Selden was born in Virginia on December 21, 1915 and worked on his family's dairy farm in Mathews County, Virginia (near Hampton) until 1947, when he moved to the Mechanicsville, Virginia area to farm. He returned to Hampton in 1991. Selden was a lifetime member of the John Birch Society and served as its state coordinator and official spokesman. He was a frequent writer of letters to newspaper editorial pages and an active teacher and officer in local churches. Selden married twice and had two daughters and four step-children. He died in 2003.

Title
Guide to the Harry W. Selden Right Wing Materials Collection
Status
In Progress
Author
compiled by Eric Sonnenberg
Date
February 2017
Description rules
Finding Aid Created In Accordance With Manuscripts And Archives Processing Manual
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Part of the Manuscripts and Archives Repository

Contact:
Yale University Library
P.O. Box 208240
New Haven CT 06520-8240 US
(203) 432-1735
(203) 432-7441 (Fax)

Location

Sterling Memorial Library
Room 147
120 High Street
New Haven, CT 06511

Opening Hours