Kurt Fisher Haitian collection

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Collection Data

Description: Kurt Fisher was an archaeologist and authority on Haitian history and culture whose life-long interest in collecting included these source materials relating to Haiti. The bulk of this collection consists of the archives of the General Prosecutor's office for the city of Jérémie.
Names: Fisher, Kurt A., 1908- (Collector); Boyer, Jean Pierre, 1776-1850 (Author); Douglass, Frederick, 1818-1895 (Author); Hyppolite, Louis Mondastin Florvil, 1827-1896 (Author); Rochambeau, Donatien Marie Joseph de Vimeur, vicomte de, 1750-1813 (Author); Trujillo Herrera, Rafael (Author)
Dates / Origin: Date Created: 1727 - 1958 (Approximate)
Library locations: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division; Shelf locator: Sc Micro R-2228
Topics: Belair, Charles, -1802; Boyer, Jean Pierre, 1776-1850; Douglass, Frederick, 1818-1895; Hyppolite, Louis Mondastin Florvil, 1827-1896; Leclerc, Charles, 1772-1802; Manigat, Leslie François; Rigaud, André, 1761-1811; Rochambeau, Donatien Marie Joseph de Vimeur, vicomte de, 1750-1813; Salomon, Louis Etienne Félicité Lysius, 1815-1888; Soulouque, Faustin, approximately 1788-1867; Toussaint Louverture, 1743-1803; Trujillo Herrera, Rafael; Courts -- Haiti; Criminal justice, Administration of -- Haiti; Diplomatic and consular service, Haitian -- Belgium; Diplomatic and consular service, Haitian -- Dominican Republic; Diplomatic and consular service, Haitian -- France; Diplomatic and consular service, Haitian -- Germany; Diplomatic and consular service, Haitian -- United States; Monarchy -- Haiti; Nationalism -- Haiti; Police -- Haiti; Real property -- Haiti; Self-determination, National -- Haiti; France -- Colonies -- America; France -- Foreign relations -- Haiti; Haiti -- Armed Forces; Haiti -- colonization; Haiti -- Commerce; Haiti -- Foreign relations -- France; Haiti -- Foreign relations -- United States; Haiti -- History; Haiti -- History; Haiti -- History -- Revolutions; Haiti -- Politics and government -- 1791-1804; Haiti -- Politics and government -- 1804-1844; Haiti -- Politics and government -- To 1791; Haiti -- Social conditions; Haiti -- Social life and customs; Jacmel (Haiti) -- Politics and government; Jérémie (Grand'Anse, Haiti) -- Politics and government; United States -- Foreign relations -- Haiti
Genres: Documents; Correspondence; Clippings; Deeds; Records (Documents)
Notes: Biographical/historical: Kurt Fisher, archaeologist and authority on Haitian history and culture, was born in Vienna in 1908 into a long established family of art collectors and antique dealers. While a student at the gymnasium, he became interested in West Indian history and wrote a thesis on Henry Christophe. After completing his studies in archaeology at the University of Vienna, he emigrated in 1938 to Haiti where he settled and pursued his studies in Precolumbian archaeology. From 1941 to 1949, Fisher was assistant director of the Bureau of Ethnology of Haiti. Married to a Haitian woman of social prominence, Fisher continued his life-long interest in collecting, bringing together a large and important collection of military miniatures as well as the source materials relating to Haiti, herein described.; Content: The bulk of the collection consists of the archives of the General Prosecutor's office for the city of Jérémie and encompasses registers and notarized acts from public notaries of Jérémie, historical letters and documents from the pre-independence era, records of the Foreign Relations Ministry from the late 1870s to 1950s, administrative records, governmental decrees and regulations, and newspapers. Records of the General Prosecutor's office and registers of the public notaries of the district and municipality of Jérémie document the administration of justice, trade, various social relations, and patterns of life under colonial rule and during the formative years after independence. Records consist primarily of correspondence between the General Prosecutor's office and the Civil Court of Judges in the district of Jérémie, financial reports, minutes of proceedings, police reports, and deeds of property. Historical documents from Toussaint Louverture, André Rigaud, Charles Belair, Charles Leclerc, and others. General correspondence, 1835-1957, including administrative correspondence of Lysius Félicité Salomon, Duke of Saint Louis de Sud and Finance Minister during the reign of Emperor Faustin Soulouque, 1847-1849; and diplomatic correspondence between General Francois Manigat, Haitian Ambassador to France and the Haitian Foreign Relations Minister, 1898; and letters of Toussaint Louverture. Government papers include Senate register for 1883-1884, financial records of the city of Jacmel, 1890-1891, and various documents from the Soulouque administration. Records of the Foreign Relations Ministry consist of letters, reports, and fact sheets dipatched from the Haitian legations in Washington, Santo Domingo, Paris, Berlin, and Brussels to the Ministry in Haiti, correspondence between foreign legations in Port-au-Prince and the Haitian Foreign Relations Ministry, presidential memoranda to the Foreign Relations Ministry, and ceremonial greetings from foreign heads of state to various Haitian presidents, 1870s-1930s. Also, governmental decrees and regulations, and administrative records consisting of certificates of diplomatic and military appointments and promotions. Printed matter includes copies of "Feuille du commerce de Port-au-Prince," "Le Phare, journal commercial, politique et literaire," and "Le Telegraphe," journals published in Haiti in the 1830s which provide a glimpse of the early economic life of the country. Additional printed material includes newspapers and circulars from the time of the United States occupation of Haiti, 1915-1925 and 1950.; Content: Throughout the finding aid, A.L.S. refers to "autographed letter signed".
Physical Description: Extent: 0.63 linear feet (10 reels, 1 oversize folder)
Type of Resource: Text
Identifiers: Other local Identifier: Sc Micro R-2228; NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b11903984; MSS Unit ID: 20798; Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 144eed30-442d-013c-6a51-0242ac110002