William A. Gilbert Papers

Collection

Identifier: MC 190

Staff Only
Select files to request

Scope and Content Note

The William Gilbert papers consist of correspondence, business records, newspapers, pamphlets, tracts, brochures, amd microfilm reflecting his wide range of interests including socialism, mysticism, pacifism, and the American Legion. The bulk of the papers are printed materials, and those which form an integral part of the collection have been retained.

Dates

1923-1969

Creator

Gilbert, William A., 1892-1976 (Person)

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Access Information

Please call (479) 575-8444 or email specoll@uark.edu at least two weeks in advance of your arrival to ensure availability of the materials.

Use Information

No Use Restrictions Apply.

No Interlibrary Loan.

Standard Federal Copyright Laws Apply (U.S. Title 17).

Biographical Note

William A. Gilbert (1892-1976) was a socialist activist and community leader who settled in Ink, Arkansas, in 1924. Originally a member of the Newllano cooperative colony in Louisiana, Gilbert joined with a group of secessionists who wished to establish Commonwealth Community near Mena, Arkansas. Gilbert and his wife, Viola, started a small machine shop business at Ink and continued their interest in socialist causes throughout the decades following 1924. William wrote a number of articles for socialist periodicals and ran for state representative of Polk County in 1934.

Extent

1.5 Linear Feet (5 boxes)

Additional Description

Arrangement of the Papers

The collection has been divided into 17 series:

Correspondence, 1923-1969
Manuscript essays and articles, 1923-1969
Autobiographical materials, 1949-1976
Business papers, 1928-1943
Photographs, ca. 1920-1950s
Materials pertaining to the Newllano Cooperative Colony and the Commonwealth Cooperative Colony, n.d.
Materials pertaining to Commonwealth College, Newllano, Louisiana and Mena, Arkansas, n.d.
Socialist Party materials, n.d.
Communist Party materials, 1939-1940
Southern Tenant Farmer's Union materials, n.d.
War resistance materials, 1939-1940
Utopian movement materials, ca. 1930s
Religious and health materials, n.d.
Miscellaneous labor movement materials, n.d.
Miscellaneous advertising materials, ca. 1930s
Political campaign materials, ca. 1930s
Microfilm, undated

Series 8 is divided into two subseries:

National Socialist Party
Arkansas Socialist Party

Acquisition Information

The William A. Gilbert papers were donated to Special Collections on December 7, 1973, by William and Viola Gilbert of Ink, Arkansas.

Materials Cataloged Separately

Newllano, Louisiana, and Arkansas newspapers, along with certain pamphlets and broadsides published in Arkansas, have been removed from the collection to be cataloged elsewhere and these removals have been documented within the finding aid or by means of separation records within the collection itself.