Dear Hmadness readers,

Our colleagues at Weill Cornell Medicine have informed us of a new collection of archives now preserved at the library of the DeWitt Wallace Institute of Psychiatry and available for research: the Harry Stack Sullivan papers. The collection comprises 18 linear feet of Sullivan’s lectures, writings, and notes, early materials from several psychiatric institutions, correspondence with notable figures from the 1930s and 1940s and the U.S. government, and over 1,000 rare “SoundScriber” audio discs, including lectures by Sullivan, Erich Fromm and more.

Here is the message they sent us:

“DeWitt Wallace Institute of Psychiatry Announces the Acquisition of the Harry Stack Sullivan Papers

Weill Cornell to Receive Lectures, Manuscripts, and Photographs from Renowned Psychiatrist

The DeWitt Wallace Institute’s Oskar Diethelm Library of Weill Cornell  Medicine has acquired the archive of the influential psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, Harry Stack Sullivan. Often credited with the founding of American social psychiatry as well as the Interpersonal School of Psychoanalysis, Sullivan is a foundational figure in 20^th century American mental health care, one of the founders of Washington School of Psychiatry in 1936 and the journal Psychiatry a year later, then the William Alanson White Institute. Previously, his papers had been preserved at the Washington School of Psychiatry since 1949.

The extensive collection includes approximately 18 linear feet of lectures, writings, and notes from Sullivan, in addition to early materials related to the William Alanson White Institute, Washington School of Psychiatry, and the Chestnut Hill Lodge Hospital. There is correspondence with eminent figures of the 1930s and 1940s, such as Adolph Meyer, William Alanson White, and Karen Horney, as well as with the United States government during its World War II efforts. Also of note, the collection includes over 1,000 exceedingly rare “SoundScriber” audio discs of not just Sullivan’s lectures, but others like Erich Fromm.

“We are deeply honored that the Washington School of Psychiatry chose the Oskar Diethelm Library and Weill Cornell Medicine to preserve and make available this priceless treasure-trove,” commented George Makari, M.D, Director of the DeWitt Wallace Institute of Psychiatry. “It is a great responsibility, but one we are eager to shoulder. This innovative thinker’s thought and work will be housed alongside the archives of his allies and opponents, as well as many of the critical institutions of his time.” 

The Sullivan collection is now open to scholars. For questions, the Oskar Diethelm’s Special Collections Librarian, Nicole Topich, can be reached at nrt4001@med.cornell.edu“.