José María Castañé collection of Sir Arthur "Bomber" Harris correspondence
Overview
Correspondence between Sir Arthur "Bomber" Harris and Robert Wright.
Dates
- Creation: 1972-1980
Language of Materials
Collection materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Extent
.3 linear feet (1 box)Consists of 72 letters exchanged between Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur Harris and military historian Robert Wright (b. 1912) regarding the former's role in the Allied air campaign to defeat the Axis powers. An RAF serviceman himself during the Second World War, Wright was concerned with justifying Harris's controversial strategy of area bombing, in which civilians and non-military targets were included, as a component of the policy of "total war" waged by Britain against Nazi Germany.
NB: Harris's letters are signed autograph originals; Wright's are a mix of signed autograph originals and carbon copies.
Biographical / Historical
José María Castañé is a Spanish businessman and patron of the arts. His collection of artifacts and documents relating to the major conflicts of the 20th century, of which Sir Arthur Harris's correspondence forms one part, was compiled over some 25 years. A substantial portion of the Castañé Collection was donated to Harvard University’s Houghton Library in 2015.
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically.
Other Finding Aids
An inventory of the collection in Spanish, compiled by Castañé, is extant in both paper and electronic form. Please consult Houghton Library reference staff to access this material.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
2014M-120. Gift of José María Castañé and the Fundación José María Castañé, 2015.
Processing Information
Processed by Michael Austin, 2017.
Source
- Castañé, José María (Person)
- Title
- Castañé, José María, collector. José María Castañé collection of Sir Arthur "Bomber" Harris correspondence, 1972-1980 (MS Eng 1813): Guide.
- Status
- completed
- Author
- Michael Austin
- Date
- 2017 September 7
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hou02837
Repository Details
Part of the Houghton Library Repository
Houghton Library is Harvard College's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, archives, and more. Houghton Library's collections represent the scope of human experience from ancient Egypt to twenty-first century Cambridge. With strengths primarily in North American and European history, literature, and culture, collections range in media from printed books and handwritten manuscripts to maps, drawings and paintings, prints, posters, photographs, film and audio recordings, and digital media, as well as costumes, theater props, and a wide range of other objects. Houghton Library has historically focused on collecting the written record of European and Eurocentric North American culture, yet it holds a large and diverse number of primary sources valuable for research on the languages, culture and history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.
Houghton Library’s Reading Room is free and open to all who wish to use the library’s collections.
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