The Library of Congress >  Researchers >  Search Finding Aids  >  Theodor Reik papers, 1905-1994
ContainerContents
BOX 1-3 Personal and Family Papers, 1908-1984
Correspondence, interviews, certificates, publishing contracts, royalty statements, reviews of Reik's books, publicity materials, a tribute on his seventieth birthday, brochures, programs, a photograph, postcards, and news clippings from the personal files of Reik as well as those of his son Arthur who served as Reik's literary agent and later as the literary executor for his estate. Most of the material in the series dates after Reik's immigration to the United States and, although not extensive, sheds light on Reik's contributions to the growing popularity of psychoanalysis in postwar America. A small general correspondence file focuses largely on Reik's research and writing and includes several letters from colleagues, among them psychoanalysts K. R. Eissler, Joost Abraham Maurits Meerloo, and Jule Nydes. Also included are letters, some with extensive commentary, from people who read Reik's books. Among these is a letter from novelist Herbert Gold on Psychology of Sex Relations which Gold read in 1945 while serving in the army at Camp Albert C. Ritchie, Maryland. Other correspondents include physicist Abraham Pais. Posthumous correspondence is addressed to Arthur Reik and includes condolence letters on Reik's death in 1969, letters from scholars about Reik's work, and correspondence about Arthur's interest in Gustav Mahler which he shared with his father. The reception of Reik's work can be traced through book contracts and correspondence with publishers, royalty statements, book reviews, and news articles about him.

Reik's life in Europe before his immigration is documented through certificates from his studies at the University of Vienna; newspaper articles, 1913-1938, about or referring to him; and later interviews with Reik in which he discussed his family and childhood, studies at the University of Vienna, relationship with Sigmund Freud, analysis with Karl Abraham, controversies surrounding lay analysis, his research and writing on psychoanalysis, and other aspects of his life and work. A small amount of family papers includes his first wife Eleanore Oratsch Reik's residential certificate in 1915, a copy of Arthur Reik's 1936 marriage certificate, and letters from Reik to his son in 1939-1941 urging his immigration to the United States from Palestine.
Arranged alphabetically by topic or type of material.
BOX 1 Audio recordings, information concerning, 1952, 1958
BOX 1 Books by Reik
BOX 1 Publicity and two dust jackets, 1935-1964
BOX 1 Reviews, 1919-1976
(2 folders)
BOX 1 Certificates
BOX 1 Reik, Arthur (son), marriage, 1936
BOX 1 Reik, Eleanore Oratsch (wife), residential and passport, 1915, 1930
BOX 1 Reik, Theodor
BOX 1 Honors, 1960-1968
BOX 1 New York State psychologist certificate, 1959 See Container OV 1, Certificate
BOX 1 University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, 1908-1912
BOX 1 Correspondence
BOX 1 General, 1935-1979, undated
(5 folders)
BOX 1 With publishers, including contracts, 1940-1965
(3 folders)
BOX 2 With publishers, including contracts, 1966-1984
(4 folders)
BOX 2 Executor of estate, release, 1972
BOX 2 Interviews with Reik by
BOX 2 Delafield, [?], 1945
BOX 2 Eissler, K. R., 1954
BOX 2 Freeman, Erika Padan, 1972
BOX 2 Swerdloff, Bluma, Columbia University, New York, N.Y., 1965-1966
BOX 2 Miscellany, 1932-1954
BOX 2 National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysts
BOX 2 General, 1952-1962, 1973
BOX 2 Theodor Reik Clinic for Mental Health and Research, New York, N.Y., 1955-1962
BOX 2 News clippings and other printed matter
BOX 2 Annotated by Reik, "Die Zukunfteiner Illusion," by Sigmund Freud, pp. 81-91, 1927
BOX 2 Mentioning Reik, 1913-1970
BOX 2 Saved by Reik, 1908-1930s
(2 folders)
BOX 3 Saved by Reik, 1940s-1962, undated
(3 folders)
BOX 3 Photograph of a woman and a man, undated
BOX 3 Postcards, ancient Egyptian and medieval European art, undated
BOX 3 Programs, miscellaneous, 1956-1977, 1968
BOX 3 Royalties
BOX 3 Notes, 1969-1971
BOX 3 Statements, 1951-1952, 1969-1982
(5 folders)
BOX 3 Speaking engagement notices, 1939, 1958-1962
BOX 3 Tribute on seventieth birthday, 1958
BOX 3-7 Gustav Mahler, 1905-1994
Drafts of writings, notes, photographs, and collected printed matter consisting of newspaper clippings, concert programs, journal articles, and booklets stemming from Reik's research and writings on Gustav Mahler. Reik's research on the composer stretched over many years, beginning before his immigration in 1938 and culminating in the publication of The Haunting Melody: Psychoanalytic Experiences in Life and Music in 1953. Included in the series is a set of five binders containing notes, drafts, printed matter, and photographs stored in topically labeled folders. The contents of Binder A focuses largely on Mahler's biography, commemorations of the seventy-fifth anniversary of his birth and twenty-fifth anniversary of his death in 1935-1936, and writings about the composer by Guido Adler, Max Graf, Arnold Rosé, and Bruno Walter, among others. Binder B covers a wide variety of topics, including anecdotes about Mahler, his relationships with Hans von Bülow and Sigmund Freud, his religious and superstitious inclinations, his years in Vienna, and a planned memorial. Files on Mahler's symphonies and other compositions are housed in Binder C. Binders D and E contain Reik's notes on Mahler which he taped to numbered sheets. The tape has been removed, but the original order of the notes has been maintained. In addition to the binders, the series includes loose notes and drafts, largely in German, and additional printed matter including booklets, journals, reprints, catalogs, concert programs, news clippings, and a facsimile edition of Mahler's Symphony no. 10.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material.
BOX 3 Binders See also Containers OV 1-OV 2, same heading
BOX 3 Binder A, 1928-1963
(2 folders)
BOX 4 Binder A, 1928-1963
(3 folders)
BOX 4 Binder B, 1912-1954
(4 folders)
BOX 4 Binder C, 1905-1955
(4 folders)
BOX 4 Binder D, notes 1-12, undated
(3 folders)
BOX 5 Binder D, notes 13-31, undated
(5 folders)
BOX 5 Binder E, notes 32-51, undated
(5 folders)
BOX 6 Binder E, notes 52-70, undated
(4 folders)
BOX 6 Loose handwritten notes and drafts, largely in German, undated See also Container OV 2, same heading
(9 folders)
BOX 6 Miscellany, 1959-1981, undated
BOX 6 Portrait drawings, bronze bust, and death mask, copies of, undated See also Container OV 2, Copy of a portrait
BOX 6 Printed matter
BOX 6 Booklets, journals, and reprints, 1905, 1920-1948, undated
(2 folders)
BOX 7 Catalogs and a directory, undated
BOX 7 Concert programs, New York Philharmonic, 1959-1960
BOX 7 Facsimile edition of Mahler's Symphony no. 10, 1924 See Container OV 2, same heading
BOX 7 News clippings, 1936-1984
BOX 7-18 Writings File, 1911-1994
Handwritten notes, notebooks, and German and English manuscripts, handwritten and typed drafts of books and articles, copies of articles published in journals and magazines, two speeches, introductions to works by others, and a file of writings by others. Like his mentor Sigmund Freud, Reik often wrote on large sheets of paper so a significant portion of the series is stored in the Oversize series. Some of the oversize material is in fragile condition and should be handled with care.

The Writings File, with its collection of notes, early drafts, and, in some cases, near-complete book drafts, reflects Reik's writing process. Reik wrote notes on scraps of paper and grouped them into packets by topic, most numerously on Judaism and the relationship between men and women. These original groupings have been retained and are identified by the topical headings created by Reik. The notes consist largely of Reik's own reflections and observations as well as insights gleaned from psychoanalytic sessions and his readings. The topics discussed in the unidentified manuscript pages mirror those found in the note packets, with a majority of the pages focusing on the relationship between men and women. Many of these unidentified handwritten pages have no title, page number, or other identifying characteristics that might tie them to a particular article or book of Reik's, and so have been separated by language and then grouped into sets based on the original order as received. Identified manuscript drafts of books and articles are sorted by title; however, even when identified, a majority of the book drafts are incomplete and some contain only a few miscellaneous pages.

While most of the material in the series was generated after Reik's immigration to the United States in 1938 and before his death in 1969, some newspapers, magazines, and journal articles as well as writings by others extend before and after those dates. Reik began writing literary and general articles for Viennese newspapers and magazines soon after completing his doctorate in 1912, and continued publishing in newspapers and magazines after his immigration. Included in the collection is a series of articles on “Men, Women and Love” published in the New York Herald Tribune in 1958. Other topics covered in his magazine and journal articles include couvade, gender relations, guilt, humor, masochism, and puberty rites. Some of the newspaper and magazine articles are in very poor physical condition and have been photocopied for ease of use.

The file of writings by others includes article-length drafts and reprints, some of which pertain to Reik or topics of interest to him. Also included in the file are journal-like letters and manuscripts by two women who may have been Reik's analysands. Barbara Ivins' writings contain the reflections of a young woman living in wartime New York in 1944. Dorothy Jeffery's letters and manuscripts, written in 1954, discuss her thoughts on the relation between men and women, her marriage, and life in California.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material and therein by title of topic.
BOX 7 By Reik
BOX 7 Book drafts and notes
BOX 7 Curiosities of the Self, miscellaneous pages, circa 1965
BOX 7 Fragment of a Great Confession, "Roads of Destiny," circa 1949
BOX 7 From Thirty Years with Freud, "Das Echo des Sprichwörtes," circa 1940
BOX 7 The Haunting Melody, "Aria Without Words" ("Three Women in a Man's Life"), circa 1953 See Container OV 3, Handwritten and typed drafts
BOX 7 Jewish Wit, circa 1962
BOX 7 Handwritten drafts and notes on large sheets See Container OV 3, same heading
BOX 7 Typescript
(4 folders)
BOX 7 The Many Faces of Sex, circa 1966
(4 folders)
BOX 8 The Many Faces of Sex, circa 1966
(4 folders)
BOX 8 Masochism in Modern Man, miscellaneous pages, circa 1941
BOX 8 Myth and Guilt, preface and outline, circa 1957 See Container OV 3, Preface
BOX 8 The Need to Be Loved, circa 1963
(9 folders)
BOX 8 Of Love and Lust, circa 1957
BOX 8 Part III, chapter titled "The Chip on the Shoulder" See Container OV 4, Handwritten draft
BOX 8 Part IV: "The Emotional Differences of the Sexes" See also Container OV 4, Handwritten drafts and notes
(4 folders)
BOX 9 Part IV: "The Emotional Differences of the Sexes"
(1 folder)
BOX 9 Pagan Rites in Judaism, 1963
BOX 9 Handwritten draft
(4 folders)
BOX 9 Typescript
BOX 9 Psychology of Sex Relations, introduction for a new edition, 1968
BOX 9 German manuscripts, handwritten on large sheets, 1938-1941, undated See Container OV 5, same heading
BOX 9 Individual chapters or articles
BOX 9 "Comparative Psychology of the Sexes on the Street," undated
BOX 9 "The Courage of a Coward," undated See Container OV 6, same heading
BOX 9 "An Experimenter and His Audience," undated See Container OV 6, same heading
BOX 9 Freud, Sigmund, letters to Reik, transcriptions and English translations, 1911-1938, 1952 See also Container OV 6, same heading
BOX 9 "Guilt Feelings," undated See Container OV 6, same heading
BOX 9 "A Holy Nation," undated
BOX 9 Partial draft on Anatole France's The Juggler of Notre Dame, undated
BOX 9 "Sexual Psychology in an American Novel," undated See Container OV 6, same heading
BOX 9 "Some Traits of Feminine Sexuality," undated See Container OV 6, same heading
BOX 9 Insertions ("einschub"), undated
BOX 9 Introductions to works by others, 1958, 1966
BOX 9 Newspaper and magazine articles, 1913-1961
Next Page »

Contents List