Edith and Otto Sommerich exhibition materials
Online Access
Available digital items: https://digital.archives.newschool.edu/index.php/Detail/collections/NS030901
Abstract
Materials intended for display in an exhibition celebrating Edith Wise Sommerich and Otto Sommerich. Edith was a longtime New School student, founding member and chair of the New School Associates, and, with Otto, a major donor to the school. The records consist of biographical documentation, correspondence related to Associates events, and a letter from President Emeritus Alvin Johnson.
Dates
- circa 1920-1974
Creator
- Johnson, Alvin Saunders, 1874-1971 (Person)
- New School for Social Research (New York, N.Y. : 1919-1997). New School Associates (Organization)
Extent
0.38 Cubic Feet (5 folders)
Language of Materials
English
Scope and Contents
Materials intended for display in an unidentified exhibition celebrating Edith Wise Sommerich and Otto Sommerich. Edith Sommerich was a longtime New School student, founding member and later chair of the New School Associates, and, with Otto, a major donor to the school. The records consist of biographical documentation, correspondence related to Associates events, and a letter from President Emeritus Alvin Johnson to Edith acknowledging her important early role in the school's academic development.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research use. Please contact archivist@newschool.edu for appointment.
Conditions Governing Use
To publish images of material from this collection, permission must be obtained in writing from the New School Archives and Special Collections. Please contact: archivist@newschool.edu.
Biographical Note
Edith Wise Sommerich (born April 30, 1979 in Macon, Georgia) was an early student and supporter of the New School for Social Research and chair of the New School Associates, a group of students and former students who promoted the school, fund raised, and, early on, influenced the curricular direction of the school. Edith was close friends with the New School’s first director, Alvin Johnson, who later acknowledged her important contribution in the early 1920s, when she proposed that the school expand its mission from a school solely dedicated to social research and add lecture series in psychology, art, music, theater, and literature. Edith Sommerich was married to Otto Charles Sommerich (born December 31st, 1877), a prominent New York City lawyer specializing in international law. They had two children, Ann Leach (born March 11, 1911) and Jane Sommerich (born 1914). In 1970, Edith was made an honorary life member of the New School Alumni Association. In 1973, the New School named the Edith & Otto C. Sommerich Reading Room, located in what was then the Graduate Faculty building at 65 5th Avenue. Otto died on January 10th, 1968, and Edith on January 24th, 1974.
Bibliography
Friedlander, Judith. 2018. A Light in Dark Times: The New School for Social Research and Its University in
Exile. New York: Columbia University Press.
Leach, Sam, email message to The New School Archives, December 9, 2024.
“Mrs. Sommerich, 94, helped New School,” The New York Times, January 25, 1974.
“Otto C. Sommerich, 90, Dead; An International Lawyer Here,” The New York Times, January 11, 1968.
Arrangement
Arranged in five folders alphabetically by subject.
Custodial History
The materials in this collection were transferred to the Archives from the New School's Fogelman Social Sciences and Humanities Library in 2012 together with the records of Alvin Saunders Johnson. It is unclear whether a staff member of the Fogelman Library compiled the exhibition materials, and unclear how the material came into the possession of the library. It is also not known whether the materials were ever included in an exhibition.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Transferred from Raymond Fogelman Library in 2012.
Processing Information
New School Archives staff separated these folders from a group of Alvin Saunders Johnson's records that were transferred from the Raymond Fogelman Library at the New School.
- Correspondence (Type of Material) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Educational fund raising (Subject) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Sommerich, Edith (Edith Wise Sommerich) (1879-1974)
- Sommerich, Otto C.
- Universities and colleges -- Alumni and alumnae -- United States (Subject) (Places) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Title
- Guide to the Edith and Otto Sommerich exhibition materials
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Jack Wells and New School Archives staff.
- Date
- October 17, 2023
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin