Donated by Margaret Maxwell in 1981.
Noncirculating; available for research.
The collection is protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U. S. Code). Reproductions can be made only if they are to be used for "private study, scholarship, or research." It is the user's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and to obtain all necessary permissions prior to the reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion of these materials, other than that noted above.
Born in St. Paul, Minnesota on December 22, 1885, Rita Kissin moved with her parents to Russia at the age of four. After living in Russia and Germany, she returned to America at the age of fourteen to complete her education. In 1914, Kissin graduated from the Second International Montessori Training Course in Rome. On her return to America, she organized and operated Montessori kindergartens in Larchmont, New York, and Madison, New Jersey. In 1916, Kissin began lecturing for the New York Board of Education on European travel and the Montessori Method. She also spoke and campaigned for a variety of political causes, including women's suffrage, the rehabilitation of disabled soldiers, and the defeat of the League of Nations treaty. She campaigned on behalf of Charles Evans Hughes in 1916, and Warren Harding in 1920. During the late 1910's, she was also an investigator with the Internal Revenue Service.
She moved to California in the early 1920's, and worked briefly as a writer for the Universal Film Company. During the 1920's, she wrote publicity stories for Mary Pickford, Cecil DeMille and others, and became a Hollywood correspondent for the Frankfurter Zeitung of Germany. She also did public relations work on several large charity campaigns, including the "Save Monticello" Campaign, the Actors' Fund Campaign in New York City, and several others.
In the early 1930's, Kissin studied psychology at the New School for Social Research, and worked briefly as a psychiatric assistant to Dr. Beran Wolfe. From 1936 to 1942, she organized lecture groups on current events, and assisted in several anti-Nazi boycotts and campaigns. In the years following, she wrote publicity material for the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, and acted as a consultant in the Montessori Method to schools in Honolulu.
Kissin's first children's book was published in 1937. The Chimney Sweep Tower was about the son of an unemployed chimney sweep in Germany, and his dream of becoming a violinist. Between 1937, and 1947, she published six more children's stories, all picture books. In 1948, Kissin published This Precious Dust, her only published book for adults.
The "Published Books" Series has a typescript relating to Raffy and the Honkebeest, a picture book about the adventures of a young giraffe. The collection also has a bound galley and reviews for an adult novel, This Precious Dust, about a Jewish refugee, and her experiences with prejudice in Germany and America.
The "Unpublished Books" Series has material, mostly typescripts, relating to several psychological novels ("The Doctor Takes His Medicine," "The House That Fear Built"), a picaresque novel ("Four Thousand Tons of Candles") and a children's book ("Mouchie, Where's Your Tail"). Regardless of their interest in this collection, researchers may want to consult Ms. Kissin's unpublished autobiography, "I Had to Find God."
The "Plays" Series contains typescripts for ten plays, one of which seems to have been published (That's All For Tonight). The "Short Stories, Articles and Poems" Series contains several children's short stories, and some articles dealing with Hollywood in the 1920's. For some of these, the series contains typescripts, for others it includes the published article. The Correspondence Series is arranged chronologically and deals with all aspects of Kissin's life, professional, personal and social.
The "Montessori" Series relates to Kissin's long association with this method of teaching. One subseries deals with Kissin's early experience, including photographs taken while attending the Second International Montessori School. Some of these photographs include Maria Montessori. This subseries also contains clippings, photographs and teaching notes pertaining to two Montessori schools which Kissin operated in the U.S. during the late 1910's. Several decades later, Kissin consulted and trained in Montessori methods at a school in Honolulu. The series includes a diary of this experience, as well as some clippings and photos. A third subseries contains several articles written by Kissin concerning her experiences with and insights into the Montessori Method.
Kissin spent most of the 1920's living in Los Angeles, and became involved herself professionally and socially with the show business community. She was a show business journalist, writing primarily for German newspapers and magazines. Some of these articles are included in the "Short Stories, Articles, and Poetry Series." The material in the "Hollywood" Series deals primarily with Kissin's social and civic activities. With Mary Pickford, Kissin organized a campaign to save trees in Hollywood. Kissin was very active in the Actors' Fund of America, created to assist retired or impoverished ex-actors, and lead by New York producer Daniel Frohman. She was also involved in efforts to build and support independent theaters in Hollywood. Theater Mart was a result of this campaign, and Kissin's play "Sensation" was its first production. Material concerning Theater Mart and "Sensation" are in the "Plays" Series. Though there are some letters, event programs and other ephemeral items, newspaper clippings and photographs comprise most of the material in this series. There are numerous photographs relating to the Actors' Campaign Fund. Another file contains publicity stills, some autographed, of actors and actresses. The series also includes several folders of Hollywood photographs, mostly unidentified or labeled in German.
In the 1930's, Kissin worked as a psychologist, assisting Beran Wolfe. The collection includes Kissin's research notes on psychology and ESP, as well as some case files for patients.
During the 1960's, Kissin worked for the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, writing a history and description of this institution. This series contains research materials, a manuscript, typescripts, and photographs.
The "Photographs" Series includes some personal photos. It also contains photographs of various subjects of interest to Ms. Kissin, such as a theatrical production in Pasadena, Seminole Indians, and the San Francisco Puppet Theater. M
The "Alphabetical Files" Series contains a file of biographical information on Rita Kissin. Kissin was close friends with Kate Crane-Gartz, a left-wing activist in California during the first half of the twentieth century. This series contains four folders of Crane-Gartz's transcribed correspondence. There is also a file of material, mostly newspaper clippings, on Kissin's retirement activities in Green Valley, Nevada. Kissin also collected pamphlets relating to Germany during and after World War II. Another file of clippings relates to Kissin's political activities in the late 1910's, and early 1920's.
Box/FolderA. Published Books (1940-1948)
THE CHIMNEY-SWEEP TOWER by Rita Kissin, illustrated by Helen Finger (New York: Henry Holt, 1937). -- Illustrations, black ink, 33 items. [removed to Helen Finger Papers, DG 1167] -- Book jacket, 1 item. [removed to Helen Finger Papers, DG 1167] 1/1 Publicity material, 3 items. RAFFY AND THE HONKEBEEST by Rita Kissin, illustrated by Charles Bracken (New York: Julian Messner, 1940). 1/2 Typescript, pp. 1-18. -- Illustrations, watercolor, 2 items. [removed to Charles Bracken Papers, DG 1166] 1/3 Pages from published book, 9 items. THIS PRECIOUS DUST: A NOVEL by Rita Kissin (Chicago: Ziff Davis, 1948). 1/4 Bound galley, 232 pp. 1/5 Book jackets, 3 items. 1/6-1/7 Reviews, 1/6 17 items. 1/7 16 items. 1/8 Publicity material, 7 items.B. Unpublished Books (1940, 1941, 1969, n.d.)
"The Doctor Takes His Medicine" by Rita Kissin 1/9-2/4 Typescript (several chapters are inconsistently numbered), 1/9-1/11 Part I, 1/9 Chapters 1-5, 56 pp. 1/10 Chapters 6-11, pp. 50-109. 1/11 pp. 110-171 2/1-2/4 Part II, 2/1 Chapters 1-4, pp. 172-226. 2/2 Chapters 5-8, pp. 227-279. 2/3 Chapters 9-13, pp. 280-329. 2/4 Chapters 14-15 pp. 330-350. "Four Thousand Tons of Candles, a Story" by Rita Kissin. 2/5 Typescript, edited, chapters 9-15, 54 pp. 2/6-2/7 Typescript, "last version," edited, 1969, 2/6 Front matter and chapters 1-7, 27 pp. 2/7 Chapters 12-22, pp. 67-126. "The House That Fear Built, a Novelette" by Rita Kissin. 2/8 Typescript, pp. 1-56. "I Had To Find God," by Rita Kissin. 2/9 Correspondence, 1940, 3 pp. 2/10 Notes, 31 pp. 2/11-3/2 Typescript, 2/11 Chapters 1-4 (no chapter 2), pp. 1-40. 2/12 Chapters 5-9, pp. 41-94 (missing pp. 49, 79). 3/1 Chapters 10-16, 45 pp. 3/2 Chapters 19-25 (no chapter 20), 49 pp. 3/3-3/7 Typescript, carbon copy (2-3 versions interfiled), 3/3 Chapters 1-3, pp. 1-33 (65 pp. total). 3/4 Chapters 6-8, pp. 46, 48, 52-78, 80-82 (57 pp. total). 3/5 Chapters 9-10, pp. 83-104 (47 pp. total). 3/6 Chapters 11-18 (no chapter 19), (62 pp. total). 3/7 Chapters 20-24, pp. 161-165, 170-182, pp. 181-209 (76 pp. total). "The Landlady" 3/8 Typescript, front matter, 3 pp., and text, 75 pp. 3/9 Typescript, pp. 29-50. "Mouchie, Where's Your Tail? The Story of a Manx Cat" by Rita Kissin. 3/10 Typescript, pp. 1-6. 3/11 Dummy (includes watercolor illustrations and paste-up text). "Prophetic Vision? Did Goethe Have a Prophetic Vision of the Hitler Regime As Reflected in the Symbolism of Faust?" by Rita Kissin. 4/1 Typescript, pp. 1-11, 3 copies (33 pp. total). 4/2 Typescript, 1941, pp. 1-50. 4/3 Typescript, pp. 1-50. 4/4 Typescript, pp. 1-50. 4/5 Typescript, edited, front matter, 2 pp., and pp. 1-50. 4/6 Typescript, various pages, 31 pp. "Strange Needs" by Rita Kissin. 4/7-4/13 Typescript, 4/7 Part One, chapters 2-6, pp. 65-68, 70-110. 4/8 Part Three, chapters 1-4, pp. 111-168. 4/9 Part Four, chapters 1-5, pp. 169-225. 4/10 Part Five, chapters 1-2, pp. 227-249 (missing 238, 240). 4/11 Part Six, chapters 1-5, pp. 250-283. 4/12 Part Seven, chapters 1-3, pp. 284-310. 4/13 Part Eight, chapters 1-6, pp. 311-368. Untitled Book (Written in German) 5/1 Typescript, c. 27 chapters, 57 pp. Untitled Novel 5/2-5/5 Typescript, 5/2 Chapters 1-4, pp. 3-53. 5/3 Chapters 5-6, pp. 54-95. 5/4 Chapters 7-11, pp. 96-164. 5/5 Chapters 12-16, pp. 165-209. 5/6-5/10 Typescript, 5/6 6 chapters (unnumbered), pp. 152-205. 5/7 Chapter 19, pp. 220-224, and pp. 258-261. 5/8 5 chapters (unnumbered), pp. 277-328. 5/9 Chapters 27-30, pp. 345-390. 5/10 Chapters 31-34, pp. 391-437.C. Plays (1928, 1929, 1936, n.d.)
"Along the Same Road: A One-Act Play" 5/11 Typescript, pp. 1-24. "Bubbles We Buy: A Play In Six Episodes" 5/12 Typescript, 1936, 118 pp. Playbill, 1 item. "Der Heimliche Konig" ("The Secret King") 6/1 Manuscript, 57 pp. "The Hidden Prince: A Biblical Play in Three Acts for Advanced Sunday School Pupils" 6/2 Typescript, 23 pp. "Millstone 'Round Her Neck: A Play In Three Acts" 6/3 Typescript, 111 pp. Folder "Miniatures: A Teleplay" 6/4 Typescript, 43 pp. "More Than Conquerers" 6/5 Typescript, pp. 1-72 (missing pp. 2, 17). "Rat-Catching Is a Job:Story of a Modern Pied-Piper: A One-Act Play" 6/6 Typescript, 28 pp. "Sensation" 6/7 Clippings, playbills, correspondence, c. 1928. "Slot-Machine, or, Automat Love" 6/8 Typescript, 120 pp. THAT'S ALL FOR TONIGHT: A COMEDY IN THREE ACTS by Rita Kissin (Los Angeles: Parker, Stone & Baird, 1929). 7/1 Typescript, Act II, 2 pp., and Act III, 29 pp. 7/2 Photocopy of published play, pp. 1-72.D. Short Stories, Articles and Other Writings (1923-1941, 1974, 1980, n.d.)
7/3-7/5 Poems in English, manuscript, typescript, and published versions, 7/3 50 items. 7/4 59 items. 7/5 50 items. 7/6 Poems in German, manuscript and typescript, 11 items. 7/7-7/13 Published Articles, 7/7 "Black Hawk," 3 pp. 7/8 "Books I Enjoyed," in Palm Springs News, March to April 1936, 2 pp. 7/9 "The Cat Who Wasn't Yellow," in Opinion: A Journal of Jewish Life and Letters, December 1941, pp. 16-20 (collection contains entire journal issue, 26 pp.). 7/10 "Extra Conditions in Hollywood," in Movie Weekly, 13 December 1924, 2 pp. 7/11 "Flirting With Death at Seven-Fifty a Day," in Movie Weekly, 2 pp. 7/12 German-language articles in Das Illustrierte Blatt, 15 items. 7/13 "The Tale Of a New Exodus," in B'nai B'rith News, pp. 76-81, reprinted in The Indiana Jewish Chronicle, 1923, 1 p. 7/14-8/20 Typescripts for Short Stories and Articles (Unpublished or Unidentified), 7/14 "The Aye-Ayes Have It: A Story of Madagascar For Boys and Girls," research notes, 3 pp., manuscript, 13 pp., and typescript, 14 pp. 7/15 "An American Girl in Czarist Russia," typescript, 24 pp. 7/16 "Baby-Sitter to a Rat Plus Eight," typescript, 12 pp. 7/17-7/19 "Brave heart of-the-Shiny-Button: The Story of an Apache Boy and the Iron Horse," 7/17 Newspaper clipping, 1974, 1 item. 7/18 Typescript, 20 pp. Typescript, 6 pp. Typescript, 6 pp. 7/19 Photographs, 9 items. 7/20 "Chinese Festivals," research material, 7 pp., manuscript, 18 pp., and typescript, 19 pp. 8/1 "Fear: The Story of the Girl Who Was Afraid to Be Beautiful," 19 pp. 8/2 "Fine Mending," 17 pp. 8/3 "Following the Ten Commandments," typescript, 30 pp., and set of "Instructions to Extras" from Cecil B. DeMille Productions, 1 p. 8/4 "Four Napoleons and Three Messiahs," 12 pp. 8/5 "The Four Who Were Saved," research notes, 1 p., and typescript, 20 pp. 8/6 German-language writings, 5 pp. 8/7 "God and the Glass Bullets," typescript, 3 versions, 30 pp. 8/8 "The Homebreaker," typescript, 11 pp. 8/9 "Homespun Hannah," typescript, 20 pp., and student critiques, 7 pp. 8/10 "The Kid's Fishing Derby," typescript, 2 copies, 12 pp. 8/11 Miscellaneous or untitled writings, 16 pp. 8/12 "Oh, My Darling, Clementine: Thanksgiving at Rainbow Falls," typescript, 3 versions, 17 pp. 8/13 "Pioneer America Reborn: The Story of the Partoun Homesteaders," typescript, 23 pp. 8/14 "Roadrunner and the Red Badge of Courage," typescript, 8 pp. 8/15 "The Strange Night I Spent With the Author of Bambi," correspondence, 1980, 1 p., manuscript, 37 pp., and typescript, 18 pp. 8/16 "Sid's Secret Weapon," manuscript, 39 pp. 8/17 "Trail of the Silver Whale," typescript, 24 pp. 8/18 Untitled short story, typescript, pp. 2-17. 8/19 "We're In the Pink: The Tale of the Shocking Pink Gym Suit," typescript, 2 copies, 10 pp. 8/20 "A Would-Be Hitler Lays Seige to Los Angeles," typescript, pp. 1-5.E. Correspondence (1903-1981, n.d.)
9/1 1903, 4 items. 9/2 1906, 2 items. 9/3 1907, May-August, 12 items. 9/4 1907, September-December, 13 items. 9/5 1908-1910, 9 items. 9/6 1913-1914, 2 items. 9/7 1916-1918, 9 items. 9/8 1919-1920, 16 items. 9/9 1921-1922, 10 items. 9/10 1924, March-June, 19 items. 9/11 1924, July-November, 14 items. 9/12 1925-1926, 3 items. 9/13 1927, January-June, 14 items. 9/14 1927, July-December, 13 items. 10/1 1928-1929, 8 items. 10/2 1930, June-October, 22 items. 10/3 1930, November, 13 items. 10/4 1930, November, 17 items. 10/5 1930, December, 11 items. 10/6 1931, 2 items. 10/7 1933-1934, 15 items. 10/8 1935-1936, 5 items. 10/9 1938-1939, 9 items. 10/10 1940-1943, 7 items. 10/11 1944-1946,13 items. 10/12 1947, 37 items. 10/13 1948, January-May, 22 items. 10/14 1948, June-December, 26 items. 11/1 1949-1950, 10 items. 11/2 1951-1952, 4 items. 11/3 1953-1954, 6 items. 11/4 1955-1956, 11 items. 11/5 1957-1959, 11 items. 11/6 1960-1961, 19 items. 11/7 1962-1963, 14 items. 11/8 1965-1967, 18 items. 11/9 1969-1971, 7 items. 11/10 1972-1973, 16 items. 11/11 1974-1976, 11 items. 11/12 1977-1979, 37 items. 11/13 1980-1981, 24 items. 11/14 Undated, 46 items.F. Montessori Materials (c. 1916, 1965)
11/15-12/1 Early experience, c.1916. 11/15 Correspondence, 10 items. -- Diploma (Oversized, see Box 13, Folder 21). 11/16 Student's work, 1916, 15 items. 11/17 Teaching notes, 11 pp. Description of students, 10 pp. 11/18 Clippings. Press release, 1 item. 11/19 Photographs, Rome, 6 items. 11/20 Photographs in scrapbook, Rome and Larchmont, New York, 26 items. 12/1 Photographs, unidentified, 10 items. 12/2-12/6 Honolulu, c. 1965, 12/2 Contract, 1 item. Project Head Start handbook, 1 item. 12/3 Clippings, 5 items. 12/4 Diary, 85 pp. 12/5 Notes, 36 items. 12/6 Student's work, 4 items. Photos, 4 items. 12/7-12/14 Writings, 12/7 "A Casa Dei Bambini," manuscript, 7 pp. 12/8 Chapters from autobiography which concern Kissin's Montessori experience, typescript, 33 pp. 12/9 "A Montessori Course In the Home," manuscript, 11 pp. 12/10-12/14 "Montessori Teacher: The Method and How It Works: An Intimate Account by a Pupil of Maria Montessori," 12/10 Typescript, pp. 2-32. 12/11 Typescript, pp. 1-35. 12/12 Typescript, pp. 1-25. 12/13 Typescript, 9 pp. 12/14 Typescript, 35 pp. 12/15 Miscellaneous, Lecture announcements, 5 items. Correspondence, 1 item. Clippings, 2 items. 12/16-12/18 Notes, 12/16 23 pp. 12/17 29 pp. 12/18 20 notecardsG. Journalism and Public Relations (1922-1928)
13/1-13/2 Actor's Fund of America and Daniel Frohman, c. 1926-1927. 13/1 Clippings and ephemera. 13/2 Photographs and ephemera. 13/3 Carmen at the Hollywood Bowl, clippings, cast list, and cast photograph, 1922. 13/4 Hollywood Art Theater, clippings, c. 1924. 13/5-13/6 Hollywood Association of Foreign Correspondents (HAFCO), clippings, invitations and program, c. 1928. 13/7 Miscellaneous, 4 items. 13/8-13/16 Publicity stills and photographs of Hollywood celebrities, mostly annotated or signed, 13/8 16 items. 13/9 13 items. 13/10 20 items. 13/11 19 items. 13/12 15 items. 13/13 12 items. 13/14 11 items. 13/15 17 items. 13/16 12 items. 13/17 "Save the Trees" Campaign, clippings and letter from Mary Pickford, c. 1923. -- Theater Mart [see Plays "Sensation"] 13/18 Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation, brochures, clippings, and correspondence, c. 1925. 13/19 Transportation Issues, clippings. 13/20 Oversized photograph of theatrical production, 1 item. [See 17/14]H. Alphabetical Files (1900-1981)
14/1 Biographical material, 23 items. 14/2-14/5 Crane-Gartz, Kate, correspondence, 14/2 1900-1918, 30 pp. 14/3 1918-1926, 30 pp. 14/4 1926-1930, 31 pp. 14/5 1929-1936, n.d., 38 pp. 14/6-14/8 Diaries, 14/6 1918. 1927. 1947. 14/7 Undated. 14/8 Miscellaneous pages, 17 pp. 14/9 Green Valley, Nevada, c. 1967-1981, clippings, 41 items. 15/1 Miscellaneous clippings, reviews and ephemera, 28 items. 15/2 Politics, c. 1916-1921, 15/3-15/8 Scrapbook items (clippings and ephemera), 5 folders.I. Psychology (1933, 1951, n.d.)
15/9-5/12 Patient interviews and case histories 15/9 3 case files, 1933, n.d., 49 pp. 15/10 2 case files, 1933, n.d., 37 pp. 15/11 1 case file, 31 pp. 15/12 2 case files, 1951, n.d., 24 pp. 15/13 Minutes of psychology club, 1933, 3 pp. Translation of article, 4 pp. 15/14 Notes on psychology, 26 items. 15/15-16/1 Notes on ESP, 15/15 31 pp. 15/16 31 pp. 15/17 15 pp. 16/1 36 pp.J. Arizona-Sonora Museum (1968, n.d.)
16/2 Correspondence, 1968, 6 pp. 16/3-16/6 Research materials 16/7 Five monographs published by the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum on desert wildlife and ecology. 16/8 Outline, 4 pp. Manuscript, 49 pp. 16/9 Typescript, chapters 1-4, pp. 1-24 (missing pp. 6, 20). 16/10 Typescript, chapters 1-4, pp. 1-24 (missing pp. 23). 16/11 Typescript, chapters 1-4, pp. 1-24 (missing pp. 8, 14). 16/12-16/15 Photographs of Arizona and the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, 37 items.K. Photographs (Undated)
17/1 Photographs of Miss Kissin, 9 items. 17/2 Personal, 6 items. 17/3 Displays of Miss Kissin's publications, 4 items. 17/4 Las Vegas, Nevada, and vicinity, 13 items. 17/5 National Sculpture Exhibition in San Francisco, 24 items. 17/6 New Mexico, 19 items. 17/7-17/8 Pasadena Community Playhouse, 17/7 25 items. 17/8 13 items. 17/9 San Francisco Puppet Theater, 13 items. 17/10 Santa Catalina Island, 12 items. 17/11-17/13 Seminole Indians, 17/11 12 items. 17/12 13 items. 17/13 16 items. 17/14-18/2 Miscellaneous, 17/14 Unidentified photograph of theatrical production, 1 item [Oversized, removed to Box 13, folder 20]. 16 items. 18/1 16 items. 18/2 24 items.L. Germany and World War II (c. 1940-1946)
18/3 Pamphlets and periodicals concerning Germany and Nazism, 6 items. 18/4-18/9 Articles dealing with Germany and World War II, 18/4 From Life. 18/5 From Look. 18/6 From Maclean's. 18/7 From The New York Times Book Review. 18/8 From The New York Times Magazine. 18/9 From The Saturday Evening Post. 18/10-18/12 From miscellaneous publications.
Separation List Reading For Democracy by the American Brotherhood, 1947-1948, removed to de Grummond Collection of published material. Illustrations for The Chimney Sweep Tower, removed to Helen Finger Papers, DG 1167. Illustrations for Raffy and the Honkebeest, removed to Charles Bracken Papers, DG 1166.
Processed: December 1997
Revised: June 2001
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