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Rom Landau Papers

An inventory of his papers at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: -
Date: Dec 1999

Biographical History

Rom Landau (1899-1974) was a British sculptor, author, educator and Arabist.

Although born in Poland, Landau became a British citizen and served as a volunteer in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II. His particular area of interest was Morocco, and he authored numerous works about Morocco and the Middle East, mainly in the 1950s and 1960s.His extensive knowledge of Middle Eastern issues earned him a place on the Arab committee of the Intelligence Department of the British Foreign Office. He taught Islamic Studies at the College of the Pacific in Stockton, CA, and was also an artist and art critic.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

Note: Portions of this collection, particularly Landau's personal journals, contain representations of racial and ethnic prejudices that were conventional during Landau's life, although no less harmful and inaccurate than they are today. This material is preserved and presented for its historic and research value. Researchers may find some of this content objectionable.

The Rom Landau Papers contains biographical material, correspondence, memorabilia, printed material, recordings, and writings. Although Landau's particular interest was Morocco, the collection also includes material on the broader region, including Algeria, Jordan, Iraq, Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, and Palestine.

Biographical material comprises biographical sketches, c.v.'s, press clippings related to Landau, and printed material related to public appearances.

Correspondence begins with Landau's folder of "Letters from important correspondents." The remainder is divided into personal, business, and legal. Persons with significant correspondence are foldered first, by surname; the remainder is arranged as Landau had it, chronologically. Business correspondence begins with Landau's publishers; the remainder is arranged as Landau had it, chronologically. Legal and financial material includes Landau's British passport, travel papers, and will.

Memorabilia comprises personal items such as awards and honors, artifacts from the Middle East, date books, Landau's personal diaries and typed diary pages, sketchbooks, and hundreds of photographs of Morocco, the Middle East, and Landau at various events. There are also a number of scrapbooks, including several albums of clippings of Landau's articles that appeared in various German publications.

Printed material contains clippings, a few books including A Muslim's Guide to Britain, material from the University of the Pacific, and reviews of Landau's books.

Recordings contains reel-to-reel audio recordings made by Landau of the songs, music, and dance of various countries in the Middle East, and of some of his radio interviews, lectures and other speaking engagements, along with one apparently professional production, King Mohammed V by Leo Diner Films. There are also homemade recordings of opera singers and performances.

Writings consists of notes, research material, drafts, proofs, and other material related to Landau’s articles, books, lectures, a few letters to the editor and a few reviews of books by others, and one short story. There are also subject files containing notes and research material on a number of topics, including Islam, Morocco, and religion, as well as several folders pertaining to Landau's political intelligence work with the British government during World War II.

Arrangement of the Collection

Material within each series is arranged alphabetically by name, title, or topic/subject.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Subject Headings

Persons

Arberry, A. J. (Arthur John), 1905-1969.
Bahnsen, Robert Montgomery.
Hassan II, King of Morocco, 1929-1999.
Hopkins, Prynce, 1885-
Landau, Rom, 1899-1974.

Subjects

Arabists.
Authors, English.
Berbers -- Songs and music.
Islam -- Study and teaching.

Places

Africa, North.
Arab countries -- History
Islamic countries -- Civilization.
Islamic countries -- Study and teaching.
Morocco.

Genres and Forms

16mm (photographic film size)
Book reviews.
Clippings (information artifacts)
Correspondence.
Diaries.
Lectures.
Manuscripts for publication.
Motion pictures (visual works)
Photographs.
Research notes.
Sound recordings.
Speeches (documents)
Tape reels.

Occupations

##
Authors.
Historians.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Romuald R. Landau Papers,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Rom Landau, 1966-1974.

Table of Contents

Biographical material

Correspondence

Memorabilia

Printed material

Recordings

Writings

Inventory