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Albert Leffingwell Home Recordings

An inventory of his recordings at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: IRP
Date: 22 July 2019

Biographical History

Albert Tracy Leffingwell (1845-1916) was an American physician, author, and a prominent advocate for vivisection reform.

Leffingwell was born on February 13, 1845, in Aurora, New York, to Elisha Leffingwell (1804-1871) and Jane Elizabeth Jackson (1817-1907). He was a graduate of Hamilton College and later became an instructor at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, New York. He worked as a physician at the Long Island Hospital and in 1874 received his M.D. He traveled abroad extensively and did scientific research in countries such as Japan, China, Burma, India, Spain, Palestine, and Egypt. In 1905 he lived in Russia and during 1905-1906 he was the American Consul at Warshaw. In 1895 Leffingwell returned to his home town to establish his private practice. He was the founder and the First Secretary of the American Society for Regulation of Vivisection, and President of the American Humane Association during 1904-1905.

He and his wife Elizabeth Fear (1862-1938) had three sons: Albert Fear Leffingwell (1895-1946), Thomas Arthur Leffingwell (1898-1974), and Dana Jackson Leffingwell (1901-1930). Leffingwell passed away on September 1, 1916, in his home town.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Albert Leffingwell Home Recordings consists of correspondence and sound recordings.

The Correspondence consists of a single photocopied letter from Albert Leffingwell, dated November 10, 1897, in which he explains the reason for creating the sound recordings.

The Sound recordings consist of 9 brown wax cylinders, home recordings of his mother Jane Elizabeth Jackson Leffingwell, 80 years old, of his wife Elizabeth Fear Leffingwell, of his oldest son Albert Fear Leffingwell, 2.5 years old, and of other family members. The cylinders, size 2.25" x 4.50", suffer from surface contamination, and some are physically damaged.

Arrangement of the Collection

The sound recordings are arranged in chronological order based on the dates listed on their containers. Some of the containers have labels and original numbers which indicates that more sound recordings existed when the collection was created and that the collection here is incomplete.

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.

Access to sound recordings requires advance notice to produce a working copy.

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.

Related Material

Several writings by Leffingwell are cataloged in the general collections. Please refer to Libraries Search to locate these items.

Subject Headings

Persons

Leffingwell, Albert, 1845-1916.
Leffingwell, Albert, 1895-1946.
Leffingwell, Elizabeth Fear.
Leffingwell, Jane Elizabeth.

Subjects

Personal recordings.
Physicians -- New York (State)
Vivisection -- Moral and ethical aspects.

Genres and Forms

Correspondence.
Cylinders (sound recordings)
Sound recordings.

Occupations

Physicians.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Albert Leffingwell Home Recordings,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Unknown.

Table of Contents

Correspondence

Sound recordings

Inventory