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Otto Eisenschiml manuscripts

 Collection
Identifier: F923 Ei84

Scope and Contents

The collection (1960-1963) contains manuscripts, notes, proofs and related correspondence of the books, The Hidden Face of the Civil War and O.E.: Historian Without an Armchair.

Manuscript material includes original typed manuscripts with notes, corrected page and galley proofs.

Correspondence includes publisher's correspondence.

Dates

  • 1960-1963

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open to the public. Collection must be used in Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room. Collection or parts of collection may be stored offsite. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives in advance of your visit to allow for transportation time.

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights reside with Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries. Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs. All requests for permission to publish collection materials must be submitted to Special Collections and University Archives. The reader must also obtain permission of the copyright holder.

Biographical / Historical

Otto Eisenschiml (1880-1963), was born June 16, 1880, in Vienna, Austria. Eisenschiml’s father, Alexander, was a naturalized American citizen who had been a Union officer during the American Civil War. The elder Eisenschiml returned to Vienna where his son was born in 1880.

Otto Eisenschiml was educated in Vienna and when he graduated college in 1901 he left Europe for a position in the United States. He worked as a chemist for the Carnegie Steel Company and the American Linseed Company; in 1912 he founded his own company, the Scientific Oil Compounding Company, in Chicago. Eisenschiml served as president of the company, then later as the chairman of the board. He held the latter position until he died on December 7, 1963, at the age of eighty-three.

Eisenschiml researched the American Civil War as a hobby; he was particularly interested in the circumstances surrounding Abraham Lincoln's assassination. He theorized that Lincoln's Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, was directly involved in the assassination conspiracy, a position that was controversial among other scholars. He received an honorary degree from Lincoln Memorial University (Tennessee) and a diploma from Lincoln College (Illinois) in 1960.

[Source: “Otto Eisenschiml Papers, 1936-1963,” Chronicling Illinois, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library (ALPL) accessed April 25, 2013, http://alplm-cdi.com/chroniclingillinois/items/show/199.]

Extent

1 linear feet (2 containers)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Otto Eisenschiml (1880-1963) was a chemist and an American Civil War historian who published books and articles regarding the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. The collection (1960-1963) contains manuscripts, notes, proofs and related correspondence of the books, The Hidden Face of the Civil War and O.E.: Historian Without an Armchair.

Arrangement

Material within this collection is minimally arranged. Any arrangement is either derived from the records' creators or custodians or from staff at the time of initial processing. It may be necessary to look in multiple places for the same types of materials.

Related Materials

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential library holds the Otto Eisenshiml papers, 64-16 and 65-11.

Physical Description

2 manuscript boxes.

Processing Information

Collection processed by staff.

This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.

This collection received a basic level of processing including minimal organization and rehousing.

Description information is drawn in part from information supplied with the collection and initial surveys of the contents.

Title
Guide to the Otto Eisenschiml Manuscripts
Status
Complete Description
Author
Tanya Parlet
Date
2013
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.
Sponsor
Funding for production of this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).

Repository Details

Part of the University of Oregon Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives Repository

Contact:
1299 University of Oregon
Eugene OR 97403-1299 USA