Special Collections: Primary Resources in Politics, Policy and Government Research Guide

Diplomatic and professional papers of George S. Messersmith (1883-1960). Consists of correspondence, memoranda, and official dispatches written during Messersmith’s tenure with the U.S. Department of State, as well as during his subsequent business career. The extensive typescript of an unpublished memoir is also present. The papers include extensive discussions of political and economic matters regarding Europe during the 1930s and Latin America in the 1940s and 1950s.

The George Handy Bates Samoan Papers: Photographs digital collection includes over one hundred forty albumen print photographs of the people and scenic views of Fiji, Hawaii, New Zealand, Samoa, Tahiti, and Tonga. The photographs make up Series III of the George Handy Bates Samoan Papers in the Special Collections Department of the University of Delaware Library.

At this time, only the photograph series has been digitized. The photographs series documents the wide variety of official, social, and ceremonial duties performed by Senator Williams and his colleagues. Official photographs from the Presidential and Vice-presidential, Republicans, and Williams and colleagues subseries provide a pictorial supplement to the extensive documentation of Williams's Senate duties provided by the papers. Other subseries are of primary importance in documenting the social and ceremonial responsibilities which are given less emphasis in other series.

At this time, only the audio series and photograph series have been digitized.

The Audio series houses approximately 200 recordings of "The Week In Congress," Senator Frear's weekly radio address to the people of Delaware. Throughout his senate career, J. Allen Frear, Jr. addressed the people of Delaware on a weekly basis regarding issues of congressional, domestic, and international importance. WDOV, a radio station in Dover, contracted Senator Frear to present "The Week In Congress" during his two terms in office. Although Senator Frear began recording his weekly radio broadcasts in 1949, this subseries contains only recordings from 1953 to 1959.

The Photograph series contains photographs of Senator Frear and his congressional colleagues, friends, fraternal brothers, Mrs. Frear, and other individuals and groups. The Photograph series provides images of the many aspects of Senator Frear's congressional career. The series is divided into several categories which reflect activities, involvement with specific organizations, relations with colleagues, and Mrs. Frear's participation in her husband's various social and charitable activities. In addition to photographs, awards and citations corresponding to photographs throughout the series are included here, as are “keepsake” letters and documents of sentimental value to Senator Frear.

The Karl Wolfgang Böer papers supplement contains the publications, scientific notes, and other papers documenting the professional activities of Karl Wolfgang Böer, a preeminent physicist who pioneered the development of solar energy.

Dale E. Wolf served as lieutenant governor of Delaware (1989-1992) and briefly as governor (December 31, 1992-January 19, 1993). The Dale E. and Clarice Wolf papers and memorabilia document Wolf’s military service in World War II, his early agricultural research and DuPont Company career, his political career and public service, as well as the community service of his wife, Clarice Wolf.

This Delaware ephemera collection is a vertical file of fliers, clippings, artifacts, and other ephemeral materials pertaining to local and federal election campaigns, environmental groups, grassroots organizations, and political groups. This digital collection consists of material from Series II, Campaigns and elections.