Randolph Doe, 1944

The papers of Wendell Mitchell Levi include his correspondence, biographical and genealogical information, notes, material related to his publications, and photographs. Correspondence includes personal and business letters from various individuals and businesses and organizations, and copies of letters sent by Levi. Topics include Levi's writings, pigeons (breeding, training, racing, care, diseases, and many other related subjects), a city ordinance banning pigeon raising, the controversy over whether pigeons pose a danger to human health, the sale of pigeons by the U.S. Army, camellias, and additional subjects. Included are Levi's biography and obituary, and information concerning the D'Ancona and Levi families. College of Charleston materials include correspondence, scrapbooks, and invertebrate anatomy lecture notes (1910- 1911), while University of Chicago Law School materials include twenty handwritten casebooks (1912-1914). Includes published and unpublished letters (1962-1976) submitted to Levi's "question and answer column" in the American Pigeon Journal. Materials related to Levi's books (The Pigeon, Making Pigeons Pay, and the Encyclopedia of Pigeon Breeds) and other writings include bibliographies, copies of works consulted, notes, typescript (some carbons) drafts, proofs, announcements, advertisements, order forms, testimonials, reviews, sales records, material relating to a law suit, and printing plates. Nearly 900 photographs of various pigeon breeds are from Levi's Encyclopedia of pigeon breeds. Four other photographs and four sketches are of birds [apparently pelicans] and their nests. Also included is a list of squab sales (1948) for various U.S. breeders. Other items include a pigeon timer and a commercially produced "Visible Pigeon" kit. Levi approved the contents of the kit and wrote the accompanying booklet. Material relating to camellias and plants includes correspondence, articles, 580 slides of Levi's garden, garden diaries (1968-1975), 3 garden notebooks (1949-1970), and ephemera.