Colman and Blank families papers
Collection Overview
The collection consists of personal and professional correspondence, professional materials, photograph albums and photographs, and other assorted papers of the Colman and Blank families of Charleston, South Carolina. Materials primarily pertain to Beverly Isabel Colman, a former managing editor for Schocken Books, and her maternal ancestors Rosa Simmons Blank, Rosa's son, Isadore Blank, and Isadore's son, Edwin J. Blank. Materials related to Beverly Isabel Colman include school records, personal and professional correspondence, books, and other papers pertaining to Beverly's work as a managing editor. Photograph albums contain assorted family photographs, ephemera, and genealogical information concerning the Elias, Blank, Furchgott, and Colman families. Also included are a series of leases, mortgages, and bonds for a George Street property, part of the Glebe Lands owned by St. Philip's Episcopal Church, purchased by Rosa Simmons Blank in 1882; miscellaneous materials related to Isadore Blank and his son, Edwin J. Blank; a Lillye Blank commemorative china plate; a newspaper clipping scrapbook given to Minnie R. Loryea from Rev. David Levy; a pair of silver Shabbat candlesticks; and a Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim centennial booklet.
Dates
- Creation: 1845-1993
Creator
- Colman family (Family)
Language of Material
Materials in English
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research.
Copyright Notice
The nature of the College of Charleston's archival holdings means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. Special Collections claims only physical ownership of most archival materials.
The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.
Biographical Note
Beverly Isabel Colman (1940-1999), daughter of John H. and Rosabel Blank Colman (1916-2009) was born in Houston, Texas. She graduated from Wellesley College in 1962 with a BA in English literature and was a managing editor for Schocken Books, a publisher of Jewish fiction and non-fiction books located in New York City.
Rosa Simmons Blank (d. 1915), Beverly's great-great-grandmother, was a member of the Ladies Hebrew Benevolent Society of Charleston. Her son, Isadore Blank (1862-1947), father of Edwin J. Blank (1886-1968), was president of Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim from 1917 to 1937.
Extent
2.15 linear feet (5 document boxes, 1 oversize folder)
Abstract
The collection consists of professional and personal correspondence, professional materials, photograph albums and photographs, and other assorted papers of the Colman and Blank families of Charleston, South Carolina. Materials relate to Beverly Isabel Colman, a former managing editor for Schocken Books, and her great-great grandmother Rosa Simmons Blank, Rosa's son, Isadore Blank, and Isadore's son, Edwin J. Blank.
Collection Arrangement
Materials are described at the folder level.
Acquisitions Information
Materials donated in 2006, 2009, and 2011 by Rosabel Colman and Randolph Colman.
Processing Information
Processed by Colleen O' Connor and Joshua Minor, October 2012.
Subject
- Colman, Beverly (Person)
- Blank, Rosa Simmons, -1915 (Person)
- Blank, Isadore, 1862-1947 (Person)
- Blank, Edwin J., 1886-1968 (Person)
- Coleman family (Family)
- Blank family (Family)
- Schocken Books (Organization)
Source
- Colman, Rosabel, 1916-2009 (Donor, Person)
- Colman, Randolph (Donor, Person)
- Title
- Inventory of the Colman and Blank Families Papers, 1845-1993
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Processed by: Joshua Minor; machine-readable finding aid created by: Joshua Minor
- Date
- 2012
- Description rules
- Dacs
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Sponsor
- Funding from the Council on Library and Information Resources supported the processing of this collection and encoding of the finding aid.
Revision Statements
- Finding aid revised December 2013 by Martha McTear: Edited flat storage encoding.
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections Repository
Special Collections
College of Charleston Libraries
66 George Street
Charleston South Carolina 29424
(843) 953-8016
(843) 953-6319 (Fax)