MC 1399

Inventory to the Jane Orttung Files on Yznaga del Valle, circa 1970-(1990)2009

By Samara Rhett, Teresa Slobuski and Fernanda Perrone

November 2010

Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University

Finding aid encoded in EAD, version 2002 by Teresa Slobuski November 2010

Biographical Sketch of Jane Orttung

Jane Orttung was born in New York City on May 6, 1924 to Henry C. Raven and Yvonne Aurousseau, and raised in Long Island, New York. Orttung's father and upbringing gained notoriety as Henry Raven raised a chimp named Meshie along with his children in order to study their development.

Orttung received her undergraduate degree in history from Douglass College (then named New Jersey College for Women) in 1946. She also received graduate degrees in library service and Latin American history from Rutgers University (1969 and 1973, respectively) and in anthropology from Columbia University (1973). She worked as an adjunct curator at the American Museum of Natural History in New York and eventually served as Latin American Studies Librarian at Rutgers University Libraries for over two decades. Orttung, widowed in 1970, had two daughters, Jo Mary and Robin. She later married Martin Poblete, a Chilean refugee and professor at Columbia University.

While working at the Alexander Library at Rutgers, Orttung encountered the archives of the Cuban sugar family Yznaga del Valle, which are housed in the Special Collections and University Archives. Yznaga del Valle and Company was a firm of sugar merchants, originating in Cuba, that eventually expanded into New York City. The family papers include personal and business correspondence, as well as the company's business records. Those records span the years 1850 through 1881. She dedicated much of her time to transcribing and translating these materials. She completed a significant amount of research related to the collection and wrote drafts for a Rutgers University history dissertation, which was never completed. The dissertation focused on nineteenth century Cuban sugar merchants and brokers with respect to their relations with U.S. and international money markets.

As part of her research, Orttung translated more than 2700 handwritten letters from Spanish to English, the originals of which can be found in the related collection (see below). She died on October 23rd, 2008, and a memorial service and small exhibition was later held at the Alexander Library in her honor.

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Scope and Content Note

The Jane Orttung Files on Yznaga del Valle comprise 2 cubic feet of materials (2 records center cartons and one oversize folder) and dates primarily from the 1970s and 1980s, although the collection includes a few items from earlier and later dates. Included are typed and handwritten letters to and from the Yznaga del Valle family that were transcribed into legible Spanish and then translated into English, mostly from the years 1855-60, as well as some from 1890. Also included are Jane Orttung's dissertation proposals, drafts, dissertation research and notes, as well as her own personal correspondence with several professors, heads of departments, contacts in Cuba, and with her dissertation advisor Sam Baily. Furthermore, the collection includes samples of the printed materials she collected from secondary sources related to her topic, most of which are undated. These relate to Cuba, the sugar industry, and nineteenth century business practices. Given Orttung's role as a Latin American Studies Librarian, it is not surprising that some of these materials are in Spanish. Her notes, however, are all in English. The collection is divided into four series: I. Research Materials, II. Letters, III. Dissertation, and IV. Exhibition Materials.

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Arrangement Note

All materials were originally contained in binders with metal mechanisms to hold papers in place. Because these were beginning to rust the pages, all binders were discarded and papers were placed into archival folders. When appropriate, the original binder titles were kept and applied as folder names. Plastic binder dividers with specific headings were placed into the folders to separate different topics. Whenever possible to determine, the printed materials, as well as her notes, are categorized by the subject Orttung assigned to them. When Orttung's subject classification is not available, there is no indication on the folder of subject. The collection contained several incomplete drafts of Orttung's dissertation. The most complete draft (Draft C) is entitled "Conflict and Change in Central Cuba: The Iznagas of Trinidad and the del Valles of Sancti Spiritus, 1725-1959 (1814-1910)".

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Related Collection Note

Yznaga del Valle & Co. (New York, N.Y.), 1850-1881. (MC 1227). Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.

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Removal Note

The collection originally contained 3.25 cubic feet of printed materials. The majority of these materials were removed from the collection because they were drawn from easily obtainable sources such as academic journals, government documents, and books on historical subjects. The most common periodical titles included: The Hispanic American Historical Review, Hunt's Merchants Magazine and Commercial Review, Inter-American Economic Affairs, Journal of Economic History, Business History Review, Anuario de Estudios Americanos, Explorations in Economic History, Islas, Plantaciones, Journal of Transport History, and Journal of Caribbean History. The only forms of notation on any of the discarded items were lines drawn down the margins, underlining in the text, dashes or stars on citations of interest, and notes on the first page indicating the source or subject category of the document. All of these were fairly rarely seen on the bulk of the documents. Some of the materials removed were not from obvious sources, but were mostly book reviews or sections from scholarly printed works. Materials not directly related to Yznaga del Valle that were retained included unpublished works and copies from a Cuban newspaper that Rutgers University Libraries were missing that particular year. Unique items such as papers from the Conference of Caribbean Historians were also retained.

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Separated Material

One oversize map is stored separately.

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Name and Subject Terms

Names

Subjects

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Jane Orttung Files on Yznaga del Valle. MC 1414. Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.

Provenance Note

The Jane Orttung files on Yznaga del Valle were donated by her husband, Martin Poblete, after her death in October 2008.

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Detailed Description of the Collection/Container List

This section provides descriptions of the materials found within each series. Each series description is followed by a container list, which gives the titles of the "containers" (for example, folders, volumes, or cassettes) and their locations in the numbered boxes that comprise the collection. The availability of any digital items from a container is indicated with a hyperlink.