Collection context
Summary
- Creator:
- Hoffmann, Frank Anton, 1926-
- Abstract:
- Dr. Frank Anton Hoffmann was a PhD student in Folklore at Indiana University Bloomington from 1958 to 1968. He became a professor of English and Folklore at the State University of New York at Buffalo. This collection features Hoffmann's personal papers including correspondence, collected folklore society publications, and a photo album from the 1958 Folklore Institute.
- Extent:
- 3 Cubic Feet (2 rc, 1 small legal dc, 1 letter dc, 1 small letter dc, 1 custom box for photo album )
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
[Item], Frank Anton Hoffmann papers, Collection C746, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.
Background
- Biographical / Historical:
Frank Anton Hoffmann (1926 – 2019) was born in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Sampson College until transferring to Bucknell University in 1949. Hoffman graduated from Bucknell University in 1951 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Philosophy and was an instructor with Bucknell University's English Department.
In the summer of 1958, Hoffmann was a participant in the Indiana University Folklore Institute and started his doctoral work in Folklore at Indiana University the following fall. While studying folklore at Indiana University, Hoffmann taught in the Audio-Visual Center. Ethnomusicology and folk music were major subject areas for Hoffman's early folklore research. He was active in the Folk Music Club at IU, working to bring different folk musicians to the university for concerts. Hoffmann did his doctoral work in erotic folklore, conducting research at the Kinsey Institute for Sex Research.
After completing his PhD, Hoffmann taught at the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he worked to implement folklore scholarship into the university's English Department.
Hoffmann was an active member of many national and international folklore and popular culture societies throughout his career and was also an avid fan of Sherlock Holmes. In circa 2000, Hoffmann moved back to Indiana and lived with his family until he passed in 2019.
- Scope and Content:
The Frank Anton Hoffmann papers consists of the research, correspondence, and collected folklore society publications of Frank Hoffmann, who earned his PhD through the Indiana University Folklore Department. It is organized into five series: Conferences and events (1958-1986), Correspondence (1951-1987), Folklore societies (1949-2004), Indiana University (1958-1994), and Research and collected publications (1911-1995).
The Conferences and events series (1958-1986) features brochures, planning records, and personal notes from the academic and folklore conferences Hoffmann attended from 1960 to 1986 including American Folklore Society Annual Meetings and New York Folklore Society Meetings.
The Correspondence series (1951-1987) contains Hoffmann's personal correspondence mostly relating to his research on notable individuals such as Pete Seeger, Irwin Silber, and Izzy Young. It is organized alphabetically by the correspondent's last name.
The Folklore societies series (1949-2004) represents Hoffmann's active involvement in national and international folklore societies and organizations. The series is organized alphabetically by name of folklore society or publication name and contains membership records, newsletters, correspondence, and marketing materials sent to Hoffmann from the societies.
The Indiana University series (1958-1972) contains all of Hoffmann's collected records pertaining to his time at Indiana University and the collected publications relating to the Folklore Insititute at Indiana University Bloomington including "The Folklore and Folk Music Archivist" and the "Hoosier Folklore Bulletin." This series also contains a photo album containing photographs taken at the 1958 and 1961 Summer Folklore Institute.
The Research and collected publications series (1911-1995) contains Hoffmann's collection of independent popular culture and folk music publications such as "Come All Ye" and "Americanisms." This series also includes Hoffmann's miscellaneous collected articles and manuscripts related to his research interests such as erotic folklore, Sherlock Holmes, and folksongs.
Hoffman was an active researcher in the field of erotic folklore and, as such, some of the files in this collection have notes warning of sexually explicit content.
- Acquisition information:
- Accession 2020/032, transferred to the IU Archives by Jon Kay in July 2020
- Appraisal information:
Materials that held transcript information of Frank Hoffmann's former students and materials that contained sensitive financial details were removed from the collection and destroyed.
Hoffmann served as the editor of The Keystone Quarterly, a publication of the Pennsylvania Folklore Society, and kept membership check receipts. The receipts themselves were separated and discarded, however if the document had correspondence or any other substantial information, the records were kept and can be found in the folder "Pennsylvania Folklore Society."
- Custodial history:
This collection was gifted to the Indiana University Archives by Frank Hoffmann's wife, Lydia Hoffmann, and his daughter Christine Yoder. The materials were held by Jon Kay, a professor of Folklore at Indiana University and donated to the IU Archives in July 2020.
- Processing information:
Processed by Jo Otremba Completed in 2023.
- Arrangement:
This collection is organized into five series: Conferences and events, Correspondence, Folklore societies, Indiana University, and Research and collected publications. Within each series, the files are arranged alphabetically.
- Rules or conventions:
- DACS-Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Access
- RESTRICTIONS:
-
Collection is open for research. Advance notice required.
- TERMS OF ACCESS:
-
The Indiana University Archives respects the intellectual property rights of others and does not claim any copyrights for non-university records, materials in the public domain, or materials for which we do not hold a Deed of Gift. Responsibility for the determination of the copyright status of these materials rests with those persons wishing to reuse the materials. Researchers are responsible for securing permission from copyright owners and any other rights holders for any reuse of these materials that extends beyond fair use or other statutory limitations.
Digital reproductions of archival materials from the Indiana University Archives are made available for noncommercial educational and research purposes only. If you are the copyright holder for any of the digitized materials and have questions about its inclusion on our site, please contact the Indiana University Archivist.
- PREFERRED CITATION:
-
[Item], Frank Anton Hoffmann papers, Collection C746, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.
- CAMPUS:
- Indiana University Bloomington
- LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
-
Herman B Wells Library E4601320 East Tenth StreetBloomington, Indiana 47405-7000, United States
- CAMPUS:
- Indiana University Bloomington
- CONTACT:
-
812-855-1127archives@indiana.edu