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Ralph L. Graham Yalta Conference photographs and scrapbook

 Collection
Identifier: Midwest-MS-Graham

Scope and Content of the Collection

This collection has been divided into three boxes, with one oversize box (Box 1) containing Ralph L. Graham’s scrapbook, the others (Boxes 2 and 3) containing prints and negatives taken by Graham and their accompanying contact sheets. Due to the scrapbook’s fragility and in order to reduce the risk of future damage, pages have been removed and placed in folders while maintaining the original order found in the intact scrapbook. Where necessary, loose newspaper clippings have been placed in archival sleeves and attached with a paperclip to their original sheet or contained within an archival folder placed in the same location as their original sheet. Box 2 holds individual folders of photographic negatives and contact sheets arranged according to their original order. The negatives have been digitized and are available online.

Dates

  • Creation: 1940-1946

Creator

Language

Materials are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

The Ralph L. Graham Yalta Conference photographs and scrapbook are open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 1 box at a time (Priority III).

Ownership and Literary Rights

The Ralph L. Graham Yalta Conference photographs and scrapbook are the physical property of the Newberry Library. Copyright may belong to the authors or their legal heirs or assigns. For permission to publish or reproduce any materials from this collection, contact the Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections at reference@newberry.org.

Biography of Ralph L. Graham

Born in 1919 in Philadelphia, Ralph Luke Graham was appointed to the United States Foreign Service in 1944 and served as a personal secretary to Secretary of State Edward R. Stettinius during the contentious winter of 1945 as end of the Second World War loomed on the horizon and the "Big Three" were forced to confront the reality of the post-war period. An amateur photographer, Graham took numerous candid and heretofore unseen photographs of the leaders of the "Big Three" as well as more tourist-oriented images of the various locations visited by Secretary Stettinius in 1945 including Morocco, Senegal, and the Crimea with his Leica 35 mm camera. Graham died in 1986 and is survived by his wife, Mary L. Graham.

Historical Note on the Yalta Conference

From February 4-11, 1945 the heads of the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union convened in the Livadia Palace near Yalta, Crimea in order to discuss and formulate a plan for the reorganization and stabilization of Europe following the then almost inevitable defeat of the Germans. This weeklong conference of the “Big Three” powers, known most commonly as the Yalta Conference but also as the Crimea Conference or by its codename, the Argonaut Conference, resulted in a series of resolutions that would redraw the map of the European continent and pave the way for the Cold War and ensuing geopolitical crises that continue into the present day.

Extent

2.6 Linear Feet (2 boxes and 1 oversize box)

Abstract

Material related to the activities of the United States Department of State during the months of January-March, 1945 with a particular focus on the Malta Conference, the Yalta Conference, the Inter-American Conference on Problems of War and Peace, and the travels of Secretary of State Edward R. Stettinius in Northern Africa and Central America. The collection is composed of a State Department-created scrapbook with an assortment of photographs taken by the US Army Signal Corps and relevant newspaper clippings as well as a group of photographic prints, negatives, and accompanying contact sheets taken by Ralph L. Graham, an assistant to Secretary Stettinius during his travels in 1945.

Organization

Materials are organized in the following series:

Series 1: Scrapbook, 1945
Box 1
Series 2: Photographic prints, negatives, and contact sheets, 1940s
Boxes 2 and 3

Collection Stack Location

1 37 4, 1 30 1

Provenance

Gift of Mary L. Graham, Sharon M. Graham, and Terry McGuire.

Processed by

Gordon Dearborn Wilkins, 2015.

Title
Inventory of the Ralph L. Graham Yalta Conference photographs and scrapbook, 1940-1946
Status
Completed
Author
Gordon Dearborn Wilkins
Date
©2015.
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Revision Statements

  • 2023-06-30: Additional photographs and negatives added to the collection.

Repository Details

Part of the The Newberry Library - Modern Manuscripts and Archives Repository

Contact:
60 West Walton Street
Chicago Illinois 60610 United States
312-255-3512