Martha's Vineyard Museum
A Finding Aid to the Dorothy Brickman Collection
Table of Contents
Descriptive Summary
| Repository | Martha's Vineyard Museum Gale Huntington Research Library 59 School Street P.O. Box 1310 Edgartown, MA 02539 (508) 627-4441 |
|---|---|
| Call Number | RU 528 |
| Creator | Brickman, Dorothy, 1916-2006 |
| Title | Dorothy Brickman collection |
| Date | circa 1900s-circa 1980s |
| Extent | 5 boxes |
| Language | The materials are in English and Hebrew. |
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
There are no restrictions.
Use and Reproduction Restrictions
Requests to reproduce material from this collection should be directed to the library's staff. Reproduction fees may apply.
Preferred Citation
Martha's Vineyard Museum, RU 528, Dorothy Brickman Collection.
Acquisition Information
The materials were acquired from Dorothy Brickman and her family in the 2000s.
Publication Information
Martha's Vineyard Museum
Gale Huntington Research Library59 School Street
P.O. Box 1310
Edgartown, MA 02539
(508) 627-4441
Processing Information
Finding aid prepared and machine-encoded by Nathaniel Janick in June 2015.
Creation of this finding aid was sponsored by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.Related Materials
Related Material
The museum has a number of oral history interviews featuring both Dorothy Brickman and her sister Ida Levine, conducted by Linsey Lee.
Controlled Access Headings
Corporate Name(s)
- Martha's Vineyard Hebrew Center
- Ohio State University
- United Service Organizations (U.S.)
Family Name(s)
- Brickman family
Genre(s)
- Photograph albums
- Photographs
- Scrapbooks
- Sheet music
Geographic Name(s)
- Panama Canal Zone
Personal Name(s)
- Levine, Ida, 1908-2000
Biography/Historical Note
Dorothy Brickman was born in 1916 to Judal and Eudice Brickman, immigrants from Eastern Europe. Dorothy was the first person of Jewish descent to be born on the island. Her family went on to own two stores on Martha's Vineyard, Vineyard Dry Goods and Brickman's. They were also founding members of the Martha's Vineyard Hebrew Center.
Dorothy left the island to attend Simmons College, where she graduated with a degree in social work in 1938. She later volunteered at the Martha's Vineyard United Service Organizations (US0) where she eventually became employed for 15 years, working mostly in the Panama Canal Zone and Asia.
In 1956, she returned to school, attending Columbia University and earning masters' degrees in social work and education. She then went to work as the foreign student advisor at Western College for Women and later became the director of International Student and Scholar Services at Ohio State University.
Throughout her school and travels, she remained close to the Vineyard, corresponding with the Vineyard Gazette and returning home each summer to help with the family business and at the Hebrew Center. In 1992, her sister, Ida Brickman Levine fell ill, and Dorothy returned to take care of her. Dorothy Brickman died in 2006.
Scope and Content Note
This collection consists of photographs, albums, sheet music, scrapbooks, and other materials. The materials cover the Brickman family and their businesses, Tisbury High School, the Martha's Vineyard Hebrew Center, as well as items related to Dorothy's USO service and her work at Ohio State University.
Arrangement
Materials in Box 1 are topically arranged and therein loosely chronologically. The rest of the materials are loosely stored in their respective boxes.
Collection Inventory
| Box | Folder | |||
Photographs of Tisbury High School theatre casts, 1924, 1933, undated | 1 | 1 | ||
Photocopied clippng of Ida Brickman Levine's 1925 Tisbury High School graduating class, undated | 1 | 2 | ||
Photocopied photograph of 1930 Tisbury High School band, undated | 1 | 3 | ||
Photographs of Brickman's and Brickman's Shoe Store, circa 1913-circa 1950s | 1 | 4 | ||
Photographs of Vineyard Dry Goods, 1939-1950s | 1 | 5 | ||
Photographs of Martha's Vineyard Hebrew Center, circa 1940 | 1 | 6 | ||
Photographic postcard of Ida Brickman Levine, circa 1915 | 1 | 7 | ||
Photographs of Brickman family on Martha's Vineyard, 1944-1945, undated NoteIncludes photographs of Menemsha and a ferry. | 1 | 8 | ||
Photographs of Brickman family, 1944-1945 NoteIncludes a family portrait in front of Gay Head Lighthouse. | 1 | 9 | ||
Travel postcards, 1950, 1954, undated NoteMost of the postcards are from Denmark. One, from Paris, is address to Dorothy Brickman and written by a woman named Mae. | 1 | 10 | ||
Photograph of Dorothy Brickman with a Girl Scout troop, mid-1900s | 1 | 11 | ||
Kol Nidre sheet music with additional arrangements attached, circa 1943-1950s | 1 | 12 | ||
Selected Jewish Songs for Members of the Armed Forces, 1943 | 1 | 13 | ||
Dorothy Brickman materials related to her USO service, 1946, undated NoteIncludes photocopy of 1943 article about her joining the service, a photograph of her in a parade, a photograph of her in an office, and two identification cards. | 1 | 14 | ||
Dorothy Brickman binder of Jewish sheet music, circa 1943-1950s NoteUsed during Brickman's time with the Jewish Welfare Board. Music appears to be mostly hymns | 1 | 15 | ||
Sheet music, 1917, 1942 NoteIncludes Ira Berlin's "American Eagles" from This is the Army and "Go Down, Moses" arranged by H. T. Burleigh. | 1 | 16 | ||
Fyn Under Fem Aars Krig, 1945 NoteThe title in English is translated "Funen during five years of war." The original publication has been bound with cardboard and tape. | 1 | 17 | ||
Photographs of Dorothy Brickman and colleagues from the Ohio State University, 1968, 1976-1977, undated NoteIncludes photographs from Brickman's retirement and a 1976 International Picnic Day. Also includes a card to Dorothy Brickman from Rose Levett. An unopened envelope of negatives, labeled 'Pictures of Office Staff for DB's retirement, was separated during processing. | 1 | 18 | ||
| Box | ||||
Photograph album, 1950s | 2 | |||
Photograph album, 1950s | 3 | |||
Photograph album, 1950s | 4 | |||
Photograph album, circa 1900-circa 1950 NoteMaterials in box 5 are stored loosely. | 5 | |||
Loose photographs from photograph album, circa 1900-circa 1950 | 5 | |||
Framed photograph of unidentified woman, undated NoteBlack and white photograph of an elderly woman with a polka dot dress and a light-colored scarf. | 5 | |||
Framed photograph of unidentified woman, undated NoteBlack and white photograph of a woman, possibly Dorothy's mother Eudice Brickman. | 5 | |||
Framed photograph of Ida Brickman Levine, undated NoteIncludes an Underwood Typewriter Company Medal for Speed and Accuracy | 5 | |||
Framed Dorothy Brickman statement, circa 1960s-circa 1980s NoteA mission statement written by Dorothy Brickman while she was director of the International Student and Scholar Services at the Ohio State University. | 5 | |||