Justin George Turner Papers

This small collection chiefly relates to the Civil War Centennial Commission and all of its related activities especially in California. There are also pieces related to the Civil War Round Table, a national organization; the California Heritage Preservation Association; the Confederate Research Club; and the Pen Club, an organization headed by Allan Nevins and which celebrated both George Washington and Abraham Lincoln with annual luncheons attended by prominent historians such as Nevins and Ray Billington. There are seven letters from Edmund Gerald Brown, former governor of California, addressed to Justin Turner and other letters from historians. All are related to the Civil War Centennial. There are 624 letters of which 339 of these letters are written by Turner. In addition to this there is a group of form letters, printed announcements, memos, and drafts that number 217 pieces. There are 23 copies of speeches and memos and 56 pieces of ephemera. There are nine items regarding the Washington/Lincoln luncheons. There are several items that pertain to the history of Jewish people in the United States and the American Jewish Historical Society. Prominent participants include: Ronald Reagan, Robert F. Kennedy, Gage Merrell, Bruce Catton, and Moshe Davis. The subjects include: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Mary Todd Lincoln, the Civil War, American history, the Huntington Library and the American Jewish Historical Society. The great majority of letters are carbon copies. There is a photograph of Merrell Gage, sculpture famous for his "Face of Lincoln," and a photograph of William L. Shaw, a chairman of the Civil War Centennial Commission of California.