Esther Silverstein Blanc papers, 1937-1996 | Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

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Collection Overview

Title: Esther Silverstein Blanc papers, 1937-1996

ID: 01/01/MSS00082

Primary Creator: Blanc, Esther Silverstein

Extent: 2.0 Cubic Feet

Subjects: Spain -- History -- Civil War, 1936-1939, Spanish Civil War Collections (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library)

Scope and Contents of the Materials

Collection consists of correspondence, manuscripts, clippings, photographs, and assorted serials that document Blanc's connection with the Spanish Civil War. A highlight of the collection is the set of manuscripts for Blanc's Wars I Have Known.

Collection Historical Note

Dr. Esther Miriam Blanc (nee Silverstein) was born August 3, 1913 in Goshen County, Wyoming to Romanian parents, Simon and Katie (Krantz) Silverstein, who had immigrated to the United States ca. 1901. In her early years, Blanc grew up on her parents' farm in Wyoming; however, the family relocated to Scotts Bluff, Mitchell County, Nebraska between 1920-1923, where Simon located a job as a tailor for gentleman's suits. Blanc graduated from the University of California at San Francisco's School of Nursing in 1934. From 1937-1938, she served in the International Brigade Medical Corps in Spain as a front-line nurse for the Republican cause during the Spanish Civil War.

Returning to California, Blanc acquired a job as a nurse for the University of California's hospital in San Francisco. She married Richard Blanc in 1941 and acted as a US Army nurse during World War II. After the war, she received a Master's in English Literature from the University of Rochester. As a clinical nurse, she was once expelled from the California Nurses Organization for union organizing. They later honored her with an award.

She again returned to school--this time for a Doctorate in the History of Health Sciences from the University of California, which she achieved in 1972 at the age of 59. Esther Silverstein Blanc died April 22, 1997 in San Francisco County, California.

Esther's early years in Wyoming and her service in Spain would provide material for several books. In 1989, she published Berchick, an award-winning children's book based on her childhood in rural Wyoming. Another award-winning children's book, Long Johns for a Small Chicken, was published posthumously in 2003. A more serious publication, Wars I Have Seen: The Play, in Three Acts with Selected Short Stories (1996), details her experiences as a nurse in wartime.

Sources

Blanc, Esther Silverstein. Berchick (Tennessee Dixion, Illus.). Volcano Press, 1989.

Blanc, Esther Silverstein. Long Johns for Small Chickens (Tennessee Dixon, Illus.). Volcano Press, 2003.

Blanc, Esther Silverstein. Wars I Have Seen: The Play, in Three Acts with Selected Short Stories. Volcano Press, 1996.

"Blanc, Esther Miriam Silverstein." The San Francisco Examiner, 26 April 1997, page 13.

Subject/Index Terms

Spain -- History -- Civil War, 1936-1939
Spanish Civil War Collections (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library)

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1],
[All]

Series 1

Box-Folder 1-001-001: From: Taylor, Glen H. To: Blanc, Esther Silverstein, 1946
Box-Folder 1-001-002: From: Martin, Fredericka To: Rejer, Mary Lou, 1979
Box-Folder 1-001-003: From: Martin, Fredericka, 1979
Box-Folder 1-001-004: From: Patai, Frances To: Blanc, Esther Silverstein, 1989
Box-Folder 1-001-005: From: Patai, Frances To: Blanc, Esther Silverstein, 1990
Box-Folder 1-001-006: From: Patai, Frances To: Blanc, Esther Silverstein, 1990
Box-Folder 1-001-007: From: Alonso-Vega, Camilo To: Wolff, Milton, 1996
Box-Folder 1-001-008: From: Smorodin, Abe To: Veteran, Associate or Friend, 1996
Box-Folder 1-001-009: Blanc, Esther
Box-Folder 1-002-001: La Pasionaria: Dolores Ibarruri 1896-1989, 1990
Box-Folder 1-002-002: Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade 59th Anniv, 1996
Box-Folder 1-003-001: Honor Roll
Box-Folder 1-003-002: Archive American Medical Bureau to Aid Spanish Dem
Box-Folder 1-004-001: Blanc, Esther Silverstein, 1978
Box-Folder 1-004-002: Volunteer, The: Organ of Beterans of the Abraham L, 1978-1983
Box-Folder 1-004-003: La Aurora, 1980
Box-Folder 1-004-004: Volunteer, The
Box-Folder 1-004-005: Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Bulletin
Box-Folder 1-005-001: Wars I Have Seen
Box-Folder 1-005-002: Wars I Have Seen
Box-Folder 1-006-000: Wars I Have Seen, 1992
Box-Folder 1-007-000: Wars I Have Seen, 1992
Box-Folder 1-008-000: Wars I Have Seen, 1996
Box-Folder 1-009-000: Thrills Enroute to Spain, 1938
Box-Folder 1-010-001: Jirku (Gusti) Wir Kamfen Mit!
Box-Folder 1-010-002: [Untitled Folder]
Box-Folder 1-011-001: Esto Lo Vio Goya Esto Lo vemos Nosotros, 1808-1937
Box-Folder 1-011-002: Comit Populaire d'aido a toutes les victimes du fe
Box-Folder 1-011-003: Dapoz Y velarde! El sacrificio de la vidaantes ..
Box-Folder 1-012-001: AMI Ayuda Medica Internacional, Periodico del servvcio sanitario internacional, 1937
Box-Folder 1-012-002: Abraham Lincoln Brigade Remembers: The spanish Civil War and Years of Sacrifice, 1976
Box-Folder 1-012-003: Los Aviadores republicanos en el Ebro vinden hoy homenajo a las victimas de la guerra civil, 1980
Box-Folder 1-012-004: Noted Yale geneticist survived war, blacklist, 1983
Box-Folder 1-012-005: Old Soldiers won't fade away: he fights for peace., 1983
Box-Folder 1-012-006: Sentimental Journey: A Chicagoan relives the Spanish Civil War, 1983
Box-Folder 1-012-007: Jews who fought Franco, 1989
Box-Folder 1-012-008: Salud! Lincolns, 1996
Box-Folder 1-012-009: Franco's Foes Return: Wheelchairs and Memories, 1996
Box-Folder 1-012-010: Franco's Foes Return: Wheelchairs and Memories, 1996
Box-Folder 1-012-011: Franco's Enemies Come Back, with Canes and Memories
Box-Folder 1-012-012: Poder Y Libertad: Heroinas de las Buena Lucha: Mujeres Americanas Voluntarias en la guerra civil Espanola by Patai, Frances, 1989
Box-Folder 1-013-001: Wars I have seen: The Play in three Acts, 1992

Browse by Series:

[Series 1],
[All]