Inventory of the Paul A. Samuelson Papers, 1933-2010 and undated
Abstract
Paul A. Samuelson was a Nobel Prize-winning economist and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The Paul Samuelson Papers span the years 1933 to 2010 and cover nearly all aspects of his distinguished career. The collection is arranged in the following series: Audiovisual Material, Awards, Committees and Projects, Correspondence, Printed Material, Speeches and Interviews, Teaching Material, and Unpublished Writings. Significant correspondents include Milton Friedman, Don Patinkin, and Robert Solow, and many other notable economists, Nobel prize winners, politicians, and scientists. Researchers will find materials representing Samuelson’s work on diverse topics of economic theory, including the history of economic thought (post-Keynesian economics, neoclassical economics, and thinkers such as Marx, Sraffa and Ricardo), financial economics, growth theory, international finance, inflation, stability, welfare economics, post-World War economic policies and stabilization, stochastic analysis, utility, monetary policy, Marxist economics, biological economics - including population and gender studies, thermodynamics, and mathematical economics. Finally, the Samuelson Papers also document his strong contributions to the U.S. government, especially his work for the Federal Reserve, and to federally-funded projects, professional committees and boards, and organizations and societies, beginning in the 1940s and continuing throughout his career.
Descriptive Summary
- Repository
- David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University
- Creator
- Samuelson, Paul A. (Paul Anthony), 1915-2009.
- Title
- Paul A. Samuelson Papers, 1933-2010 and undated
- Language of Material
- English
- Extent
- 119 Linear Feet, Approximately 88,950 Items
- Location
- For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Series Quick Links
- Audiovisual Material Series, 1969-1977
- Awards Series, 1970-2001
- Committees and Projects Series, 1947-2009
- Correspondence Series, 1935-2010 and undated
- Printed Material Series, 1930s-2010
- Speeches and Interviews Series, 1980-2009
- Teaching Material Series, 1943-1983
- Unpublished Writings Series, 1933-2009 and undated
Collection Overview
The Paul Samuelson Papers span the years 1933 to 2010, and cover nearly all aspects of his distinguished career. Materials are arranged in the original order maintained by Samuelson, and include his professional correspondence files; unpublished writings, notes, drafts and fragments; audiovisual materials; documents regarding awards, including the Nobel Prize; files relating to various grants, committees, and projects; teaching materials from his years at MIT; files of speeches; and publication files, including professional and mainstream media articles. Significant correspondents include Milton Friedman, Don Patinkin, and Robert Solow, as well as many other notable economists, Nobel prize winners, politicians, and scientists. Material can also be found on economic programs at institutions such as MIT, where Samuelson established a renowned economics faculty. Researchers will find materials representing Samuelson’s work on diverse topics of economic theory, including the history of economic thought (post-Keynesian economics, neoclassical economics, and thinkers such as Marx, Sraffa and Ricardo), financial economics, growth theory, international finance, inflation, stability, welfare economics, post-World War economic policies and stabilization, stochastic analysis, utility, monetary policy, Marxist economics, biological economics - including population and gender studies, thermodynamics, and mathematical economics. Samuelson's insights on many of these subjects serve as organizational themes for large sections in the Unpublished Writings Series in the collection. Finally, the Samuelson Papers also document his strong contributions to the U.S. government, especially his work for the Federal Reserve, and to federally-funded projects, professional committees and boards, and organizations and societies, beginning in the 1940s and continuing throughout his career.
The Correspondence Series spans Samuelson's entire career, beginning in the 1930s. It consists mainly of professional exchanges with his colleagues in the U.S. and other countries. There are also files of correspondence with a wide variety of political and academic figures, presses, and media organizations. There is frequent correspondence with President Kennedy, for whom he was an economic advisor. Besides the named folders that represent notable economists such as Milton Friedman, John Kenneth Galbraith, Franco Modigliani, Don Patinkin, and Robert Solow, there are general correspondence folders in which a variety of documents are chronologically arranged. There is also a large group of files relating to the publication of his textbooks. Additional correspondence can be found in almost all the other series. A more detailed documentation of the Correspondence Series and its correspondents can be found in the series description.
A large series of Unpublished Writings contains many folders of unpublished articles, extensive research notes, jotted-down insights, and other fragmentary writings. The earliest pieces appear to be a typescript of Samuelson's 1933 diary and writings on collective bargaining (1933-1934). The wide range of topics in economic theory as well as the history of economics reflects Samuelson's interests over many decades, beginning with his work on Marx and the Transformation Problem, and later on, focusing more specifically on financial economics. The unpublished writings also reveal that he also wrote extensively on population and gender studies, thermodynamics, and mathematics.
The equally large Printed Material Series houses a nearly complete collection of Samuelson's published articles in addition to a few of his monographs. In some cases, article folders include extensive correspondence between Samuelson and his editors and publishers. There is a complete list of Samuelson's publications available to researchers in the library, but not every publication listed is present in the collection. Located in this series is a copy of the thesis that Samuelson wrote while he was at Harvard, which in 1947 was published as the well-known Foundations of Economic Analysis. Also present in this series are the many columns and articles he wrote for Newsweek in the 1960s and 1970s.
Other aspects of Samuelson's career can be found in course files which form the Teaching Material Series, most of which contain reading lists and syllabi, and in the Committees and Projects Series, which contains information on his many consultancy roles, grant-funded projects, and professional service. Examples include projects for the Radiation Laboratory and the Rand Corporation, and contributions to government agencies such as the U.S. War Production Board and the Federal Reserve Board, as well as academic organizations such as the National Science Foundation, the National Academy of Science and the Econometric Society.
The smallest series of the collection, the Awards Series contains materials relating to Samuelson's Nobel Prize in Economics in 1970 and his Medal of Science award in 1996. Files contain congratulatory letters and telegrams, and his outgoing correspondence to subsequent Nobel Prize winners. In contrast to this small series, the large Speeches and Interviews Series houses paper drafts or transcripts of nearly all of Samuelson's public presentations, amounting to over 400 lectures, speeches, and interviews. Some of these can also be found on recorded media in the Audiovisual Series.
The highlight of the Audiovisual Material Series is 320 cassettes from the commercially produced Economics Cassettes Series, a set of interviews with Milton Friedman and Paul Samuelson on economics issues of the times. There are also a few tapes and cassettes of lectures and speeches by Samuelson. Related material on the topics and events represented in this series is also found in the Teaching Material, Speeches and Interviews, and Awards Series. There is a DVD recording of the 2010 MIT memorial service which provides many images of Samuelson taken throughout his life, filling in for the absence of photographs in the collection. Original audiovisual material is closed to use; listening or viewing copies must be made for access. Please contact a reference archivist before coming to use this series.
Administrative Information
Collections are on the move for the renovation of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Contact Rubenstein Library staff before visiting. Read More »
Access Restrictions
Collection is open.
However, patrons must sign the Acknowledgment of Legal Responsibility and Privacy Rights form before using this collection.
All or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. Consequently, there may be a 24-hour delay in obtaining these materials.
Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.
Use Restrictions
The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
Contents of the Collection
Audiovisual Material Series, 1969-1977
Chiefly made up of the Economics Cassette Series, 320 cassette tape recordings featuring interviews with economist Milton Friedman, and later, with Paul Samuelson. Topics in this series include inflation, value-added taxes, and President Reagan's fiscal policies. Also includes a DVD of Samuelson's memorial service in 2010 with many images of Samuelson taken throughout his life, some open reel audio and video tapes of Samuelson's lectures, as well as a film reel of Samuelson winning the Nobel Prize. Titles are taken from original labels. Arranged in original order as received.
[Original audiovisual materials are closed to use. Use of these materials may require production of listening or viewing copies. Please contact a reference archivist before coming to use this Series.]
Awards Series, 1970-2001
Correspondence, telegrams, newspaper clippings, invitations, some photographs, and other materials relating to Samuelson's winning of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics (1970). Also contains a file each on the Scanno Prize in Economy (1990) and the National Medal of Science (1996). The last award brought Samuelson to the White House during the Clinton presidency. Included in this series is Samuelson's correspondence, often in the form of congratulatory letters, with other Nobel laureates.
Files document Samuelson's work on MIT committees, outside grant applications, and his service to professional organizations from just after World War II until he passed away in 2009. The earliest material relates to post-war economics (with drafts of reports and correspondence by Friedman and others). The outside grant group includes National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation (NSF) grant papers. The NIH grant contains his work on economic/biological analysis of population. The NSF grant contains Samuelson's work on economic theory related to stochastic processes and economic/biological mechanisms. The Irwin Friend group houses papers related to work on interest rates, the banking industry, economic growth and foreign direct investment. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) group includes correspondence and committee work related to NAS. Included is Samuelson's referee work as part of the Editorial Board of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Also in this series is an NAS study on motor vehicle emissions, material on the Alfred Sloan Foundation Book Committee, and information on the TIAA-CREF's annual "Paul A. Samuelson Award." Series is arranged alphabetically by project name.
Correspondence Series, 1935-2010 and undated
Arranged in two subseries: correspondence with individuals and organizations, and correspondence related to his publications. Within the first, folders are arranged alphabetically, and the documents inside the folders are in reverse chronological order. Each lettered subseries begins with General Correspondence folders in which the documents are chronologically arranged. Following the General Correspondence file are the folders named either by correspondent, or by institution, topic, group or region. The second subgrouping is arranged by correspondence with publishers of his textbooks.
Includes Samuelson's professional correspondence not only with economists, but with organizations and professionals in other domains, including political figures such as Presidents John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton. There are many notable economists represented in the series, including Sir John Hicks, Frank Knight, Don Patinkin, Milton Friedman, Franco Modigliani, and others. Scholars from other disciplines, among them Noam Chomsky and Alfred J. Lotka are also present. Correspondence ranges from letters in the 1930s by Sir John Hicks and Frank Knight to posthumous correspondence on special journal issues about Samuelson's life and work. Prolific correspondents represented in the collection include Peter Bernstein, John Chipman, and Don Patinkin. Along with the letters, some folders contain drafts of articles or research, usually with Samuelson's enclosed comments or feedback; one of the earliest documents is a 1935 exam given in Jacob Viner’s economics course at the University of Chicago. Other folders include correspondence by several authors on specific subjects such as "Latane, Tobin and Markowitz on risk and uncertainty in portfolio management." There are also folders containing documents related to particular organizations, publication, and countries or regions such as China, India, Korea and South America.
Chiefly correspondence with McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, particularly regarding editions of Economics and Readings in Economics. This smaller subseries contains correspondence related to Samuelson's textbooks: Economics, Foundations of Economic Analysis and some notes and fragments that were found inside these books. Also includes some materials about other books including the Collected Scientific Papers of Paul A. Samuelson, and Linear Programming and Economic Analysis.
Economics, 1946-2008
Printed Material Series, 1930s-2010
Contains a near-complete collection of Samuelson's published writings, chiefly in article form. Arranged in three subseries: Articles (published in magazines and newspapers), Books, and Publications. The latter is arranged in the original order maintained by Samuelson. A complete bibliography of his publications, including Newsweek articles, is available in the Special Collections Library and is keyword-searchable; however, some titles listed may not be present in the collection. Contact Research Services for assistance in using this series.
Articles Subseries, 1966-1981
Includes original and photocopied articles written by Samuelson (and translated into Portuguese) for Homen, a Brazilian magazine; as well as articles for Newsweek, a regular column that he shared with economists Milton Friedman and Henry Wallich. Some folders also include reader feedback or other items.
The list of Samuelson's Newsweek columns titles and dates of publication is available in Duke's Special Collections Library and is keyword searchable. Consult the Newsweek List to learn which titles are available. Contact Research Services for assistance in using this subseries.
Books Subseries, 1940-1983
Contains versions of some of Samuelson's published books; includes a copy of his Ph.D. dissertation and some early personal editions of his textbooks with his notations. Arranged chronologically. Also included are inserts originally laid into copies of his textbooks.
Publications Subseries, 1930s-2010
Includes published copies of Samuelson's articles, interviews, and speeches, arranged chronologically in numerical order. Content in folders vary: some folders contain only a clipping of a newspaper article mentioning Samuelson or his work, while other folders include extensive correspondence between Samuelson and periodical editors regarding an article he submitted for publication. There is a small amount of audiovisual material, such as cassette tapes, included in this subseries. There is some overlap with the Articles subseries and with the Speeches and Interviews Series.
A complete list of Samuelson's publications is available in the library and is keyword searchable. Although the list is complete, not every publication is present in the collection. Also, some list numbers have been skipped. Consult the Publications List to learn which titles are available. Contact Research Services for assistance in using this subseries.
Publications List numbers 1-99.
Publications List numbers 100-195.
Publications List numbers 196-268.
Publications List numbers 270-331.
Publications List numbers 332-424.
Publications List numbers 425-537.
Publications List numbers 538-629.
Publications List numbers 632-710.
Publications List numbers 711-784.
Publications List numbers 785-849.
Publications List numbers 849a-898.
Publications List numbers 900-1007.
Publications List numbers 1008-1059.
Publications List numbers 1060-1139a.
Publications List numbers 1139b-1204.
Publications List numbers 1205-1275.
Publications List numbers 1276-1367.
Publications List numbers 1368-1467.
Publications List numbers 1468-1546.
Publications List numbers 1547-1645.
Publications List numbers 1646-1746.
Publications List numbers 1747-1847.
Publications List numbers 1848-1959.
Publications List numbers 1960-2068.
Publications List numbers 2069-2189.
Publications List numbers 2190-2305.
Publications List numbers 2306-2445, as well as forthcoming titles 26.04, 28.04, and 29.02.
Includes material related to Samuelson's public speeches, magazine interviews, and other events. Common themes are the global economy, Keynesian economics, inflation, debt, and political influences on economics (including his thoughts on various leaders such as Presidents Bush and Clinton). Many interviews are with foreign magazines or news stations, and have been translated into Spanish, Italian, Japanese, and other languages; these frequently include Samuelson's thoughts on the economics of the host country. Other speeches are much more personal, including his remarks at family events, reunions, birthday parties, and funerals.
Files are arranged chronologically. The amount of material varies: files may include correspondence between the inviting organization and Samuelson, Samuelson's script from the event, official transcripts (some edited) of the speech or interview, published accounts or news clippings from the event, and other ephemera. Some speech or interview files include audiovisual material such as cassette tapes, DVDs, or VHS videotapes.
Several recordings of Samuelson's public presentations, possibly including versions of speeches in this series, can be found in the Audiovisual Material Series.
[Original audiovisual materials are closed to use. Use of these materials may require production of listening or viewing copies. Please contact a reference archivist before coming to use this collection.]
Teaching Material Series, 1943-1983
Class notes, required reading lists, "Courses by Newspaper" booklets, syllabi, and other materials from courses taught by Samuelson at Harvard, MIT, and other universities.
Samuelson's unpublished and unfinished writings make up the majority of the series. To allow for better access, these unorganized files were sorted into fifteen topical groups: Economic Policy, Financial Economics, Growth Theory, History of Economic Thought, International Economics, Macroeconomics, Marx, Mathematical Economics, Population and Gender, Public Economics, David Ricardo, Piero Sraffa, Stochastic Theory, Thermodynamics, and Welfare Economics. Finally, there is a remaining group of uncategorized folders of unpublished writings, and then two boxes of notes and fragmentary writings.
Jotted down on notepads and paper sheets and frequently informal in tone, the unpublished writings reflect Samuelson's interest, manifest throughout his career, in multiple areas of scientific and historical thought. The most prolific output relates to mathematics and mathematical economics. The history of economic thought also receives a great deal of attention from Samuelson, with extensive writings on classical and neoclassical economics and separate categories for his many notes and drafts on the economic thought of Karl Marx, David Ricardo, and Piero Sraffa. Samuelson contributed seminal work to the new field of biological economics, helping to shed light on sex ratios and population issues in economics, and this work is present in this series in the form of writings on population and gender and on Volterra and Lotka. The series ends with uncategorized unpublished writings on a variety of issues ranging from capitalism and utility analysis, to comments on published articles by other economists.
The fifteen categories are arranged alphabetically, then alphabetically within by original folder titles.
