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[Identification of item], Robert S. Smith Papers, University Archives, Duke University.
The Robert S. Smith Papers were received by the University Archives as a gift in 1968 (A68-106); 1972 (A72-50); and 1984 (A84-12).
This collection is unprocessed: materials may not have been ordered and described beyond their original condition.
Encoded by Valerie Gillispie, July 14, 2003
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
Robert Sidney Smith was born on June 13, 1904, in Waterbury, Connecticut. He received his A.B. and A.M. degrees from Amherst College and his Ph.D. from Duke University in 1932. He served as a professor of economics from 1932 until his death in 1969. Smith's research focused on Latin American economic history and the history of Hispanic economic thought. He was named a James B. Duke Professor in 1964.
Collection includes correspondence, reprints, manuscripts, notes, microfilms, and other published materials related to Smith's professional career as an educator and economist. Much of the material is in Spanish, reflecting his activities and research interests in Latin American economic history and development, and the history of Hispanic economic thought. Other matters treated in the files concern the Dan River Textile Mills in Danville, Virginia, Smith's work as a government consultant, and as a teacher of economics in South America and Latin America., and affairs of the Department of Economics and Business Administration. There is some material related to the courses he taught, and to personal affairs and writings.
The collection is only preliminarily organized. The first six boxes contain correspondence and other materials in Spanish and English. The five remaining boxes include card files of 4" x 6" cards with notes (in Spanish) on Spanish and Central and South American economic history. They also include bibliography cards, and oversized machine-made copies of manuscript volumes and papers from the Archivo General de Indias, Sevilla, concerning the indigo trade in Guatemala, and, from an unknown source, similar material concerning economic conditions in Mexico from the late 18th to early 19th centuries. Also, 2 card files of 4" x 6" cards, notes on Dan River Textile Mill operations and labor conditions, ca. 1900-1940, and approximately 20 microfilms and filmstrips from U.S., Latin American, and Spanish repositories.
These and related materials may be accessed under the following subject headings in the Duke University Libraries online catalog.