College Archives: Faculty & Administrator Papers

Collection Summary

Vincent J. Knapp Papers, 1964-2003

Collection Number: CA-50005
Collection Size: 2.95 cubic feet

Access & Arrangement

The Vincent J. Knapp papers are open to all users and available in the reading room of the SUNY Potsdam College Archives & Special Collections. The collection is currently minimally processed, and comprises three series (Biographical, Publications & Scholarly Presentations, “Works In Progress,” and Correspondence).

The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply. Questions concerning rights should be addressed to the College Archivist.

Biographical

Vincent J. Knapp was born in Syracuse New York. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University, and his doctorate from the University of Rochester. He also attended the University of Vienna in Austria. He worked in the SUNY Potsdam History Department for thirty-four years, and during that time he published over fifty books, articles, and reviews. He studied a variety of topics, especially those concerning diet and disease. On August 1, 1999 he died of liver cancer.

Scope and Content

The collection is divided into four series.

• Series 1. Biographical

This series consists primarily of published material on Dr. Knapp, including faculty profiles and his obituary. It also includes copies of his professional resume. A majority of the records are dated from 1998- 2000.

• Series 2. Publications & Scholarly Presentations

Materials in this series include books, book reviews, Knapp’s doctoral thesis, scholarly articles and scholarly presentations. Records are dated from 1964 – 2003.

• Series 3. Works in Progress and Research Materials

This series comprises a bulk of the collection. It includes material (research files and article drafts) on a variety of Dr. Knapp’s intellectual pursuits and research. A majority of these records are historic material, therefore comprising the early dates of the collection. Further, most records pertain to Endometriosis and Fibroids. Some of these materials include reel-to-reel film and more are in other languages other than English. Records range in date from 1559- 1999.

• Series 4. Correspondence

This series includes letters belonging to Knapp from 1997-1999.

Container Listing

Series 1. Biographical

Box	Folder	Description	Dates
1	1	Faculty Profiles,	1998-1999
	2	Obituaries,	2000
	3	Resumes,	1999

Series 2. Publications & Scholarly Presentations

Subseries A. Books

Box	Folder	Description	Dates
1		“Austrian Social Democracy, 1889-1914,”	1980
		“Disease and Its Impact On Modern European History,”	1989
		“Europe in the Era of Social Transformation: 1700- Present,”	1976

Subseries B. Book Reviews By Knapp

Box	Folder	Description	Dates
1	4	Austrian History Yearbook,	1970-1993
	5	The American Historical Review,	1977-1996
	6	Canadian Journal of History,	March 1971
	7	Comparative Studies In Society And History,	July 1982
	8	East Central Europe,	1991
	9	The Historian,	1990-1995
	10	Social History,	1983-1987
	11	Social History of Medicine,	April 1997
	12	Journal of Urban History,	Mat 1977
	13	Untitled,	circa 1998
	14	Fertility & Steriity	January 2000

Subseries C. Doctoral Thesis

Box	Folder	Description	Dates
1	15	“The Arbeiter = Zeitung: The Mirror Of Austrian Social Democracy,”	1964

Subseries D. Scholarly Articles

Box	Folder	Description	Dates
1	16	“Alcohol, Industrialization, and High Energy Foods,”	1988
	17	“The Artisans and the Upper Middle Class Challenge to the Aristocracy: France, England, and Germany,”	1977
	18	“Cathartic Drugs and Pain in Pre-Industrial Europe,”	1986
2	1	“Civil Rights and Sociology in the Age of Enlightenment,”	1972
	2	“The Coming of Vegetables, Fruits, and Key Nutrients to the European Diet,”	1996
	3	“The Communist Party and the Social Classes in Russia,”	1977
	4	“The Democritization of Meat and Protein in Late Eighteenth – and Nineteenth- Century Europe,”	1997
	5	“Diet and Disease During Europe’s Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions,”	2000
	6	“Dietary Changes and the Decline of Scurvy and Tuberculosis in 19th Century Europe,”	1989
	7	“Europe’s Great Dietary Revolution: From a Single Staple (Bread) to a Diversity of Food, 1750-1900,”	2000
	8	“Europe’s Textile Artisans and the Early Stages of the Industrial Revolution,”	1977
	9	“Ferdinand Lasalle on the State and Society: A Legacy of Welfare Statism,”	1971
	10	“How Old is Endometriosis? 18th Century European Descriptions of the Disease,”	1999
	11	“Life Expectancy, Infant Mortality, and Malnutrition in Preindustrial Europe: A Contemporary Explanation,”	1998
	12	“Major Dietary Changes in Nineteenth-Century Europe,”	1988
	13	“Major Medical Explanations for High Infant Mortality in Nineteenth-Century Europe,"	1972
	14	“The Medical Response to Rising Alcohol Consumption in 18th Century Europe,”	1998
	15	“The Miasmatic and Microscopic Explanations for Disease in the European Past,”	1985
	16	“Popular Participation in the European General Strikes Prior to 1914,”	1973
	17	“Postmortems and the Growth of Modern Medical Knowledge in 19th Century Europe,”	1983
	18	“Research on Dietary Fats and Degenerative Disease Before the Second World War,”	2003
	19	“Revisionism and it’s Impact on Austrian Social Democracy,”	1972
	20	“T.H. Green on the Exorability of Property,”	1969

Subseries E. Scholarly Presentations

Box	Folder	Description	Dates
2	21	Scholarly Presentations,	1998-1999

Series 3. Works In Progress and Research Materials.

Subseries A. Files

Box	Folder	Description	Dates
2	22	Alcoholism & Dipsomania - Research Files,	1804-1988
	23	Breast & Uteran Cancers - Research Files,	1993
	24	Diet - Research Files,	1997
	25	Endometriosis - Paper Drafts,	1999
	26	Endometriosis - Research Files,	1690-1999
3	1-6	Endometriosis - Research Files,	1803-1864
4	1-6	Endometriosis - Research Files,	1865-1997
4	7	Experimental Physiology - Research Files,	1984
	8	Fibroids - Paper Drafts,	undated
5	1-6	Fibroids - Research Files,	1741-1887
	7	Health & Nutrition, 18th Century - Paper Drafts,	undated
6	1	Modern Existentialism - Paper Drafts,	undated
6	2-3	Ovaries - Research Files,	1825-1972
6	4	Puerperal Fever - Research Files,	1890-1998
6	5	Uterus - Research Files,	1741-1997

Subseries B. Microfilmed Documents

Box	Folder	Description	Dates
6	7	Notes,	undated
		Anton Wilhelm Plaz,	undated
		Christian Michael Adolph,	undated
		J.H. Schulze,	undated
		Johann Heinrich Engelhagen,	undated
		Lorenz Florenz Frieorch Von Crell,	undated
		Salvatore Massonio,	undated
		Thomas Bell,	undated
		Johann Ernst Hebenstreit,	undated

Series 4. Correspondence

Box	Folder	Description	Dates
7	1	Professor,	1998 - 1999
	2	Researcher,	1990 - 1999
	3	Author,	1998 - 1999
	4	Public Orator,	1998
	5	Friend & Colleague,	1997 - 1999