Sanford Gifford, M.D. (1918 - 2013) Papers, 1955 - 2012



Descriptive Summary

Repository: The Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute
Creator: Sanford Gifford, M.D., 1918- 2013
Title: Sanford Gifford (1918-2013) Papers
Dates: 1955 - 2012
Quantity: 4 archival boxes
Abstract: The Sanford Gifford Papers contain professional materials collected by Gifford during his career, most notably many of his publications, papers presented at conferences, professional correspondence, and many transcripts of interviews with other psychoanalysts for the BPSI Oral History Project.
Identification:
Languages: Materials are mostly in English, few materials are in German.

Historical Note

Sanford Gifford was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1918 and grew up in Chicago, Illinois. He attended Harvard Medical School and graduated from Northwestern Medical School in 1942, after which he became an acting psychiatric resident at the University of California Hospital in San Francisco. From 1943 to 1946, Dr. Gifford served as a military psychiatrist in the Southwest Pacific. He and his wife Ingrid then settled in Boston and both graduated from the BPSI in 1954. Dr. Gifford then joined the psychiatric unit at Brigham and Woman's Hospital after a VA traineeship in psychiatry; at Brigham and Woman's Hospital, he primarily worked on psychosomatic research, teaching and general hospital psychiatry until 1994. Concurrently, Dr. Gifford served as the Hanns Sachs Library Director at the BPSI from 1966 until 2000, and then as the BPSI Archives Director from 2000 until 2013. Even after retirement, Dr. Gifford continued to teach at Harvard Medical School, publish his research, and chaired the History and Archives Committee of the American Psychoanalytic Association. He passed away in 2013 at the age of 95.

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Scope and Content Note

The collection consists of many materials kept and created by Dr. Sanford Gifford from 1955 until his death in 2013. These materials include Gifford's publications, papers presented at conferences, professional correspondence as well as transcripts of interviews with fellow notable psychoanalysts. Also included are research materials used by Gifford, as well as memorial materials prepared by him for some of his colleagues.

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Series Arrangement

Series I: Correspondence, Professional, 1971-2012

Series II: Interviews and Transcripts, 1955-2011

Series III: Research and Panel Discussions, 1973-2012

Sub-Series A: Elvin Semrad Materials, 1969-2005

Series IV: Writings, Publications, and Papers Presented, 1962-2004

Sub-Series B: Memorial Materials, 1974-2002

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Restrictions

Restrictions to Access

If you wish to access any records in the BPSI Archives, please email library@bpsi.org or call 617-266-0953.

Some content restricted to BPSI members.

Copyright Notice

Please contact The Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute for copyright information.

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in Sanford Gifford Collection, The Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, Boston, MA, USA.

Acquisitions Information

Materials were donated by the sons of Dr. Gifford, Paul and Ralph Gifford, in 2014.

Processing Information

Processed and encoded by Anna Dorste in 2015.

The materials in this collection have been re-housed in acid free folders when necessary and placed in an archival box. The original order has been preserved.

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Content

Series I: Correspondence, Professional, 1971-2012

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This series contains professional correspondence between Gifford and his contemporaries ranging from 1971-2012. Some correspondences include related materials, such as publications by either party or materials relating to the subject discussed in the correspondence Folders are arranged chronologically.
Box 1

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Dr. Henry A. Murray - Gifford, 1971-1978 (bulk: 1971-1972)
Dr. Spafford Ackerly - Gifford, transcript of interview re: Hendrick, 1972-1976
Letter to Dr. Grete Bibring, June 28, 1973
Dr. Houston Merritt - Gifford, re: Hendrick, 1974
Dr. Erich Lindemann - Gifford, 1974
Dr. Ackerly - Hendrick, 1974
Dr. George Gifford - S. Gifford, 1974-1975
Dr. Bernard Bandler - Gifford, 1974-1975
Letter to S. Gifford from Walter Langer, June 29, 1975
Dr. George L. Engel - Gifford, 1975-1976
Dr. Barbara Sicherman - Gifford, re: Notable American Women, 1977
Dr. Kurt Eissler - Gifford, correspondence and related materials, 1977-1982
Dr. Frank J. Sulloway - Gifford, 1981
Eugene Taylor - Gifford, correspondence and related materials, 1982-1984
Dr. Renata Gaddini de Benedetti - Gifford, correspondence and related materials, 1987-1989
Dr. Renata Gaddini - Gifford, correspondence re: Gaddini’s letter to the editor of the “International Journal of Psychoanalysis” about Robert Caper, and related materials, 1998
Dr. David J. Lynn - Gifford, correspondence re: Lynn’s publications on Freud, 1990-1991
Dr. Ronald Wilkinson - Gifford, correspondence re: Library of Congress Freud Collection, 1991-1992 (bulk: Feb. 1992)
Letter to Mark O. Kasanin from Gifford, and related materials, Jan. 15, 1992
Thomas, George, and Marcia Bibring - Gifford, 1995-2005
Dr. Renata Gaddini - Gifford, correspondence re: Gaddinni’s article “Women Analysts at the End of the Millenium,” 1999
Dr. Janet Brown - Gifford, and related materials, 2003
Edward Jones - Gifford, correspondence re: Freud and Felix Deutsch, and related materials, 2011-2012
Series II: Interviews and Transcripts, 1955-2011

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This series contains professional interviews and transcripts of interviews performed by Gifford and his contemporaries. Interviews were part of the BPSI Oral History Workshop project in which notable psychoanalysts were interviewed about the field of Psychoanalysis. Folders are arranged chronologically with some exceptions when subjects are grouped.
Box 2

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Inventory List of taped interviews by Sanford Gifford up to 1991 n.d.
Research Conference transcript between Drs. Gifford, Fox, Valenstein, and Murawski, Feb. 9, 1955
“Interview with Mrs. Frances Deri” by Dr. Albert Kandelin, Feb. 3, 1963
Harvard Medical School Seminar Transcript, with Dr. Elvin Semrad, Jan. 21, 1969
Section of interview with Dr. Helen Tartakoff, 1973
Interview with Miss Christine MacPherson, March 27, 1973
Interview with Dr. Donald MacPherson and related materials, March 28, 1973
Interview with Dr. Lydia Dawes, May 7, 1973
Interview with Dr. Richard Wagner, “at the reception,” (n.d., but found with materials relating to April 1973 conference)
“Visit to Erich Lindemann, August 7, 1974”
Interviews with Dr. Bernard Bandler, February 20, 27 and March 4, 1975
Interview with Dr. Edith Burbaum and related materials, June 16, 1979
Committee on History and Archives - Transcript with Dr. Ronald Wilkinson re: Freud Collection and related materials, 1983
Interview with Dr. Harriet Robey, March 24, 1984
Interviews with Alfred O. Ludwig, with notes and transcripts, Oct. 11, 1983 - Sept. 11, 1984
Interview with Dr. Erik Erikson and Joan Erikson and related materials, Nov. 3, 1984
Interview with Dr. Charles Pinderhughes, Dec. 7, 1994
Interview with Joan Erikson by Sanford Gifford with Bernhard Hendlbauer, April 15, 1996
Interview with Dr. Gregory Rochlin, June 5, 1996
Interview with Dr. Gregory Rochlin, June 12, 1996
Interview with Dr. Ronald Wilkinson, with revisions and related materials provided by Wilkinson, July 24, 1996
Interview with Dr. Ronald Wilkinson and related materials, July 24, 1996
Interview with Dr. Hannah Kapit, Aug. 19, 2003
Interview with Dr. Marianne von Hippel and her daughter Kristin von Hippel by Sanford Gifford with Vivien Goldman, Sept 24, 2003
Interview of Janet Brown, Feb. 25, 2004
“An Evening with Arthur Valenstein and Sanford Gifford,” by Dr. Hannah Kapit with Valerie Angel, Oct. 25, 2004
“Interview of Sanford Gifford, M.D.,” by Dr. Daniel Pick, Apr. 9, 2008
Interview with Janet Brown by Sanford Gifford with Olga Umansky, May 18, 2011
Interview with Dr. Veronica B. Tisza, n.d.
Series III: Research and Panel Discussions, 1973-2012

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This series contains research materials used by Gifford as well as panel discussions presented on that research. Note: many of the materials are reproductions or surrogates of materials from the early 20th century. There is no date on which Gifford acquired these materials, therefore the dates included for these items represents the date the original items were created, for example, see folder 1. These dates are not reflected in the inclusive dates for these series. Folders are arranged chronologically.
Box 3

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Letter to Freud from Ernest Jones, with notes by Gifford, Feb. 7, 1909
Transcripts and photocopies of correspondence between Freud and Felix Deutsch, 1923-1924
Ives Hendrick - Bertram D. Lewin correspondence, 1932-1942
Ives Hendrick - Spafford Ackerly correspondence, 1933-1943
Notes on Dr. Grete Bibring and related materials, n.d.
“Panel Discussion: Psychoanalysis in Boston, 1918-1944” by George E. Gardner, n.d.
“Reflections on the 10th Anniversary of Freud’s Death” no author, n.d.
“Notes on Ives Hendrick,” typed and handwritten, by Sanford Gifford, March to July, 1971
“Notes on Felix Deutsch as Freud’s Personal Physician” by Sanford Gifford, Rome, 1972
“Psychotherapy, Psychoanalysis, and the New England Medical Scene, 1894-1933,” no author, presented at unknown conference in Boston, MA on April 13-15 1973.
“Introduction to the Panel-Discussion,” no author, n.d., handwritten notes by Sanford Gifford, grouped with materials for “Psychotherapy, Psychoanalysis, and the New England Medical Scene, 1894-1933,” for April 13-15, 1973
“Abridged version of section on Hendrick” pp 64-140 by Bebe Limentani, 1975
Corrections to Helen H. Tartakoff’s comments on Grete Bibring’s memorial service, first and second drafts, Sept. 12, 1977
Dr. Lewis L. Robbins - Dr. Arcangelo D’Amore, correspondence and copy of paper presented by Robbins on April 30, 1956 at APsaA-APoaA, 1977
Review (by Sanford Gifford) of “Introduction” (by George Gifford), circa 1978
“Conclusions: Was the Boston Analytic Scene Different from Others?” with notes by Sanford Gifford, no author, n.d.
“Chapter 7: Generation of Rebels,” no author, n.d.
Selected writings of Alexander Etkind: “Russia” (1992) and “Trotsky and Psychoanalysis” (1994) with handwritten notes by Sanford Gifford, n.d.
“Russia” by Rene and Eugenia Fischer, published in “Psychoanalysis International,” vol. 2, ed. by Peter Kutter, with handwritten notes by Sanford Gifford, n.d.
“Workshop 20: Emigré Analysts on the West Coast: Fenichel, Simmel, Bernfeld” and related materials, APsaA San Diego, no author, May 3, 1984
“Psychoanalysis and Politics in Vienna before 1938,” panel discussion, no author, Dec. 20, 1984,
“Remarks by Barbara Bowman: June graduation 1986,” handwritten MS by Martha Piers, and related materials, circa 1986
Ms. Flora Lazar - Gifford, correspondence and related materials re: Franz Alexander - Hendrick correspondence,(bulk: copies of Alexander - Hendrick correspondence), 1990
Notes and thoughts on Nellie L. Thompson’s “Reading American and British Analysts: Affinities, Acknowledgements, and Influence,” by Sanford Gifford, 2010
“The Case of Erik Erikson” for workshop on “The Pivotal Role of the Analyst’s Own Analysis: The Cases of Erik Erikson and Helene Deutsch,” meeting of the APsaA, by James Anderson, June 13, 2012
“The Case of Helene Deutsch” for workshop on “The Pivotal Role of the Analyst’s Own Analysis: The Cases of Erik Erikson and Helene Deutsch,” meeting of the APsaA, by James Anderson, June 13, 2012
Sub-Series A: Elvin Semrad Materials, 1969-2005

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This sub-series contains materials relevant to Elvin Semrad, a notable psychoanalyst who was known for his diagnostic abilities. Folders are arranged chronologically.
Box 3

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“Harvard Medical School Seminar,” with Dr. Elvin Semrad, and related materials, Jan. 21, 1969
David Mobley - Gifford, correspondence, re: Semrad tapes/papers, 1999
Dr. and Mrs. Max Day and David Mobley- Gifford, correspondence, re: Semrad Tapes, 1999-2005 (bulk 1999)
Interview with June Johnson and Dr. Max Day, re: Semrad, Nov. 18, 2000
Interview with David Mobley and Vivien Goldman, re: Semrad, Oct. 1, 2002
Letter to Sheila Semrad from Sanford Gifford, re: Semrad tapes, May 11, 2004
Dr. Elvin Semrad, memorial writings and related materials, 2005-2008
“Elvin Semrad: His Principles for Diagnostic Interviews and Therapy” (A Memorial), presented by Sanford Gifford, May 14, 2005
“Elvin Vavrinec Semrad, 1909-1976,” by Sanford Gifford, May 2005
Dr. Dorothy Gampbel - Dr. and Mrs. Max Day, correspondence re: Semrad, Sept. 21, 2005
Series IV: Writings, Publications, and Papers Presented, 1962-2004

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Included in this series are publications, writings, and papers presented, mostly authored by Sanford Gifford. There are some materials that are undated and/or unattributed, but included in this series because they have been published and are relevant to Gifford's career and collection. This series is arranged chronologically, beginning with materials that are undated.
Box 4

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“Post-Adolescent Male Twins with High Urinary Steroid Levels,” by Drs. Sanford Gifford, Henry M. Fox, Arthur F. Valenstein, and Benjamin J. Murawski, Ph.D., n.d.
“Grete Lehner Bibring, The First Woman Professor at HMS” by Sanford Gifford for Countway Exhibit, n.d.
“Freud’s Cancer and Felix Deutsch as his Physician” by Sanford Gifford, with related materials, n.d.
“Jenny Waelder-Hall and Early Child Analysis” by Sanford Gifford, n.d.
“Time’s Winged Chariot: A Developmental Concept” by Sanford Gifford, n.d.
“Diffusion and Evolutionary Change in Psychoanalysis,” by Sanford Gifford, n.d.
“Marie Langer” and related materials, no author, handwritten corrections by Gifford, n.d.
“Psychoanalysis and War,” no author, handwritten corrections by Gifford, n.d.
“The New York Psychoanalytic Society, 1911-1931,”no author, handwritten corrections by Gifford, n.d.
“Transition, 1/1509,” no author, with handwritten corrections by Gifford, n.d.
“Medical-Psychiatric Unit at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital,” no author, handwritten notes by Gifford, 1962
“An Early Experiment in Community Mental Health: Isador Coriat and the Emmanuel Movement in Boston, 1906-1910,” by Sanford Gifford, 1970
Discussion of Dr. Martin Wangh’s paper “Some Thoughts on the Psychogenesis of Present-Day Student Rebellion,” by Sanford Gifford, at Scientific Meeting of BPSI, March 24, 1971
“Psychoanalysis in Boston: Innocence and Experience, Introduction to Panel Discussion - April 14, 1973” by Sanford Gifford, published in “Psychoanalysis, Psychotherapy, and the New England Medical Scene, 1894-1944" by George E. Gifford Jr., 1978
Review of “Divergent Views in Psychiatry” and “Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy” for the New England Journal of Medicine, by Sanford Gifford, 1981
“The First Fifty Years,” by Sanford Gifford, 1984
“Handbook for the History of Psychiatry,” Sanford Gifford - contributor, publishing notes and correspondence, circa 1986-1994
“Discussion of Dr. Judith DuPont’s Paper 'Freud’s Analysis of Ferenczi'” and related materials, by Sanford Gifford, Apr. 18, 1990
“The LC Strains at a Gnat,” by Sanford Gifford, Feb. 1, 1996
“Marie Briehl and Rosetta Hurwitz: Lay Analysts and American Psychoanalysis” by Sanford Gifford, Psychoanalytic Review, Feb. 1998
“Looking Back: Psychoanalysis in Boston, 1906 to the Present,” by Sanford Gifford, June 12, 2003
“The Photographs of Edward Bibring: A Book Proposal,” by Sanford Gifford and Dan Jacobs, circa 2004
“Ferenczi’s Analysis With Freud and Their Final Break,” by Sanford Gifford, 2004
Copies of BPSI Newsletters: Fall, 1973; Nov. 1984; Nov. 2004; Mar. 2006.
Early BPSI Directory and Syllabus/Curriculum, n.d.
Materials Relating to Building History of 15 Commonwealth Ave., 1984-1993
Discussion of sale/remodeling of 15 Commonwealth Ave., circa 2005-2009
Sub-Series B: Memorial Materials, 1974-2002

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Included in this sub-series are memorial materials written and/or presented by Gifford in honor of some of his colleagues. Folders are arranged chronologically. If there is no discernible date, materials are grouped by person.
Box 4

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Dr. Erich Lindemann memorial materials, 1974
Dr. Veronica Tisza, obituaries, one by Sanford Gifford, 1991
Dr. Helen H. Tartakoff memorial writings and related materials, 1981,1993
“Helen Heplihy Tartakoff, 1906-1981: A Memorial Service Consisting of Talks by Dr. A. Valenstein, Dr. S. Gifford, Dr. A. Weiner, Dr. A. Tartakoff,” n.d.
Dr. Alfred O. Ludwig, memorial materials, circa 1987
Dr. Arthur Valenstein, memorial materials, including “Val as I Knew Him” by Sanford Gifford, 1998
“Memorial Note for Arcangelo D’Amore (1920-1986)” by Sanford Gifford, May 13, 1999
Martin Deutsch, obituary and related materials, Aug. 21, 2002
Dr. Stanley Cobb memorial materials by Raymond D. Adams, with handwritten notes by Sanford Gifford, n.d.