Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America
Archives related to: de Tour, Irena Urdang, 1924-
| title | Irena Urdang de Tour Papers, 1948-1994 (inclusive). | repository | Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute |
| description | Collection consists of biographical information; typescript of cookbook; business records, 1971-1975. More will be added later. History notes : Writer, editor, gallery owner, and antique dealer, de Tour was born in Warsaw, Poland, the daughter of Seweryn Ehrlich vel Sluszny and Felicja (Lubelczyk) Ehrlich. In November 1940, she was confined, with her parents and sister Danuta, to the Warsaw Ghetto where she worked in an Electropol factory. She escaped the ghetto to the Christian section of Warsaw in March 1943, where she acquired false documents and worked as a maid. In September 1944 she joined the underground, building barricades, organizing shelters, and working for the Red Cross. Following the suppression of the uprising, she was sent to a slave labor camp in Berlin with her aunt who also possessed false documents. There she worked in the Schwartzkopf factory manufacturing war material. At the end of the war de Tour walked to Warsaw to search for family members. Her father had died in the Warsaw uprising, and she and her mother and sister were placed in the Bindermichl Displaced Persons Camp in Linz, Austria, where she worked for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration as an interpreter and secretary. In July 1946 the family left for New York City. De Tour was employed as a bookkeeper, secretary, buyer, and was a fiction and feature editor for Town and Country, Gourmet, and the Paris Review. In 1952 she married Laurence Urdang, a lexicographer; they had two daughters. She received her B.A. from Hunter College in 1956, took additional courses in art criticism, and in 1961 joined with Lesley Frost-Ballantine in running an art gallery. A writer and poet, de Tour also ran an antiques business for many years and was involved in a number of charitable organizations, including CARE. Cite as : Irena Urdang de Tour Papers. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University. Location : Schlesinger |
| extent | Gift of Irena Urdang de Tour, 1999-2001. |
| formats | Business Papers Printed Materials Ephemera |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions and policies. |
| record source | http://hollis.harvard.edu/ |
| acquisition information | 3 linear ft. |
| updated | 03/16/2023 10:30:00 |
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