Autograph albums as holocaust objects [we request funding for a manuscript preparation grant to support the research and development of a book-length manuscript on personal autograph albums carried by…

The National Endowment for the Humanities awarded Loyola University Maryland, Inc. $139,914 on October 1, 2026, under the National Endowment for the Humanities: Collaborative Research program (CFDA 45.035) to support research and development of a scholarly book-length manuscript on personal autograph albums carried by Jewish girls and young women into ghettos, camps, and places of hiding during the Holocaust.

The project analyzes twelve autograph album artifacts currently held in museums and archives across multiple countries, applying conceptual frameworks from Holocaust studies, history, and material culture studies. Autograph albums were small bound volumes popular in nineteenth and twentieth century Europe and North America, circulated among friends and acquaintances for the collection of signatures and accompanying verse according to established genre conventions. The outcome deliverable is a scholarly monograph examining these objects as Holocaust artifacts.

Performance occurs in Maryland with a period of performance from October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2028. The award is classified as a Project Grant under the Collaborative Research program, which supports teams of scholars addressing significant humanities research questions to advance humanistic knowledge and create foundational building blocks for long-term research in the humanities.

Autograph albums as holocaust objects [we request funding for a manuscript preparation grant to support the research and development of a book-length manuscript on personal autograph albums carried by jewish girls and young women into ghettos, camps, and places of hiding during the holocaust. Autograph albums were small personal books popular in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in europe and north america. These small albums were comprised of bound blank pages and were expected to be circulated among friends and acquaintances by their owners for the collection of signatures and accompanying whimsical verse, according to specific genre conventions. Our proposed project analyzes twelve of these artifacts, currently located in a range of museums and archives in several different countries, using conceptual frameworks from the disciplines of holocaust studies, history, and material culture studies. The outcome will be a scholarly book.]