To search the full text of this finding aid, type Ctrl and F on a PC. Mac users, type Command and F. A box will appear in the browser window. To search the full document, Open All must be selected first in the Detailed Description of the Collection.

Inventory of the Nathan Garfinkle Papers, 1921-circa 1980

Descriptive Summary

Abstract: Photographs, photograph albums, military documents, certificates, correspondence, and other papers of Nathan Garfinkle. Materials primarily document Garfinkle's service in the United States Army during World War II, with the largest portion of items consisting of photographs and photograph albums from his military service with the Chemical Warfare Service at the Columbia Army Air Base and his deployment in the South Pacific. A smaller number of photographs feature his time as a student at Clemson University and of assorted family members. Also contains military documents including correspondence, reports, and orders, and a small number of certificates, personal correspondence, and clippings.
Title: Nathan Garfinkle papers
Creator: Garfinkle, Nathan, 1921-2015
Date(s): 1921-circa 1980    
Extent: 3.5 linear feet
(3 document boxes, 1 oversize flat box, 2 oversize folders)
Repository: Special Collections, College of Charleston Libraries
66 George Street
Charleston, SC 29424
Phone: (843) 953-8016
Fax: (843) 953-6319
URL: http://archives.library.cofc.edu
Call Number: Mss 1138
Language of Material: Materials in English

Back to Top

Biographical Note

Nathan William Garfinkle (1921-2015) was born to Annie (1895-1966) and Sam Garfinkel (1887-1970) in Brooklyn, New York. Shortly after he was born, the family moved to Charleston, South Carolina, where Nathan attended Charleston High School. After high school, Nathan attended Clemson University and graduated in 1942. He enlisted in the army the same year and joined the Chemical Warfare Service (renamed U.S. Army Chemical Corps in 1946). He was stationed at Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina, and the Columbia Army Air Base, located in Lexington County, until 1944 when he was deployed to the South Pacific, where he served in the Philippines and New Guinea.

He married Frances Solomon on June 18, 1944, shortly before his deployment. The couple had four children: Alan Garfinkle, Jerry Garfinkle, Bruce Garfinkle, and Jaine Garfinkle Nelson. Nathan was honorably discharged in 1956 as a Lieutenant Colonel. He then joined his father in operating the Charleston Mattress Company, a business started by his grandfather. He later established the Garfinkle Agency in 1970.

Note: Nathan chose to spell the family name differently, with the "-le" ending rather than "-el," which is the spelling used by his parents and siblings.


Back to Top

Collection Overview

Photographs, photograph albums, military documents, certificates, correspondence, and other papers of Nathan Garfinkle. The largest portion of materials consists of photographs and photograph albums featuring Nathan's service with the Chemical Warfare Service, particularly at the Columbia Army Air Base and his deployment in the South Pacific, and a smaller number featuring his time at Clemson University and activities of various family members. Also contains military documents including correspondence, reports, and orders from his years of service during World War II (1942-1945), a small number of certificates (primarily military related), personal correspondence to family while serving in the Philippines and New Guinea, and ephemera such as clippings and an advertisement for the Charleston Mattress Company.

Collection Arrangement

Materials are described at folder level.


Back to Top

Search Terms

The following terms have been used to index this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person, family, or organization, by topical subject, by place, and by types of material.

    Names

    • Garfinkle, Nathan 1921-2015
    • Garfinkel family
    • Clemson University
    • United States. Army. Chemical Warfare Service

    Subjects

    • World War, 1939-1945--Participation, Jewish
    • World War, 1939-1945--Pacific Area
    • Jews--South Carolina--Charleston

    Places

    • Columbia (S.C.)
    • Philippines
    • New Guinea

    Types of Material

    • Black-and-white photographs
    • Correspondence
    • Military records
    • Certificates
    • Printed ephemera

    Back to Top

    Related Resources

    Related Material

    Related materials in Special Collections include Sandra Garfinkel and Morton Henry Shapiro papers (Mss 1120), and oral histories with Frances Solomon and Nathan Garfinkle (Mss 1035-75), Alex Garfinkel (Mss 1035-127), Jennie and Max Garfinkel (Mss 1035-176), Helen Garfinkel Rosenshein (Mss 1035-106), Olga Garfinkel Weinstein (Mss 1035-107) and Phillip Garfinkel (MSS 1035-103).


    Back to Top

    Inventory


    Photographs and photograph albums, 1921-1963, circa 1980



    Garfinkel family and friends, c. 1921-1963   box 1 | folder 1

    Includes images featuring Nathan Garfinkle, his siblings Sandra, Phillip, and Helen "Elkie" Garfinkel, parents Sam and Annie Garfinkel, and his wife, Frances Solomon Garfinkle, and children, Bruce, Alan, and Jerry Garfinkle. Also includes a photograph of the Herzl Club basketball team Nathan was on as a teen.



    Framed portrait of Sam and Annie Garfinkel (reproduction), undated   Oversize Box 2



    Nathan Garfinkle at Clemson, 1938-1942   box 1 | folder 2

    Includes informal pictures of Nathan studying, in uniform, and at his graduation in 1942.




    Chemical Warfare Service operations at Columbia Army Air Base, 1943   box 1 | folder 3-4



    Chemical Warfare Service demonstrations at Columbia Army Air Base, 1943   box 1 | folder 5



    Incendiary demonstrations at Columbia Army Air Base, circa 1943   box 1 | folder 6



    Decontamination at Columbia Army Air Base, 1943   box 1 | folder 7



    Civilian Gas Mask Drills at Columbia Army Air Base, 1943   box 1 | folder 8



    Gas dispenser at Columbia Army Air Base, 1943   box 1 | folder 9



    Columbia Army Air Base equipment and facilities, 1943   box 1 | folder 10



    Overseas World War II service, 1944-1945   box 1 | folder 11



    Loose album pages, 1942-1945   box 3 | folder 1

    Includes photographs of Nathan at Clemson University and during his army service in Columbia, South Carolina, the Philippines, and New Guinea.




    Loose album pages, 1936-1945, circa 1980   box 3 | folder 2

    Includes photographs of Nathan at Clemson University and during his army service in Columbia, South Carolina, the Philippines, and New Guinea. Also includes later photographs of Nathan Garfinkle traveling with family.




    World War II album, 1943   box 3 | folder 3

    Includes photographs of Columbia Army Air Base.




    World War II album, 1944-1945   box 3 | folder 4

    Includes photographs of Nathan with friends on the University of South Carolina campus and while serving in the Philippines and New Guinea in 1944 and 1945.




    Negatives, undated   box 3 | folder 5


    Oversize photographs, undated   Oversize Paper Folder 1

    A collage of photographs featuring Nathan at Clemson, and a reproduction of the 1936 Herzl Club basketball team photograph.




    Miscellaneous, undated   box 3 | folder 6

    Includes aerial images of an unidentified army base, the Charleston Mattress Company, an unidentified nurse, and the Charleston, South Carolina, Omar Temple Band.


    Military documents, 1942-1956

    Correspondence, forms, and orders from Nathan Garfinkle's military service.




    1942-1943   box 3 | folder 7



    1943-1944   box 4 | folder 1



    1944-1945   box 4 | folder 2



    1945-1946, 1956   box 4 | folder 3-4

    Certificates, 1938-1952



    Certificates, 1941-1946   box 4 | folder 5

    Certificates from R.O.T.C. camp at Clemson University, the Clemson Agricultural and Mechanical College of South Carolina, Chemical Warfare School, the Commanding General of the Army Air Forces, the U.S. Army, and the Department of Health.



    Oversize certificates, 1938, 1952   Oversize Paper Folder 2

    Nathan's high school diploma and a certificate appointing him as a reserve commissioned officer.




    Correspondence, 1945, 1960, undated   box 4 | folder 7



    Miscellaneous, 1944, undated   box 4 | folder 8

    An advertisement for Charleston Mattress Company and a clipping reporting on the marriage of Nathan Garfinkle to Frances Solomon.


    Back to Top

    Administrative Information

    Access Restrictions

    This collection is open for research.

    Copyright Notice

    The nature of the College of Charleston's archival holdings means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. Special Collections claims only physical ownership of most archival materials.

    The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Nathan Garfinkle papers, College of Charleston Libraries, Charleston, SC, USA.

    Acquisitions Information

    Materials were donated in 2015 by Jerry Garfinkle.

    Processing Information

    Processed by Amy Lazarus, October 2015.

    Encoded by Amy Lazarus, November 2015.

    Reviewed and uploaded by Joshua Minor, November 2015.

    Back to Top
    Table of Contents