This post features contributions from Laura Lethers, Assistant Processor for the Humane Society of the United States Records.
The Special Collections Research Center is pleased to announce that the collection guide for the newly processed Humane Society of the United States Records (MC 00674) is available online. The collection includes original correspondence, publications, animal rights research, legislative files, voting ballots, reports, grants, memorabilia, and photographs dating from 1918, with the bulk of the records from the 1960s to the 2010s.
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) was established by former members of the American Humane Association (AHA) in 1954. Originally known as the National Humane Society, the name changed to its current form in 1956. The HSUS is one of the many societies that arose as a part of the American Humane Movement in the 20th century. The main focus of the organization was to advocate for better treatment of animals. Over the years, the HSUS broadened its scope to include research and investigative services, field and disaster services, public education and outreach, and international advocacy, among other efforts.
The collection includes materials related to the organizational activities of the HSUS and some notable legislation the Humane Society supported since its inception. Among these are the Humane Slaughter Act, the Laboratory Animal Welfare Act, and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The collection covers topics of interest for the Humane Society both nationally and internationally, with supplementary materials from organizations such as Humane Society International (HSI), the International Whaling Commission (IWC), and the Species Survival Network (SSN).
Other interesting materials in the collection are memorabilia and comic books. The memorabilia includes animal plush toys (pictured above), HSUS 50th anniversary commemorative items, several volumes of Bessy Comics, and campaign demonstration banners. There is also an X-Men Unlimited, Vol. 01, comic book sponsored by the Doris Day Animal Foundation featured in the collection. In the comic, the X-men characters like Squid Boy “take a stand against animal cruelty” as depicted in the image below.
To learn more about animal rights and welfare collections at NC State University, visit our online collections guide webpage. Additionally, the Special Collections Digital Collections website contains many images and videos related to animal rights online.
If you are interested in viewing the materials in this collection, you can access them by scheduling an appointment with the Special Collections Research Center. The Special Collections Research Center is open by appointment only. Appointments are available Monday–Friday, 9am–6pm and Saturday, 1pm–5pm. Requests for a Saturday appointment must be received no later than Tuesday of the same week. If you have any questions or are interested in viewing Special Collections materials, please contact us at library_specialcollections@ncsu.edu or submit a request online.