Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
John Lubetkin Collection
Date(s)
- 1835-2006 (Creation)
Extent
16 boxes
Name of creator
Biographical history
Raised in Manhattan, John Lubetkin?s first experience of the American West was in the early 1950s as a summer camper on a month-long caravan across the West. A history major, he graduated from Union College in Schenectady, New York, served in the military and received a M.A. from New York University. He spent 32 years as a cable television executive and successfully co-founded two communications companies and a cable network (the Learning Channel). In retirement, John first channeled his creative interests into the little known story of Jay Cooke ("The Financier of the Civil War") and the creation of the Northern Pacific Railroad. The result was ?Jay Cooke's Gamble: The Northern Pacific Railroad, The Sioux, and the Panic of 1873?. John, a former director of the Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association, has recently completed a parallel work of historical fiction entitled Custer's Gold, a story of stolen Montana gold set against a Yellowstone Valley backdrop. A graduate of Union College in Schenectady, NY, John has also published Union College's Class of 1868: The Unique Experiences of Some "Average" Americans (1995), and has contributed numerous articles and book reviews for various historical publications and The Classic Western American Railroad Routes.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
The John Lubetkin Collection is comprised of published books on railroad subjects, railroad stock and bond certificates from the 19th and 20th centuries, and research materials gathered by Mr. Lubetkin for his non-fiction and historical fiction works, including "Jay Cooke's Gamble: The Northern Pacific Railroad, The Sioux and The Panic of 1873".
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
Please see Section VII of the Pacific Northwest Railroad Archive Collection Management Policy for further information.
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Please see the Pacific Northwest Railway Archives Reproduction Policy for further information.
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
- Latin
Language and script notes
Finding aids
A listing of the stock and bond certificates received is in the accession folder.
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Ownership resides in the Pacific Northwest Railroad Archive.
Immediate source of acquisition
Donated by John Lubetkin. Accrual W2016-28 received 05/23/2016. Accrual W2017-47 received 03/10/2017. Accrual W2017-47 received 06/07/2017. Accrual W2018-26 received 04/23/2018.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
W2016-28, W2017-21, W2017-47, W2018-26.
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Related descriptions
Notes element
Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Describing Archives - A Content Standard (DACS) 2nd Edition 2013
Sources used
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Northern Pacific Railroad Company (Subject)
- Other Railroads (Subject)