Portraits : Byrne

The personal papers of Brendan T. Byrne, comprising approximately 18 cubic feet of documentation, span from 1928 to 2006, the bulk of which covers from 1952 until 1982. The papers document, at least in part, nearly every period of Byrne's adult life, including his college and postgraduate educations, his service in the military, his law career, his service on various corporate boards and his service in government as gubernatorial secretary, prosecutor, public utility commissioner, judge and governor.

The papers vary in physical format. Among the paper document types present are campaign literature, financial documents and disclosures, magazines, personal and official correspondence and memoranda, legal documents, position papers, press clippings and press releases, programs, reports, schedules, speeches and notes and writings in the form of draft and published articles. Also included with the more traditional formats are editorial cartoons and other types of artwork, oversize certificates and proclamations, plaques, and reels of audio tape and motion pictures, as well as photographs.

The Brendan Byrne papers are organized into sixteen series falling into two basic categories: series based on Byrne's office or occupation and series based on file type or format.

The series that are based upon occupation generally follow a sequential order. FILES AS EXECUTIVE SECRETARY TO GOVERNOR MEYNER, 1956-1959, offers partial documentation for Byrne's role as Assistant Counsel to Governor Robert B. Meyner, and then as the governor's Executive Secretary, a position that required Byrne to take cabinet minutes, keep the governor's schedule and appear on the governor's behalf. FILES AS ESSEX COUNTY PROSECUTOR, 1959-1968, while containing one court transcript, is comprised largely of memoranda, focusing on individual investigations and points of law, and correspondence, which is generally of a more personal nature. CORRESPONDENCE WHILE A SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE, 1970-1973, is a small series, primarily consisting of letters congratulating Byrne on his appointment as judge and RSVPs for the swearing-in ceremony. FILES AS GOVERNOR OF NEW JERSEY, 1973-1982, consists of numerous document types, including correspondence, memoranda, bills, financial documents, polling results, schedules and legal documents. Items of interest include documents relating to the Sports and Exposition Authority and the battle to secure a National Hockey League franchise for the Meadowlands. Also noteworthy is the relative lack of documentation on such hot-button issues of the Byrne governorship as the income tax and the Pinelands. CAMPAIGN FILES, 1973 and 1977, consisting of four sub-series, is one of two occupation-based series to span multiple time periods, covering both the primary and general elections of Byrne's two gubernatorial campaigns. The series consists largely of Byrne's position papers and schedules, as well as campaign literature for Byrne and several of his opponents. FILES AS A NEW JERSEY LAWYER, 1952-1986, also spans multiple time periods in Byrne's career, sometimes overlapping with certain of Byrne's public offices, including his terms as executive secretary, prosecutor and public utility commissioner. The series offers limited documentation of Byrne's service with three law firms: McGlynn, Weintraub & Stein prior to 1954, Teltser, Byrne and Greenberg of East Orange in the 1960s until 1968, and Carella, Byrne, Bain & Gilfillan of Roseland after leaving the statehouse in 1982.

The series that are based on file type or physical format tend to span Byrne's entire career. The largest series in the collection, PHOTOGRAPHS, 1928-2000, is broken into eleven sub-series by event type, such as work functions, dinners, charity events, etc. While consisting mostly of publicity stills, the series also contains portraits and personal photographs of Byrne, as well as images of Byrne at sporting events and with various celebrities. PRESS CLIPPINGS, 1944-2005, is broken into two sub-series, one for newspapers and one for magazines. The clippings, covering a wide range of topics, help detail events and topics that are underrepresented elsewhere in the collection, such as the Newark riot trials in July and September-October of 1967, nullification of New Jersey's death penalty in October of 1971, and the opening of the first Atlantic City Casino in 1978. SUBJECT FILES AND PERSONAL MISCELLANY, 1941-2006, also sheds light on topics not represented in other series, such as Byrne's military service, his education, his leadership role with Intercontinental Life Insurance Company and his tenure as public utility commissioner. This series also highlights underrepresented topics from Byrne's tenure as governor, including the protection of the Pinelands, through material from later years. SPEECHES, 1956-1982, while spanning nearly thirty years, most directly complements the files on Byrne's years as prosecutor and his two gubernatorial campaigns. PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE, 1944-2003, consists mainly of invitations and congratulatory and thank-you letters received by Byrne, with occasional responses. EVENT PROGRAMS, 1942-2006, mostly for events at which Byrne was guest of honor, host or speaker, illustrates Byrne's involvement in professional associations, such as the National District Attorneys' Association, as well as non-professional organizations, such as the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick. EDITORIAL CARTOONS AND ARTWORK, 1973-2002, features political cartoons, mostly by the hand of Bil Canfield, as well as portraits of Byrne. CERTIFICATES AND PROCLAMATIONS, 1951-2000, and PLAQUES, 1974-2004, together contain items awarded to Byrne, including athletic and military awards, diplomas and honorary degrees and certificates of appointment to some of the various offices he held. AUDIOVISUAL RECORDINGS, 1960-1974, consists of home-recorded, reel-to-reel audio tapes and motion picture reels of network news programs featuring or focusing on Byrne.

The strength of the Byrne papers, rather than their depth in any one area, is their breadth in representing aspects of Byrne's activities and New Jersey events in many areas. One drawback to such breadth is a conspicuous lack of certain types of papers. Not included in any abundance are outgoing letters, and there are no wartime letters written by Byrne. Not surprisingly, case materials from Byrne's career in the legal system as a private attorney and prosecutor are, with minor exceptions, not represented here. Also lacking is a set of his judicial opinions. Finally, the relative lack of documentation from Byrne's terms as governor is the result of a New Jersey state law requiring that the official records of the governor be held at the State Archives in Trenton.

Among the correspondents represented throughout the collection by a total of three or more letters are Secretary of Agriculture Philip Alampi, Archibald S. Alexander, Princeton University President William G. Bowen, Governor William T. Cahill, President Jimmy Carter, Governor Richard J. Hughes, Ethel Kennedy, Governor Robert B. Meyner, Vice President Walter F. Mondale, George M. Steinbrenner III, Harold R. Teltser, White House Chief of Staff Jack Watson, and Justice Joseph Weintraub.