Special Collections
Leon M. Jordan Collection

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PHOTO ALBUM "Inauguration Album, Republic of Liberia, January 1952"

The Leon M. Jordan Collection was purchased by the Department of Special Collections from Brian Thurn Antiques of Kansas City, who acquired the material from Phillip Banks. The collection consists of material belonging to Kansas City police detective and political leader Leon Mercer Jordan and his wife, Orchid Irene Ramsey Jordan; and ranges in date from the 1910s to the 1980s. Much of the collection focuses on their experiences in Liberia, Africa, where Mr. Jordan spent time training the national police force there from the late 1940s through the mid 1950s before returning to Kansas City to start a political career.

The collection was acquired in two parts, and so was assigned two accession numbers: MS42, in January 2006; and MS49 in May 2006. Material was consolidated into one physical grouping to simplify access and retrieval. Throughout the inventory there are archival notes indicating what material belongs to what accession number.

The bulk of the first accession is comprised of photographs, much of which highlight activity in Liberia. Other images, spanning circa 1910s-1980s, include travels to Europe, as well as personal and professional subject matter stateside. Also in this accession are miscellaneous travel documents and ephemera from West Africa and Europe, high school and college documents and ephemera, postcards, a marriage certificate, a scrapbook, publications and newspaper clippings, awards, memorabilia, and miscellaneous items related to professional and political work in Kansas City.

The second accession dates from 1946 through 1952, but primarily documents the Jordans in Liberia from 1948 through 1951, as well as a hiatus stateside in 1950. The heart of the material is correspondence, invitations and programs to social and dignitary functions in Liberia; as well as newspapers clippings and various runs of Liberian publications. Also in this accession are additional travel ephemera, postcards and photographs; business cards and name cards; and other miscellaneous items.

Special Collections is a non-circulating and non-browsing resource center. The Special Collections Reading Room is open to researchers Monday through Friday during the academic year. Public service hours for the current semester are listed at http://library.umkc.edu/spec-col/index.html#hours but researchers are encouraged to call ahead for verification of hours due to University intersessions and other events. Special Collections is located on the fourth floor of the Miller Nichols Library at 5100 Rockhill Road in Kansas City, Missouri. All inquiries concerning access to the collections should be addressed to Special Collections Library Information Specialists Teresa Gipson or Kelly McEniry.