Wolf, Edwin II (33619146)

Edwin II Wolf
Personal details
Born	6 December 1911 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died	20 February 1991
Nativity	United States
Religion	Jewish
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
ASN	33619146
Rank	Sergeant
Rank at Ritchie	Corporal
Camp Ritchie	Class 18 (13 April – 10 June 1944)
Section	7D
Enlisted	Allentown, Pennsylvania

Research notes on this page are compiled from the source file and later edits. They may be unverified, incomplete, or incorrect, and should not be treated as established fact. Please correct the article or add sources on the talk page. For class-roster terms, see About the data.

Sources & confidence: Treat Research notes as leads, not settled fact. Prefer NARA, the class roster, newspapers, Find a Grave, or published histories for contested claims. Mark unsourced claims with {{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.

Edwin Wolf II (6 December 1911 – 20 February 1991) was a Philadelphia bibliographer and Ritchie Boy (Class 18) whose wartime skill with rare books drew Civil Affairs interest.

Biography

Edwin Wolf II was born on 6 December 1911 in Philadelphia. He attended William Penn Charter School and Bedales School in Hampshire, England, then spent about thirteen years with the A. S. W. Rosenbach Company working with rare books, producing bibliographical volumes and articles. He taught bibliography at Bryn Mawr College in 1941–42 and spoke French and German.

Wolf enlisted early in 1943, completed basic training in Louisiana, and took an Army Specialized Training Program course in Columbia, Missouri, specializing in Central and Southern Europe. Camp Ritchie records place him as a corporal in Company G, 2nd Training Battalion, Section 7D (Class 18). Correspondence from late 1944 and early 1945 recommended him for Civil Affairs consideration because of his knowledge of books and manuscripts; the American Commission for the Protection and Salvage of Artistic and Historic Monuments in War Areas reviewed the suggestion, though the Army would not act on recommendations of noncommissioned men for that assignment. He served in Europe through 1946.

After the war Wolf became a leading Philadelphia bookman, joining the Library Company of Philadelphia in 1952 and later serving as its librarian and chief executive. He received the Philadelphia Award in 1981 and died on 20 February 1991.

Research notes

• ASTP
• OCR (96%) of `6070697312952139.jpg` (gallery document) — rank mentioned: Staff Sergeant.
• OCR (95%) of `6070697292952141.jpg` (Camp Ritchie).
• OCR (89%) of `6070697302952140.jpg` (gallery document).
• OCR (81%) of `6070697316285472.jpg` (gallery document) — rank mentioned: Sergeant.
• OCR (81%) of `6070697332952137.jpg` (gallery document) — rank mentioned: Sergeant.
• OCR (80%) of `6070697319618805.jpg` (Camp Ritchie).
• Fold3 Camp Ritchie correspondence in the RB Archive folder overlaps material already represented in the Gallery OCR set; additional bulk scans were not re-uploaded.

Gallery

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Technical record

Field	Imported value
Approx Age at Death	80
Nara ASN	33619146
Nara Name	WOLF EDWIN II
Nara State	32
Nara County	91
Nara POE	3201
Nara DOE	90343
Nara Grade Alpha	PVT
Nara Grade Code	8
Nara Branch Alpha	NO
Nara Branch Code	2
Branch	No branch assignment
Nara Term or Enlistment	5
Term of enlistment	Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law
Defer. Date	0
Nara Source	0
Nara Nativity	39
Nara Year of Birth	11
Nara Race	1
Nara Race Description	White citizen
Nara Education	7
Nara Civilian Occupation	68
Nara Marital Status	2
Nara Height (inches)	43
Nara Weight (lbs)	132
Class_ASN	33619146
Class_Name	WOLF, Edwin
match_method	asn_exact_name_exact
row_source	both

Timeline

• 6 December 1911 — Born in Philadelphia.
• William Penn Charter School; Bedales School (Hampshire, England).
• c. 1930s–early 1940s — A. S. W. Rosenbach Company; bibliography teaching at Bryn Mawr (1941–42).
• Early 1943 — Enlisted; basic training in Louisiana; ASTP, Columbia, Missouri.
• Camp Ritchie Class 18 — Corporal, Company G, 2nd Training Battalion, Section 7D.
• Late 1944–early 1945 — Correspondence recommending Civil Affairs / cultural-property consideration.
• 1943–1946 — Army service including Europe.
• 1952 onward — Library Company of Philadelphia (later librarian / CEO).
• 1981 — Philadelphia Award.
• 20 February 1991 — Died.

Sources

• Fold3 Camp Ritchie miscellaneous / commission correspondence images (RB Archive “Edwin Wolf”; selected items already on Gallery from prior OCR)
• Philadelphia Award — Edwin Wolf II
• Wikipedia — Edwin Wolf II
• Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
• Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records
• NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
• 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
• Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2023-01-22 (1 post)
• OCR-reviewed Facebook gallery document: 6070697312952139.jpg
• OCR-reviewed Facebook gallery document: 6070697292952141.jpg
• OCR-reviewed Facebook gallery document: 6070697302952140.jpg
• OCR-reviewed Facebook gallery document: 6070697316285472.jpg
• OCR-reviewed Facebook gallery document: 6070697332952137.jpg
• OCR-reviewed Facebook gallery document: 6070697319618805.jpg
• Camp Ritchie information sheet on Edwin Wolf II
• Edwin Wolf II personal-history sheet
• Summary of Wolf?s qualifications and Camp Ritchie assignment
• Camp Ritchie information memorandum on Wolf?s rare-book work and training
• Rosenwald recommendation for Wolf?s possible Roberts Commission work, 21 December 1944
• Commission memorandum concerning recommendation of Wolf, 4 January 1945
• Commission letter inviting Wolf to submit qualifications, 5 May 1944
• Folger Shakespeare Library recommendation for Wolf, 13 January 1945
• Commission letter regarding Wolf?s recommendation
• Commission response regarding noncommissioned recommendations, 22 January 1945
• Commission memorandum seeking a recommendation for Wolf, 28 December 1944
• Commission correspondence concerning Wolf?s possible research-assistant work, 29 December 1944