literature

Keep On Truckin' Poster, R. Crumb, 1967

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The Raymond Danowski and John Martin collection of R. Crumb material is a new addition to the manuscripts at MARBL and has recently been fully processed. Robert Dennis Crumb (R. Crumb) is the most prominent member of the underground comic book genre, or "comix," and is usually referred to as one of the "fathers" of the movement.

Crumb was born on August 30, 1943 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was one of the five children of Charles and Beatrice Crumb. While Crumb developed his comics career outside of the mainstream comic publishing industry, he began his work in art as an illustrator for American Greeting Corporation in 1962, taking a job in Cleveland, Ohio after high school. In 1967, he left Cleveland, for San Francisco, California, and became involved with the counterculture whose members gravitated to his work. While he is probably most known for his "Keep Truckin'" comics, other popular characters include Mr. Natural, Devil Girl, and Fritz the Cat. In the 1980s, he created the magazine Weirdo to feature other graphic artists outside of the mainstream. Several years later, Crumb's friend Terry Zwigoff produced the documentary film Crumb, which received an Oscar nomination. In 1984, Crumb moved to the south of France with his second wife, Aline Kominsky Crumb.

The collection, itself, consists of materials collected by Raymond Danowski and John Martin, relating to R. Crumb and his work. Most of the records are published items--many are comics by Crumb -- but there are two unpublished versions of his graphic novel, Big Yum Yum Book: Oggie and the Beanstalk (1963), printed and spiral bound. In addition to his art, there are a number of articles about Crumb and also written by him. Many of these articles were published periodicals dedicated to comics and the culture, but there are a number of articles printed in popular magazines such as People, Esquire, Newsweek, GQ, and The New York Times Magazine.  There are also a number of foreign presses represented in the collections with Crumb's work being featured in El Vibora (Spain), Jymy-sarjat (Finland), and Ekstremisten (Norway).  Other printed material includes posters of Crumb's work as well as artwork by his second wife, Aline, and his younger brother, Maxon.

Danowski and Martin also collected a variety of memorabilia. Included in the collection are trading cards that Crumb created for the Topps Chewing Gum Company in 1965 as well as card packs he created with Yazoo Records, a company that used those images on many of the LP records also included in the collection. In addition, there are a number of assorted items -- a testament to the varied and erratic interests of Crumb -- including a box of Devil Girl chocolates, a bottle of "snake oil," a bicycle wheel patch kit, rubber stamps, figurines and statuettes, and t-shirts depicting Crumb's characters and artwork. There are also compact discs, VHS tapes, contact prints, and LP records. The VHS tapes are copies of the film, Crumb, produced by Terry Zwigoff, and the contact prints include images of Crumb and his wife, Aline. The compact discs and LPs are either musical contributions by Crumb's band, R. Crumb and his Cheap Suit Serenaders; music inspired by Crumb's work; or albums that feature Crumb's artwork on the cover, including Big Brother and the Holding Company's "Cheap Thrills" album.

The Raymond Danowski and John Martin collection of R. Crumb material is an interesting collection that will add to the continued research and interest in American literary culture. The work itself documents the underground comics genre and captures a view of this counterculture movement during the 1960s through the 1980s. Crumb's satire and distinct view of the world highlight a culture that was brought about by the sale of Zap! Magazine on the street corners of San Francisco in 1968, weird and disturbing and even offensive, but personal and autobiographical.

Minute Book of the Frances E.W. Harper Literary and Social Circle, 1915-1929

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I have always been fascinated by African American women who organized themselves into literary, social, and service organizations during the early to mid-twentieth century. Many of these clubs were founded within 50 years of emancipation and mark a thirst by African American women to not only become literate, but to be well-read and to keep abreast of contemporary issues.

MARBL has two small, but significant collections, the Frances E.W. Harper Literary and Social Circle Papers and the Utopian Literary Club Papers, which illuminate activities of African American women not just as readers, but also as philanthropists and agents of social change.

The Frances E.W. Harper Literary and Social Circle of Savannah, Georgia was a club organized by African American women in 1899. While the literary society was dedicated to reading works of literature, it also included a social, religious, and service aspect. Members were expected to be well-versed in literature as the November 3, 1922 meeting minutes instructed members to:

"…answer roll-call by quotations from the following authors- Nov. Longfellow, December, the Bible, January, Dunbar, February Harper and Lincoln, March, Alice Carey, April. B. Washington, May-Milton, June, Mrs. Browning."

Aside from their literary pursuits, the women of "The Circle" donated books to Savannah's library for African American residents, supported the construction of a female dormitory at the Georgia State Industrial College (now Savannah State University) and donated to a fund for Charity Hospital, which was the city's first hospital to train black nurses and doctors. The collection at MARBL contains a book of meeting minutes from 1915 until 1929.
 

The Utopian Literary Club of Atlanta, Georgia was founded in 1916 by "a few friends, having similar interests in literature, art, sculpture, painting, and current developments…[who] met together to organize a club that would infuse them with objectives and set goals, by provoking discussion and thereby stimulate thinking." Each year a theme was chosen and the monthly meetings were centered on a topic related to the year's theme. Over the years the women read numerous books and discussed an array of topics ranging from classic literature to issues facing women in foreign nations. Some of the themes and topics included: "American novelists," "The Negro Woman in History- Race and Women's Clubs," "Slavery" and "World Cultures."
 

In addition to their literary activities, the women hosted an annual Party for Friends social event and fundraiser open to non-members to learn more about club. Each year at Christmastime, members hosted a Christmas Party and donated to a local charity benefitting women and children. The collection in MARBL contain the club's constitution, bylaws, meeting minutes, events programs, yearbook, and member profiles and photographs from 1984-2003.
 
Through their collection of papers, the Utopian Literary Club and Frances E.W. Harper Literary and Social Circle provide an intriguing glimpse of African American women concerned with stimulating their minds amid the race's long struggle for equality. I invite you to conduct your own search for sisterhood within MARBL's holdings.