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Bob Witz Papers

Call Number

MSS.080

Date

early 1960s-2010, inclusive

Creator

Witz, Bob

Extent

6.5 Linear Feet in 6 record cartons, 2 flat boxes, 2 manuscript boxes, 7 oversize folders

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Abstract

Bob Witz is the editor of Appearances Magazine, a small arts magazine first published in the East Village during the 1980s. Witz is also an artist, writer and sculptor who lives in New York. The collection consists of material related to Appearances Magazine, correspondence, gallery catalogues and ephemera, sketchbooks, writings, chap books, drawings, and photographs.

Biographical Note

Bob Witz is a painter/sculptor, writer, poet, and editor of Appearances Magazine. Appearances is a small, low-budget magazine which was started in the East Village and has been published from the 1980s to the present. It is devoted mostly to the art scene with a focus on the alternative currents of this scene. Witz also published/produced small chapbooks, including an early book by Keith Haring, and Leaves of Grass II: a book/by Bob Witz (1972). Witz, along other writers represented in the Downtown collection (Ron Kolm and Tom Savage, 1948- ), is also closely associated with the Unbearables literary group.

Arrangement

The original donation and 2009 accretion have been arranged into three series: Appearances, Correspondence, and Miscellaneous.

Other accretions to the collections have been added as separate series. The materials in these accretions are arranged in the order in which they were received from the donor.

Scope and Contents

The Bob Witz Papers/Appearances Magazine Collection (MSS 080) consists of material related to Appearances Magazine, correspondence, gallery catalogues and ephemera, sketchbooks, writings, chap books, drawings, and photographs.

Material related to Appearances Magazine includes notebooks compiled by Witz over his years as publisher of the magazine. Included within the notebooks are poems, drawings, phone numbers, and other assorted items. Other material related to the magazine include some financial and business records, submissions of writing and artwork, production files, and Appearances Press publications.

The collection also contains other materials collected by Witz including writings of his own and others, and additional notebooks, some from before the beginning of the magazine, and sketchbooks.

The collection includes both professional and personal correspondence. Among the correspondence are numerous exhibition announcements from various galleries around New York City and elsewhere. In addition to gallery ephemera there are also some exhibition catalogs from various galleries.

Conditions Governing Access

Materials are open to researchers.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright (or related rights to publicity and privacy) for materials in this collection was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder.

Preferred Citation

Published citations should take the following form: Identification of item, date (if known); Bob Witz Papers/Appearances Magazine; MSS 080; box number; folder number; Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University Libraries.

Location of Materials

Some materials are stored offsite and advance notice is required for use. Please contact fales.library@nyu.edu at least two business days prior to your research visit to coordinate access.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The Bob Witz Papers were donated to the Fales Library by Mr. Witz in the Fall of 1996. The accession number associated with the original donation is 1996.080. Multiple accretions to the collection were donated between 1997 and circa 2010. The accession numbers associated with these accretions are: 2001.080, 2006.080, 2009.080, 2014.080, 2015.080, 2017.049, 2017.050, 2017.051, 2017.052, 2017.053.

Separated Material

Items written by Witz (Leaves of Grass II, Berserker, and the Unbearable Manual of Style) are available to view at the Fales Library.

Related Material at the Fales Library and Special Collections

Ron Kolm Papers, MSS 079

Collection processed by

Daniel Sokolow in 1997. Updated in 2012 by Laura Newsome.

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-20 17:08:09 -0400.
Language: Finding aid written in English

Processing Information

The original donation and 2009 accretion to the collection were arranged into series in 1997 and 2012. In 2017 multiple accretions were added to the collection as individual series; materials were re-housed in acid free folders and boxes described but no other arrangement and description has been done.

Revisions to this Guide

July 2017: Updated by Shirin Khaki and Kristen Owens to include materials integrated from accession 2017.049, 2017.050, 2017.051, 2017.052, 2017.053 and 2001.080

Edition of this Guide

This version was derived from The Bob WitzPapers-Appearances Magazine Finding Aid.htm

Repository

Fales Library and Special Collections
Fales Library and Special Collections
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
2nd Floor
New York, NY 10012