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Marilynn Gelfman Karp Collection of Ephemera

Call Number

PR 279

Dates

1842-1985, inclusive
; 1870-1955, bulk

Creator

Extent

6.25 Linear feet

Language of Materials

English .

Abstract

Ephemera materials spanning the late 19th to mid 20th centuries, including trade cards, blotters, cigarette silks, product and dry good labels, greeting cards, postcards, and hairnet packages, among others.

Biographical Notes

Marilynn Gelfman Karp:

Marilynn Gelfman Karp was born in the Bronx, New York, in 1939. Her penchant for collecting began early in childhood, with the careful culling of objects from her everyday life, including things that came in the family mail (greeting cards, attractive postcards, circulars), from family life (milk bottle lids, cigar bands, cigar boxes, campaign buttons, advertising giveaways), things that were found in the street (odd bits of metal, rocks, phenomena with power), gleaned from the grocery store (wooden cheese boxes, fruit crate labels), purchased from or found around the local candy store (bubblegum cards, Dixie lids, soda bottle tops), or from Woolworth's (Jack O'Lanterns, marbles, dexterity games, skate keys), or things from the luncheonette (sugar packets, soda fountain cut-outs). Relatives occasionally gave her relevant objects (foreign coins from service in World War II, pipe tobacco tins, cocktail mixers, figural matches, license plate key chain tags). As she grew up, Karp spent her allowance on things that were important to her (Indian bubblegum cards, trading cards, Cracker Jacks for the prizes, cockamamies, radio premium rings and decoders) and packaging that was compelling (hairnet envelopes, decals).

A deep fascination and perceptive appreciation for the beauty and meaning in everyday objects has characterized her collecting ever since. Karp's passion for collecting is equally shared with her husband, contemporary art dealer Ivan C. Karp, who has been an integral appreciator and inspiration for Karp in the formation of her over 200 well-managed and archivally kept collections of ephemera. Stopping at every flea market, antique show, antique shop, collectibles show, and yard sale that looks interesting to her, she describes these venues as having one thing in common: "they are places of unconditional seeking and possessing. Each object has a story to tell, somewhat fleshing out a time."

Collecting on instinct, each object that Karp has chosen to own is recognized by her as "a material incident in which time and place coalesce in a palpably pungent way." Scanning the past, she considers the objects she encounters in their "much diminished range from when they were new," trying to prevent the "irreversible elimination" of what she feels are "significant and resounding things that inform us about the times in which they were made."

Karp's collecting activities have been additionally informed by her educational background and professional accomplishments in the visual arts. Receiving both a B.F.A. in Studio Art (1958) and an M.A. in Art History (1962) from Hunter College, she then went on to earn a Ph.D. in Physics and Aesthetics from New York University (1965), where she served as a Professor of Art at NYU's Steinhardt School, Department of Art and Art Professions for 42 years. Initially teaching basic 3D design and art history in Western culture, Karp's teaching activities later gravitated toward American art and architecture in the context of cultural history. In this capacity, she was actively involved with M.A. and M.F.A. graduating exhibition classes, and as an advisor, reader, and chair, for many doctoral dissertation committees in art, critical studies, and material culture.

During her years as a professor at NYU, Karp made important and far-reaching contributions to the study of material culture within the University's curriculum, designing and instituting the country's first Master's degree in Visual Arts Administration and Collecting, an M.A. Program in Folk Art (NYU in collaboration with the American Folk Art Museum, NY) and an M.A. program in Costume Studies (NYU in collaboration with the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute).

Beyond her successful career in academia, Karp is a professional sculptor of international achievement, and is an American Academy of Arts and Letters Sculptor's Award recipient. Her collecting interests have helped to shape her creative work, which utilizes a variety of mixed media and found objects. Additionally, she has served as a Trustee and Board Member for a number of organizations devoted to historic preservation and art in public spaces, including the Preservation League of New York State, The Public Art Fund, and the Anonymous Arts Recovery Society.

In 2006, Karp chronicled her adventures in collecting with the publicationIn Flagrante Collecto, published by Harry N. Abrams, which celebrates the odd, arcane, quotidian collectible, as both an object of desire and of cultural anthropology. With the donation of this collection of ephemera to the New-York Historical Society, it is her belief and hope that the public-at-large will be afforded an important brush with material culture, and that museums in general will continue to preserve and serve up these objects to future audiences who will see them with the perspective and clarity that distance affords.

Ivan Karp and OK Harris:

Ivan Karp was an art dealer, author, and American gallerist. Karp was considerably involved in the Photo Realist movement in 1969. He was co-director at the Leo Castelli Gallery between 1959 – 1969, during which time he was instrumental in launching the careers of many renowned pop artists, most notably Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, Tom Wesselmann and John Chamberlain. In 1969 Karp decided to launch his own gallery, OK Harris, which was located on 465 West Broadway and survived from 1969 until June 2014. The establishment of OK Harris as the first gallery on West Broadway made a significant contribution to the development of the SoHo area's fine arts character. OK Harris exhibited contemporary art and photography, and on occasion mounted shows of antiques and collectibles. The gallery's aim was to show significant artwork without prejudice as to the style or materials employed, the sole criteria was innovation of concept and maturity of technique. Karp died on June 28, 2012 at the age of 86, in New York. OK Harris closed its doors in June 2014.

Arrangement

The 17 series and corresponding subseries reflect Karp's own organization of the collection by format, and in some cases by subject.

Scope and Content Notes

The Marilynn Gelfman Karp Collection of Ephemera consists of approximately 6.25 linear feet of materials spanning the late 19th to mid 20th centuries. The materials represent an eclectic variety of ephemera in various formats (mostly paper), of once ubiquitous items that were expected to have short-term uses in their time, including trade cards, blotters, cigarette silks, product and dry good labels, greeting cards, postcards, and hairnet packages, among others.

Subjects

People

Access

The collection is open to qualified researchers. Portions of the collection that have been photocopied or microfilmed will be brought to the researcher in that format; microfilm can be made available through Interlibrary Loan.

Photocopying

Photocopying undertaken by staff only. Limited to twenty exposures of stable, unbound material per day. See guidelines in Print Room for details.

Citation

This collection should be cited as: Marilynn Gelfman Karp Collection of Ephemera, PR 279, Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections, The New-York Historical Society.

Provenance

Gift of Marilynn Gelfman Karp, 2009

Permission to reproduce or quote in publication

Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to the Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024. Permission to reproduce or quote text from this collection in a publication must be requested from and granted in writing by the Library Director, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024.

References

Burns, S. B. (1990). Sleeping beauty: Memorial photography in America. Altadena, CA: Twelvetree Press.

Collecting antique tins. (n.d.). In Collectible Collectibles. Retrieved December 1, 2009, from http://www.collectablecollectables.com/articles.asp

Editorial chit-chat: A new style of net [Electronic version]. (1863, July). Peterson's Magazine, 44(1).

Gartrell, E. (n.d.). More about advertising ephemera and the advertising ephemera collection. In Emergence of Advertising in America: 1850-1920. Retrieved December 1, 2009, from http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/eaa/guide/ephemera/

Hagley Museum and Library. (n.d.). Leonard W. Walton printing and packaging collection. In Hagley Museum and Library. Retrieved December 1, 2009, from http://www.hagley.lib.de.us/library/collections/manuscripts/findingaids/Walton_ACC2430.pdf

Heyman, T. T. (1998). Posters American style. New York: National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

"Hit Kit" spells post-war music [Electronic version]. (1944, February 19). The Billboard, 13, 17.

Karp, M. G. (2006). In flagrante collecto: Caught in the act of collecting. New York: Abrams.

Laughing Elephant. (n.d.). Luggage Labels. In The Savvy Traveller. Retrieved December 1, 2009, from http://www.thesavvytraveller.com/tools/laughing_elephant/1home.htm

Lester, K., & Oerke, B. V. (2004). Accessories of dress: An illustrated encyclopedia. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications. (Original work published 1940)

New York State Library. (n.d.). Wish you were here: The story of the golden age of picture postcards in the United States. In New York State Education Department. Retrieved December 1, 2009, from http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/msscfa/qc16510ess.htm

Rickards, M. (2000). The encyclopedia of ephemera: A guide to the fragmentary documents of everyday life for the collector, curator, and historian. New York: Routledge.

Rosenberry, M. C. (1944, April). The army music program. Music Educators Journal, 30(5), 18-19, 48-49. Retrieved from JSTOR.

Ruby, J. (1995). Secure the shadow: Death and photography in America. London: The MIT Press.

Sherrow, V. (2006). Encyclopedia of hair: A cultural history. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Simmons, J. (2011). A brief history of decals. In Everything About Ceramic Decals. Retrieved June 2, 2011, from http://www.ceramicdecals.org/History_of_Decals.html

Smithsonian Institution. (n.d.). Greetings from the Smithsonian: A postcard history of the Smithsonian Institution. In Smithsonian Institution Archives. Retrieved December 1, 2009, from http://siarchives.si.edu/history/exhibits/postcard/chronology.htm

Snodgrass, M. E. (2004). Encyclopedia of kitchen history. New York: Fitzroy Dearborn.

T&J Collectibles. (2009). A brief history of ink blotters. In eBay Reviews & Guides. Retrieved December 1, 2009, from http://reviews.ebay.com/A-Brief-History-of-Ink-Blotters_W0QQugidZ10000000010357920

The history of vintage luggage (2001, November 30). In News-Antique. Retrieved December 1, 2009, from http://news-antique.com/?id=781960&keys=luggage-leather-crocodile

Twede, D., & Selke, S. E. (2005). Cartons, crates, and corrugated board: Handbook of paper and wood packaging technology. Lancaster, PA: DEStech Publications, Inc.

Vintage and collectible blotters. (2011, May). In Pendemonium Vintage Writing Collectibles. Retrieved June 7, 2011, from http://www.pendemonium.com/blotters.htm

Wallace, R. (1953, December 21). Please remit [Electronic version]. Life, 42-52.

Related Materials

Marilynn Gelfman Karp has also donated additional ephemara objects that are cataloged and housed separately within the New-York Historical Society's Museum collection.

The Bella C. Landauer Collection of Business and Advertising Ephemera ca. 1700-present PR 031

Collection of mainly 19th and 20th century advertising ephemera. Formats in the collection include American trade cards, lottery tickets, handbills, labels, broadsides, calendars, billheads, price lists, advertising fans, and other materials of history and popular culture. Media range from rough woodcuts to chromolithographs.

Collection processed by

Margaret L. Donabedian, December, 2009. Revised to reflect additions, June, 2011 and June 2014.

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 15:46:33 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Description is written in: English, Latin script.

Repository

New-York Historical Society
New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024