Catalogues

AMERICAN RHYTHM TAP PIONEER: THE LATE-CAREER NEW YORK RENAISSANCE ARCHIVE OF CHARLES 'HONI' COLES

AMERICAN RHYTHM TAP PIONEER: THE LATE-CAREER NEW YORK RENAISSANCE ARCHIVE OF CHARLES 'HONI' COLES

SCOPE AND CONTENT OVERVIEW

This archive presents an unrecorded and comprehensive primary research record tracking the late-career performance realities, high-profile institutional accolades, and intimate biographical narratives of Tony Award-winning tap pioneer Charles 'Honi' Coles (1911–1992). Preserved systematically within the private files of Ben Raeburn, the visionary founder of Horizon Press, and his companion Pat Pearcy, the collection represents a significant administrative and personal nexus. It seamlessly bridges Coles's highly visible public achievements—such as major unrecorded galas at the Joyce Theater and landmark concerts at Carnegie Hall—with deeply candid, unvarnished correspondence from the road.

Rather than merely aggregating standard promotional theatrical ephemera, this dossier is unified by immediate contemporary manuscript commentary. It details the precarious physical toll of touring on an aging performer, the resilient mutual support networks maintained by aging Black vernacular dancers, and the immediate grassroots efforts of Coles's inner circle to safeguard his legacy for future scholarship following his passing.

FIELD ALBUM OF WESTERN CHINA — YUNNAN–SICHUAN CORRIDOR, ca. 1928–1937

FIELD ALBUM OF WESTERN CHINA — YUNNAN–SICHUAN CORRIDOR, ca. 1928–1937

Buddhist Sites • Caravan Routes • Yunnan–Sichuan Uplands • c. 1908–1915

A substantial photographic fieldwork album documenting Buddhist shrines, temple interiors, monastic sculpture, uplands village life, and caravan transport routes through the Yunnan–Sichuan borderlands during the late Qing and early Republican period.

Highlights

• Rare sequential documentation of Buddhist shrines and ritual sites
• Uplands families, local architecture, and early ethnographic portraiture
• Caravan trains along Sichuan–Yunnan trade routes
• Interior temple photography uncommon for the period
• Several distinct sequences suitable for exhibition or teaching modules

Context: The album captures on-the-ground documentation in a period when field photography in inland China was limited, often restricted, and frequently lost. The Buddhist series offers a view of material religion in situ; the caravan images reveal trade infrastructure and mobility; the uplands portraits provide a visual record of communities seldom photographed at the time.

Firefly Press Archive — Letterpress Broadsides & Typographic Works

Firefly Press Archive — Letterpress Broadsides & Typographic Works

Collection Overview 

John Gerhard Kristensen, Boston / Somerville, Massachusetts
Late 1980s–2014                                                                                                    $1500

This archive comprises thirteen items produced at Firefly Press, including eleven letterpress broadsides and two closely related typographic works in offprint and pamphlet form. The material spans roughly the late 1980s through 2014 and documents Firefly Press work created for teaching visits, bibliophile societies, poetry outreach programs, typographic exhibitions, and private or printer’s-file keepsakes.

Together, the group reflects Firefly Press’s sustained engagement with classical typography, historical quotation, book arts education, and contemporary literary culture in Boston and New England.

FOLDED PAPER — UNFOLDING IDEAS

FOLDED PAPER — UNFOLDING IDEAS

INDIANA UNIVERSITY GRAPHIC DESIGN PRESS
FINE ARTS LIBRARY BENEFIT DINNER SERIES ARCHIVE
2001–2010

A curated archive of miniature artist’s books, experimental letterpress productions, and collaborative fine press works created through the Indiana University Graphic Design Press for the annual Fine Arts Library Benefit Dinner.

Spanning nearly a decade, these inventive hand-produced editions document the evolution of contemporary book arts pedagogy through typography, structural design, interactive reading systems, and conceptual printmaking. Produced in limited editions for patrons, faculty, and supporters of the university’s Fine Arts Library, the collection preserves a rare and cohesive record of early twenty-first-century academic fine press experimentation.

HARRISON OF PARIS: The Monroe Wheeler Archive Paris, 1930–1934 • MODERNIST DESIGN PRESS

HARRISON OF PARIS: The Monroe Wheeler Archive Paris, 1930–1934 • MODERNIST DESIGN PRESS

Established in the final years of the Lost Generation, Harrison of Paris was the collaborative press of Monroe Wheeler, Glenway Wescott, and Barbara Harrison. Though limited to thirteen titles, it stands as a precursor to modern graphic design.

Rejecting traditional fine press conventions, Wheeler favored clarity, experimental typography, and modern illustration, commissioning artists such as Christian Bérard and Pierre Falké.

Wheeler later carried this aesthetic to the Museum of Modern Art in New York, shaping its visual identity for decades. These volumes represent the early work of a major American tastemaker.

Provenance: Association copies from the libraries of Wheeler and Wescott, linking the group to their circle, including Edith Sitwell and Jean Cocteau.

JAMES HANLEY • AUTHOR ARCHIVE

JAMES HANLEY • AUTHOR ARCHIVE

James Hanley (1897–1985) stands among the most distinctive and uncompromising voices in 20th-century British literature. Emerging from a seafaring background, his work is marked by psychological intensity, stark realism, and a deep engagement with themes of isolation, labor, and the inner life.

Though often outside the mainstream, Hanley was respected by contemporaries including E. M. Forster and T. S. Eliot, and published by major houses in both Britain and the United States. His writings move fluidly across forms—novels, short stories, plays, and broadcast work—revealing a writer of remarkable range whose reputation continues to grow among scholars and collectors.

This curated collection represents a significant bibliographical event, featuring primary artifacts sourced directly from the estate of his American publisher and confidant, Ben Raeburn of Horizon Press.

THE ZERO MOSTEL CONDOLENCE ARCHIVE

THE ZERO MOSTEL CONDOLENCE ARCHIVE

The Death of Tevye: The Private Condolence and Legal Archive of  Horizon Press Publisher Ben Raeburn

A profoundly intimate, self-contained manuscript and ephemera archive documenting the immediate shock, private grief, and permanent institutional legacy following the sudden death of theatrical legend Zero Mostel on September 8, 1977. 

Ben Raeburn: A Legacy of Horizon Press PUBLISHER ARCHIVE

Ben Raeburn: A Legacy of Horizon Press PUBLISHER ARCHIVE

Ben Raeburn (1914–1991) was one of the most perceptive and fiercely independent architects of post-war American letters. As the founder of Horizon Press, he operated at the vital intersection of high Modernism and the emerging avant-garde, fostering a list that was as visually stunning as it was intellectually rigorous.

This curated collection, sourced directly from the Raeburn estate, represents the 'working library' of a master editor. It is not merely a gathering of signed volumes, but a living record of the professional and personal bonds that sustained New York’s literary and artistic culture from the 1950s through the late 20th century.

While we welcome inquiries for the archive in its entirety, we are also prepared to discuss the transfer of specialized subject-blocks to institutions with specific collection mandates.