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Don Paulson Collection of Political and Social Ephemera, 1953-2007

Overview of the Collection

Collector
Paulson, Don
Title
Don Paulson Collection of Political and Social Ephemera
Dates
1953-2007 (inclusive)
Quantity
11 boxes plus one oversize folder , (8 linear feet)
Collection Number
2002.23
Summary
A collection of ephemera gathered in Seattle by artist Don Paulson over more than three decades, including posters, leaflets, publications and more. Subjects are mainly activism and politics.
Repository
Museum of History & Industry, Sophie Frye Bass Library

P.O. Box 80816
Seattle, WA
98108
Telephone: 2063241126 x102
library@mohai.org
Access Restrictions

The collection is open to the public by appointment.

Languages
English.
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Biographical Note

Seattle-born artist Don Paulson (1933-2012) was a painter in the Pop Art style, sometimes using the pseudonym "Whitey Boom." His work is in the collections of institutions like the Seattle Art Museum and the Anchorage Art Museum. After attending Auburn High School, Paulson served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. In 1960s New York, he was involved with Andy Warhol's Factory and attended the first public performance by the Velvet Underground. Discovering the lightshow scene upon his return to Seattle in 1966, he founded Lux Sit and Dance. This collective used projectors, fog machines, prisms, colored liquids, and other paraphernalia to create their light effects, and worked with bands like Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, and the Byrds. Paulson was also a member of E.A.T. (Experiments in Art and Technology), an organization that supported art-science collaborations and encouraged artists to explore new technologies. In addition to his art, Paulson also was an authority on the early gay underground in Seattle, contributing to the Seattle Gay News and co-authoring the book An Evening at the Garden of Allah: A Gay Cabaret in Seattle in 1996. He was active in Black and White Men Together, a gay interracial organization.

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Content Description

The collection consists of a wide variety of ephemera gathered by the collector in Seattle over more than three decades. It includes posters taken from telephone poles, leaflets handed out on city streets, newsletters and other publications from activist groups, and many other types of materials. The subject matter is mainly political -- anti-war activism, gay rights, women's liberation, environmentalism, labor unions, etc. -- although there are other topics represented like missing pets and event announcements.

Paulson alluded to the broad nature of the subject matter represented when he described the collection as being "dedicated to everyone who ever participated in a protest March, attended a vigil, campaigned for Peace, Justice, Liberation, Human or Animal Rights, saved the Planet, welcomed the New Age, fought against Racism, Sexism, Ageism, Homophobia and Abuse. And to anyone whose voice wanted to be heard in a world too often refusing to listen."

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Other Descriptive Information

Note from the collector:

How I Came to Collect Seattle Handbills

In the middle of the 1960s I became aware of the social political climate building in America, personified by the Civil Rights movement, the anti Viet Nam War forces and later the Counter Culture. I began to collect samples of this angst, etc., in the form of handbills (leaflets and flyers). They range from garage sales and lost pets to anti war rallies, liberation movement, ecology and new wave thinking. I walked several thousand miles collecting the 10,000 plus handbills one at a time from telephone poles and bulletin boards in the Seattle area, especially from Capitol Hill and the University District.

Thanks to the refinement of the [Xerox] machine, the spirit of Thomas Paine flooded the American fabric with handbills. It was a huge paper explosion from an extraordinary diverse public -- everyone suddenly had a cheap printing press all their own! It was truly the voice of the people on a national and unprecedented scale. All across America people were dealing with a staggering amount of issues and other radicalizing forces. Since it was happening everywhere, Seattle could be a good example of this silent revolution of paper.

Vashon Island historian Garland Norin wrote: "Your thesis that grassroots handbills throughout a quarter of a century period truly focuses on issues that eventually brought about social and political change. Your proposed book on handbills shows the power of the movement and its expansiveness. Your record of this worldwide time of discontent as illustrated by handbills reveals the historical significance of this picture form of communication."

I hoped to put the best examples in a picture book someday so I [xeroxed] the best examples of years 1967 to 1996 as a mock up for the book. It was to be titled Democracy in Action.

...This paper explosion is basically over, with the Internet taking its place. The passion represented by these handbills has subsided by comparison, also.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

The Museum of History & Industry is the owner of the materials in the Sophie Frye Bass Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from MOHAI before any reproduction use. The museum does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.

Preferred Citation

Don Paulson Collection of Political and Social Ephemera, Museum of History & Industry, Seattle

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Within the generally chronological organization of the collection, the material also has been arranged by format. Format types also have been further subdivided by topic and sub-topic when there was a significant amount of materials on a readily identifiable subject within an individual year. Oversize materials were separated from the rest of the collection. As much as possible, the original organization of the material has been preserved.

The collection is arranged as follows:

  • Series I: Book selection material, 1967-1991
  • Series II: Additional material, 1953-2007
  • Series III: Other identified collections, 1968-2000
    • Subseries A: Save the Pike Place Market
    • Subseries B: Gulf War
    • Subseries C: Punk Papers
    • Subseries D: Rodney King
    • Subseries E: Political campaigns
    • Subseries F: John F. Kennedy
    • Subseries G: Jesus
    • Subseries H: Hemp
    • Subseries I: Miscellaneous
  • Series IV: Oversize material

Location of Collection

15a.1.4, 6-7 (Boxes 1-10

Location of Collection

15b.4.4 (Box 11)

Location of Collection

VI.a1.13 (Oversize folder 12)

Acquisition Information

The collection was donated by Don Paulson in 2001. Additional materials were donated in 2009.

Processing Note

Processed by Helice Koffler.

Materials from a subsequent donation in 2009 were added to the collection in October 2009.

Separated Materials

Paulson's donation to the museum also included a painting.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Gay rights--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Political participation--Washington (State)--Seattle

Geographical Names

  • Seattle (Wash.)

Form or Genre Terms

  • Ephemera

Finding aid prepared by Helice Koffler
2006

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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