Saul Steinberg correspondence to Aldo Buzzi
Collection
Call Number: YCAL MSS 1135
Scope and Contents
The papers are comprised of autograph manuscript letters from American artist Saul Steinberg to his friend, writer and architect Aldo Buzzi from 1936 to 1999. The papers in this collection comprise Steinberg’s half of the correspondence exchanged by the two friends during the course of their sixty-three-year-long friendship. Buzzi’s half of the correspondence, to Saul Steinberg, is in the Saul Steinberg Papers. Steinberg’s letters chronicle his personal and professional life as he relayed it to his friend. A few letters sent to Buzzi from friends of Steinberg are also included. These include Constantino Nivola, Steinberg’s sister Lica Roman, Steinberg’s partner Sigrid Spaeth, and Jean Stein.
Dates
- 1936-1999
Creator
Language of Materials
In Italian and English.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
The Saul Steinberg correspondence to Aldo Buzzi is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of the Saul Steinberg Foundation, 2018. The Saul Steinberg Correspondence to Aldo Buzzi is comprised of two accessions received by the library in January and May 2018.
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically.
Extent
2.9 Linear Feet (7 boxes)
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Overview
The papers are comprised of autograph manuscript letters from American artist Saul Steinberg to his friend, writer and architect Aldo Buzzi from 1936 to 1999.
Saul Steinberg (1914-1999)
Saul Steinberg was an Romanian-born American artist and illustrator, known for his visual commentary on American life created for the The New Yorker magazine during the 1940s through 1990s, as well as for his drawings, paintings, collages, and sculpture.
Aldo Buzzi (1910-2009)
Aldo Buzzi was an Italian writer and architect who was active in Italian cinema circa 1940s-1960s. Buzzi was born in Como, Italy on August 10, 1919. He received an architecture degree from the Politecnico di Milano in 1938 where he met and befriended Romanian-born artist Saul Steinberg. Buzzi and Steinberg remained close friends until Steinberg’s death in 1999, maintaining a long-distance friendship through frequent correspondence. Buzzi published a number of books and essays inspired by their friendship and letters including Piccolo diario americano (1974) and Reflections and Shadows (2002). Buzzi’s partner of over 50 years was Bianca Lattuada, sister to Italian filmmaker Alberto Lattuada. Buzzi and Bianca Lattuada both worked in the Italian film industry beginning in the 1940s, often on Alberto Lattuada’s films. After working as an assistant director and screen writer for Italian cinema through the 1960s, Buzzi became an essayist. He wrote and published books and essays, many on travel, from the 1970s through the early 2000s. Buzzi died in Milan on October 9, 2009.
Custodial History
The Saul Steinberg correspondence to Aldo Buzzi was deposited by Aldo Buzzi with the Saul Steinberg Foundation in 2004.
Processing Information
This material is open for research.
Collections are processed to a variety of levels, depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived research value, the availability of staff, competing priorities, and whether or not further accruals are expected. The library attempts to provide a basic level of preservation and access for all collections, and does more extensive processing of higher priority collections as time and resources permit.
These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards. For more information, please refer to the Beinecke Manuscript Unit Processing Manual.
These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards. For more information, please refer to the Beinecke Manuscript Unit Processing Manual.
Processing Information
The chronological arrangement of the collection reflects the original order imposed by Aldo Buzzi prior to the collection's transfer to the Saul Steinberg Foundation. Some postcards and other correspondence include annotations on adhesive notes added by the Saul Steinberg Foundation between 2004 and 2018. These notes have been preserved by the Beinecke Library and may provide some context for adjacent correspondence.
- Artists -- United States
- Artists -- United States -- 20th Century
- Artists, American -- Archives
- Cartoonists -- United States
- Cartoonists -- United States -- 20th Century
- Illustrators -- United States
- Illustrators -- United States -- 20th Century
- Magazine illustration -- United States
- Nivola, Costantino, 1911-1988
- Roman, Lica, 1913-1975
- Spaeth, Sigrid, 1936-1996
- Stein, Jean
- Title
- Guide to the Saul Steinberg correspondence to Aldo Buzzi
- Status
- In Progress
- Author
- Eve C. Neiger
- Date
- February 2020
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
Location
121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Opening Hours
Access Information
The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.