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Roberta Bayley photographs and papers

 Collection
Call Number: GEN MSS 1603

Content Description

The collection consists of photographs, correspondence, diaries, personal papers, scrapbooks, artwork, professional papers, printed materials, posters, a t-shirt, audiovisual materials, and computer media documenting the work and life of American photographer Roberta Bayley and the punk rock music and culture that emerged from downtown New York in the 1970s. Photographs by Bayley include black and white negatives, color negatives, color slides and transparencies, black and white proofs, vintage prints, and other prints. Bayley's photographs document the punk scene at the bar CBGB, in New York City, and elsewhere, and capture many bands and musicians, including but not limited to Blondie, the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, Talking Heads, Television, Elvis Costello, Debbie Harry, Richard Hell, David Johansen, and Iggy Pop. The photographs, correspondence, and artwork include materials related to Punk magazine, John Holmstrom, and Legs McNeil. The bulk of the correspondence is letters from Bayley to her family, and also includes letters from Bayley to Farrah Fawcett, and letters to Bayley from Costello and Sylvia Reed. Personal papers and artwork include drawings, clippings, and correspondence related to fashion designer Anya Phillips. Professional papers document exhibitions of Bayley's photography. Printed materials, calendars, posters, a t-shirt, compact discs, an audiocassette, and 45 RPM records document the many albums, publications, and memorabilia to which Bayley contributed photographs or writings.

Dates

  • 1950 - 2019

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Boxes 35-37 (Audiovisual materials): Restricted fragile material. Access copies of computer files may be requested. Consult Access Services for further information.

Box 38 (computer media): Restricted fragile material. Access copies of computer files may be requested. Consult Access Services for further information.

Boxes 39-50 (negatives): In-process material. As of January 2022, these materials are closed to readers temporarily, and will reopen when digitization is completed. For further information, consult Access Services.

Conditions Governing Use

The Roberta Bayley Photographs and Papers 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

Purchased from Roberta Bayley on the Edith and Richard French Fund, 2020, and gift of Roberta Bayley, 2020.

Arrangement

Organized into seven series: I. Photographs, 1950-2011. II. Correspondence, 1963-2009. III. Diaries and datebooks, 1962-1974. IV. Personal papers, scrapbooks, and artwork, 1955-1999. V. Professional papers, 1976-2012. VI. Contributions, 1964-2019. VII. Computer media, 2007-2013.

Extent

38.34 Linear Feet ((53 boxes) + 4 broadside)

Language of Materials

English

Catalog Record

A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog

Persistent URL

https://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/beinecke.bayley

Additional Description

Abstract

The collection consists of photographs, correspondence, diaries, personal papers, scrapbooks, artwork, professional papers, printed materials, posters, a t-shirt, audiovisual materials, and computer media documenting the work and life of American photographer Roberta Bayley and the punk rock music and culture that emerged from downtown New York in the 1970s. Photographs by Bayley include black and white negatives, color negatives, color slides and transparencies, black and white proofs, vintage prints, and other prints. Bayley's photographs document the punk scene at the bar CBGB, in New York City, and elsewhere, and capture many bands and musicians, including but not limited to Blondie, the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, Talking Heads, Television, Elvis Costello, Debbie Harry, Richard Hell, David Johansen, and Iggy Pop. The photographs, correspondence, and artwork include materials related to Punk magazine, John Holmstrom, and Legs McNeil. The bulk of the correspondence is letters from Bayley to her family, and also includes letters from Bayley to Farrah Fawcett, and letters to Bayley from Costello and Sylvia Reed. Personal papers and artwork include drawings, clippings, and correspondence related to fashion designer Anya Phillips. Professional papers document exhibitions of Bayley's photography. Printed materials, calendars, posters, a t-shirt, compact discs, an audiocassette, and 45 RPM records document the many albums, publications, and memorabilia to which Bayley contributed photographs or writings.

Roberta Bayley

Roberta Bayley is an American photographer. Born in Pasadena, California, Bayley grew up in the San Francisco Bay area and attended San Francisco State University for three years before dropping out in 1971 and moving to London. In 1974 she moved to New York City, and soon began working the door at CBGB, where she began to photograph bands such as the Ramones, Talking Heads, and Television. From 1976 to 1979 Bayley was the chief photographer for Punk magazine. In addition to chronicling the downtown punk scene with her photography, Bayley also worked as a publicist for Blondie and other bands, and wrote for a variety of publications, including Spin. Her work has been featured in numerous publications and album covers, including the first Ramones album, and has been exhibited around the world.

Processing Information

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 as they are acquired, and does more extensive processing of higher priority collections as time and resources permit.

This collection received a basic level of processing, including rehousing and minimal organization.

Information included in the Description of Papers note and Collection Contents section is drawn from information supplied with the collection and from an initial survey of the contents. Folder titles appearing in the contents list below are often based on those provided by the creator or previous custodian. Titles have not been verified against the contents of the folders in all cases. Otherwise, folder titles are supplied by staff during initial processing.

This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection or revisions in arrangement and description.

Subjects

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Guide to the Roberta Bayley Photographs and Papers
Author
by Michael Rush and Tina Evans
Date
January 2022
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository

http://beinecke.library.yale.edu/
Contact:
P. O. Box 208330
New Haven CT 06520-8330 US
(203) 432-2977

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.

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