Scope and Contents
The Donald Lyons papers consist of writings by Lyons, including film and theater criticism; personal and business correspondence, including letters from Danny Fields and Roger Darrobers; notebooks; personal papers and artwork; academic papers; photographs of friends, including Edie Sedgwick; videocassettes of appearances by Lyons on the television programs “Theater Talk” and “Inside Broadway;" and computer files.
Dates
- circa 1910s-2010
Creator
Language of Materials
In English.
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Box 24 (audiovisual materials): Restricted fragile material. Reference copies may be requested. Consult Access Services for further information.
Boxes 25, 26 (digital media): Restricted fragile material. Access copies of digital files may be requested. Consult Access Services for further information.
Conditions Governing Use
The Donald Lyons 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 Glenn Horowitz Bookseller, Inc., on the Edwin J. Beinecke Book Fund, 2012.
Purchased from Danny Fields on the Edwin J. Beinecke Book Fund, 2017.
Arrangement
Organized into ten series: I. Writings and Criticism, 1957-2004. II. Correspondence, 1920s-2000s. III. Notebooks, 1950s-2000s. IV. Academic Papers, 1950s-2000s. V. Family and Personal Papers, 1910s-2010. VI. Photographs and Ephemera, 1920s-2000s. VII. Printed Materials, 1930s-1990s. VIII. Audiovisual Materials, 1994-2001. IX. Electronic Media, circa 1990s. X. May 2017 Acquisition, 1961-2004, undated.
Extent
21.25 Linear Feet ((25 boxes) + 2 broadside and 1 computer)
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Abstract
The Donald Lyons papers consist of writings by Lyons, including film and theater criticism; personal and business correspondence, including letters from Danny Fields and Roger Darrobers; notebooks; personal papers and artwork; academic papers; photographs of friends, including Edie Sedgwick; videocassettes of “Theater Talk” and “Inside Broadway" programs; and computer files.
Donald Lyons (1938-2011)
Donald Lyons (1938-2011) was an American film and drama critic for publications including the New Criterion, Film Comment, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post. He also contributed to the magazines Rock Scene, Hit Parader, Rock & Soul, and Country Rhythms. Lyons received a bachelor's degree from Fordham University (1959) and a master's degree from Harvard University, then taught English literature and classics at Harvard, Rutgers University, and New York University. He was the author of the influential volume Independent Visions: A Critical Introduction to Recent Independent American Film (New York: Ballantine Books, 1994).
Lyons was also well known for his association with Andy Warhol's Factory, where he acted in several films, contributed to Andy Warhol's Interview magazine, and helped shape the artistic vision of that group of artists and writers. Among his close friends were Edie Sedgwick and Danny Fields.
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.
- Andy Warhol's Factory (New York, N.Y.)
- Audiovisual materials -- United States -- 20th Century
- Born digital -- United States -- 20th Century
- Darrobers, Roger
- Dramatic criticism -- United States
- Fields, Danny
- Film criticism -- United States
- Film critics -- United States -- 20th Century
- Film critics -- United States -- Archives
- Lyons, Donald
- Photographs -- United States -- 20th Century
- Sedgwick, Edie
- Theater critics -- United States -- 20th Century
- Theater critics -- United States -- Archives
- Warhol, Andy, 1928-1987
- Title
- Guide to the Donald Lyons Papers
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- by Beinecke Staff, Brooke McManus
- Date
- November 2015. Revised: September 2021
- 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.