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Samuel Steward papers

 Collection
Call Number: GEN MSS 987

Scope and Contents

Correspondence, writings, diaries, photographs, artwork, research materials, printed materials, and other papers by, to, or related to Samuel Steward. Correspondents include Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, George Platt Lynes, and Thornton Wilder. Writings include drafts of homoerotic novels written under the nom de plume Phil Andros, and a translation of Querelle of Brest by Jean Genet. A focus of the papers is Steward's sexual exploits, which are documented in diaries, photographs, and other papers, including Steward's stud file cataloging his sexual partners and records and writings produced for sexologist Alfred Kinsey. The papers also include writings, photographs, clippings, artwork, and other materials related to Steward's work as a tattoo artist, including correspondence from Don Ed Hardy. Artwork includes pen and ink tracings of illustrations by Jean Cocteau, for Genet's Querelle, a portrait of Gertrude Stein by Carl Van Vechten inscribed by Stein, and a charcoal portrait of Alice B. Toklas. Also included are objects designed and owned by Steward, artworks, tattoo drawings, and photographs taken by Steward during his travels.

Dates

  • 1930-2003

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The materials are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The Samuel Steward 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 Justin Spring and Michael Williams on the Edwin J. Beinecke Book Fund, 2012.

August 2012 Acquisition: purchased from Elysium Press on the Edwin J. Beinecke Book Fund, 2012.

October 2012 Acquisition: gift of Michael Williams, 2012.

August 2010: purchased from Elysium Press on the Edwin J. Beinecke Book Fund, 2019.

Arrangement

Organized into four groupings: June 2012 Acquisition, August 2012 Acquisition, October 2012 Acquisition, and August 2019 Acquisition.

Extent

24.96 Linear Feet (37 boxes)

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.steward

Abstract

Correspondence, writings, diaries, photographs, artwork, research materials, printed materials, and other papers by, to, or related to Samuel Steward. Correspondents include Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, George Platt Lynes, and Thornton Wilder. Writings include drafts of homoerotic novels written under the nom de plume Phil Andros, and a translation of Querelle of Brest by Jean Genet. A focus of the papers is Steward's sexual exploits, which are documented in diaries, photographs, and other papers, including Steward's stud file cataloging his sexual partners and records and writings produced for sexologist Alfred Kinsey. The papers also include writings, photographs, clippings, artwork, and other materials related to Steward's work as a tattoo artist, including correspondence from Don Ed Hardy. Artwork includes pen and ink tracings of illustrations by Jean Cocteau, for Genet's Querelle, a portrait of Gertrude Stein by Carl Van Vechten inscribed by Stein, and a charcoal portrait of Alice B. Toklas. Also included are objects designed and owned by Steward, artworks, tattoo drawings, and photographs taken by Steward during his travels.

Samuel Steward (1909-1993)

Samuel Steward was an American writer and university professor who left the world of academia to become a tattoo artist and pornographer. Steward kept extensive records of his sex life, including diaries, journals, and a stud list. He lived and worked in Chicago, Illinois, and later Oakland, California.

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. Various acquisitions associated with the collection have not been merged and organized as a whole. Each acquisition is described separately in the contents list below and titled according to month and year of acquisition.

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 and/or revisions in arrangement and description.

Title
Guide to the Samuel Steward Papers
Status
Under Revision
Author
by Beinecke staff
Date
September 2013
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

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.