Something Else Press Archives

in the Museum of Modern Art Archives

The Museum of Modern Art Archives
11 West 53 Street
New York, NY 10019-5497
moma.org/learn/resources/archives

©2021

The Museum of Modern Art Museum Archives

Finding aid prepared by Meagan Connolly, 2021.

Historical Note

Something Else Press was founded in 1964 by artist Dick Higgins and his wife and fellow artist Allison Knowles, and is widely considered to be one of the first experimental artist book publishers. Higgins (1938-1998) had studied under John Cage at the New School (alongside fellow classmates Allan Kaprow, George Brecht, and Al Hansen) and became an early participant in the art movement Fluxus, which coalesced in the early 1960s. Higgins established Something Else Press in 1963 as an outgrowth of Fluxus. First headquartered in New York City the press's output included concrete poetry, manifestos, artist statements, poetry, fiction, criticism, and other works. The press relocated to West Glover, Vermont in 1972 and went bankrupt in 1974. Many notable artists worked on the press, such as Emmett Williams, Barbara Moore, and Jan Herman.
In more than a decade of operation the press's output numbered roughly 80 books, newsletters, and pamphlets including influential books by artists such as Claes Oldenburg, Gertrude Stein, Dieter Rot, and John Giorno. Among the press's publications was a recurring project titled The Great Bear Pamphlets. This series of 20 booklets each showcased a single artist, project, or performance, were uniform in format and design, and documented important early Fluxus activities and performances. The editions were also used to more widely disseminate Higgins' political and artistic ideas, often including essays and artist statements by Higgins and his peers. The press also published the Something Else Press Newsletter, a tabloid-style pamphlet that included announcements and shorter texts not suitable for their own publications.

Scope and Contents

The Something Else Press Records span the years 1965-1975, but the bulk of the records date 1972-1974, the last three years of the press after they relocated from New York City to Vermont. Thus, the collection is not a comprehensive record of the press's activities. The records are organized alphabetically by folder label, typically the names of individual correspondents, institutions, or subjects. The records mainly comprise correspondence with individual artists and institutions, but also include business records such as invoices, publishing contracts and permissions, proofs and in-progress materials relating to published books, sales and stocks reports, and promotional materials from other book vendors and business partners. In addition to the press' business records, the collection also includes numerous pieces of mail art from noted artists such as Chuck Stake (Don Mabie), Opal L. Nations, and David Zack.

Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

These records are open for research and contain no restricted materials.

Ownership and Literary Rights

The Something Else Press Records are the physical property of The Museum of Modern Art. Literary rights, including copyright belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns.

Related Materials

Something Else Press was closely associated with the Fluxus movement and associated artists, so the primary related collection in the MoMA Archives is The Gilbert and Lila Silverman Fluxus Collection Archives, which was received as part of the same accession. Artists and institutions documented in the Something Else Press Records are also represented in other Museum Archive collections such as the Avalanche Magazine Archives, and these can be discovered through a finding aid search. Numerous titles published by Something Else Press can be consulted in the MoMA Library.
Related collections outside the Museum Archive include: The Dick Higgins Collection, at University of Maryland, Baltimore County, the Dick Higgins Archive at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, the Dick Higgins Collection at University of Iowa, the Dick Higgins Papers (1958-1997) at the Archives of American Art, and the Dick Higgins Papers (1960-1994) at the Getty Research Institute.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Published citations should take the following form:
Long version: Something Else Press Records, [folder]. The Museum of Modern Art Archives, New York.
Short version: Something Else Press, [folder]. MoMA Archives, NY.

Provenance

The documents contained in the Something Else Press Records were originally collected and organized by Something Else Press founder, Dick Higgins. They were then acquired through a third party upon bankruptcy by Jon Hendricks, the curator and advisor for noted Fluxus collectors, Gilbert and Lila Silverman (also the previous owners of MoMA's Gilbert and Lila Silverman Fluxus Collection now in MoMA Archives). The collection was donated by Jon and Joanne Hendricks to The Museum of Modern Art in 2005, at the same time as the Avalanche Magazine Archives. The records came to the museum in six record cartons and one oversized flat box of proofs. All records were in folders and organized alphabetically.

Processing and Condition Information

The bulk of the collection is in good condition. Materials have been rehoused in archival folders and appropriate-sized boxes, according to accepted professional practice. Photographs were rehoused, individually or in groups, in Mylar sleeves. Acidic materials, such as newspaper clippings, were enclosed or isolated as appropriate. Oversize posters and other materials were flattened and rehoused in appropriately sized acid-free containers.

Container List

Box and Folder List

File numbers marked by an asterisk (*) indicate oversize material that has been separated to the end of the collection.
Researchers should include the asterisk when issuing a request for such material.

Folder Range	Box	Box
1-32, 34-36	1
37-69	2
70-94	3
95-123	4
124-151	5
152-180	6
181-202	7
203-211	8
212-242	9
243-266, 268-274	10
275-292, 294-305	11
306-315, 317-329	12
330-353	13
354-368	14
369-371, 373-375, 377-385	15
386-410, 412-420	16
421-434	17
435-441	18
33*, 267*, 293*, 316*, 372*, 376*, 411*	OS1
442*, 443*, 444*	OS2