Introduction

The Franklin Furnace/MoMA Artists’ Books Vertical Files Collection contains supporting materials for the Franklin Furnace Artists’ Books Collection, such as bibliography and biography forms, handwritten letters and promotional literature provided by artists to accompany their donations of their artist’s books, from 1976 to 1993. The collection contains 52,737 images of 25,365 items, from over 3,500 artists.

This unique compilation of ephemera is providing researchers with new insights on how the field of artists’ books developed. Scholars who research artists’ books collections mostly work with just the books in front of them – having access to vertical file material can further reveal artists’ motivations and the historical circumstances in which books are created. The collection also includes unique works of mail art that were posted to select recipients, furthering the research potential. Networks and connections in the international art scene are thus brought to light via this critical mass of ephemera and personal letters.

Access the Franklin Furnace/MoMA Artists’ Books Vertical Files Collection online database →

Acknowledgements

This project was initiated and guided by Michael Katchen, Senior Archivist at Franklin Furnace.
Digitization photography by Tsubasa Berg; cataloging by Fang-Yu Liu and Nicole Rosengurt, with assistance from Pratt Institute School of Information Fellows: Anna Jacobson, Morgan Võ, and Mia Greenberg.

Digitization of this collection was made possible with support from The Pine Tree Foundation of New York and the Board of Directors of Franklin Furnace.