Collecting area: Arts & literature

Born in a “howling blizzard” in February 1946, Raymond Mungo became one of the most evocative writers of the 1960s counterculture. Through more than fifteen books and hundreds of articles, Mungo has brought a wry sense of humor and radical sensibility to explorations of the minds and experiences of the generation that came of age against a backdrop of the struggles for civil rights and economic justice, of student revolts, Black Power, resistance to war, and experimentation in communal living.

Consisting of the original typescripts and manuscripts of ten of Raymond Mungo’s books, along with corrected and uncorrected galleys and a small number of letters from publishers. Among the other materials in the collection are thirteen photographs of Mungo taken by Clif Garboden and Peter Simon during and immediately after his undergraduate years at Boston University; a DVD containing motion pictures of life at Packer Corners in 1969 and 1977; and an irate letter from a writer regarding the status of poems he had submitted to Liberation News Service.

Coin and medal collection of UMass Amherst graduate Class of 1973 and long-time supporter of the
library, Paul R. Murphy. Collections consists chiefly of coins and medals that commemorate historic moments, achievements, places, and individuals in U.S. history.

One of the pioneers in the ephemera trade, Samuel E. Murray (1906-1989) was a long time antiquarian bookman, based at his home in Wilbraham, Mass. Born on Christmas Day, 1906, Murray interrupted his college studies to go to sea, but after the Depression left him unemployed, he landed a position as sales representative for McGraw-Hill and, later, G. & C. Merriam and other firms. Always an avid book collector, Murray left the publishing industry in 1970 to become a full time bookseller. Without ever advertising or issuing catalogs, he developed a wide reputation among dealers and collectors for his keen eye and perspicacity with rare and uncommon books. A generalist by trade, Murray had a particular fondness for colorplate books and travel literature, but was renowned both for his extensive reference library and for recognizing early on the value of ephemera. After a lengthy bout with myelofibrosis, Murray died at home on June 4, 1989.

The Murray Papers contain correspondence between Murray and a range of his fellow booksellers and clients, as well as his extensive card files on fellow book dealers and wants lists. The collection offers insight into the operations of a well known antiquarian bookman during the 1970s and 1980s.

Ken and Sherri Nahan operated the Nahan Art galleries in New York City, New Orleans, and Tokyo for many years, exhibiting, publishing, and selling works by a international stable of contemporary artists. They remain active in the art world, as agents and publishers and providing consultation and curatorial services.

The prints in the Nahan collection represent the high state of achievement in French fine art printing in the 1970s and 1980s, and includes works on handmade paper by four master printmakers: Max Papart, James Coignard, Theo Tobiasse, and Nissan Engel.

Long-time residents of Hadley, Massachusetts, the Nash and Scott families were united in 1881 when John Nash, a farmer, married Lizzie Scott. Of their seven children, Herman B. Nash, graduated from the Massachusetts Agricultural College in 1917, and immediately enlisted in the army, serving in France at the close of World War I. His youngest sister, Helen, kept the family connected during these years by writing and distributing a family newsletter, the Plainville News.

The Nash-Scott Family Papers contain a number of photographs, including an album capturing a trip to the west coast in 1915 and a canoe trip to Labrador in 1920. Herman B. Nash’s scrapbook documents not only his time as a student at M.A.C., but also his service in France, featuring candid photographs taken by Nash during and after the war as well as identification cards, company rosters, and a German propaganda leaflet picked up near the front. Pamphlets, genealogical notes and postcards complete the collection.

The National Arts Policy Archive and Library is a collaborative project initiated by SCUA, the UMass Amherst Arts Extension Service, and several partners in arts agencies intended to document the history of arts administration in America. Collecting the records of state-level and national arts agencies, NAPAAL will provide a foundation for research into the evolution of arts policy, strategies for supporting the arts, and the economic and cultural impact of the arts on our communities.

Constituent collections include:

• Americans for the Arts Records
• Center for the Study of Art and Community Records
• National Endowment for the Arts Collection
• National Assembly of States Arts Agencies Records
• Thomas L. Turk papers
• UMass Amherst Arts Extension Service Records

A not for profit membership organization, the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA) provides representation for state and jurisdictional arts agencies at the national level. Incorporated in 1974, NASAA has been an important forum for directors, chairs, and staff of its member organizations, supporting their collective efforts to advance the arts as an essential public benefit. Working with the National Endowment for the Arts and other agencies, NASAA also helps to strengthen state arts agencies by supporting excellence in and access to the arts.

The NASAA collection includes important documentation of the founding and early operations of the organization, priorities and controversies over the years in arts management, and records of its annual meetings.

Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the National Endowment for the Arts has awarded more than $4 billion to support artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities. The NEA extends its work through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector.

In contributing to the National Arts Policy Archive and Library (NAPAAL), the NEA allowed SCUA to digitize publications on the arts and arts management since its inception. The collection reflects the impact of the arts (including music, literature, and the performing arts) on everyday lives of Americans and include materials intended to support individual and classroom education, information on arts management, reports on the status of the arts, histories of the organization, and much more. All items are cataloged in the UMass Amherst Libraries online catalog and are included in the Internet Archive, where they are available for full-text searching.

Visit the NEA Publications online

Undated photograph of Bobby Naughton playing the vibraphone in a recording studio

Robert Joseph “Bobby” Naughton was an American vibraphonist, pianist, and composer in the avant-garde/21st Century modern/improv tradition of jazz that evolved in the 1960s and early 1970s. Originally a pianist, Naughton became known as a vibraphonist. Besides writing and recording his own compositions, he collaborated with other artists including trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith and his New Dalta Ahkri Ensemble, Sheila Jordan, Perry Robinson, Anthony Braxton and the Creative Music Orchestra. Naughton was an integral member of the Connecticut creative music network of the 1970’s.

Born in Boston on June 25, 1944 to William and Rose Mary Naughton, Bobby studied piano from the age of seven through his teens and played in several rock, blues, and lounge bands. He served in the U.S. Army and studied painting in art school. In the late 1960s, he began playing vibraphone, accompanying Sheila Jordan and clarinetist Perry Robinson where he participated in New York’s legendary loft jazz scene. In 1969, Naughton recorded for the first time. His debut album, Nature’s Consort, was released on his own Otic record label, where he continued to release music throughout his career. In 1976, along with Wadada Leo Smith, he became involved with the non-profit Creative Musicians’ Improviser’s Forum (CMIF), a collective that supported musicians, presented concerts, and was loosely based on Chicago’s Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). Some of Naughton’s other credits include composing music for the silent film Everyday by German artist Hans Richter, playing in the Jazz Composers Orchestra in 1972, and touring Europe with Anthony Braxton and the Creative Music Orchestra in 1978 and 1982.

In the 1980s, seeking a steady income and health insurance, Naughton moved to Providence, RI and began working as a locksmith. He recorded again in 2008, with drummer Laurence Cook and bassist Joe Fonda, leading to the album Pawtucket. Naughton died at the age of 78 in 2022.

The centerpiece of Naughton’s collection is a trove of live recordings recorded on 7″ and 5″ reel to reel tapes, cassettes, and CDs made between 1967-2018. These recordings document every period of Naughton’s career and his various collaborations. The recordings are supplemented with sheet music, posters, clippings, administrative paperwork, some photos, 1/4″ and 1/2″ reel masters of Naughton’s albums, and copies of his released albums on vinyl and CD.

Established in 1901, the New England Association of Teachers of English (NEATE) was the first association of English teachers in America. Through conferences, executive board meetings, and the regular publication of The Leaflet, NEATE aimed to bring together New England’s English teachers to study the methodology and history of the field, as well as observe innovations and new practices in the world of education.

While the collection is expected to grow, it currently consists of meeting minutes, conference records, correspondence between members, issues of The Leaflet, two published histories of the organization, and two early record books of NEATE ranging in date from 1901-1938.