Ludlow-Santo Domingo Library poster collection
Overview
Posters primarily produced during the counter-culture movement with a focus on drugs, drugs use, sexual liberation, and the peace movement.
Dates
- Creation: 1804-2011, undated
- Creation: Majority of material found in 1960-1980
Language of Materials
English, French, Russian, German, Spanish, Polish, Japanese, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Czech, Danish, Greek, and Kurdish
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is shelved offsite at the Harvard Depository. Retrieval requires advance notice. Readers should check with Houghton Public Services staff to determine retrieval policies and times.
For a portion of the collection special handling is required; use surrogate images when possible and consult Houghton Public Services staff for appointments.
Extent
20.6 linear feet (28 flat oversized boxes and 21 tube boxes)Includes printed posters, the bulk of which were created during the counter-culture movement in the 1960’s and 1970’s and deal primarily with drugs and alcohol. Prominent counter-culture figures that appear throughout the collection are Timothy Leary, Chet Helms (The Family Dog), Gilbert Shelton, Wes Wilson, Victor Moscoso, Alton Kelley, Stanley Mouse and Rick Griffin
Collection also includes: French Belle Époque art and advertisements; anti-drug posters from central and eastern Europe; posters for art exhibitions, musicals, theatrical and literary events; and political and propaganda posters dating from World War II to the early 2000’s
Detailed descriptions of material can be found in the scope and content note of each series
A portion of the collection is oversized or irregularly sized. Oversized material has been rolled for storage and needs special handling and an appointment to view
Biographical / Historical
The Ludlow-Santo Domingo Library is the world’s largest private collection of material on altered states of mind. The collection was formed by Julio Mario Santo Domingo Jr. (1957–2009), an investment advisor who resigned his business interests to devote himself to collecting.
Arrangement
Arranged into the following series: I. Pro-drug ; II. Anti-drug ; III. Sex ; IV. Musical performances ; V. Theatrical performances ; VI. Art Exhibitions ; VII. Literary Events ; VIII. Political propaganda ; IX. Advertisements ; X. Miscellaneous
Posters are arranged alphabetically by title within series.
Physical Location
Harvard Depository
Custodial History
Some material in the collection is from the Fitz Hugh Ludlow Memorial Library
Immediate Source of Acquisition
2015M-85. Deposited by Julio Mario Santo Domingo III; received: 2012 April.
Forms part of the Julio Mario Santo Domingo Collection
Processing Information
Processed by Rachel Parker, 2018
Alma MMS ID
990150494360203941
Processing Information
This finding aid was revised in 2023 to address outdated and harmful descriptive language. During that revision, contextualizing processing notes were added to the description of two items. For more information on reparative archival description at Harvard, see Harvard Library’s Statement on Harmful Language in Archival Description.
- Title
- Santo Domingo, Julio Mario, collector. Ludlow-Santo Domingo Library poster collection, 1804-2011, undated (MS Am 3135): Guide.
- Status
- completed
- Author
- Houghton Library, Harvard University
- Date
- 2018 June 29
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- und
- Sponsor
- Cataloging of this collection was made possible by the Ruth Miller Memorial Philanthropic Fund.
- EAD ID
- hou02925
Repository Details
Part of the Houghton Library Repository
Houghton Library is Harvard College's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, archives, and more. Houghton Library's collections represent the scope of human experience from ancient Egypt to twenty-first century Cambridge. With strengths primarily in North American and European history, literature, and culture, collections range in media from printed books and handwritten manuscripts to maps, drawings and paintings, prints, posters, photographs, film and audio recordings, and digital media, as well as costumes, theater props, and a wide range of other objects. Houghton Library has historically focused on collecting the written record of European and Eurocentric North American culture, yet it holds a large and diverse number of primary sources valuable for research on the languages, culture and history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.
Houghton Library’s Reading Room is free and open to all who wish to use the library’s collections.
Harvard Yard
Harvard University
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
(617) 495-2440
Houghton_Library@harvard.edu