John D. Graham papers, 1799-1988, bulk 1890-1961

This series contains published books, clippings, exhibition catalogs, pamphlets, brochures, publicity, reproductions of works of art, and sheet music collected by Graham and his family members.

Books are filed by subject, and some are extensively annotated, especially those in the categories of Children's Books (inscribed by Graham to his son); Literature; Occult, Theosophy, and Religion; and Yoga. Books on Literature also have drawings on their endpages. These include works by Andrei Biely, Nikolai Gogol, Alexander Pushkin, Alexander Griboyedov, and an anthology of 20th century Russian poetry published in 1920. A 1922 book of criticism on Vladimir Mayakovsky features cover art by El Lissitzky. A single, unmarked copy of Graham's major published work of art theory, Systems and Dialectics of Art, is filed at the end of this series. See Writings for the author's annotated copy of this book and his book of poetry, Have It.

Clippings are primarily about Graham, his family members, Elinor and David Graham, and friends. Also found is a 1938 article written by Graham entitled "Mexico." Clippings are in chronological order. Many clippings on subjects other than Graham are found in the reference files.

Exhibition catalogs are for one-man shows or group shows featuring Graham's artwork, with scattered catalogs from other artists' exhibitions. Early catalogs contain essays on Graham by Duncan Phillips, Andre Salmon, David Burliuk, and Waldemar George. Catalogs of the Stable Gallery (1953-1954) are heavily annotated by Graham.

Reference files include clippings, brochures, mimeos, publicity, pamphlets, postcards, maps, and other ephemera. Several of the files are primarily image files, and others contain articles or brochures. Some, such as the file on Picasso, contain both images and articles. Files occasionally contain Photostat copies of printed materials from a variety of sources. Materials in reference files are occasionally annotated.

Sheet music includes mostly published piano arrangements, many of which are in Russian. A few handwritten scores are also found.

Additional printed materials are found in Biographical Materials.

The bulk of the material in this series has been scanned. Books have not been scanned in their entirety, but book covers, title pages, and annotated pages have been scanned.