A rich collection of graphic design prints, transparencies, sketches, mock-ups, and maquettes, as well as promotional materials (pamphlets, flyers, leaflets, brochures, advertisements) created by Erwin G. Harris and his design firm. Included within are commercial advertising materials for hotels, restaurants, and tourist attractions in Florida, other parts of the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean; wines and spirits; and other companies, such as IGENE Biotechnology, Scopitone, and Mastro Plastics.
The collection also includes correspondence to and from Erwin G. Harris, photographs, advertisement proposals, resumes, biographies, portfolios and other documents pertaining to Harris and Company Advertising, and Inc. and Erwin G. Harris’ other businesses, along with legal documents, correspondence, and news clipping detailing Harris' feud with the Cuban government under Fidel Castro during the early 1960s.
The Finlay B. Matheson collection includes more than 2,411 photographs; 112 maps, surveys, and architectural plans; and 13 books related to William John Matheson and his immediate family. Estate documents and other documents containing historical and biographical information pertaining to the Matheson family and their various business ventures can also be found within this collection, as well as drawings, postcards, and some of the first aerial view photographs of Key Biscayne, Coconut Grove, the Miami River, and the Florida Keys. Florida's landscape during the early 20th century is captured throughout the various albums and scrapbooks and attests to a more leisurely lifestyle before the advent of skyscrapers and multi-lane highways. Furthermore, the collection provides an in-depth glimpse into the burgeoning social life of early inhabitants who gathered at the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club.
The Firefly Zine collection is a collection of zines donated to the University of Miami Libraries by former residents of the Firefly, a local Miami collective house and important part of Miami's punk rock and activist subcultures. There are over 2,000 zines held in the collection.
Zines are typically independent and self published booklets popular in underground subcultures. The first zines were fanzines, started in the early 20th century by science fiction fans documenting the genre. The format truly took off with the punk rock movement of the 1970s, as a do-it-yourself spirit inspired legions of underground punk fans to start raw but vibrant journals documenting the nascent music scenes in their communities. Zine topics would broaden throughout the 1980s and 1990s to cover a variety of subject areas, from comics to anarchist politics to women’s rights, to more mundane subjects like dumpster diving, alternative fashions, tattoo art, and much more. Despite the expansion of topics, the format usually remained the same—self-published booklets printed in limited editions and typically produced with a photocopy machine.
The Firefly Zine collection in particular is significant for its materials documenting political beliefs and causes such as anarchism, direct action, women's rights, lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender (LGBT) rights and environmentalism. There are also many zines about the punk rock music scene and subculture, the rights of indigenous peoples, and alternative forms of transportation such as bicycles. As with many zine libraries, there is also a strong collection of zines that are of a more personal nature. Zines about South Florida, Latin America and the Caribbean regions—important collection areas of University of Miami Special Collections—are also significant in number.
The Florida culinary history collection contains a wide range of materials related to Florida's rich history of food, its unique restaurants and dishes, and its domestic food production. Items within the collection include pamphlets, flyers, ephemera, periodicals, and other memorabilia originating from Florida.
The Florida Menu collection is comprised of both vintage and contemporary menus originating from restaurants all around Florida, which depict a unique part of Florida's culinary, agricultural, and commercial history. Origins of these menus currently include Miami, Miami Beach, Bradenton, Brandon, Coral Gables, Key West, Pembroke Pines, Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa, Hallandale, Kissimmee, and Jacksonville. New menus will be added periodically to the collection as they are acquired.
The Frost Museum of Science had originally opened in 1950 under the name the Junior Museum of Miami and has since underwent several renovations and relocations. It had also been renamed in 1952 as the Museum of Science and Natural History and once again renamed in 2011 after Phillip and Patricia, two wealthy and influential Miami philanthropists who have donated and supported various educational institutes and museums throughout South Florida, including the University of Miami. In its current inception, the Frost Museum of Science is located in Downtown Miami's waterfront Museum Park and offers a variety of STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math)-based exhibits, lectures, and shows. It is particularly well-known for hosting the show Star Gazers with Jack Horheimer (formerly Jack Horheimer: Star Hustlers and Jack Horheimer: Star Gazer).
This collection includes typescripts for the Star Gazers (Star Hustler) planetarium show, research files, exhibit files, exhibit prints, convention proceedings, pamphlets, historical news clippings, ephemera, periodicals, scrapbooks, photographs, event files, administrative records, and other archival documents pertaining to the Frost Museum of Science's day-to-day operations.
The Funding Arts Network is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the arts in Miami-Dade County through publicly funding grants for various art-related institutions, events, projects, and educational initiatives. The organization originally formed in 1996 under the name of Fifty over Fifty, Inc. with the initial goal of recruiting 50 members who would each contribute $1,000 a year to form a pool of $50,000 that would be endowed to the arts. Both the award pool and membership grew considerably over time, and by 2018, they had funded over 108 art organizations and had awarded $4,822,600 in grants. Their records contain past grant applications, newsletters, correspondence, contracts, awards, audio-visual materials, press clippings, bylaws, reports, minutes, membership lists, and other administrative documents for the organization.
A collection of papers, photographs, scrapbooks, ephemera and other objects that document various cultural scenes in Miami from the 1980s to the present, with an emphasis on the art, nightclub and drag subcultures.
The International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) is a progressive, diversified trade union that primarily represents operating engineers, who work as heavy equipment operators, mechanics, and surveyors in the construction industry, and stationary engineers, who work in operations and maintenance in building and industrial complexes, and in the service industries. IUOE also represents nurses and other health industry workers, a significant number of public employees engaged in a wide variety of occupations, as well as a number of job classifications in the petrochemical industry (https://www.iuoe.org/). This collection focuses on Local 487, based in Miami, FL, and their minutes and bylaws from 1911 to 2012.
Jason Handelsman is a writer/journalist based in Miami. This collection consists of zines and zine originals for his project, "Untitled Rough Manuscript for the President's Reality Show," his journals, personal notes, and other writings.
The collection contains a letter, envelopes and a medallion relating to Cuban senator, mayor, and historian Manuel Martínez-Moles (1863-1951). The collection also includes a copy of "Manuel Martínez-Moles" written by Dr. Juan L. Riera for The Cuban Philatelist. Subsequent donations have included photographs of Cuban monuments in Miami, taken in 2020; restaurant and culinary ephemera; clippings and articles related to philately and Cuban historical figures such as José María Heredia, Félix Varela, León Primelles, and José Martí, authored by Dr. Riera; exhibition ephemera; political flyers; documents related to the Cuban communities in Ybor City and Key West; conference materials related to the InterAmerican Institute for Democracy, held in August 2022; and tourism ephemera. The collection also contains memorabilia such as matchbooks and cigarette ration coupons.
Julia Dawson is a feminist activist and retired lawyer born and raised in Miami, Florida. Through correspondence, documents, ephemera, and other records, this collection documents Dawson's activism, organizational work, and campaigns from the 1970s through the 2010s around feminism, civil rights, and LGBTQ+ rights. Organizations and campaigns represented in this collection include: National Organization for Women (NOW); Dade County Chapter of the Florida Association for Women Lawyers; SAVE Dade (LGBTQ+ rights activism); American Civil Liberties Union Miami Chapter (ACLU), including the ACLU Miami Chapter’s Police Practices Committee (PPC); Miami Clinic Access Project (reproductive rights); Miami Workers Center (MWC); and Serve the People.
The Katy Sorenson papers document the career of Kathryn “Katy” Sorenson, a former Miami-Dade County Commissioner (District 8) for 16 years, from 1994–2010. As commissioner she was concerned with human rights, the environment, child welfare and the arts. After leaving the County Commission, Sorenson founded the Good Government Initiative at the University of Miami to cultivate strong political leaders in South Florida. The collection consists primarily of campaign files, along with a number of scrapbooks and government and other documents relating to Sorenson’s terms as commissioner.
The Kevin Arrow Miami, Music, Art, and Culture collection contains zines, periodicals, ephemera, flyers, photographs, art work, posters, audio-visual material (CDs, CD-ROMs, and vinyl records), and other related archival materials.
Larry Thompson was a humorist and columnist who wrote and reported for the Miami Herald for 28 years. His column, "Life with Larry," tackled topics such as politics, daily life, local history, and events. This collection contains clippings of his work written by him from 1956-1973, all arranged chronologically.
The Laurence Donovan Papers include correspondence, poetry, artwork, book reviews, writings, subject files, and other documents concerning the life and career of Laurence Donovan, an English professor at the University of Miami.
The correspondence dates from 1945-2001, and includes letters from Donovan’s family, friends, and professional associates. It provides insight into Donovan’s personal life, in addition to documenting his writing, artwork, and teaching. Most of the letters are incoming, but the series does contain some outgoing letters.
The collection also contains poetry, artwork, and writings by Donovan. The poetry includes typescripts and published poems. The typescripts are undated, and some have handwritten revisions. The artwork includes a small selection of Donovan’s published illustrations. The writings include typescripts and photocopies of book reviews that Donovan wrote for the Miami Herald, as well as papers and other materials.
The subject files include materials related to Donovan’s teaching and work at the University of Miami, as well as his poetry and artwork. Also included are articles and other materials about literary figures and works; programs and flyers for exhibitions, readings, shows, and other events; and writings and other materials by and about his friends and colleagues.
Collection consists of correspondence, various iterations of Gottlieb-Roberts' art work (from drafts to finals), photographs (including slides and Polaroids), promotional materials, video cassettes (VHS, U-Matic, L-750) of performances, press, and more, from the 1970s through the 1990s.
