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The Miami Woman’s Club Records document the club’s history, as well as its civic, community, and social activities from 1903-2004.The records include minutes from 1903-1914, 1921-1929, 1936-1939, and 1959-1967. The collection also includes yearbooks from 1907-2004, as well as correspondence (correspondents include: Judge Edith M. Atkinson, Louise Austin, Alice Johnston, Anne Stevenson Brown, Katherine B. Trippetts, Katherine S. Fitts, and Eva J. Lewis), financial reports, programs, photographs, and other documentation. Also included are over 50 scrapbooks documenting club activities, membership, and events dating from 1919-1979.

The Art in Miami collection contains brochures, flyers, exhibit catalogs, pamphlets, handouts, and other ephemera documenting art and art-related activities in Miami, with material going as far back as 1996. Included are items from galleries, such as the Alejandra von Hartz Gallery, the Miami International Airport Gallery, and Lowe Art Museum Gallery, as well as various other local museums, art fairs, shows, and the Wynwood Arts District. The collection also includes brochures, programs, maps, handouts, and ephemera from the Art Basel show in Miami Beach, beginning with Art Basel 2009.

The Andrew Kaufman Photography collection includes a box set of two hand made books created by the photographer that document the graffiti and street art in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami. Also included in the collection is a folder of ephemera advertising Kaufman's photography business.

"Archive of letters between members of the Michelsen and Havens family, including correspondence from Kate C. Havens, a prominent female theosophist from Miami, Florida and Cloudland, Geogia. Approximately 75 letters plus newspaper clippings, ephemera, and a sketch book containing costume designs by Cleo Michelsen. The majority of these letters are addressed to Cleo Michelsen, a young lady, who is interested in the arts and would eventually marry Auriel Bessemer, a noted muralist of the New Deal. Cleo came from a well-established family from Miami. The letters are written from her brothers, sisters, parents, and grandparents. The family is well-educated, and the letters are articulate and well-written.

However, with the Depression looming over the country, her family is is in the midst of a crisis. Cleo's father has seen his business fortunes plummet, and he and Cleo's mother have separated. Her father eventually moves to Cuba where he attempts to revive his holding company. Her mother stays in Florida but is in terrible financial straits. One of Cleo's sisters writes regarding the lack of money and her mother's impoverished state - one which forces her to go days without eating.

In addition, as mentioned above, Cleo has been courted by Auriel Bessemer, who she meets in art school. A promising artist himself, they go on to marry in 1935. During the New Deal, Auriel was commissioned by the Treasury Department to create seven murals - "Historical and Industrial Scenes - Sketches of Virginia," for the first federal building in Arlington. The murals were conserved in 2007, and today, they remain in their permanent home in the U.S. Post Office Building in Arlington.

Most importantly, in this collection are a series of letters from Cleo's grandmother, Kate C. Havens, who splits her time between her home in Miami, Florida and a mountain retreat in Cloudland, Georgia. Mrs. Havens originally hailed from Chicago and was a prominent voice in the Theosophy movement of the time, delivering lectures, writing articles and becoming acquainted other notable theorists, including Anne Besant and Max Heindel. In Miami, she continued her involvement with Theosophy becoming the president of the newly formed Theosophical Society there in 1919. She was a free and very liberal thinker and also became heavily involved in the Women's suffrage movement, eventually becoming an officer on the legal status of women in the Florida State League of Women Voters.

Havens has a great affection for Cleo and writes her interesting heartfelt letters, which are mostly always infused with a Theosophical bent, injecting her views on spirituality and orientalism, providing her opinions on important theosophical readings, reporting upon her lectures given to the Theosophical Society in Miami, and giving accounts of two fascinating meetings with Pearl Buck and Dr. Alvin Kuhns." -Denning House Antiquarian Books & Manuscripts

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.

This collection currently contains advertisements, ephemera, pamphlets, scrapbooks, and graphic materials from National Airlines, mostly dating to the 1970s.

The collection contains minutes, bylaws, and documentation of conferences and programs held by the Cuban diaspora association Conciencia Cubana, Inc. The group's mission was to engage Cuban-American youth in discussions related to a post-Castro Cuba.

The collection consists of 340 photographs of Miami including the celebration of Carnival Miami at Calle 8. The photographs were taken by Gustavo Roca.

Photographs and negatives of Hurricane Andrew created by the students of Southwood Middle School.

Contains Arthur Cervenka's acceptance letter to the University of Miami, an event invitation, a small UM flag, a UM campus information booklet from 1936, Cervenka's Fall 1936-1937 schedule, and one check for Fall tuition.

Thanks to a grant sponsored by UM Libraries as part of the CREATE Grant Fall 2019 grant Cycle Awards, students under the supervision of Professor Robin Bachin (Associate Professor/Assistant Provost for Civic and Community Engagement) conducted interviews with Miami community members in neighborhoods that have undergone significant transformations over the last several decades.

The Race, housing, and displacement oral history collection documents the complicated and significant interconnections among race, housing, and displacement in Miami during the twentieth century. The 6 interviewees are from various neighborhoods including Overtown, Liberty City, and Little Haiti. The interviews were conducted over Zoom during April 2020.

The following individuals were interviewed as part of this collection:

1. Adrian Madriz: Executive Director of the Struggle for Miami’s Affordable and Sustainable Housing (SMASH)
2. Alana Greer: Co-founder of the Community Justice Project
3. Mileyka Burgos: Executive Director of The Allapattah Collaborative, CDC
4. Nancy Metayer: Candidate for Coral Springs Commissioner; member on the Steering Committee of the Miami Climate Alliance; former member of the Broward County Soil and Water Conservation District; Co-Founder of the Florida Disaster Preparedness Plan; environmental scientist; community organizer
5. Shirley Plantin, Chief Executive Consultant for U-Turn Youth Consulting Firm and the author of The Backstory of a New Reality
6. Yanick Landess, Director of Homeownership Programs at Neighborhood Housing Services of South Florida

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.

"An archive of ephemera detailing the short-lived Miami punk band, Screaming Sneakers, compiled by their drummer Mark Evans. The collection includes artwork, flyers, 28 letters, 12 photographs, maquettes, newspaper clippings, promotional material, and other items collected between 1981 and 1983 by Evans.

These items show the early days of the band in 1979 and their do-it-yourself rise to their only recordings in 1982. Featured throughout are various letters from fans and inquiring music writers including Mick Mercer of the English zines, ZigZag Mag and Panache Fanzine. In his letter he writes to frontwoman, Lisa, asking for an interview and saying, 'you seem to be a special sort of band.' Another letter is a retained copy of a note written by Mark to Blondie guitarist, Chris Stein, asking if his new record label, Animal Records, would be interested in the band. A group of 12 black and white band photos showing them posed around New York is featured here. A promotional poster for the band features a piece from the Miami News on Lisa which reads, 'she is more interesting simply sitting at her table than any of the bands cavorting on stage.'

Formed in 1979, the Screaming Sneakers were a punk, New Wave band based in Miami, Florida. The band consisted of then 17 year-old front woman Lisa Nash, Mark Evans (drums), Bud Gangemi (bass), and Gary Sunshine (guitar). Part of South Florida’s fleeting punk and new wave scene, the band was active mostly throughout Dade and Broward County. In 1982 they cut a four-song EP titled Marching Orders, which prompted new management, a move to New York, and a brief glimmer of fame, but despite their best efforts the band slowly faded into obscurity. Little enough is written on them, though they were recently featured in Gary McLaughlin’s 2012 documentary Invisible Bands, which covers the South Florida music scene between 1979 through the mid-1980’s.

An interesting collection of ephemera following a female fronted Miami punk Band’s short-lived time in the 1980s punk scene." -Between the Covers Rare Books

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.

This collection contains exhibit catalogs, booklets, fliers, ephemera, news clippings, brochures, correspondence, and pamphlets, largely related to art, events around Miami, religion, culture, and Betsy Kaplan's other interests.

Spec's Music Inc. records is comprised of press releases in the form of newspaper and magazine clippings, business records, photographs, store memorabilia, and framed music posters, and plaques acquired during Ann Lieff's tenure.

The following description of material types and context was provided by JC Bourque, the main designer for Spec's merchandising and ad campaigns:

Promotion to Record Labels
These programs were intended to convince the record labels to allocate advertising revenue, known as “co-op” funds, to Spec’s Music rather than the competitors, or at least garner a larger share of the labels’ promotion budgets. Spec’s would commit to a media schedule, and use these materials to show the labels how much coverage they could get for their co-op dollars.The calendars were created to show the various advertising and store promotion themes that would be employed during the upcoming year. For example, Country Music Month would employ a different media mix than Classical Music Month. Knowing this, the labels might coordinate the release of major artists when the media mix was weighted toward that musical genre.

Promotion to Public
Marketing to the public included radio and TV spots, newspaper ads and inserts, in-store signage and theme art, direct mail, in-store sale flyers and other methods. Typically, a theme would be created and used across all platforms used for a particular promotion. The particular mix of media and other methods would vary according to the particulars of each promotion.

Newspaper Ads and Inserts
Spec’s would often place full-color, full page ads on the back covers of the Sunday lifestyle magazine in various major newspapers in Florida and Puerto Rico. Sometimes, for major promotions, multi-page inserts printed on higher-quality paper were inserted into newspapers instead.

Music Genre Art
These artworks were produced by Impossible Images for use in print materials to denote various musical genres.

Store Signage
Several types of in-store signage were used to reinforce the advertising messaging utilized in radio, TV, and print media.
Posters - There were two types of posters produced. Single-sided posters were used on walls and windows. Double-sided posters were hung from the store ceiling grid so they could be seen from any place in the store.
Danglers - These were also hung from the grid. A single line was attached to one corner of the dangler, presenting a diamond-shaped sign that would rotate in the air currents of the ventilation system.
Genre Signage - These were typically mounted on top of the music bins (gondolas) and consisted of the genre descriptor (Country, Jazz, etc.) and a Spec’s logo. These would identify specific locations for the different types of music. These were used in conjunction with large murals, below, that showed customers the general area of their music preferences.
Retrofit Signage - These were developed by Impossible Products to be added to older gondolas that had not been fabricated with slots for the genre signage holders. These were installed between back-to-back gondolas, with different genre inserts on either side.

Sound & Vision Magazine
This was a periodic publication that would showcase popular music and video releases. The music section was named “Sound &”, while the video section, printed upside down relative to the music section, was titled “Vision &”, so ether side could be considered the front page.

Moon Beach TV Spot
This was a “theme” TV spot (as opposed to a “donut”, below) that was intended to increase “top-of-mind-awareness” of the Spec’s brand, and create a shopping preference in the consumer. It was shot completely under ultraviolet light, and all the props, costumes and makeup were decorated with fluorescent materials.
The script, costumes and props were created by JC Bourque of Impossible Images, Inc. The spot was directed and shot by David Schweitzer. The footage was shot on 16mm film and transferred to electronic media for compositing.
The music was composed after the footage was roughed in. Various visual elements, such as the “frizbee” landing were accentuated in the music track. The musician thought JC was nuts when he proposed attempting this.
Behind the Scenes - Moon Beach TV Spot
These are photos of the shoot during production.

“Dominoes” Video TV Spot
This is an example of a “donut” spot introducing Spec’s entry into the video market. The donut would be distributed to the various TV stations, and the “hole” would be filled with promotions for specific video titles, with the visuals and narration supplied by the station. These insert would be different and various stations depending on demographics, time slot and label co-op purchases.

Special Promotions
Various themes, such as “Instant Hits Blitz,” “Mother’s Day Deals,” and “Saving Season” were developed and deployed across most or all of the media and store displays.Music... Serious Business This was a campaign to get prospective employees interested in the retail side of the music industry. I believe these were used at job fairs and other venues where people were looking for careers. The poster was designed similar to a playing card, with the two interlocking aspects of the music industry: the music, and the business.The brochure was a take-away for the prospect and included in-depth information about the business side of the industry.

The Florida Ephemera collection contains posters, political tracts, programs, pamphlets and other ephemera relating to the history of Florida.

This growing collection consists of cassettes, vinyl records, and documents pertaining to the Miami underground music community. The music in this collection was assembled by the WVUM staff and mostly dates to the 1990s.

This collection documents Book Are Nice and the organization's involvement in the literary culture of Miami. The collection currently includes materials from two editions of Pages & Spreads, a series of pop-up reading room events that Books Are Nice has helped organize.