Johnny Stanton Collection of Siamese Banana Press Records, 1969-1998 (mostly 1970-1978)

Contents and Arrangement

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Collection Overview

Title:

Johnny Stanton Collection of Siamese Banana Press Records

Repository:

Manuscripts Division

Permanent URL:

http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dcdz0112104

Dates:

1969-1998 (mostly 1970-1978)

Size:

0.4 linear feet and 1 box

Storage Note:

Firestone Library (scamss): Box B-002026

Language:

English

Abstract: Consists of records of the Siamese Banana Press assembled by its publisher, Johnny Stanton, which document the role of the press in the history of poetry, underground comics, and mimeograph publishing in New York City in the 1970s, as well as Joe Brainard's work as a book artist.

Collection Description & Creator Information

Content Description

Consists of records of the Siamese Banana Press assembled by its publisher, Johnny Stanton, which document the role of the press in the history of poetry, underground comics, and mimeograph publishing in New York City in the 1970s, as well as Joe Brainard's work as a book artist.

The most significant grouping of materials consists of original manuscripts of five early works by Brainard (Some Drawings of Some Notes to Myself, The Banana Book, The Friendly Way, The Cigarette Book, and Self-Portrait with Anne Waldman), along with related correspondence from Bill Berkson and others, production duplicates, and ephemera. These works combine elements of poetry, prose, collage, comics, and gay erotica. Also present are original manuscripts for issues of Siamese Banana: The Rhinelander, a comedic art newspaper that Stanton started while working at a New York City youth center.

There is also a manuscript of Stanton's own work, The Day Our Turtle Was Kidnapped… and cover illustrations for his work Slip of the Tongue. Other manuscript and printed materials exist for works by David Anderson, Paul Auster, Rebecca Brown, Keith Cohen, Hilton Obenzinger, George Schneeman, Tom Veitch, and Don Weingarten. Additional contents include general publishing correspondence, promotional materials related to publications, and fliers for events at St. Mark's Church.

Collection Creator Biography:

Stanton

Johnny Stanton was born in 1943 in Manhattan, the son of Irish immigrants from Galway. He attended Columbia University, where he became friends with many poets, writers, and artists of the New York School. He published works by several of these writers via his Siamese Banana Press and ran the Siamese Banana Press newspaper. Stanton is also the author of the novel Mangled Hands and many short stories. He lives in the East Village with his wife, the poet Elinor Nauen.

Siamese Banana Press

The Siamese Banana Press was formed by Johnny Stanton, a fiction writer associated with the New York School. The press began in 1970 by publishing the Siamese Banana newspaper, which documented local happenings at the Rhinelander Center on East 88th Street, where Stanton did social work with local youth. The newspaper was comedic in nature and featured comics alongside satirical articles intended to entertain the center's youth. In the early 1970s, Stanton began publishing works by Joe Brainard, Anne Waldman, Tom Veitch, and other notable New York artists and writers. These works often blended poetry and literary writing with illustrations, collage, and comics. The press is also often referred to as the Siamese Banana Press Gang, which refers to Stanton's friends at the youth center, and eventually a theater group that formed out of the community.

Collection History

Acquisition:: Purchased from Johnny Stanton in 2022 (AM 2023-077).
Appraisal: No materials were separated from the collection during 2023 processing.
Sponsorship:: Processing of this collection was sponsored by the Delafield fund.
Processing Information: This collection was processed by Kelly Bolding in January 2023, maintaining the folder labels and arrangement provided by Joseph Carey, who worked with Johhny Stanton on the transfer of the collection to the Library. Finding aid written by Kelly Bolding in January 2023, incorporating some description provided by Joseph Carey and Joshua Kotin. Other sources consulted include a 2020 interview with Johnny Stanton and Elinor Nauen conducted by George Salis for The Collidescope.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

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