Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery

Organization

The Higgins collection has been divided into four series: I. Dick Higgins, II. Something Else Press, III. Fluxus, IV. Franklin Furnace.
It is then divided into the following sub-series:

Series I - Dick Higgins: Boxes 1-2

Series II - Something Else Press: Box 3

Series III - Fluxus: Boxes 1, 4-8

Series IV - Franklin Furnace: Box 9

Provenance and Acquisition Information:

This collection was donated by Alison Knowles, Higgins's wife, in 1999. UMBC Visual Arts professor Lisa Moren assisted with the acquisition process. The materials were collected from Higgins's studio in Barrytown, New York. Contained in the collection are items from Higgins's personal holdings of Fluxus history and artwork, as well publications from Something Else Press, which Higgins's ran from 1964-1973. Moren later selected additional Fluxus items for library purchase; see Series III.B, Fluxus - Collections for the ReFlux Editions items and Flux: a v tre extra, and Series III.A, Shiomi, Mieko. Events & Games.

Processing Information:

The collection was processed by Lindsey Loeper, Visiting Librarian, in the fall of 2007. Additional items were located in the summer of 2008 and the finding aid was updated to reflect these items in September 2008. A preliminary inventory had been previously been conducted in preparation for Intermedia, an exhibit showcasing Dick Higgins and Fluxus at UMBC in 2003. Lisa Moren created a website (located at http://intermedia.umbc.edu) that contains this initial inventory, information about the items, and a selection of digital images. After the Intermedia exhibit was removed, the collection materials were placed in acid free flat boxes and any original order from Higgins's studio was not preserved. An inventory of these boxes was conducted and series designations were assigned. The materials were then rehoused according to the series. Many items required protective folders or tissue paper.

The publications from Something Else Press had been removed from the collection, cataloged, and shelved with the Special Collections General Rare Books and Book Arts items. At the time of processing the collection it was decided that the publications should be returned and shelved with the collection boxes. There were also approximately 60 published items that were not published by Something Else Press that had remained with the collection and did not have catalog records. Catalog records were created for these items and they are shelved with the Higgins's collection. All publications are listed on the container list in the appropriate series; please note that their location information is a call number and not a box and folder number. The publications are housed with the collection and organized by call number.