Karl Bissinger papers

The papers of American photojournalist, restaurateur, and peace activist Karl Bissinger (1914-2008) encompass nearly seventy years of professional activity. This collection not only provides abundant documentation of Bissinger's careers in photography and social activism, but also offers rich visual resources for the history of photography in post-World War II America.

The collection comprises 18 linear feet and oversize material that includes negatives, color transparencies, contact sheets, photographs, slides, correspondence, diaries, journals, notes, sketches, paintings, manuscripts, published and unpublished books, magazines, tear sheets, government records, pamphlets, posters, and other ephemera from 1935 to 2008. The collection is arranged into five series: I. Personal papers; II. War Resisters League and peace activities; III. Publications; IV. Photographic work; and V. Book projects.

Series I. Personal papers, contains personal notebooks, journals, correspondence, artwork, media, and personal effects created and/or collected by Karl Bissinger. The series is arranged into three subseries. Subseries I.A. consists of notebooks kept by Karl Bissinger and his life partner, Richard Hanley. The notebooks contain a wide range of material such as itineraries for trips; financial notes and bills; recipes, contact information; lists of clothing; and drawings for home decorations or room arrangements. Particularly significant is Bissinger's notebook which served as a journal for his 1968 trip to Cuba. In it, he mentioned travel companions Jerome Rothenberg, George Cohen, George Hitchcock, Susan Sontag, and Bruce Kendrick, and recorded contact information for people he met. Bissinger also described the communities and farms the group toured, recorded his thoughts on socialism, and mentioned meeting Fidel Castro.

Subseries I.B. includes letters from Bissinger's son, David Fechheimer; from literary figures whom Bissinger photographed such as Paul Bowles and Diane di Prima; and from friends. Correspondence pertaining to Bissinger's activism with the War Resisters League and his efforts toward disarmament is also included.

Subseries I.C. consists of personal documents such as passports, family information, and personal effects kept by Bissinger; artwork; and media.

Series II. War Resisters League and peace activities, documents Bissinger's work on behalf of world peace, nuclear disarmament, and related social concerns. Subseries II.A. contains correspondence, publications, and publicity related to the War Resisters League (WRL), as well as the WRL's series of Peace Calendars, some of which Bissinger provided photographs. Subseries II.B. consists of correspondence and documents related to files the FBI maintained on Bissinger, obtained the Freedom of Information Act inquiries. Subseries II.C. includes publications from other peace organizations, such as the New York Workshop in Nonviolence. Subseries II.D. documents the friendship and collaborative efforts of Bissinger and Grace Paley as fellow activists in the anti-war and peace movements in New York City.

Series III. comprises publications that contain Bissinger's photographs; publications relating to Bissinger's interest in theater; and publications relating to Bissinger and his friends and associates. Subseries III.A. consists of publications that contain Bissinger photographs, including two rare issues of Junior Bazaar, several issues of Flair, and the complete first run of Ikon, edited by Susan Sherman. It also includes newspaper articles, magazine articles, tear sheets, galley proofs, and photocopies from a variety of publications that used Bissinger photographs, such as the book jacket photograph from A Little Original Sin, Millicent Dillon's biography of Jane Bowles.

Subseries III.B. comprises publications by, about, or related to Bissinger. Among these are several published interviews of Bissinger, including one conducted by George Plimpton about Bissinger's friendship with Truman Capote, and Bissinger's article about his recently-deceased friend, Saul Gottlieb, that appeared in The Village Voice.

Subseries III.C. reflects Bissinger's lifelong interest in theater, particularly experimental theater. He kept many playbills and other theater programs, but was especially interested in The Living Theatre, Open Theatre, and Bread and Puppet Theatre.

Subseries III.D. includes a variety of publications and articles, including articles by or about Bissinger's friends, such as Edna Lewis, Tennessee Williams, Helen Morgan, Ken Nordine, Paul Bowles, and Reverend Al Carmines.

Series IV. Photographic work, comprises the major portion of the Karl Bissinger papers. Bissinger's professional photography career was split into two distinct phases. His early career was spent working on assignment for Junior Bazaar, Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, Theater Arts, and Town & Country, and serving as staff photographer at Flair for its entire run (1950-1951). In the 1960s, his focus shifted to photographing experimental theater and political demonstrations and marches and serving as staff photographer for the brief run of Ikon magazine (1967-1968).

Subseries IV.A. Portraits, is arranged alphabetically by individual, and comprises photographic portraits that appeared in a variety of publications. Included among the hundreds of individuals who were photographed by Bissinger were actresses and actors; directors and producers; writers and playwrights; poets; artists; dancers and choreographers; singers and entertainers; musicians and composers; designers; and avant-garde figures difficult to categorize, such as model and Beat muse Sheri Martinelli and Andy Warhol performer Allen Midgette.

Subseries IV.B. comprises Bissinger's photography assignments, which included fashion shoots, travel essays, and advertising work for several magazines.

Subseries IV.C. Performance, features Bissinger's theater, dance, and film photographs. Bissinger was also cinematographer of the 1964 Jonas Mekas filmThe Double Barrelled Detective Story, and his photographic record of the entire seven-week shoot is included in this subseries.

Subseries IV.D. includes photographs Bissinger took at demonstrations, marches, conferences, rallies, and at the War Resisters League offices. Included in this subseries are photographs of Bissinger’s trip to Cuba in 1968-1969 with Susan Sherman, Susan Sontag, Jerome Rothenberg, and others, during which he photographed Fidel Castro giving a speech. The diary Bissinger kept during this trip can be found in Series I.A.

Subseries IV.E. represents Bissinger's participation in experimental therapeutic photography instruction at the Manhattan School for Seriously Disturbed Children, during which he photographed all aspects of the students' activities at the school. He also photographed children at other Manhattan schools for The Urban League and other organizations in New York.

Subseries IV.F. includes Bissinger's personal photographs, ranging from pictures of family and friends to numerous photographs of trips, including summer rentals on Long Island and in New England, sailing trips along the Eastern seaboard, and trips abroad to Brazil, Italy, Ireland, France, and England. Included in this subseries are numerous slides from Bissinger's travels.

Subseries IV.G. contains a variety of photographs arranged by general category; it is unclear whether Bissinger photographed these for professional or personal use. Included among these photographs are those taken by Bissinger during his 1966 visit to Millbrook Estate during Timothy Leary's occupation of the house, located in upstate New York.

Series V. Book projects, comprises realized and proposed projects featuring Bissinger’s photographs and includes the various materials related to each title. Subseries V.A. The Voices of Marrakesh (Arion Press, 2001) project, includes correspondence with Arion Press, offprints, photocopies, and copies of the prospectus. Included in this subseries are negatives and contact sheets from Bissinger's 1949 trip to Morocco. Subseries V.B. The Luminous Years (H. Abrams, 2003), includes contracts, correspondence, papers, proposals, mock-ups, numerous reviews of the book, and research materials compiled by Bissinger's then-photography representative and editor, Catherine Johnson. A significant portion of the book project comprises files for each individual included in the book, and most files contain research conducted by Johnson. This portion of the subseries reflects Johnson's original organization. Subseries V.C. Haiti project, comprises a single file containing correspondence, photocopies of images, and some negatives for a proposed book of Bissinger's photographs of Haiti. Subseries V.D. includes material for Susanna Cuyler's apparently unpublished work on Jeanne Owens, for which Bissinger wrote a paragraph recalling their friendship. Subseries V.E. includes materials gathered by Catherine Johnson for potential projects featuring Bissinger's work.