Jay Ruby Collection on Coffee House Positano, circa 1950-1960s
LSC.2214
Finding aid prepared by Scott Reed, August 2016; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé.
UCLA Library Special Collections
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1575
(310) 825-4988
spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
Online finding aid last updated 14 August 2017.
Title: Jay Ruby Collection on Coffee House Positano
Identifier/Call Number: LSC.2214
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
4.2 linear feet
(1 half box, 1 oversize flat box, 1 painting, 1 table)
Date (inclusive): circa 1950-1960s
Abstract: Coffee House Positano was a Malibu café and performance space (1957-1963) operated by Mike Dutton and Lorees Yerby off the
Pacific Coast Highway. The café was known as a center of Bohemian life in Southern California. Collection was assembled by
Jay Ruby and contains photographs, original and photocopies/printed scans of Positano bulletins and announcements, correspondence
of waitress Joan Laine, and various ephemera related to the Positano and Malibu bohemian community.
Language of Materials: Materials are in English.
Physical Location: Portions of the collection stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact
the UCLA Library Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information. Chess table held in map room on B-level; painting
held in Cashin storage area on B-level
Creator:
Jay Ruby
Conditions on Access
PORTIONS OF COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library
Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Conditions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright, are
retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Jay Ruby Collection on Coffee House Positano (Collection 2214). UCLA Library Special Collections,
Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Jay Ruby, 2012. Gift of Joan Laine, 2014.
Processing Information
Biography/History
Coffee House Positano was a Malibu café and performance space (1957-1963) operated by Mike Dutton and Lorees Yerby off the
Pacific Coast Highway. The café was known as a center of Bohemian life in Southern California and was frequented by notable
Los Angeles artists, writers, and entertainment industry types including Allen Ginsberg, Ray Bradbury, and Keith Finch. Jay
Ruby was an undergraduate at UCLA and worked as a dishwasher at Positano while living on the property from 1957-1959, in addition
to participating in the community. After the closing of the café, the property transformed into the Budwood artists colony
until the 1993 Malibu fire consumed the property.
Ruby later became a professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Temple University, and has researched and wrote extensively on Positano.
Joan Laine was a waitress at Coffee Shop Positano (1957-1959).
Source: http://www.malibutimes.com/malibu_life/article_3d0d3bdf-4267-50fb-a6c8-6d6fee3654e4.html
Scope and Content
Collection consists of materials compiled by Jay Ruby documenting the history of Coffee House Positano and its related community
of artists and patrons. Included are photographs, original and photocopies/printed scans of Positano bulletins and announcements,
art and performance ephemera, correspondence, artworks, and furniture.
Organization and Arrangement
The materials have retained their original folder organization from Jay Ruby.
Related Material
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Coffee House Positano.
Artists--California--Los Angeles.
Bohemianism--California--Malibu.
Coffeehouses--California--Malibu.
Counterculture--California--Malibu
Malibu (Calif.)--Social life and customs--20th century.
Series 1: Coffee House Positano and Malibu Bohemia
circa 1950s-1960s
Scope and Content
Contains photographs of Jay Ruby and others, original and photocopies/printed scans of Positano bulletins and announcements,
copies of clippings/articles, script for Desire Trapped by the Trail, exhibit invitation for Ed Pagac and Ruth Levy at Keith
Finch Studio, assorted printed digital maps.
Box 1, Folder 1
Photographs
circa 1950s-1960s
Scope and Content
Four photographs: 3 Jay Ruby, 1 group shot Jay Ruby and others.
Box 1, Folder 2
Positano and Malibu Ephemera
1956-1966
Box 1, Folder 3
Desire Trapped Script
1959
Scope and Content
Also contains photograph with Colleen Guadelouple, Jay Ruby, Bill Otto, and others unidentified.
Box 1, Folder 6
Positano Bulletins
circa 1950s-1960s
Scope and Content
Materials are photocopies and printed scan copies.
Box 1, Folder 7
Miscellaneous Articles
undated
Box 1, Folder 8
Cafe Espresso Kick Article
undated
Box 1, Folder 9
Initial Announcement
1959
Series 2: Joan Laine materials
circa 1959-1963
Scope and Content
Contains a selection of letters to Joan Laine, a waitress at Coffee House Positano, 1957-1959, including letters from Ed Pagac,
an artist who was active at Positano from its beginning to its end, Pasitano co-owner Lorees Yerby, and Positano waitress
Shirley Jonas.
Box 1, Folder 12
Correspondence
circa 1959-1963
Series 3: Artworks and Furniture
Approx 1950s-1960s
Scope and Content
Series contains artworks and furniture associated with Coffee House Positano.
Box 2
Oil painting by Edward Pagac
undated
Physical Description: Unframed, Approx. 40"x30", by Edward Pagac, a painter who frequented Positano.
Box 3
Concrete Crucifix
undated
Physical Description: Approx. 17"x15"
Box 4
Chess Table
undated
Physical Description: Wooden table, Approx. 41"x24"x28"
