Collection Guide
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Law (Tom) San Francisco Bay Area Punk and Rock Handbill and Poster Collection
M1976
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Title: Tom Law San Francisco Bay Area Punk and Rock Handbill and Poster Collection
Identifier/Call Number: M1976
Physical Description:
2.5 Linear Feet
: 1154 posters and 2 magazines in 3 manuscript boxes, 2 flat boxes and 1 large map folder
Date (inclusive): 1981-1989
Date (bulk): 1983-1986
Abstract: The Tom Law San Francisco Bay Area Punk and Rock Handbill and Poster Collection features over 1100 posters collected in San
Francisco between 1981 and 1986. This street art chronicles the musical and cultural history of the San Francisco Bay Area
in the mid-eighties. The majority of fliers are advertisements for local and touring bands, but posters for readings, screenings,
plays, art openings, political protests, and even lost pets are also present.
Physical Location: Special Collections and University Archives materials are stored offsite and must be paged 36-48 hours in advance. For more
information on paging collections, see the department's website: http://library.stanford.edu/spc.
The materials are open for research use.
This collection was purchased by Stanford University, Special Collections in August 2013.
Outside of grouping most duplicate copies together, the collection's original order (more or less randomly by size) has been
retained.
Thomas James Law was born in 1943 and was in his forties when he collected these posters. Originally from St. Paul, Minnesota,
Law moved to San Francisco in about 1981. He lived in the Tenderloin in 1983 and relocated to the Upper Haight a year later.
On his regular walks around the city, he began to take notice of the distinct and vibrant posters stapled and taped to virtually
every public surface. Curiously, Law never went to any of the events advertised, only recognizing a certain aesthetic value
in the fliers themselves. "I liked the images. I liked the names. They suggested something different. They were new concepts:
lyrical and wild. I never heard their music or saw them perform. I didn't care to: I just wanted their posters."
Law began carefully removing the frequently worn and weather-beaten fliers and handbills from telephone poles and kiosks.
"Usually it was possible to remove them with a knife, a key, a piece of glass." In this manner, Law gathered posters representing
many kinds of activity in San Francisco, unbeholden to one scene or another. "Despite their variety they all have one thing
in common: they caught my eye." Law was admittedly more of a classic rock fan. Among his favorites were the Rolling Stones,
David Bowie, and Dire Straits. Nevertheless, he became increasingly systematic in gathering fliers by particular bands. "After
awhile I looked forward to finding additional posters of certain groups."
Some posters also bear evidence of having been reposted; like other collectors, "my room on Haight Street had been covered
from floor to ceiling with these posters." In 1986 he moved to Berlin and ceased all collecting activity, outside of a few
he gathered in Minneapolis in 1989. Tom Law passed away in 2002.
All quotes are taken from his text accompanying a small exhibition in Germany in 1999.
Belsito, Peter, and Bob Davis. Hardcore California: A History of Punk and New Wave. Berkeley, CA: Last Gasp of San Francisco,
1983.
Boulware, Jack, and Silke Tudor. Gimme Something Better: The Profound, Progressive, and Occasionally Pointless History of
Bay Area Punk from Dead Kennedys to Green Day. Penguin, 2009.
Bowles, Murray. If Life Is A Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing In The Pit? Berkeley, CA: Maximum Rock n' Roll, 1986.
Burleigh, Victor. Great Rock & Roll Street Art. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Pub, 2004.
Burleigh, Victor. Great Street Art: Reggae, Blues, and World Beat Posters, 1977-1989. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Pub, 2006.
Ensminger, David A. Visual Vitriol: The Street Art and Subcultures of the Punk and Hardcore Generation. Jackson Miss.: University
Press of Mississippi, 2011.
Turcotte, Bryan R., and Christopher T. Miller. Fucked Up + Photocopied: Instant Art of the Punk Rock Movement. Corte Madera,
Calif: Gingko Press, 1999.
[identification of item], Tom Law San Francisco Bay Area Punk and Rock Handbill and Poster Collection (M1976). Dept. of Special
Collections and University Archives, Stanford Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
The collection contains over 1100 posters, fliers and handbills, several in multiple copies in varying colors and condition.
Often they are stuck together, fragmented, or partially illegible. Most posters conform to the standardized paper sizes of
8.5x11, 8.5x17 or 11x14 inches. Some are professionally typeset and designed, others are hand drawn and cheaply photocopied.
Very few of the fliers are credited to an artist or designer, but it can be assumed they were often made by the artists or
bands themselves. If there are listings for other events at the same venue, however, it is likely that the club or promoter
produced the poster. The work of notable illustrators such as Raymond Pettibon, Marc Rude and Shawn Kerri (as well as gay
erotica artist Tom of Finland) is used on a handful of fliers. Any credits when present have been transcribed, but many are
initials or abbreviations.
The earliest poster in the collection can be dated to 1981, but the majority are from between 1983 and 1986. There are also
a small number of fliers from Minneapolis in 1989. Although there are many kinds of posters here, the majority are gig fliers
for independent music. These bands for the most part played alternative rock, punk, metal, goth/death rock, garage, psychedelia,
experimental, worldbeat, reggae, or a hybrid of different styles. There are fliers from relatively well-known groups early
in their careers, including Faith No More, Primus, Camper Van Beethoven, American Music Club, The Ophelias, and Chris Isaak.
However, the following list of local bands, more or less in order of frequency, are most represented in the collection:
The Looters, Slovenly, Too Much Fun, The Whitefronts, Until December, The Morlocks, Shy Hands, My Sin, Mrs. Green, Terra Incognita, The Naked Into, The Cat Heads, 7 Dutch Poets, Flying Color, Frightwig, Glorious Din, Impulse F, The Invertebrates, The Witnesses, Ku Ku Ku, Jet Boy, The Sea Hags, Mapenzi, Paranoid Blue, Shiva Dancing, Zulu Spear, Crawl Away Machine, Blue Movie, Defectors, Housecoat Project, House Of Wheels, Helios Creed, Boss Hoss, Caroliner Rainbow, Club Foot Orchestra, Mess Tent, Mudwomen, Tragic Mulatto, Pig Latin, Pleasant Day, Short Dogs Grow, Spot 1019, Victim's Family, Wages Of Sin, Whorl, Stick Against Stone, Three Mouse Guitars, Typhoon, and Tripod Jimmie.
Some of the more colorful and provocative fliers come from the many punk, hardcore and skate rock shows during this period,
with bands such as D.R.I. (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles), The Dicks, M.D.C. (at the time, Millions of Dead Cops), Social Unrest,
The Afflicted, Christ On Parade, Condemned To Death, Clown Alley, Crucifix, Morally Bankrupt, Black Athletes, Noize Boyz,
The Sluglords, Special Forces, and Verbal Abuse. Fliers for metal bands such as Sacrilege, Mordred, Death, and Possessed,
and goth rock groups Altar De Fey, Fade To Black, and Our Lady Of Pain are equally eye-catching. In general, there are fewer
fliers from touring bands, perhaps because they were less able to post fliers in advance of shows. Due to more active promoter
involvement, many touring fliers are for punk shows featuring bands such as Black Flag, Redd Kross, R.K.L., The Butthole Surfers,
The Offenders, and Toxic Reasons (who actually lived in San Francisco during the time). The more established San Francisco
punk bands were also frequently on tour throughout this period, and the collection contains unexpectedly few fliers from the
Dead Kennedys, Flipper, and M.D.C. Of course, their popularity also meant that fans might have removed their posters before
Law had a chance. Some of the more offensive bands and fliers may have been also been taken down quickly.
These clubs were most frequently listed on fliers: Mabuhay Gardens, On Broadway, Stone, Club Vis a Vis (i.e. the VIS), 16th
Note, Full Moon Saloon, Club 181, Graffiti, I-Beam, Nightbreak, Oasis, Farm, Club Foot, and Sound of Music. There are four
rarely seen fliers for hardcore shows at Valencia Tool & Die. Venues in the East Bay that advertised in San Francisco include
Oakland's Ruthie's Inn and the New Method Warehouse in Emeryville.
Other spaces for public art events include the Martin/Weber Gallery, San Francisco Art Institute, Artists Television Access,
The Lab, Beef Gallery, Valencia Rose, and Theatre Rhinoceros. These fliers belong to a critical period of development in multimedia
and video art, performance and comedy, and should not be overlooked despite the title of the collection.
The collection also contains two small San Francisco music magazines, "Wiring Department" and "O+"O, with coverage of many
of the same groups on the fliers.
More detailed description for each flier has been provided in the form of a spreadsheet hosted by Stanford's Digital Repository.
Here one may find controlled data on the names, places, and dates for events printed on every flier in the collection. The
spreadsheet, along with informal photographs of selected fliers, can be viewed or downloaded here: https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/10209583.
While Special Collections is the owner of the physical and digital items, permission to examine collection materials is not
an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any transmission
or reproduction beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the owners of rights, heir(s) or assigns.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Rock music -- California -- San Francisco -- 1981-1990 -- Posters.
Posters -- California -- San Francisco.
Music -- California -- San Francisco
Street art -- California -- San Francisco
Fliers (Printed matter)