Finding aid to the Lisa Ben papers, 1905-2009 Coll2015-019
Loni Shibuyama
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
© 2016
909 West Adams Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90007
askone@usc.edu
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
Title: Lisa Ben papers
creator:
Ben, Lisa
Identifier/Call Number: Coll2015-019
Physical Description:
15.4 Linear Feet
16 boxes and 1 oversize item.
Date (inclusive): 1905-2009
Abstract: The collection comprises manuscripts, sheet music, lyrics, poetry, correspondence, personal papers, photographs, sound recordings,
musical instruments, and realia, 1905-2009, from lesbian writer Lisa Ben (anagram for "lesbian"), pseudonym for Edythe Eyde.
The materials in the collection document Ben's creative writing; her correspondence with family and friends; her employment
as a secretary for Hollywood studios; her genealogy and family relationships; and her hobbies in science fiction fandom, folk
music, and cat adoption. Also included are clippings and awards recognizing Ben as a pioneer in LGBT history, most notably
for creating the first lesbian magazine
Vice Versa in 1947.
Arrangement
The collection is divided into seven series:
Series 1. Writings and music
Series 2. Correspondence
Series 3. Personal papers
Series 4. Family papers
Series 5. Photographs
Series 6. Sound recordings
Series 7. Musical instruments and realia
Biographical / Historical
Lisa Ben was born Edythe DeVinney Eyde in San Francisco on November 7, 1921, the only child to parents Oscar E. Eyde and Olive
Colegrove Eyde. Three years later, the family moved to a fruit ranch in Los Altos, California, where Ben spent her childhood
and adolescent years. Ben studied music and attended Palo Alto High School, where she graduated in 1938. Her parents urged
her to go on to business school, and she soon after worked in secretarial jobs in Northern California during WWII. Her interests
in writing, however, led her to move to Los Angeles in 1945 where she knew young aspiring writers in science fiction fan groups.
Soon after moving to Los Angeles, she met a group of women at her apartment complex and began a conversation with them. One
of the women asked her "Are you gay?" She responded, "I try to be as happy as I can under the circumstances." The conversation
led to Ben discovering the topic of lesbianism, which subsequently led to her discovering her own sexuality. She went with
the group to a Los Angeles lesbian bar known as the If Club where she met others like herself, and soon found herself a part
of the burgeoning post-WWII lesbian community.
Two years later, Ben began writing a magazine to discuss gay and lesbian life, which she named
Vice Versa. At the time, Ben was working as a secretary for an RKO Studio executive who was often away from the office. She was instructed
to "look busy" while he was away, so she decided to write a magazine as "a gesture of love-of women loving women, and the
whole idea of it. It was an enthusiasm that boiled over into these pages."
Vice Versa, first published in June 1947, was a modest publication that was passed from friend to friend. It was a labor of love for
Ben who wrote the vast majority of the articles for nine issues, while trying to get others to contribute as well. However,
with a new job and an increasingly active social life, she did not have the time to keep up her writing schedule and discontinued
publication in 1948.
By the late 1950s, she joined the Daughters of Bilitis and wrote articles for
The Ladder where she adopted the pen name Lisa Ben (an anagram of "lesbian"). It was during this time in the late-1950s and early-1960s
when Ben began to write parodies of popular music with gay and lesbian themes (e.g. "I'm Going to Sit Right Down and Write
My Butch a Letter.") She would occasionally perform these songs at gay and lesbian clubs in Los Angeles. By the late-1960s,
Ben withdrew from gay and lesbian social life and only occasionally attended gay- and lesbian-related events when invited.
Lisa Ben did not have many romantic relationships with other women, and she chose to stay single most of her life. After
working as a secretary for nearly forty years, Ben retired in the 1970s and continued to live at her home in Burbank, California.
Sources:
Cain, Paul D.
Leading the Parade: Conversations with America's Most Influential Lesbians and Gay Men. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2002. Print.
Marcus, Eric, and Eric Marcus.
Making Gay History: The Half-century Fight for Lesbian and Gay Equal Rights. New York: Perennial, 2002. Print.
Moss, Leland. "An Interview with Lisa Ben."
Gaysweek No. 49 (January 23, 1978): 14-16. Print.
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the ONE Archivist. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at USC Libraries as the owner of the physical
items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Custodial History
Lisa Ben's estate and personal papers were under the stewardship of Patti Dersheim, Lisa Ben's longtime neighbor. In 2009,
Ben's personal papers were transferred to Melissa Lopez-Wang and Tom de Simone. De Simone transferred the Lisa Ben collection
to ONE Archives in 2015. Patti Dersheim gifted Lisa Ben's collection on November 13, 2014.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Patti Dersheim, November 13, 2014.
Preferred Citation
[Box/folder #, or item name] Lisa Ben Papers, Coll2015-019, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University
of Southern California.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Loni Shibuyama, March 2016.
Scope and Contents
The collection comprises manuscripts, sheet music, lyrics, poetry, correspondence, personal papers, photographs, sound recordings,
musical instruments, and realia, 1905-2009, from lesbian writer Lisa Ben (anagram for "lesbian"), pseudonym for Edythe Eyde.
The Writings and Music Series includes Ben's short stories, poems, song lyrics, sheet music, and other manuscripts. This
series also includes correspondence and related material documenting her participation in science fiction fan groups and folk
music societies. The Correspondence Series includes letters between Ben and her family members, friends, co-workers, and
others, including gay and lesbian activists and historians who wrote about Ben in articles on LGBT history. The Personal
Papers Series includes material documenting her education, her participation in gay and lesbian organizations, her employment
as a secretary in Hollywood studios, and her passion for adopting cats. The Family Papers Series includes correspondence
with her parents, particularly her father Oscar E. Eyde, and papers documenting the Eyde family genealogy. The bulk of the
Photographs Series includes photographic prints, slides and negatives of Lisa Ben and her family dating back to her birth
in 1921. The Sound Recordings Series includes folk songs recorded by Ben. The Musical Instruments and Realia Series includes
Ben's guitar, violin, and mandolin, as well as a variety of keychains, knickknacks, buttons and other realia.
Separated Materials
The following have been separated to the ONE Archives library:
Adelman, Marcy. Long Time Passing: Lives of Older Lesbians. Boston: Alyson Publications, 1986. Print.
Decarnin, Camilla, Eric Garber, and Lyn Paleo. Worlds Apart: An Anthology of Lesbian and Gay Science Fiction and Fantasy.
Boston: Alyson Publications, 1986. Print.
Stearn, Jess. The Door to the Future. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1963. Print.
The following have been separated to the ONE Archives newsletter collection:
Old Lesbians Organizing for Change newsletter, 1991-1996.
San Francisco Bay Area Gay and Lesbian Historical Society newsletter, 1988-1989.
Web of Crones newsletter, 1985-1987.
Related Materials
Jim Kepner Papers, Coll2011-002, ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Folk music -- Archival resources
Lesbian writings
Science fiction
Vice Versa
Ben, Lisa
Writings and music Series 1.
Scope and Contents
This series, 1936-2007, comprises Lisa Ben's short stories, poems, song lyrics, sheet music, and other manuscripts, including
a photocopy of
Vice Versa. This series also includes correspondence and related material documenting her participation in science fiction fan groups
and folk music societies. Papers include correspondence with science fiction enthusiast Forrest J. Ackermann; folk song parodies
with gay and lesbian themes; and several notebooks with song ideas and personal notes.
Arrangement
This series is arranged alphabetically.
Box 1, Folder 1
American Cowboy Songs
1936
Box 1, Folder 2
Application for Registration of a Claim of Copyright (blank)
1957
Box 1, Folder 3
Folk music societies documents and clippings
1966-1975
Box 1, Folder 4
"It's Purring-Time at Edythe's Heyde-away"
undated
Box 1, Folder 5
The Lit: Literary Magazine of Palo Alto High School
1936-1938
Box 1, Folder 7
Notebook (untitled)
1952-1973
Box 1, Folder 8-9
Notebook (untitled), music and lyrics
1965-1975
Box 1, Folder 10
Notebook (untitled)
2005-2007
Box 1, Folder 11
Notebook (untitled)
undated
Box 1, Folder 12
Notebook (untitled), lyrics
undated
Box 1, Folder 13
Notebook, "Crowd Pleasers" lyrics and notes
undated
Box 1, Folder 14
Notebook, "Let's Sing"
undated
Science fiction and fantasy
Box 1, Folder 20
Ackerman, Forrest (4E), clippings
2000-2008
Box 1, Folder 21
Ackerman, Forrest (4E), correspondence and clippings
1960-2004
Box 1, Folder 23
Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine
1973
Box 1, Folder 24
Membership cards
1940-1950
Box 1, Folder 26
Phantom: A Magazine of Weird Tales
1958
Box 1, Folder 25
Science fiction fan groups, minutes and drawings
1941-1945
Box 1, Folder 28
"Witchcraft, Black Magic, and the Occult Arts"
1936
Box 1, Folder 29-30
Writings as Tigrina
1937-1955
Box 1, Folder 17
"Secret Garden" short story
1970-1979
Box 1, Folder 18
Sheet music without lyrics
undated
Box 1, Folder 19
Short stories and other writings
1960-1975
Box 1, Folder 31-32
Songs A-Y
circa 1950-2000
Box 2, Folder 1-2
Song compilations and set lists
undated
Box 2, Folder 3
Songs by others
1940-1970
Box 2, Folder 4
Songwriter contracts and agreements
1950-1966
Box 2, Folder 5
"A Tribute to Hometown Buffet"
2005-2007
Box 2, Folder 6
Vice Versa ("Potomoc Books")
1947-1948
Correspondence Series 2.
Scope and Contents
This series, 1943-2009, comprises letters between Ben and her family members, friends, co-workers, and others including gay
and lesbian activists and historians who wrote articles about Ben in gay and lesbian history publications.
Arrangement
This series is arranged alphabetically.
Box 2, Folder 8
Brandt, Kate, and Paula Lichtenberg
1990-2001
Box 2, Folder 10
Chapman, Barbara (Amore, Crazy About Cats)
1990
Box 2, Folder 17
Gershick, Zsa Zsa (Joshua)
1995-1997
Box 2, Folder 21
Grant, Donabel's "Dear Little True Stories" (and correspondence)
1974-1980
Box 2, Folder 22
Grier, Barbara; Naiad Press
1977-1978
Box 2, Folder 23
Hammer, Barbara
1999-2000
Box 2, Folder 24
Hollister, Sanna
1961-1970
Box 2, Folder 25
International Gay and Lesbian Archives
1997
Box 3, Folder 1
Loraine, Astrid
1968-1975
Box 3, Folder 3
Latta, Helen ("Caprice")
1988-1993
Box 3, Folder 6
Marinell, Larry
1997-2000
Box 3, Folder 7
Martin, Del, and Phyllis Lyon; Daughters of Bilitis
1965-2002
Box 3, Folder 8
Music, Lorenzo, and Henrietta
1976
Box 3, Folder 9
Sherwood Family
1990-2002
Box 3, Folder 10
Streitmatter, Rodger
1993-1997
Box 12
Postcards
undated
Physical Description: 5 postcards.
Personal papers Series 3.
Scope and Contents
This series, 1936-2009, comprises clippings, newsletters, employment records, financial records, Hollywood trade magazines,
school records, travel-related papers, and other material documenting Ben's daily life and personal interests. Papers document
Ben's participation in gay and lesbian organizations; her education and training in music; her employment history in Hollywood
studios; and her passion for adopting cats.
Arrangement
Clippings about Lisa Ben are at the beginning of this series. The remaining files are arranged alphabetically with one miscellaneous
file at the end.
Box 3, Folder 30
Articles about Lisa Ben in LGBT publications
1976-1990
Box 3, Folder 31
Leland Moss article manuscript
1977
Box 5, Folder 21
Clippings with Edythe Eyde (Lisa Ben)
1946-1993
Box 5, Folder 25
Address books and contacts
circa 1945-1955
Box 3, Folder 32
Automobile records
1950-1975
Box 3, Folder 34
Burbank notification regarding cats
1973
Box 4, Folder 1-4
Cat People News
1992-2004
Box 4, Folder 5
Cat-related documents
1964-1984
Box 4, Folder 6-7
Clippings, cats
1950-1996
Box 4, Folder 8
Clippings, gay and lesbian
1970-2001
Box 4, Folder 9
Clippings, music
1952-2009
Box 4, Folder 10
Clippings, miscellaneous
1945-2007
Box 4, Folder 14
Employment records, Universal Pictures
1964-1966
Box 4, Folder 15
Financial records
1939-2006
Box 4, Folder 16
Financial records, income taxes
1945-1946
Box 4, Folder 17
Hollywood trade magazines
1963-1970
Box 4, Folder 18
Humor, jokes and cartoons
1960-2000
Box 4, Folder 19
Humor, jokes and cartoons
1961-2002
Box 4, Folder 20
Identification and business cards
undated
Box 4, Folder 21
Idyllwild Arts Foundation
1963
Box 4, Folder 22
Letterhead and address labels
undated
Box 5, Folder 2
Medical records
1949-1978
Box 11
Music clippings scrapbook
1936-1972
Scope and Contents
Includes clippings and correspondence related to musicians, symphonies and other performers.
Box 5, Folder 3
ONE Incorporated Midwinter Institute program
1972
Box 5, Folder 6
Photograph information and notes
1954-1988
Box 5, Folder 7
Postcards and greeting cards (blank)
undated
Box 5, Folder 9
Retirement homes information
1975-1979
Box 5, Folder 10
Sandoz, (Helen?), poems
undated
Box 5, Folder 12
School, Los Altos Elementary School Reunion
1984
Box 5, Folder 11
School, Palo Alto High School Reunion
1988
Box 5, Folder 13
Society for the Study of Sexuality award plaque
1998
Box 5, Folder 14
Theater, opera and orchestra event programs
1963-1964
Box 5, Folder 17
Videocassette lists
1986-1994
Box 5, Folder 18
West Coast Old Lesbian Conference packet
1987-1993
Box 5, Folder 20
Women for Women
1974-1975
Miscellaneous
circa 1950-1990
Separated Materials
This folder has been separated from the collection due to mold damage.
Scope and Contents
Included are a letter from Kate Brandt (1990), handwritten notes, lyrics and sheet music.
Family papers Series 4.
Scope and Contents
This series, 1914-1993, comprises correspondence, genealogy research, family history documents, funeral records, and other
papers from Lisa Ben's family. The bulk of the materials are related to Lisa Ben's father, Oscar Eugene Eyde, who died in
1968.
Arrangement
Genealogy research and family history documents are at the beginning of this series, followed by papers related to Ben's parents,
Oscar Eugene Eyde and Olive Colegrove. One document from Camilla Dorthea Eyde is at the end.
Box 3, Folder 20
Genealogy research, correspondence
1984
Box 3, Folder 21
Genealogy, family history
1991-1993
Box 3, Folder 22
Eyde, Oscar and Olive
1914-1949
Box 3, Folder 23
Eyde, Oscar E. papers
1920-1968
Box 3, Folder 24-25
Oscar E. Eyde correspondence with Edythe
1952-1968
Box 14, Folder 5
Oscar Eugene Eyde masons certificate
1954
Box 3, Folder 27
Oscar E. Eyde medical care and funeral
1961-1969
Box 3, Folder 28
Oscar E. Eyde; Ethel Stephenson correspondence
1968-1970
Box 3, Folder 26
Olive E. Colegrove's bible (materials found loose)
1956-1965
Box 3, Folder 29
Eyde, Camilla Dorthea, will
1990
Photographs Series 5.
Scope and Contents
The bulk of this series, 1905-2003, comprises photographic prints, slides and negatives of Lisa Ben and her family dating
back to 1905.
Arrangement
Portraits of Lisa Ben are at the beginning of this series, followed by photographs of Ben arranged in chronological order.
The remaining miscellaneous photographs are arranged alphabetically.
Box 6
Edythe Eyde and family portraits
1921-1968
Box 10, Folder 1
Edythe Eyde portraits
1938-1968
Box 13
Edythe Eyde portraits
circa 1940-1949
Physical Description: 6 glass plate negatives.
Box 6
Universal Studios publicity photographs with Edythe Eyde
November 28, 1966
Box 7
Edythe Eyde and others
circa 1921-1959
Box 8
Edythe Eyde and others
circa 1950-1975
Box 9
Edythe Eyde and others
circa 1975-2003
Box 14, Folder 2
Lisa Ben photograph
circa 1990-2000
Box 10, Folder 5
Les Baux-en-Provence
undated
Box 10, Folder 6
Buildings at Universal Studios
undated
Box 14, Folder 3
Cat and lion photograph
undated
Box 10, Folder 7-8
Cats and other pets
circa 1950-1995
Box 10, Folder 2-3
Family photographs
1914-1993
Box 10, Folder 4
Family portraits
1905-circa 1950
Box 10, Folder 9
Publicity stills
circa 1950-1965
Sound recordings Series 6.
Scope and Contents
This series, circa 1940-2008, includes folk songs and an advertising jingle for Hometown Buffet recorded by Lisa Ben, as well
as a CD copy of songs performed by Beverly Shaw, a male impersonator who performed in lesbian bars in Los Angeles during the
1940s-1950s.
Arrangement
Recordings by Lisa Ben are at the beginning of this series and arranged alphabetically.
Box 13
Edythe Eyde
January 6, 1942
Physical Description: 1 phonograph record (78)
Box 13
(1) "Hometown Buffet"; (2) "Old Country Buffet"; (3) "Hometown Buffet (Save a Place for Me)"
May 29, 2008
Physical Description: 1 compact disc.
Box 13
"If Only You Won't Smile at Me," music and lyrics by Edythe Eyde
undated
Physical Description: 1 open reel audiotape (1/4 in.)
Box 13
"If You're But a Dream," Edythe Eyde
April 8, 1952
Physical Description: 1 phonograph record
Box 13
[Untitled]
undated
Physical Description: 1 phonograph record (78)
Box 13
[Untitled]
undated
Physical Description: 5 phonograph record
Box 13
Billy Holliday, "Strange Fruit"
undated
Physical Description: 1 phonograph record
Box 13
Dean Moore and the Big Action Sound, "Alone and Blue"; "It Just Takes One"
undated
Physical Description: 1 phonograph record (45)
Box 13
Miss Beverly Shaw presents
Songs Tailored to Your Taste
undated
Physical Description: 1 compact disc.
Musical instruments and realia Series 7.
Scope and Contents
This series comprises Lisa Ben's guitar, violin, and mandolin, as well as a variety of keychains, knickknacks, buttons and
other realia.
Arrangement
This series is arranged alphabetically.
Item 16
Guitar and leopard-print case
undated
Box 15, Item 1
Mandolin and case
undated
Box 15, Item 2
Violin and case with monogram
undated
Box 12
Best in Children's Books
1960
Physical Description: 1 book.
Box 16
Books inscribed to Lisa Ben
1976-1997
Scope and Contents
Included are the following books:
Ackerman, Forrest J. Forrest J. Ackerman's World of Science Fiction. Los Angeles: General Pub. Group, 1997. Print.
Brandt, Kate A. Happy Endings: Lesbian Writers Talk about Their Lives and Work. Tallahassee, FL: Naiad, 1993. Print.
Katz, Jonathan. Gay American History: Lesbians and Gay Men in the U.S.A. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1976. Print.
Martin, Del, and Phyllis Lyon. Lesbian/woman. Volcano, CA: Volcano, 1991. Print.
Box 12
Cigar box with miscellaneous toy games and other objects
undated
Box 12
Holy Bible, Olive E. Colegrove
1905
Physical Description: 1 book.
Box 12
Horoscope Birthday Book
1945
Physical Description: 1 book.
Box 12
Leopard drawing
undated
Physical Description: square drawing
Box 12
Leopard print bag
undated
Physical Description: 1 bag.
Box 14, Folder 1
Painting, L. Ridge
undated
Box 12
Peep show pin-up girl keychain viewers
undated
Physical Description: 18 keychain viewers.
Box 12
Sonoma County Shrine Club Aahmes Temple, Oscar E. Eyde
undated
Box 12
West Coast Celebration, Impowerment[sic] for Old Lesbians pen
April 24-26, 1987
Box 12
West Coast Conference and Celebration, Old Lesbian button
April 1987