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Ramparts magazine and Scrimshaw Press records, 1965-1996 (bulk 1965-1980).
BANC MSS 97/46 c carton 3; BANC MSS 97/46 c carton 4; BANC MSS 97/46 c carton 5; BANC MSS 97/46 c tube 1; ...
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Collection Overview
Title:
Ramparts magazine and Scrimshaw Press records, 1965-1996 (bulk 1965-1980)Ramparts (Berkeley, Calif.)
Creator/Contributor:
Mitchell, Frederick C., 1933-1996Creator/Contributor:
Scrimshaw PressAbstract:
The records of Ramparts magazine and Scrimshaw Press contain materials collected by Frederick C. Mitchell from his own involvement
in both organizations. The Ramparts material predominantly concerns the business side of the operation, with correspondence
and reports relating to circulation, distribution, and financing. There is also a small amount of correspondence and notes
concerning the magazine's editorial content. The Scrimshaw Press portion of the collection includes correspondence and early
drafts of many of the Press's projects, some unpublished. This part of the collection also contains correspondence, reports,
and legal documents concerning the Press's frequent financial troubles, and Mitchell's efforts to make connections with larger
publishing houses. Also present are a number of slides of images apparently from books published by the Press. The collection
also includes a small amount of material from Mitchell's other professional activities, including his involvement with the
Friends of Photography, founded by Ansel Adams; with Fiberworx, a nonprofit center devoted to textile arts; and with Rags
magazine.
Date:
1965 (issued)Subject:
n-us-caMitchell, Frederick C -- 1933-1996 -- Archives
Scrimshaw Press -- Archives
Ramparts (Berkeley, Calif.) -- Archives
Underground periodicals -- California -- San Francisco
Underground periodicals -- California -- Berkeley
Small presses -- California -- Berkeley
Publishers and publishing -- California -- Berkeley
Note:
COLLECTION STORED, IN PART, OFF-SITE: Advance notice required for use.
Ramparts magazine and Scrimshaw Press records, BANC MSS 97/46 c, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Gift; of Margaretta Mitchell; 1997?
In English.
Frederick C. Mitchell was born in 1933 in Erie, Pennsylvania. He attended Yale University, graduating in 1955, followed by
an MA in Spanish at Middlebury College (1960) and graduate work in Latin American history at University of California, Berkeley.
Subsequently he taught history as an assistant professor at the University of Kansas. In 1963, he became involved in Ramparts
magazine, becoming an investor in and director of the magazine in 1965. In 1967 he took on the role of editor, and in 1968
assumed a more administrative role as publisher of the magazine, responsible for advertising and subscriptions. His connection
with Ramparts ceased in 1969, followed by a legal suit concerning his investment in the company. In that same year, Mitchell
co-founded Scrimshaw Press, which he ran for the next ten years. After Scrimshaw's bankruptcy, Mitchell later worked in real
estate. He died February 4, 1996.
Ramparts magazine was founded in 1962 by Edward M. Keating. It began as a liberal Catholic quarterly, but under executive
editor Warren Hinckle became a monthly voice for the New Left, headquartered in San Francisco. From this perspective, the
magazine covered such topics as the CIA's infiltration of student groups, the use of napalm in Vietnam, and the Black Panthers.
Its publication of diaries by Eldridge Cleaver and Che Guevara boosted circulation, which at its peak reached nearly 300,000
readers (400,000 by some accounts). Editors of the magazine included Robert Scheer, David Horowitz, Peter Collier, and James
Ridgeway. After an ill-fated attempt to become a bi-weekly and an expensive jaunt to cover the 1968 Democratic National Convention,
the magazine lost many subscribers and came close to bankruptcy. The shifting political climate also raised questions about
the publication's continued relevance. Ramparts survived for a time with a slashed budget and reduced staff, and finally ceased
publication in 1975.
Scrimshaw Press was a small Berkeley publisher co-founded by Frederick Mitchell and Dave Bohn. It focused on small-run photographic
books, such as Handmade Houses, on creative individual architecture, and Native Funk & Flash, on hippie fashion. Scrimshaw
declared bankruptcy in 1979.
Physical Description:
print
2 cartons, 1 rolled item (3 linear feet)
Language:
English
Identifier:
BANC MSS 97/46 c carton 3
BANC MSS 97/46 c carton 4
BANC MSS 97/46 c carton 5
BANC MSS 97/46 c tube 1
BANC MSS 97/46 c carton 1
BANC MSS 97/46 c carton 2
BANC MSS 97/46 c
BANC MSS 97/46 c
Origin:
CaliforniaCopyright Note:
COLLECTION STORED, IN PART, OFF-SITE: Advance notice required for use.