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Cynthia Uleman Collection

 Collection
Identifier: 176

Scope and Contents

The collection contains fliers for musical performances, mail art, correspondence, publications, and zines Cnythia Uleman collected throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

Dates

  • Creation: 1975 - 2012

Creator

Conditions Governing Use

Collection has no known restrictions.

Biographical / Historical

Cynthia Uleman was born on January 20, 1945 and grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania listening to rock music. As a student at the University of Wisconsin, she became interested in bluegrass and folk music. After three years in Washington state, she moved to the Washington, D.C. area with her family, and in 1971 settled in the Takoma Park neighborhood, in Maryland. She began patronizing D.C. area record stores including Joe’s Record Paradise, Vinyl Ink, and Phantasmagoria. She also listened to WMUC, a college radio station at the University of Maryland, particularly enjoying the weekly Tom Lyle Show, which featured punk bands, and advertised punk concerts in the D.C. area. Uleman attended concerts all over the region, where she began collecting zines and related materials. Between 1984 and 1987, Uleman and Michael Voo Doo (a pen name) began exchanging mail art, including particular subjects of American culture: cows, clowns, cowboys, and rodeos. Uleman and Michael Voo Doo never met, and she eventually lost contact with him after he moved from northern Virginia, to Florida.
In 2019 Uleman was residing in Takoma Park, Maryland.

Extent

3.5 Linear feet

5 Boxes

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

Series 1: Correspondence, .25 linear feet, (1980-1990)
This series includes letters sent to Cynthia Uleman by friends and acquaintances. Some of the letters are on the back of poster fliers.

Series 2: Fliers, .25 linear feet, (1980-1990 and undated)
This series contains fliers for concerts and special events, including a benefit for Jello Biafra’s legal defense, a benefit for the D.C. Rape Crisis Center, and a protest against apartheid at the South African Embassy, mostly in the D.C. area. Arranged alphabetically by venue name.

Series 3: Mail Art, .5 linear feet, (1980-1990 and undated)
This series includes envelope and postcard mail art. Arranged in original order.

Series 4: Publications, 0.25 linear feet, (19880-1990 and undated)
This series includes a copy of The Abolition of Work and Other Essays, by Bob Black, published by Loompanics Unlimited, Port Townsend, Washington.

Series 5: Zines, 1.5 linear feet (1980-1990 and undated)
This series includes zines created mostly in the United States, and miscellaneous pages from unidentified zines. Arranged alphabetically by title.












Custodial History

The collection was donated by Cynthia Uleman, 2014 and 2018.

Related Materials

Internal collections include:
Cynthia Connolly Collection No. 170
John Davis Collection No. 175
Eddie Janney Collection No. 181
Rachel Sengers Collection No. 173

Related external collections include the Punk and Indie Fanzine Collection at the University of Maryland, College Park.
https://archives.lib.umd.edu/repositories/4/resources/411
Collection 0195-SCPA







Processing Information

Basic/Standard archival procedures were used at the time of processing.

Title
Cynthia Uleman Collection
Subtitle
An inventory of the Cynthia Uleman Collection at the DC Public Library.
Author
Meredith Morris
Date
2019
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the The People's Archive, Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library Repository

Contact:
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(202)727-1213