William Gedney Photographs and Writings, 1950s-1994, n.d. (bulk 1950s-1980s).

ArchivalResource

Gedney, William (William Gale), 1932-1989. William Gedney Photographs and Writings, 1950s-1994, n.d. (bulk 1950s-1980s).

William Gedney Photographs and Writings, 1950s-1994, n.d. (bulk 1950s-1980s).

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/32193006

Consists of negatives; contact sheets; proofs; prints; slides; indexes; handmade, illustrated books; journals; notebooks; and diaries dating from the 1950s to 1994. The collection documents Gedney's work as a photographer and his bookbinding expertise and interests. The photographs primarily document life in the United States, particularly in New York, rural Kentucky, and San Francisco; life in India, particularly Benares and Calcutta; and American composers. In particular, Gedney's U.S. subjects include gays in New York, Myrtle Avenue in Brooklin, and hippies in San Francisco. Two themes in Gedney's work are his "Night" series and nudes. The "Night" series was created throughout most of Gedney's career and spans many geographic locations. The nudes were primarily photographed at the Pratt Institute where Gedney taught. The handmade books were designed and made by Gedney and are illustrated with his photographic prints. More than half of the collection's series house photographic material, including negatives, contact sheets, proofs, prints, film development tests, slides (transparencies), and exhibit prints. Since the collection follows Gedney's arrangement by photographic formats, not by subjects, images of most subjects are found throughout all of the series in the collection.

50,000 items (65.0 linear ft.)

Duke University Libraries, Duke University Library; Perkins Library