Preliminary Inventory of the Bern Porter Collection, 1961-2005 SPEC.RARE.CMS.0361 Finding aid prepared by Casey Blackmore and David Mezick Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections
1858 Neil Avenue Columbus, OH, 43210
2026 January This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2026-02-23T11:10-0500 English Describing Archives: A Content Standard Bern Porter Collection SPEC.RARE.CMS.0361 Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections 16.516 Cubic feet 1961-2005 Bernard (Bern) Harden Porter (1911-2004) was an American poet, artist, and publisher, who is known for his found poetry, visual poetry, collage, and assemblage. In particular, he created and published what he called “Founds,” which are collages or assemblages of found materials. The Bern Porter Collection contains found object artworks, poetry and other writings, magazines, art book catalogs, personal and professional correspondence, postcards, and flyers created or collected by Bern Porter. Materials are dated 1961-2005. (8) 5" letter document boxes; (8) card boxes; (4) cartons; (2) oversize flat boxes; (2) rolled item boxes; (2) oversize folders; (2) 2.5" letter document boxes; (1) 5" legal document box; (1) 2.5" legal document box; (1) artifact English Porter, Bern, 1911-2004 Arrangement of Materials

This collection is unprocessed. Materials are arranged in the order received.

 Acquisitions Information

Donated by Peter Huttinger; Accession No. RARE.2026.0009: Roger Jackson, 2021 November; method of acquisition for some contents unknown

 Preferred Citation

[identification of item], Bern Porter Collection, SPEC.RARE.CMS.0361, Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, Ohio State University

 Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Contains a floppy disk and long-playing record.

 Access to Materials

Audio/visual materials and computer media may need a use copy produced before access is allowed. The remainder of this collection is available for patron research, but may be used only in the Thompson Library Special Collections reading room.

 Use of Materials

Materials in this collection may be protected by copyright, and are made available for research and educational purposes. In general, the OSU Libraries do not own the copyright for materials from our collections and cannot grant copyright permissions for these materials. The user is responsible for making a final determination of copyright status. If copyright protection applies, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exceptions to the law. Works in the public domain are not protected by copyright and do not require permission to use.

 Processing Information

This collection is unprocessed; Finding aid written by: Casey Blackmore and David Mezick, 2026 January

 Biographical Note

Bernard (Bern) Harden Porter (1911-2004) was an American poet, artist, and publisher, who is known for his found poetry, visual poetry, collage, and assemblage. Porter began his career as a physicist. He worked on the development of the cathode-ray tube in the 1930s, the Manhattan Project during World War II (he resigned in protest after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima), and the Saturn V rocket for NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) in the 1960s. At the same time, Porter also created and published artistic work, especially within the avant-garde community. He published works of literature and art through his imprint called Bern Porter Books, including early editions of work by Henry Miller. Porter also published his ideas about the unification of science and art, which he called “Sciart.” Porter was an early creator of found poetry, artist’s books, mail art, and performance poetry. In particular, he created and published what he called “Founds,” which are collages or assemblages of found materials. By the late 1960s, Porter had stopped working as a physicist, and around 1969, he moved to Belfast, Maine. He established the Institute for Advanced Thinking at his Belfast home as a space to practice his work and as a gathering place for others in the art community. A retrospective exhibition of Porter's work was shown at Franklin Furnace in New York City in 1979, and a selection of his work collected by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Library was exhibited at MoMA in 2010.

 Scope and Contents

The Bern Porter Collection contains found object artworks, poetry and other writings, magazines, art book catalogs, personal and professional correspondence, postcards, and flyers created or collected by Bern Porter. Materials are dated 1961-2005.

 Porter, Bern, 1911-2004 Artists--Maine--20th century Avant-garde (Aesthetics)--Maine--20th century Collages (visual works) Found poetry, American--Maine--20th century Letters (correspondence) Mail art Poets, American--Maine--20th century Posters Printed ephemera Publishers' catalogs Visual poetry Visual poetry, American--20th century Metal cabinet used to house found artwork 1 circa 1989 Found objects for small cabinet 4 1-4 circa 1990s Scope and Contents

Contains a plastic Pepsi cup, glass bottle, broken orange Styrofoam object and various founds.

 Four pieces of painted wood 5 1 circa 1990s Items from cabinet and refrigerator founds 6 1-6 1993 Scope and Contents

Box contents include:

One small American flag,

One 1 liter bottle poem with various contents including candy, popcorn, small colored wire, seeds, nuts, sand. Bottle has tag with erotic image on one side while the other side reads, “Fully Full, Belfast 10-14-94” and “#5” along with a signature.

A plastic bottle with rounded bottom that apppears to be an unfinished bottle poem. Contents include a few Styrofoam peanuts as well as some colorful wire.

A blue remote-controlled truck. Child’s toy.

Orange Halloween bucket with various found objects.

Objects loose in the box with plastic wrapped around them – aerosol can cap with plastic strawberry, unknown objects.

 Three glass bowls 7 undated Fruit bowls 8 1 undated Fruit bowl with note 9 1 undated Fruit bowl with note about "finger founds" 10 1 undated Styrofoam "foam founds" artwork 11 1 circa 1992 Scope and Contents

Originally in box labeled "Porter – foam founds c. 1992; Porter (2 times); Porter Founds (foam); PH’s address to THO; 2#. Peter Huttinger address in Cincinnati, OH"

 Squared shaped styrofoam pieces 12 1 circa 1992 Head shaped styrofoam piece 13 1 circa 1992 "Fully Full" bottle poems 14 undated Wire sculpture with child's shoes 15 1 undated Metal and plastic sculpture founds 16 1-5 1992-1993 Scope and Contents

Contains the head of a Lennox Sound AM/FM cassette recorder, a note from BP Is attached; a broken piece of cassette recorder, signed label by Porter; the rest of the cassette recorder with a post-it note and further instructions from Porter; a bicycle seat with the majority of the cushion pulled off so that the plastic is showing, short note included; a metal piece with a note from BP that it stands on a mantelpiece.

 Collages 17 1991-1992 Collages 18 1990-1992 Last Acts of Saint Fuck You artwork 19 circa 1989-1990 Last Acts of Saint poster writing on paper 19 circa 1989-1990 What Henry Miller Said and Why It's Important poem on drawing 19 1961 November CIAO CIAO writing on paper 19 1986 Floral design on paper 19 1975 Granville artwork 19 circa 1987 October Plures, Pluers poem 20 undated Space People Invade Maine artwork 20 1986 July 23 Sentences poem 20 undated Italian mail art 20 1979 September 1-16 Science Center Contemporary Arts Show drawings 20 circa 1989-1990 Il Prisma multimedia poster 20 1987 October 12-18 Artpool's Ray Johnson Space poster 20 undated Asian language poster 20 undated Art Shelter Kunstschultz Keller poster 20 1984 Bienal International de Artes poster 20 1989 June 28-August 13 Aonohall mail art show poster 20 1989 December 2-6 Wooden dowl art pieces 21 circa 1992 Cut books 22 undated Porter professional material 23 1 1991-2000 Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Contains a floppy disk.

 Porter and to be filled materials 23 2 1990-1991 Porter, Bern and Nevers promotional material 23 3 1991-1994 Anatomy prints 23 4 1991-1992 Patsfall graphics, Mark stock 23 5 1990 Letters and notes to PH 23 6 1993 Letters and notes 23 7 1993-1997 Notes and postcard 23 8 1985 Nine collages made from magazines 23 9 circa 1993 Letters, postcard, flyer 23 10 1994 Letters, clippings, and notes 23 11 1991-1994 Bottle poems photographs and order forms 23 12 1991-1992 89 Offenses magazine administrative material 23 13 1991 Flag desgined by Porter photographs and letter 23 14 1991 August 2 Four Hundred Million Years of Life paper prints 23 15 circa 1990-1993 Last Acts of Saint Fuck You window shade version administrative materials 23 16 1990-1991 Milk bottles visual poetry plans 23 17 1994-1995 "Nevers" poem photocopies and notes 23 18 1994 Documentation on screen print eidtion of "Nevers" 23 19 circa 1994 Ohio State University and Volatile stocklists 23 20 1990-2000 Mail art news article in the Independent 23 21 1995 January 28 Bread and Puppet Theater photographs and brochure 23 22 1993 Devo booklet and other writings 23 23 circa 1980s Exit Art booklets, promotional materials, and newsletters 23 24 1990-1998 Fend (Peter) articles and photocopies 24 1 circa 1977; 1991 Finley (Karen) letters, articles, and slides 24 2 1989-1990 Hoffberg (Judith) letters and flyer 24 3 1990-1992 Lowry (Robert) notes and flyer 24 4 1993-1995 Lunch (Lydia) press kit and letter 24 5 1988-1995 Negativland press and promotional materials 24 6 1997-1998 Pauline Oliveros Foundation brouchures 24 7 1993-1994 Plug In, Inc. news announcements, flyers, and booklets 24 8 1993-1998 Village Voice article discussing RAW magazine comics artists 24 9 1985 June 4 Slop Supermarket art catalog 24 10 circa 1997 Survival Research Labratories letters, order forms, and booklets 24 11 1990-1994 Tavenner (Patricia) stamp sheets, correspondence, and letters 24 12 1972-1994 Adam and Eve artwork and Volatile promotional material 24 13 1997 Volatile booklists 24 14 1990-1993 Moore (Bob) letters 24 15 1995 Multiple Strategies announcement and magazine 24 16 2004-2005 White Walls journal letter 24 17 circa 1990s Whitman (Robert) "Sounds for 4 Cinema Pieces" record 24 18 1968 April 12-May 19 Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements Long-playing record; 12-inch; vinyl; approximate run time: unknown Zedd (Nick) letter, booklet, and catalogs 24 19 1998 Agius (Juan J) book and magazine catalog 24 20 circa 1997 Bound & Unbound booklets and catalogs 24 21 1991-2000 Film Culture brochures and index 24 22 1989-1995 Film Threat letter and issue 8 24 23 1993 FLAMM Books catalogs 25 1 1999-2001 Franklin Furnace booklets and other printed ephemera 25 2 1997-2000 Galerie A price list booklet 25 3 1992 June Left Bank distribution catalogs 25 4 1998 Lure art books price lists, catalogs, and correspondence 25 5 1992 Nexus Press Books mail announcements, flyers, and postcards 25 6 1985-1987 Art books, music, and exhibit mail orders and catalogs 25 7 circa 1990s Mail order catalogs 25 8 1990-1996 Art book and film publishers catalogs 25 9 circa 1990s Contemporary Arts Press 25 10 1990-1994 Marcus Campbell St. James art books catalog and letter from Petra Schilcher Galerie & Edition Artelier 25 11 1992 July 7-1997 Art book catalogs and mailed announcements 25 12 1992-1999 Nonsequitur Foundation catalogs and postcards 25 13 1989-1992 Parkett magazine mini book and information booklet 25 14 circa 1990s Plagiarist Press card and flyer 25 15 1997 Printed Editions catalog 26 1 1979-1980 Printed Matter bookstore flyers, cards, and announcements 26 2-3 1989-2000 RE/Search Publications catalogs, postcards, and flyers 26 4 1992-1994 Edition Staeck booklets 26 5 1992-2000 Sub Terranean Co flyers, order forms, and catalogs 26 6 1990-1995 Tellus Harvestworks brochures and catalogs 26 7 1992-1994 Visual Studies workshop catalog, brochures, and bibliography 26 8 1992-1994 Westreich (Thea) booklet and flyer 26 9 1991 Wiens Laden and Verlag catalogs 26 10 1992-1993 Women's Studio Workshop brochures and catalogs 26 11 1994-1998 Xexoxial Endarchy flyers, letter and catalogs 26 12 circa 1990-1991 Zing magazine postcards 26 13 1997-1998 Sims Reed catalogs 27 1 circa 1990-1996 Ronny Van de Velde catalog 27 2 1992 Printed Matter catalogs 27 3 1983-1990 Art Metropole catalogs 28 1-2 1989-2000 Video Data Bank catalogs 28 3 1986-1998 City Lights bookstore catalogs 28 4 circa 1990s Loopanics catalogs 28 5 1995; 1997 Ars Libri catalogs 29 1 1989-1991 Ars Libri catalogs 29 2 1992-1993 Ars Libri catalogs 29 3 1993-1995 Ars Libri catalogs 29 4 1996-1999 Cobra art catalog 29 5 1998 Printed Matter catalogs 29 6 1988-1992 Printed Matter catalogs 31 1 1992-1995 Printed Matter catalogs 31 2 1995-1998 Printed Matter catalogs 31 3 1998 "CIAO CIAO" mock-up 1 1980 September 16 Floral collage 2 undated Accession No. RARE.2026.0009 0.2 Cubic feet 1983, 1998 (1) 2.5" letter document box Scope and Contents

Accession No. RARE.2026.0009 contains a set of postcards from the Maine Festival in 1983, and "Founds" chapbooks numbers 1-9 created by Bern Porter and published by X-Ray Book Co. in 1998. The postcards contain poetry, including found, visual, and concrete poetry. The "Founds" chapbooks contain found images and materials that have been photocopied.

 The Maine Festival postcard set Accession No. RARE.2026.0009.001 1983 "Founds" numbers 1-5 Accession No. RARE.2026.0009.001 1998 "Founds" numbers 6-9 Accession No. RARE.2026.0009.001 1998