The Jim Liversidge Collection represents over 50 years of collecting (from JFK and Vietnam to George W. Bush, 9-11 and Barack Obama). This walk through “Baby Boom” pop culture history touches upon highlights from politics, television, cinema, theatre, music, sports and day-to-day current events and will continue to grow in scope and content through donation and purchase. Special attention is reserved for “wide screen” promotion and gimmicks of the 1950s and early 1960s (Cinerama, Cinemascope, 3-D, etc.) and ephemera related to the 1963 Stanley Kramer production and cast of “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.” The collection consists of close to ten thousand individual pieces, including autographs, scrapbooks, photos, programs, posters, campaign buttons, sheet music, newspaper clippings, audio recordings, VHS and DVD films, artifacts and approximately 500 books.
A Video Introduction to the Jim Liversidge Collection
Since the initial collection gift was donated in 2008, some related material has been transferred from other areas of the Special and Area Studies Collections and this is noted in the finding guide (Example: LAURITZ MELCHIOR SIGNED PROGRAM – TRANSFERRED FROM THE BELKNAP AUTOGRAPH COLLECTION, etc.), other material has been specifically donated to add to the collection and this is noted in the finding guide (Example: ABOVE AND BEYOND: A GUIDE TO BEAUTY AND THE BEAST – GIFT TO THE DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL AND AREA STUDIES COLLECTIONS/ POPULAR CULTURE COLLECTIONS FROM JANE ANNE CAREY – GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA, etc.) and some items have been specifically purchased to be included and this is noted in the finding guide (Example: SIGNED ALFRED HITCHCOCK “STUDIO ACQUISITION” CONTRACT – PURCHASED TO ADD TO THE JIM LIVERSIDGE COLLECTION IN 2008, etc.). The collection is arranged under various headings – CINEMA, POLITICS and HISTORY/CURRENT EVENTS, MUSIC, TELEVISION/RADIO, THEATRE, POPULAR CULTURE (MISCELLANEOUS) and BOOKS.