Collections

Scholar, author, photographer, and life-long editor and chronicler of Jack Kerouac and other writers of the Beat Generation, Ann Charters was born in November 1936 in Bridgeport, CT, the daughter of Nathan (a contractor) and Kate (Schultz) Danberg. She attended the University of California, Berkeley (B.A., 1957) and Columbia University (M.A., 1959, Ph.D., 1965). Her papers include literary manuscripts, letters, notebooks, photographs, periodicals, broadsides, interviews, audio and video recordings, works of art, and first, fine, and small press editions of works by and about Beat writers.

Portents, an independent record label and small press, was established by Ann and Samuel Charters in 1963 and operated until the early 1980's. The name given to the imprint by the Charters was derived from the Herman Melville poem about the abolitionist John Brown that opens the book Battle Pieces. "To Melville, 'portents' were the vital signs in the mid 19th century that the Civil War was imminent in the United States. A Century later, we believed the word suggested the social and cultural revolution we were trying to encourage by promoting those whom Allen Ginsberg would later call our 'secret heroes'," remarked Ann Charters. The Charters' aim was to make more widely known, read and heard, through the publication Portents, the work of their 'secret heroes' -- writers, musicians, composers, graphic artists and printers.

Despite its primary emphasis on the blues and ragtime, the Samuel and Ann Charters Archives spans the entire 20th century, beginning with African-American spirituals and the ragtime of Scott Joplin and other early composers, and ending with Snoop Doggy Dogg and the rappers of the late 20th century. The Archives holds thousands of hours of recorded music on LP, 45 rpm and 78 rpm records, compact discs, audio cassettes, and reel-to-reel tapes. Though some records date back to the 1920s, the compact discs in the collection include both recent and reissued material. Most of these recordings are commercial, and the Archives holds a complete catalog of music produced by the Arhoolie label, courtesy of label owner, Chris Strachwitz and Document Records, courtesy of label managing director, Gary Atkinson. The artists included in the Charters Archives range from the most famous blues performers such as B.B. King and Robert Johnson, to obscure ragtime musicians. Many of the ragtime recordings are from concerts, conventions, and meetings hosted by the Maple Leaf Club.