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Creator
Schaffner, Nicholas, 1953-
Call number
JOB 05-1
Physical description
8.05 linear feet (12 boxes)
Language
English
Preferred Citation

Nicholas Schaffner Papers, JOB 05-1, Music Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

Repository
Music Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

The Nicholas Schaffner Papers document British rock music personalities, and rock memorabilia from the 1960s and 1970s.

Biographical/historical information

Nicholas Schaffner was born in New York City in 1953. He was more than just a fan of the British Invasion of rock and roll, and his collection of Beatles memorabilia was the foundation for his career as a writer. Of the six books he wrote or co-wrote, The Beatles Forever (1977) established him as an authoritative source of knowledge on the band. He followed this book with one for children called The Boys From Liverpool: John, Paul, George, Ringo (1980). With his sister Elizabeth, Schaffner compiled 505 Rock and Roll Questions Your Friends Can’t Answer (1981). The next year he published a look at his favorite bands of the 1960s and 1970s in The British Invasion: From the First Wave to the New Wave. This book focused on the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, the Who, Pink Floyd, T. Rex, and David Bowie; it also provided abstracts of 100 other influential British bands (written by Schaffner and several contributors, including his sister). In 1983 he helped John Lennon’s childhood friend, Pete Shotten, write the book John Lennon: In My Life. Schaffner’s last book was a definitive biography of Pink Floyd, titled Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey, which was published a few months before his death on August 29, 1991. Other writings by Schaffner include record reviews in Rolling Stone, essays in periodicals such as Musician, and poems.

During the late 1970s and 1980s, Schaffner also composed and performed music. A musical he co-wrote, The Harlequin, was part of the Open Space Theatre Experiment, a festival in Soho (New York City) in March 1978. He released a compact disc called Magical Kingdoms in 1990; music on this album can be heard in the 1986 movie Parting Glances.

Source: The Estate Project for Artists with AIDS, http://www.artistswithaids.org/artforms/music/catalogue/schaffner.html (accessed on June 7, 2005)

Scope and arrangement

The Nicholas Schaffner Papers are a collection of rock and roll music memorabilia. The focus is the British Invasion that occurred in the 1960s and 1970s, with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones at the forefront. Other bands and musicians to which Schaffner devoted his collection are David Bowie, The Kinks, Pink Floyd, T. Rex, and The Who. All of these bands are well represented through photographs. The Beatles are the emphasis of the publications and memorabilia series. This collection does not include Schaffner’s personal papers or any manuscript material from his writing career.

The Nicholas Schaffner papers are arranged in four series:

  • Series I: Photographs
    1964 - 1981, undated
    0.97 linear feet (2.3 boxes

    This series consists of photographs Schaffner used in his books, in particular, The Beatles Forever and The British Invasion. The types of photographs range from promotional 8x10s distributed by record companies, and stills from movies, to snapshots taken by fans. There are also contact sheets of memorabilia; some of these images can be found as full-size photographs in the specific performer’s folder.

  • Series II: Publications
    1964 - 1989, undated
    1.11 linear feet (2.67 boxes

    There are four different categories in the publications series. The label commercial refers to periodicals that have a broad market, such as gossip or entertainment magazines. Other general interest publications can be found in the Oversized Materials series. Fan-produced comprises those publications both created by devoted fans, and those sold as souvenirs to fans. Programs, which are all souvenirs from various concert tours, and sheet music books, complete the series.

  • Series III: Memorabilia
    1964 - 1981
    0.209 linear feet (1 box

    The term memorabilia is used in this guide to define the rock music souvenirs and related items collected by Schaffner. Most of the memorabilia is Beatles-related, and includes an advertising booklet for A Hard Day’s Night, and examples of colorful Yellow Submarine merchandise. There is one folder of ephemera, which includes personal items such as receipts and three letters. More memorabilia can be found in the Oversized Materials series.

  • Series IV: Oversized Materials
    1964 - 1986, undated
    5.76 linear feet (6 boxes

    This series includes oversized memorabilia, all of which is for the Beatles. Many of these items are three-dimensional, such as the Flip Your Wig board game. The other contents of this series are four photographs, one program, multiple publications, and three posters.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Val Schaffner donated the Nicholas Schaffner Papers to the Music Division in 1997.

Processing information

Processed by Anastasia Karel; Machine-readable finding aid created by Anastasia Karel.

Using the collection

Location

Music Division
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Third Floor

Conditions Governing Use

For permission to publish, contact the Chief, Music Division.