| Reference Number (Click this to reveal full catalogue structure) | TP |
| Title | Ted Polhemus' Papers |
| Date | c.1953-2017 |
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| Extent | 7 bays |
| Description | This collection contains the papers of Ted Polhemus, primarily related to three different strands of his anthropological research and photography career:
Firstly, the material collected and created during the writing and research for Ted Polhemus' StreetStyle exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, and for his 1994 publication Streetstyle: From Sidewalk to Catwalk. This includes: photographs mostly taken by Polhemus; magazines such as a full run of i-D and The Face; a large collection of reference books; letters regarding copyright of images; London club flyers and ephemera, including fetish club promotional material; album covers; and other records related to Streetstyle.
Secondly, material curated by Ted Polhemus related to anthropological and sociological study of the body, adornment, and dress. This includes reference material such as books, magazines including a run of Body Art magazine and a substantial collection of Adel Rootstein mannequin catalogues, and clippings, in addition to Ted Polhemus' own research notes, writing, and correspondence concerning copyright permissions. Common subthemes include: body modifications such as tattoos, piercings, and cosmetic or plastic surgery; body image and eating disorders; body adornment; different cultural bodily norms; and representation of bodies.
Lastly, material related to fashion and fetishism collected and created by Ted Polhemus, particularly relating to the London fetish and sex club scene. This includes: fetish fashion magazines; erotic magazines; reference books and publications; fetish ephemera such as club flyers, business cards, and clippings; photographs; audiovisual material on CD and other formats; and other items related to fetish within the fashion scene.
Please be advised that this collection contains nudity and sexual content. |
| AdminHistory | Ted Polhemus is a photographer and anthropologist born in New Jersey, United States, who works and practices in England. His work focuses on fashion, anti-fashion and counterculture, identity, the body, and sociologies of style to explore the comunicative importance of personal expressions within fashion. He has a substantial bibliography of published works, and took most of the photographs which appear in his publications. He is particularly well-known for Streetstyle: From Sidewalk to Catwalk, published in 1994 and named after his StreetStyle exhibiton at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. An updated version of Streetstyle was republished in 2010. His 2011 publication Fashion & Anti-Fashion and his 2012 publication BOOM! - A Baby Boomer Memoir, 1947-22 explore the cultural impact of the baby boom generation. |
| CustodialHistory | Purchased from Ted Polhemus by LJMU Special Collections & Archives in 2018 and 2021. |
| Related Material | Other collections related to studies of embodiment, particularly in material culture, include FEM, the Femorabilia collection of women and girl's magazines from 1857-2015, which have been used extensively within cultural communication studies, inluding at the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies at the University of Bimingham in classes run by Stuart Hall.
Other collections related to fetish and fashion include: PF, the Peter Farrer cross-dressing collection, which includes a substantial number of fetish and erotic magazines and zines; and LH, the Liddell Hart Collection of Costume, which includes representations of corsetry, tight-lacing, and other women's period fashion collected for erotic purposes.
Other collections which relate to fashion and counter-culture include: ED, the England's Dreaming collection of research materials used by Jon Savage within his publications on the history of punk; 1966JS and TJS, Jon Savage's other writers' reference libraries for his respective publications 1966: The Year the Decade Exploded, and Teenage: The Creation of youth 1875-1945; EPF, the papers of Eric's Club and music manager Pete Fulwell; BB, the papers of graphic designer Barney Bubbles; among many others. See our Popular Culture, Music, and Counterculture Collections Resource Guide for more information. |
| AccessStatus | Open |
| AccessConditions | Be aware that access to some of these records may be closed or restricted because they contain personal data which identifies people who may be alive in accordance with data protection legislation, or other sensitive information. Please contact archives@ljmu.ac.uk for all appointments and enquiries. |
| Language | English |
| Creator | Christopher Olive, Assistant Archivist 2024, and Sally Marquiss, Archives Assistant 2025 |