Oh So Pretty: Punk in Print 1976-1980

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Broaden(s) the conversation from punk as a musical movement to an exploration of the distinctive visual art style and approach to art-making that emerged from its urgent anarchism."— i-D.Vice

Some flyers, like Biafra for Mayor, are both absurd and sincere at the same time. Jello Biafra (a name derived from a combination of the nutritionally void dessert and the region of Nigeria which had just experienced a devastating famine) was frontman for punk band Dead Kennedys, and did in fact run for mayor of San Francisco in 1979, playing a benefit show at the Mabuhay to raise campaign funds. 3 Biafra’s platform included the silly (forcing businessmen to wear clown suits) and the sincere (requiring police officers to run for election in the neighborhoods they patrolled). While he lost to Dianne Feinstein — coming in 4th, with 3.79% of the vote — he went on to become an active member of the Green Party and ran for President in 2000 with VP candidate Mumia Abu-Jamal. 10 Winston Smith, Paste-up for Dead Kennedys at Mabuhay Garden, San Francisco, 1980. This original artwork was part of Letterform Archive’s collection long before the new flyer collection arrived. Smith’s collages helped define San Francisco’s punk art style. An unrivalled collection of artefacts and ephemera... The graphic anarchy and DIY spirit that caused a seismic shift in UK culture."― i-D online Ocr tesseract 5.3.0-1-gd3a4 Ocr_detected_lang en Ocr_detected_lang_conf 1.0000 Ocr_detected_script Latin Ocr_detected_script_conf 0.8629 Ocr_module_version 0.0.18 Ocr_parameters -l eng Old_pallet IA-NS-0001602 Openlibrary_edition Toby participated in this DIY culture by “totally immersing myself” in gigs and working on fanzines with a friend, but slowly it was the work of others he started to seek out. “I was interested in the music, but I also studied art so I started collecting all the flyers and posters and stuff.” Though this was the beginning of obsessive collecting, there was still room for some teenage rebellion. While at Pimlico Comprehensive Toby was one of the founding members of the Anarchist Street Army, one of many London-based collectives of young punks at the time. “We were delinquents, we used to bunk off school, get in trouble, that sort of thing. It was a very tightly controlled society at the time, and you would be stopped and searched by the police just for the way you looked.”Being presented in book form doesn't take away the rawness of these simply created materials, and even the paper mirrors the designs of the originals."― It's Nice That Punks tore up the rule book and more specifically newspapers to achieve their iconic ransom note look. Graphic and social revolution on the brain."— Love magazine The appeal of punk ephemera is growing among wealthy collectors... Mott points out another reason to carry on collecting: in the internet age the physical evidence of punk is even more precious."— Financial Times Wealth An unrivalled collection of rarely seen, visually striking ephemera of Britain's punk subculture... Gives a vivid impression of punk's abrasive and uncompromising style."― Seventh Man Toby Mott: We would visit the record company offices in the center of London. The receptionist would give us badges and posters. Once when visiting the offices of Polydor, Jimmy Pursey from Sham 69 threw badges down at us from the office window.

One of the most rare and comprehensive collections of punk artefacts and graphic artworks in Britain."― Hero

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Another featured venue is The Temple (aka Temple Beautiful) at 1839 Geary. The stunning synagogue built in 1906 turned into a music venue in the 1970s (intact architectural features like pews and Stars of David included). Adding to the anachronistic setting was the fact that The People’s Temple (of Jim Jones fame) was next door. 5 Temple Beautiful’s glory was short-lived, as ownership changed hands throughout the 1980s and the building was destroyed in a fire in 1989. Bob Clark, Flyer (detail) for Blistering Agents at The Sound of Music, ca. 1980. Bassist “Big Bob Clark”, later of the band Agression, died in 2021. Content warning: some items in this collection contain strong language, nudity, and depictions of violence.