Ardis Press Records, 1811-2002 (majority within 1970-1989)

Summary

Creator:

Proffer, Carl R and Proffer, Ellendea

Abstract:

Ardis Press was an independent publishing house in Ann Arbor founded by Carl and Ellendea Proffer in 1971 that was dedicated to the printing of Russian literature. The publishing house was known both for their English translations of previously untranslated works, as well as Russian printings of 20th Century Russian and Soviet authors. Additionally, they would print the works of contemporary Russian authors as well as anthologies and literary criticisms. Ardis operated from 1971-2002 when it was sold to Overlook Press. The majority of the materials in this collection are from the 1970s-1990s. Noteworthy pieces of this collection include the Russian anthology Metropol, the Russian Literature Triquarterly, and correspondence and manuscripts from a variety of Russian authors, including: Lev Kopelev, Vladimir Nabokov, Osip Mandelstam, Marina Tsvetaeva, Joseph Brodsky, and Sasha Sokolov.

Extent:

55 Linear Feet
45 records center boxes, 1 Hollinger box, 4 oversized boxes, 1 oversized folder.

Language:

Russian
English
German
French

Authors:

Finding Aid created by Sarah Conrad using ArchivesSpace, August 2023.

Background

Scope and Content:

Materials have been divided into seven series. 1. Author/Name Files: This series includes correspondence, manuscripts, newspaper articles, contracts, and publishing materials for Russian authors and translators. Materials are arranged by author's last name.

2. Collected Works/Corporate Authors: This series includes correspondence, manuscripts, newspaper articles, and publishing materials from corporate authors or anthologies of works. Materials are arranged by corporate name or anthology name.

3. Business Records: This series includes materials related to the operation of Ardis Press. It will have three sub-series: Publicity, Company Information, and Author Personnel.The Publicity sub-series includes will have three further sub-series: Reviews, Articles/Exhibit Info, and Marketing/Advertising. Reviews are arranged by author's last name, and both Articles/Exhibit Info and Marketing are arranged by subject. The Company Information sub-series includes sales information and records about Ardis. It is arranged by subject. The Author Personnel series includes three further sub-series: Royalties, Contracts, and Rights. The Royalties series has correspondence, invoices, and documentation for author's royalty statements. It is arranged by author's last name. The Contracts series includes contracts and documentation between authors and Ardis and is arranged alphabetically. The Rights series has documentation, invoices and correspondence regarding copyright and use permissions. It is arranged by subject.

4. Media: This series includes photographs, negatives, slides, audio, and visual materials from Ardis and its employees, authors and their families, Russia and the Soviet Union, and various interviews. Materials are arranged into two sub-series: Photographs + Albums, and Video + Audio. Materials are arranged by media type.

5. Artwork: This series includes artwork from Russian artists, some used for book covers. Materials are arranged by artist last name.

6. Carl and Ellendea Proffer Personal Papers: This series includes documentation, correspondence, awards and programs related to Carl and Ellendea Proffer. Materials are arranged by subject.

7. Non-Ardis Materials: This series includes documents, booklets, and posters from Russian sources but that are not related to Ardis. Materials are arranged by subject.

Biographical / Historical:

Ardis Publishing was co-founded by Carl and Ellendea Proffer in 1971 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Carl was an author, publisher, translator, and professor of Slavic Studies at the University of Michigan. Ellendea is an author, publisher, translator and Mikhail Bulgakov expert. The couple utilized their expertise to establish Ardis as the foremost Western publisher of Russian and Soviet Literature from 1971-2002, often publishing materials that were considered too controversial to be published in the Soviet Union.

The publishing house was known both for their English translations of previously untranslated works, as well as Russian printings of 20th Century Russian and Soviet authors. Many of these works were by authors such as Bulkagov, Mandelstam, and Nabokov, who were censored in the Soviet Union. The Proffers, and their team at Ardis, worked with these authors to retrieve the manuscripts from the Soviet Union (sometimes having to smuggle them out of the country) for publishing, and then smuggle them back into the country where they were very popular on the black market.

Along with publishing authors and poets, Ardis would also publish works of contemporary authors in the Soviet Union, as well as anthologies and literary criticisms. Ardis had its very own journal, Russian Literature Triquarterly, that would print literature, reviews, articles and original Russian texts. One of Ardis' most noteworthy publications was the printing of the Russian anthology, Metropol. This anthology was compiled by Vasilii Aksenov and twenty-two other well-known Russian authors, but was denied publication in the Soviet Union. When Ardis released its printing of the anthology, the authors were subsequently banned from further publication in the USSR and the Proffers' visas were revoked in retaliation.

Noteworthy authors associated with Ardis Publishing include: Lev Kopelev, Vladimir Nabokov, Osip Mandelstam, Marina Tsvetaeva, Joseph Brodsky, and Sasha Sokolov, among many others. Ardis was sold to Overlook Press in 2002.

Acquisition Information:

Materials were donated in multiple accretions from 1988-2002. Some donated by Carl and Ellendea Proffer; Donald Proffer, brother of Carl Proffer; and Ross Teasley and others from co-editors of Ardis.

Processing information:

Collection was previously processed by Kathleen Schroeder and Jennifer Sharp, Kathleen Dow. Previously, there were two separate Ardis collections: "The Ardis Press Records" and the "Ardis Press Papers." These have been re-processed in 2022-2023 by Sarah Conrad to consolidate them into one Ardis Press collection. This involved rehousing some materials into acid-free folders and boxes and creating a new arrangement for the collection.

Arrangement:

The Ardis Press Records collection has been divided into seven series: Author/Name Files, Collected Works/Corporate Authors, Business Records, Media, Artwork, Carl and Ellendea Proffer Personal Papers, and Non-Ardis Materials. These series will be arranged alphabetically by author's last name or by subject. The majority of the collection includes correspondence, manuscripts, and typescripts. There is also a large portion of photographs that depict members of Ardis staff, authors and their families, as well as life in Russia.

Rules or Conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Related

Separated Material:

Some materials in this collection have been sent to conservation and will be unavailable for research until the conservation work is completed.

Subjects

Click on terms below to find any related finding aids on this site.

Names:

Brodsky, Joseph, 1940-
Bulgakov, Mikhail Afanas'evich
Kopelev, Lev
Mandelstam, Osip
Nabokov, Vladimir, 1869-1922
Akhmatova, Anna Andreevna, 1889-1966