Jolie Braun

@joliebraun

Curator at Ohio State's Rare Books & Manuscripts Library. Thinking about zine history. Program chair for the Aldus Society, book reviews coeditor for SHARP News. ❤️s STL.

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Jolie Braun@joliebraun· 2d

Reading Russ Bestley's Turning Revolt into Style: The Process and Practice of Punk Graphic Design. Really excellent info about the design & construction of 1970s British punk fanzines in this!

Cover of Russ Bestley's Turning Revolt Into Style: The Process and Practice of Punk Graphic Design features letraset sheets, mouse traps, markers, binder clips, and other materials on a cutting mat.

Jolie Braun@joliebraun· 10d

Such a cool find at the local library book sale yesterday! A copy of Linda W. Wagner-Martin's biography of Sylvia Plath, with an inscription from Wagner-Martin to someone she calls "My Mr. Crockett," a reference to Plath's beloved high school English teacher.

Cover of Linda W. Wagner-Martin's Sylvia Plath: A Biography features a black and photo photo of Plath with a pink background.

Photo of inscription which reads, "For 'Prof' Kohler, my Mr. Crockett, with hope that this 'real' book pleases him, Linda (Walsheimer?) Wagner

Jolie Braun@joliebraun· 18d

Spent the morning exploring the @stlpubliclibrary.bsky.social's amazing Zine & Mini Comic Collection (which I used onsite but all of it can be checked out). Thanks so much to librarian Wes Harbison for his help!

Photo shows wooden bookcase with a placard at the top the says "Zine and Minicomic Collection." There are rows of plastic containers filled with zines, and the bottom row has several facing out individually.

Sign says "This space is reserved for zine reading and research" next to a few piles of zines sitting on a desk.

Jolie Braun@joliebraun· 18d

Display of mid-century sci-fi pulp paperbacks & magazines spotted at the St. Louis Science Center today:

Wall display of science fiction magazines and pulp paperbacks such as Amazing stories, Popular Mechanics, and Lester Del Rey's Mysterious Planet.

Wall display of science fiction magazines and pulp paperbacks such as Galaxy and Robert A. Heinlein's Between Planets.

Jolie Braun@joliebraun· 21d

Delightful cover & interior decorations by artist Bertha Stuart for Edward Vance Cooke's Little Songs for Two (1909):

Cover of Little Songs for Two features the title in gold letters with an ornate, art noveau illustration of flowers beneath.

Endpapers of the book are the same flower illustration from the cover small and repeated several times in blue and white or blue and yellow.

Dedication page shows a flower frame with the text "The writer invites the reader to dedicate Little Songs for Two" and spaces to write the giver and recipient's names.

Jolie Braun@joliebraun· 23d

Absolutely charmed by the credits for Pluto, a 1940s sci-fi fanzine. The staff list includes two editors, a mimeographer, a mathematical & astronomical advisor (??), & someone who provides "criticism & moral support": fanac.org/fanzines/Plu...

Published by the literature, science and hobbies club of Decker, Indiana, Issued bi-monthly, price 10 cents 3 for 25 cents

Marvis Manning, Vincent Manning, editors
Maurice Paul, Mathematical and astronomical advisor
Claude E. Davis Jr., Chief Mimeographer
William A. Sisson, Criticism and moral support

Jolie Braun@joliebraun· 26d

Absolutely love Zines Are Back! by @violetbfox.bsky.social, a funny & fascinating look at how the rise / fall of zines has been depicted by mainstream media over the past 20 years.

Cover of the zine Zines Are Back! by Violet Fox, formatted to look like a newspaper with a color image of a zine fest and column heading, "A History through Headlines."

Jolie Braun@joliebraun· Jul 5

Bookish folks in & near Columbus, the Aldus Society's new 2026-2027 schedule is now live. Free monthly events featuring talks by booksellers, historians, editors, translators, & collectors. Proud to have helped put together this lineup: aldussociety.com.

An open book with a green bookmark resting on one page. The bookmark has the 2026-2027 schedule for the Aldus Society printed on it.

Jolie Braun@joliebraun· Jul 1

Just read Spencer D. C. Keralis's "A Media Archaeology of Queer Zines," which includes a close reading of a 1990s queer zine, a discussion of desktop publishing & zines, & a personal reflection on zine making. So good: iopn.library.illinois.edu/pressbooks/d...

Screenshot of article "A Media Archaeology of Queer Zines" by Spencer D. C. Kerllais

Jolie Braun@joliebraun· Jun 9

Issue 1 of the punk / new wave zine Search & Destroy (1977) has an "International Directory" page which includes a fanzine section: "Many new wave magazines are limited production / xerox labors of love. So send money / at the least send a self-addressed stamped envelope if a reply is desired."

Front and back cover of Search & Destroy, issue 1, features three hands holding a binoculars type instrument on one side, and a man in a space suit with the word "Johnny Rotten" on the other.

Close up of the fanzine section of the international directory page includes the titles of fanzines and their addresses.

Jolie Braun@joliebraun· Jun 4

Got to spend the past couple of days working with the amazing zine collection at Bowling Green's Browne Pop Culture Library. A few highlights:

Cover of issue 4 of Deafula shows a black and white illustration of a woman with fangs wearing a dark hood.

Issue 8 of Inside Star Trek shows a black and white drawing of George Takei.

Jolie Braun@joliebraun· May 25

Ad for back issues of the feminist sci fi fanzine Janus in issue 11 (Spring 1978). Especially love the illustration of the woman excitedly asking, "You have old fanzines?!!"

Ad for back issues of Janus include a list of issues (1-10), publication date, printing method (mimeo or offset), and number of copies remaining (which range from none to 100). An illustration to the right shows a woman excitedly saying, "You have old fanzines?!!"

Jolie Braun@joliebraun· May 23

Covers of Walt Liebscher's 1940s fanzine Chanticleer: fanac.org/fanzines/Cha....

Airbrushed color cover of Chanticleer, issue 1, depicts a black, white, and yellow bird in a red piece of clothing.

Airbrushed color cover of issue 2 of Chanticleer depicts a rocket with a trail of blue/purple smoke.

Issue 6 of Chanticleer is a geometric design in white on a brown background. The name of the fanzine is in the center typed both vertically and horizontonally, intersecting to make a cross.

Issue 7 of The Chanticleer depicts black borders on a dark pinkish red background. The name of the fanzine is in the center typed both vertically and horizontonally, intersecting to make a cross.

Jolie Braun@joliebraun· May 13

More Mike Gunderloy: Reading Why Publish? a 1989 collection of responses from zine makers that first appeared in Factsheet Five. His closing words: "The sea of alternatives...is generally invisible to the 'mainstream.' But it doesn't have to be that way, and I think it might not always be that way."

"Which brings us to my final reason for publishing. This sea is generally invisible to the 'mainstream.' But it doesn't have to be that way, and I think might not always be that way. Many people are in search of alternatives these days, and willing to stand up and be counted. The zine scene is an important tool for social change,a nd it seems to be heading in directions I like, I publish to help it along."

Jolie Braun@joliebraun· May 8

Rereading Mike Gunderloy's How to Publish a Fanzine (1988) & love this advice about collating: "A better idea is to use collating racks...A good collator with a rack can run through thousands of sheets an hour with little effort, and watch MTV at the same time."

"My advice is to do it yourself, even if someone else is doing the printing, as it's not all that tough and can save a hell of a lot of money. For up to about six or eight sheets you can collate from stacks on a table, picking up one copy from each and stacking them off to the side. A better idea is to use collating racks, which hold the sheets up at an angle to allow you to quickly grab one of each. A good collator with a rack can run through thousands of sheets an hour with little effort, and watch MTV at the same time....

Jolie Braun@joliebraun· May 2

Zine I picked up yesterday at Super Electric pinball in Cleveland:

Cover of Lake Erie Women’s Pinball, spring 2026 has an illustration with various doodles, including thunderbolt, cloud, and pinball flippers.

Jolie Braun@joliebraun· Apr 30

Serious post-it marginalia in this library copy of Jessica Mitford's The American Way of Death.

Jessica Mitford's The American Way of Death open to pages 40-41 which have four post-its with handwritten notes across both pages. Notes includes, "Cost of flowers, check p. 40" and "How much do we spend on health care, colleges and university, police protection, fire protection? p. 41"

Jolie Braun@joliebraun· Apr 24

Love this ad looking for folks to help distribute the music fanzine Damage in the classified section of the October 1980 issue. "Do glamorous things like distribute magazines!" circulationzero.com

Screenshot of ad, "Do Damage in your town!! Be the first in your boring little burg to represent a major metropolitan monthly!! Impress your friends!! Do glamorous things like distribute magazines! Sell advertising! Put up posters! Make money in your spare time! Write or call for details...."

Jolie Braun@joliebraun· Apr 19

Highlights from the Indianapolis Rare Book Fair yesterday (couldn't resist buying the Flying Saucers: Fact or Fiction? for $6):

An early American edition (1845) of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein on the left; the first American edition of Bram Stoker's Dracula (1899) on the right.

A paperback copy of The Beats, edited by Seymour Krim. Copy says, "Raw, penetrating stories, poems and social criticism," and includes work by Jack Kerouac, Norman Mailer, Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and others.

Beautiful copy of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility with an ornate, flowery cover designed by Hugh Thomson.

1957 magazine, Flying Saucers: Fact or Fiction? by Max B. Miller.

Jolie Braun@joliebraun· Apr 15

Virtual event featuring Adele Bertei on her new book, No New York: A Memoir of No Wave and the Women Who Shaped the Scene. Just registered for this: citylights.com/events/adele....

Cover of No New York: A Memoir of No Wave and the Women Who Shaped it by Adele Bertei features a black and white photo of three young women with the title and author text in pink and blue.

Jolie Braun@joliebraun· Apr 15

The first issue of Whole Fanzine Catalog (1978) ends with an article to help aspiring zine makers understand the labor & cost involved. He breaks it down step by step & concludes, "You can count on a 24 page fanzine of 200 copies to take about 50 hours to produce." fanac.org/fanzines/Who...

Screenshot of "Zen and the Art of Mimeo Maintenance" article in issue one of the Whole Fanzine Catalog by Brian Earl Jones.

Jolie Braun@joliebraun· Apr 13

Next week I'm hosting a virtual event w/ biographer Carla Kaplan & two of her research assistants on her new book about Jessica Mitford & doing archival research w/ RBML's Jessica Mitford Papers. Will be an interesting discussion! You can register at: library.osu.edu/events/troub...

Cover of Trouble Maker: The Fierce, Unruly Life of Jessica Mitford by Carla Kaplan features a close up of Mitford's face in black and white with the title and author name in red text.

Jolie Braun@joliebraun· Apr 12

If you're looking for something funny and/or hopeful, I'd recommend listening to this episode of ICYMI about Wikipedia: slate.com/podcasts/icy...

Jolie Braun@joliebraun· Apr 12

Rereading Izabeau Legendre's Margins in Motion: Towards a Political History of Zine Culture (2023), such an incredibly thoughtful & well researched work on zine history: queensu.scholaris.ca/server/api/c...

Screenshot of title page of Izabeau Legendre's Margins in Motion: Towards a Political History of Zine Culture

Jolie Braun@joliebraun· Apr 4

Two of my favorite things in the Decorative Arts Center's exhibit of Ohio history in 250 objects:

Broadside by the Ohio Woman Suffrage Association that begins, "Men of Ohio, Why do you speculate about the results of woman suffrage? Look at the ten stats where women vote and know what women do!"

Jolie Braun@joliebraun· Apr 1

Received the new Homocore Anthology. Really love the (growing?) trend of zines being reproduced in full. This comes closer to conveying what the original publications were really like & is infinitely more interesting & fun to read than the zine books that used to do just highlights & excerpts.

Cover of the Homocore Anthology features a scattered assortment of issues of the zine.

Homocore Anthology open to show a page of front matter of issue 5 on the left and letters from readers on the right.

Jolie Braun@joliebraun· Mar 30

Visited the University of Findlay's Mazza Museum, the world’s largest collection of original artwork by children’s book illustrators. Definite highlight was seeing Stephen Gammell's mesmerizing / traumatizing artwork for Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.

Mazza Museum gallery featuring original artwork by author and illustrator Marc Brown along the walls. In the foreground, a statue of his protagonist, Arthur, a third grade aardvark, sits writing at a school desk.

Gallery celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States that features illustrations from a variety of artists.

Several pieces of Stephen Gammell's artwork from Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.

Jolie Braun@joliebraun· Mar 26

Looking at the Oxford English Dictionary's earliest known uses of "nerd" & lol'd at the 1971 example from the Observer, "Nerds are people who don't live meaningful lives."

Screenshot from the Oxford English Dictionary which shows the earliest use of "nerd" in an issue of Newsweek in 1951 and then a later example from the Observer in 1971.

Jolie Braun@joliebraun· Mar 24

Just came across The Oyster; Where, How and When to Find, Breed, Cook and Eat (1861) in a dealer listing & am in love with the illustrations on the title page & frontispiece: archive.org/details/oyst....

Frontpiece shows two anthropomorphic oysters holding silverware. On the title page there is an oyster sitting in its opened shell, with oysters in closed shells behind it.

Jolie Braun@joliebraun· Mar 21

Antique store find today: The Big Springs Country of the Missouri Ozarks (c. 1927), a promotional booklet encouraging tourism to southeast Missouri by highlighting scenic, rural views (but also drivable roads & access to phones). Came with a map showing the status of roads throughout the state.