Collectors Archives - Asian/Pacific/American Archives Survey Project | A/P/A

William F. Wu Comic Book Collection

January 29, 2015March 10, 2015APA Staff

Date Range: 1942 – 1986
Survey Conducted: Wed, 2009-04-08
Creator: Wu, William F. (1951-)

History: William F. Wu is a Chinese-American science-fiction writer who has published thirteen novels and more than fifty short stories. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Wu attended the University of Michigan as an undergraduate, and later returned to earn his Ph.D in American Culture. During this time he became active in East Wind, an Asian American student group. His doctoral dissertation titled The Yellow Peril (1981) documents evolving depictions of Chinese and Chinese-Americans in American fiction.Wu has been nominated for the Nebula Award, World Fantasy Award and the Hugo Award, twice individually and once as a member of the Wild Cards. Hong on the Range, set in a futuristic version of the wild west, was chosen for the Wilson Library Bulletin’s list of science fiction “Books Too Good To Miss” and was a selection for the American Library Association list of Best Books for Young People, the New York Public Library’s Recommended Books for the Teen Age, and was also a Young Adult Editor’s Choice by Booklist Magazine.

Harley Spiller Menu Collection

January 28, 2015November 23, 2021APA Staff

Date Range: 1879 – 2009
Survey Conducted: Mon, 2009-03-16
Creator: Spiller, Harley (1960-)

History: Harley Spiller (1960- ) moved to New York after college in 1981 to pursue a career in the museum field. A native of Buffalo, NY and a graduate of Northwestern University, the self-described “meat and potatoes” Spiller was promptly introduced to the diverse cuisine of New York City. He received a job as an administrative assistant for the curatorial department of the Jewish Museum, and with his tight annual salary, found himself going to Chinatown to buy inexpensive food. According to Guinness World Records, he now holds the largest menu collection in private hands.

Jack G. Shaheen Archive

January 28, 2015November 23, 2021APA Staff

Date Range: 1911 – 2009

Creator: Shaheen, Jack G. (1935-2017)
History: Born in 1935 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Dr. Jack G. Shaheen dedicated his career to identifying and contesting damaging stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims in American media. A professor, author, and professional consultant for films such as Syriana and Three Kings, Shaheen, with the help of his wife Bernice Shaheen, collected and analyzed materials which depicted Arabs and Muslims as the godless “cultural other.” The result is the Jack G. Shaheen Archive.

Yoshio Kishi/ Irene Yah Ling Sun Collection

January 26, 2015November 30, 2021APA Staff

Date Range: 1700 – 2005
Survey Conducted: Wed, 2008-10-01
Creator: Kishi, Yoshio (1932-2012)

History: Yoshio Kishi (1932-2012) is an award-winning New York City-based film and sound editor whose credits include such classics as Jerry Schatzberg’s “Panic in Needle Park” (1971), Alan Parker’s “Fame” (1980), Martin Scorsese’s “Raging Bull” (1980), and Wayne Wang’s “Dim Sum” (1985). For four decades, Kishi has been an avid collector of materials that trace the depiction of Asian Americans in U.S. intellectual and popular culture and of materials produced by Asian American activists to counter such stereotypical images. His compulsion for collecting Asian Americana began in the mid-1960s when, in the midst of thinking about his identity, he began to regret not knowing more about his ethnic heritage.