Fonds 2023.017 - Jim Szakacs

Identity area

Reference code

CA ON00349 2023.017

Title

Jim Szakacs

Date(s)

  • 1917 - 2019 (Creation)

Level of description

Fonds

Extent and medium

Textual Materials - 0.4 linear meters
Graphic Materials
• Flyer: 5.5 x 7.5 inches - 5
• Flyer: 8 x 10 inches - 5
• Scrapbook 14 x 17 inches – 20
• Scrapbook 10 x 12 inches – 1
• Scrapbook 10 x 16 inches - 1
• Poster: 18 x 22 inches - 13
• Poster: 11 x 14 inches - 7
• Poster: 11 x 17 inches - 1
• Poster: 14 x 20 inches - 1
• Poster: 22 x 28 inches - 1
• Poster: 21 x 25 inches -1
• Poster: 16 x 22 inches - 1
• Poster: 11 x 16 inches - 14
• Poster: 12 x 16 inches - 1
• Poster: 10.5 x 16 inches - 1
Photographs
• Colour Print: 8 x 10 inches - 56
• Colour Print: 11 x 14 inches - 2
• B&W Print: 8.5 x 8 inches - 1
• B&W Print: 6.5 x 7.5 inches - 2
• B&W Print: 8 x 10 inches - 1089
• Colour Print: 3 x 12 inches - 1
• B&W Print: 8 x 8 inches - 1
• B&W Print: 7 x 8.5 inches - 1
• B&W Print: 6.5 x 8.5 inches - 2
• B&W Print: 5 x 7 inches - 12
• B&W Print: 7 x 9 inches - 34
• B&W Print: 2.5 x 3 inches - 1
• Colour Print: 4 x 5 inches - 1
• Colour Print: 3 x 3 inches - 1
• B&W Print: 6 x 9 inches - 3
• B&W Print: 6 x 8 inches - 7
• B&W Neg: 8 x10 inches - 29
• B&W Neg: 35 mm - 2
• Colour Neg: 35 mm - 20
Objects
• Cut out: 13x11 in - 1
• Cut out: 5x10 in - 1

Context area

Name of creator

(n.a - 2019)

Biographical history

Jim Szakacs is a Canadian who had an avid interest in advertising and Hollywood entertainment. Szakacs graduated Regina Central Collegiate and after his years of education he was the Negotiating Supervisor for the Media Department at D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles (DMB&B). DMB&B was an advertising agency in the United States that expanded to Canada.
He collected vintage magazines that mainly pertained to Hollywood and entertainment. In his collections includes vintage magazines, portraits of various stars and musicians, books on Hollywood throughout the silver and golden screen. Lastly, Szakacs was an avid scrapbooker, who would dedicate his scrapbooks to various stars and films. Jim Szakacs’ hand-made collection of celebrity obituary scrapbooks, all oversized scrapbooks that are choc-full of clippings, collages, stills, articles, and obituaries that he sourced and compiled over decades. Szakacs dedicates entire pages to chronicling the careers of prominent film stars, musicians, and public figures. He collected clippings from vintage magazines from 1917 to the modern-day articles and posters from 2019.
Jim Szakacs passed away on July 2, 2023.

Archival history

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Content and structure area

Scope and content

The Jim Szakacs collection is separated under these series:
Series 1 – 5
Series 1: Books
Series 2: Vintage Magazines
Series 3: Press Clippings
Series 4: Stills
Series 5: Scrapbook

Series 1: Books
Jim Szakacs collected an incredible number of books on Hollywood celebrities and movie production from the golden and silver age of Hollywood. Book series with the collection includes “The films of…” a collection of books that detail the film history of the actor or actress. Also, in the first series includes the book collection “What ever became of…” the stories of what happened after a celebrity loses their fame or retires from show business.
Series 2: Vintage Magazines
The second series contains the collections of vintage magazines that retells the stories and news of the Hollywood celebrity stars on their roles in Hollywood and their lives. Szakacs collected publications mainly from the United States that focused on the Hollywood stars from the late 1940s to the 1980s. Publications includes “Motion Picture Herald” started off as the “Exhibitors Herald”; “Who’s Who’s in Hollywood”; “Modern Screen”; “Screen Stories”; “Hollywood studio Magazine”; “Hollywood then & now”; “American Classic Screen”; and “Photoplay”. There is also an international magazine from Swedish magazine “Fiskejournalen”. Most of the vintage magazines are in good condition, however, there are a few that will have images of the celebrities cut out. As the magazines that were collected by Szakacs was also as materials to be placed in his collection of scrapbooks.
Series 3: Press Clippings
The third series is a collection of press clippings that Jim Szakacs collected over the many decades. Articles from American publishers and international publishers. Press clippings come from vintage news articles from the 1930s to as recent as of 2019. The various clippings chosen by Szakacs from magazines covers, newspapers, articles, and marketing advertisements from various Hollywood stars. A few of the clippings he collected for the scrapbook do contain nudity.
Series 4: Stills
The fourth series contains Szakacs collection of celebrity portraits. Many of the photographs in the collection are reprints and reproduction of the original. Hollywood stars included in the collection are George Segal, Elizabeth Taylor, Sean Connery, Valerie Harper, James Hill, Virginia McKenna, Roland Winters, Rick Vallin, and other Hollywood celebrities.
Series 5: Scrapbooks
The fifth series is a collection of Jim Szakacs’s Scrapbooks. Szakacs was an avid scrapbooker, who would dedicate his scrapbooks to various stars and films. Jim Szakacs’ hand-made collection of celebrity obituary scrapbooks, all oversized ring binding scrapbooks that hold a collection of clippings, collages, stills, articles, and obituaries that he sourced and compiled over decades. Szakacs dedicates entire pages to chronicling the careers of prominent film stars, musicians, and public figures. Figures he collected include Dame Vera Lynn; Ian Holm; Joel Schumacher; Linda Cristal; Carl Reiner; Hugh Downs; and others. He dedicated obituary scrapbooks on Rock Hudson, Clark Gable, and Marilyn Monroe. The clippings he sourced were from vintage magazines from 1917 to the modern-day articles and posters from 2015.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

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Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Preservation concerns may limit access, consult archivist rights.

Conditions governing reproduction

Media Commons does not own copyright of collection materials. Consult rights holder for reproduction(s).

Language of material

  • English
  • French
  • Swedish

Script of material

Language and script notes

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Finding aids

Contact archivist for further finding aid information.

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

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Notes area

Alternative identifier(s)

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Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

University of Toronto Media Commons Archives

Rules and/or conventions used

Dates of creation revision deletion

Created January 26, 2024 by Khadija Alexander

Language(s)

  • English
  • French
  • Swedish

Script(s)

Accession area

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