Guide to the Anton LaVey correspondence collection ARC Mss 106
Collection processed and finding aid prepared by Rebecca Vasquez, May 2024.
UC Santa Barbara Library, Department of Special Research Collections
2024 May
University of California, Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara 93106-9010
Phone Number: (805) 893-3062
special@library.ucsb.edu
Contributing Institution:
UC Santa Barbara Library, Department of Special Research Collections
Title: Anton LaVey correspondence collection
Creator:
La Vey, Anton Szandor, (1930-1997)
Identifier/Call Number: ARC Mss 106
Physical Description:
0.21 Linear Feet;
(1 half size document box)
Date (inclusive): 1970-1971
Physical Location: Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library
Language of Material:
English.
Container: 1
Anton Szandor LaVey, born Howard Stanton Levey, (April 11, 1930 – October 29, 1997) was an American author, musician, and
Satanist. He was the founder of the religion of Satanism and the Church of Satan. LaVey made several claims about his early
life, such as leaving school early to work with a circus and working as a photographer and consultant to the San Francisco
Police Department, which have never been able to be independently verified or confirmed. However, while in San Francisco,
LaVey did garner local attention and a varied group of friends through his paranormal research and live performances as an
organist.
He formed a group named the Order of the Trapezoid in the late 1950s, and hosted weekly lectures on the occult and ritual
ceremonies at his "Black House." On April 30, 1966 he declared the official founding of the Church of Satan, proclaimed 1966
as "the Year One", Anno Satanas, the first year of the Age of Satan, and instituted members of the Order of the Trapezoid
into the governing body of the Church of Satan.
The collection contains two typewritten letters, signed by Anton LaVey. Both letters are written on red Church of Satan letterhead
and addressed to Los Angeles journalist turned studio publicist Art Ronnie.
The first, a two-page letter, is dated "XXIV November IV anno Satanas" (November 24, 1970). LaVey opens by thanking Ronnie
for sending some photographs: "...my witches couldn't wait to put them up on the Church bulletin board! I'm only sorry I didn't
have them in time so we could have worked out some arrangement whereby I could have used one on the back cover of The Satanic
Bible." He also congratulates Ronnie on his new position: "Paramount did 'Rosemary's Baby', as you undoubtedly know, so I
have a bit of a soft spot in my black heart for them." Though he had no connection to the film, rumors persist that LaVey
served as a technical consultant on
Rosemary's Baby, and also appeared as the Devil in the film.
The second letter, dated "January 6, V anno Satanas" (January 6, 1971), is written on a half-sheet and includes one rather
intriguing passage: "Yes, I was rather surprised about the Lancer show, and would appreciate it if you could find out anything
about what happened. I have a hunch it had something to do with the Sharon Tate case and possibly heat put on the studio as
a result of the new evidence. But maybe not. Yes, they paid me." LaVey played the Devil in an episode of
Lancer, a Western television series that aired on CBS from 1968 to 1970. The Tate murders have been said to have triggered the rise
of the "Satanic Panic" movement, but no reason for the cancellation of
Lancer has ever been given.
The collection is open for research.
Property rights to the collection and physical objects belong to the Regents of the University of California acting through
the Department of Special Research Collections at the UCSB Library. All applicable literary rights, including copyright to
the collection and physical objects, are protected under Chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code and are retained by the creator
and the copyright owner, heir(s), or assigns.
All requests to reproduce, quote from, or otherwise reuse collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Department
of Special Research Collections at UCSB at special@ucsb.edu. Consent is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of
California acting through the Department of Special Research Collections at UCSB as the owner of the physical items and is
not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright
owner, heir(s), or assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the
copyright owner or their assigns for permission to publish where the UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
[Identification of Item], Anton LaVey correspondence collection, ARC Mss 106. Department of Special Research Collections,
UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Library purchase, 2019.