Sylvester & Orphanos

Sylvester & Orphanos was a publishing house originally founded in Los Angeles by Ralph Sylvester, Stathis Orphanos and George Fisher in 1972. When Fisher moved to New York City, Sylvester & Orphanos specialized in limited-signed press books.

Origins
Christopher Isherwood was the first author published by Sylvester & Orphanos with a deluxe edition of Christopher and His Kind illustrated by original artwork from Isherwood's partner, Don Bachardy.

Through Isherwood, Sylvester & Orphanos met Gore Vidal and they published Vidal’s Sex Is Politics and Vice Versa.

Founders
Stathis Orphanos (October 12, 1940 – January 13, 2018) and Ralph Sylvester (January 13, 1934 – January 23, 2018) were partners in life and business. They met in Los Angeles in 1960.

Stathis Orphanos was also a photographer and among his works are portraits of:


 * Don Bachardy
 * Kaye Ballard
 * Clive Barker
 * Donald Barthelme
 * John Barth
 * Leonard Baskin
 * Robert Bloch
 * Claire Bloom
 * Steve Bond
 * John Malcolm Brinnin
 * Shirley Burden
 * Paul Cadmus
 * Erskine Caldwell
 * Jim Carroll
 * Maxwell Caulfield
 * John Cheever
 * Robert Coover
 * Malcolm Cowley
 * Mart Crowley
 * George Cukor
 * Jules Dassin
 * Elaine de Kooning
 * James Dickey
 * P. David Ebersole
 * Harlan Ellison
 * Odysseus Elytis
 * James Galanos
 * Graham Greene
 * Thom Gunn
 * Julie Harris
 * David Hockney
 * Horst P. Horst
 * Todd Hughes
 * John Irving
 * Christopher Isherwood
 * Thomas Keneally
 * Gavin Lambert
 * Jack Larson and James Bridges
 * Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee
 * Naguib Mahfouz
 * Michael Mailer
 * Norman Mailer
 * James Merrill
 * Brian Moore
 * Esai Morales
 * Hermes Pan
 * Reynolds Price
 * José Quintero
 * Rex Reed
 * Edouard Roditi
 * Philip Roth
 * May Sarton
 * John Schlesinger
 * Budd Schulberg
 * Hubert Selby, Jr.
 * Sir Stephen Spender
 * Robert Stone
 * William Styron
 * Edmund Teske
 * John Updike
 * Mamie Van Doren
 * Gore Vidal
 * John A. Williams
 * Colin Wilson

In 2015, Sylvester & Orphanos donated their catalogue and photographs to the Library of Congress.

Exhibitions



 * Photography exhibition, San Diego County, 1988
 * Los Angeles, 1989, curated by Shirley Burden, former Chairman of the Department of Photography at New York's Museum of Modern Art
 * University of California, Los Angeles, 1990, Combined exhibition of Stahis Orphanos photographs and limited-edition books, curated by Dan Luckenbill
 * Beverly Hills Public Library 1995, curated by Stefan Klima
 * Beverly Hills Civic Center, 1996, retrospective of Stathis Orphanos' photographs
 * Honor: Marine Portraits, Oceanside Museum of Art, 2010
 * My Cavafy, Photo Exhibit by Stathis Orphanos, Affinity, West Hollywood
 * 2014, The Perfect Exposure Gallery, Los Angeles

Catalogue
Sylvester & Orphanos published in total 25 limited editions:


 * 1976, Christopher Isherwood, Christopher and His Kind, 130 copies
 * 1978, Joyce Carol Oates, Sentimental Education
 * 1979, Gore Vidal, Sex is Politics and Vice Versa
 * 1979, William Styron, Shadrach
 * 1980, Graham Greene, How Father Quixote Became a Monsignor
 * 1980, John Cheever, The Leaves, the Lion-Fish, and the Bear
 * 1980, Nadine Gordimer, Town and Country Lovers
 * 1980, V. S. Naipaul, A Congo Diary
 * 1980, Margaret Drabble, Hassan's Tower
 * 1980, James Merrill, Samos
 * 1980, Donald Barthelme, The Emerald
 * 1980, J. V. Cunningham, Dickinson: Lyric and Legend
 * 1980, Reynolds Price, A Final Letter
 * 1980, Philip Roth, Novotny's Pain
 * 1981, James Purdy, Scrap of Paper & The Beiry-Picker: Two Plays by James Purdy
 * 1981, Tennessee Williams, It Happened the Day the Sun Rose
 * 1981, Paul Bowles, In the Red Room
 * 1982, Richard Adams, The Legend of Te Tuna
 * 1982, John Cheever, The National Pastime
 * 1983, Graham Greene, A Quick Look Behind: Footnotes to an Autobiography
 * 1985, William Hjortsberg, Tales & Fables
 * 1985, John Updike, Impressions
 * 1988, John Cheever, Expelled
 * 1990, Graham Greene, A Weed Among the Flowers
 * 1990, Yannis Tsarouchis: The Face of Modem Greece (in preparation in 1990, likely not released)