Research Collection on Gay Sexuality and Activism
Call Number
Dates
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
An anonymous gay man living and working in New York during the 1970s through the 1990s accumulated this material related to gay sexuality, as well as gay rights and activism. This collection contains pornographic and erotic magazines, gay activism support and informational material, and news clippings.
Biographical Note
The collection creator was a friend of the donor, Jerome Poynton, who wished to keep the creator's name anonymous. The creator wrote publicity material for various prominent New York museums, as well as free-lance writing. The creator passed away in 1994.
Arrangement
The magazines, booklets, and pamphlets were arranged by student workers in alphabetical order by title. The remainder of the folders were left in the order in which it was received at the time of donation. All folder titles were generated by student workers.
Scope and Contents
This collection contains an assortment of gay pornographic and erotic magazines from the 1950s to the 1970s, illustrating the sexual and recreational interests of a gay man living and working in New York during this time. Pamphlets, informational booklets, and news clippings share information on social and cultural analysis, as well as topics of concern for the gay community including homosexuals in the Armed Forces, law reform, homoeroticism, the homophile movement, psychology, gay activism, crime, religion, and AIDS. This collection represents the concerns and interests of a gay man during the 1950s to the 1990s, as he expressed his sexuality and kept current on social and political issues impacting the gay community.
Subjects
People
Donors
Conditions Governing Access
Open to researchers. Appointments are necessary for the use of manuscript and archival collections.
Conditions Governing Use
NYU's Fales Library & Special Collections is not the copyright owner for this collection. Collection use is subject to all copyright laws. Researchers wishing to reproduce collection material should contact rights holders for permission.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Research Collection on Gay Sexuality and Activism; MSS 500; box number; folder number; Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection was donated by Jerome Poynton, between 2016-2017; the accession number associated with this gift is 2017.090.
Custodial History
This collection was accumulated by an individual who gifted the material to Jerome Poynton in 1994. Poynton donated the material to the Fales Library, between 2016-2017.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Between 2016-2017, Fales Library student workers rearranged, refoldered and boxed the magazines, booklets, and pamphlets. The news clippings, flyers, and direct mail items were refoldered and left in their original order. Folder titles were generated by the Fales student workers to reflect the topics and dates inclusive of each folder. The spreadsheet was ingested into the finding aid and the collection is listed to the folder level.
