Imperial Courts collection, 1959-2009

Printable guide [HTML]
Request items

Summary

Creators:
Imperial Courts
Abstract:
Photographs, flyers, organizational correspondence, court lists, polling sheets, clippings, notes, manuscripts, ephemera, and other material documenting activities of Imperial Courts, primarily in Southern California and San Francisco, 1959-2009. The Imperial Courts originated in San Francisco in 1965 as gay community social and fundraising events with a camp Imperial theme; the annual main event featured the coronation of elected monarchs (a king and queen) who in turn selected a royal court.
Extent:
1.6 Linear Feet 3 boxes.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Box #, folder #, Imperial Courts Collection, Coll2012-130, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California

Background

Scope and content:

Photographs and negatives, flyers, organizational correspondence, court lists, polling sheets, clippings, notes, manuscripts, annual reports, ephemera, and other material documenting activities of Imperial Courts, primarily in Southern California and San Francisco, 1973-1994. According to a short history from the collection, the Imperial Courts (or the "Imperial Court system") originated in San Francisco in 1965 as gay community social events with a camp Imperial theme; the annual main event featured the coronation of elected monarchs (a king and queen) who in turn selected a royal court. Imperial Court events soon assumed a more serious purpose (community-oriented fundraising), while retaining their irreverent festive spirit. The collection documents fundraisers and other events staged by both local and cooperating courts.

Biographical / historical:

According to a short history from the collection, the Imperial Courts (or the "Imperial Court system") originated in San Francisco in 1965 as gay community social events with a camp Imperial theme; the annual main event featured the coronation of elected monarchs (a king and queen) who then selected a royal court. Imperial Court events soon assumed a more serious purpose (community-oriented fundraising), while retaining their irreverent and festive spirit.

Acquisition information:
Date and donor(s) of materials unknown.
Processing information:

Collection processed by Sophie Frank, with assistance from Marc LaRocque and David Hensley, 2017.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged alphabetically with photographs at the end.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.

Terms of access:

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the ONE Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at USC Libraries as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Preferred citation:

Box #, folder #, Imperial Courts Collection, Coll2012-130, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California

Location of this collection:
909 West Adams Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90007, US
Contact:
(213) 821-2771
askone@usc.edu
Website