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Kensington Ladies’ Erotica Society Collection
MSS-2013-22-08  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Conditions Governing Access
  • Publication Rights
  • Preferred Citation
  • Processing Information
  • Organizational History
  • Scope and Content of Collection
  • Arrangement

  • Language of Material: English
    Contributing Institution: SJSU Special Collections and Archives
    Title: Kensington Ladies’ Erotica Society Collection
    Identifier/Call Number: MSS-2013-22-08
    Physical Description: 2 boxes (2.6 Linear feet)
    Date (inclusive): 1977-2006
    Date (bulk): 1983-1988
    Abstract: The Kensington Ladies’ Erotica Society Collection documents the variety of activities, organizations, publications, photographs, and news articles about the society.
    Language of Material: Languages represented in the collection: English

    Conditions Governing Access

    The collection is open for research.

    Publication Rights

    Copyright has been assigned to the San José State University Library Special Collections and Archives. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the SJSU Special Collections and Archives 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 by the reader. Copyright restrictions also apply to digital reproductions of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.

    Preferred Citation

    The Kensington Ladies’ Erotica Society Collection, MSS-2013-22-08, San José State University Library Special Collections and Archives.

    Processing Information

    Processed by: Lale Yasemin Kaya
    Reviewed by: Danelle Moon, Stephanie Waslohn, and Diane Malmstrom
    Date completed: July 2014
    Edited: January 2015
    ArchiveSpace input by: Lale Yasemin Kaya
    Date: July 2014

    Organizational History

    In 1977, Sabina Sedgewick founded The Kensington Ladies’ Erotica Society by initiating the society’s first meeting at a potluck dinner at her house. With inspiration from Sedgewick, the ladies’ first assignment was to expand on their love for food, in which they each created an individual recipe for their ideal lover. Sedgewick asked the society whether or not women and men agree on what is erotic. To explore this question, the society continued to meet every month at one of the member’s homes. The Erotica meetings commenced with chilled wine, hors-d'œuvres, and finally the moment of Erotica would begin. Together, the ladies recollected about their sexual awakenings, by slowly and randomly assembling information; from pulp magazines, the dictionary, comparing their anatomies, and eavesdropping on conversations not meant for their ears. The result of these meetings lead to the society’s first publication, Ladies Home Erotica: Tales, Recipes, and Other Mischiefs by Older Women (1984), later published as Ladies’ Own Erotica (February 1986). Then, The Erotic Companion: An Illustrated Write-Your-Own Erotic Journal was published in 1985 by Pat Adler of The Kensington Ladies’ Erotica Society. Afterwards Look Homeward Erotica was published 1986, followed by the society’s final publication, Sex, Death, and Other Distractions (2002).

    Scope and Content of Collection

    The collection consists of administrative records, correspondences, ephemera, periodicals, photographs, sound recordings, and writings. The majority of the collection contains books and written material, including individual rough drafts of book chapters, journals, poetry, and short stories. In addition, the collection contains information regarding the policies and procedures of the society. There is also a variety of correspondences between publishing and royalty houses, along with many invoices that record the costs of distribution and sales. The rest of the collection contains photographs of the people in the society, name tags and ribbons, along with advertisements, book-buying catalogs, and newspaper clippings that trace the history of the society’s success.

    Arrangement

    The arrangement of this collection consists of seven series documenting 1977-2002: Series I, Administrative Records, 1983-2006, is arranged chronologically and then alphabetically by title; Series II, Correspondences, 1983-2000, is arranged chronologically and then alphabetically by title; Series III, Ephemera, no dates, is arranged by format; Series IV, Periodicals, 1972-1992, is arranged chronologically and then alphabetically by title; Series V, Photographs, 1984-1988, is arranged chronologically in folders and intact with their respective albums; Series VI, Sound Recordings, no dates, is arranged in a folder; Series VII, Writings, 1974-2000, is arranged alphabetically by authors’ pseudonym (last name, first name), then alphabetically by title, and then by draft edition number.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Erotic stories, American -- California
    American fiction -- 20th century
    Sexual fantasies -- California
    American fiction -- Women authors
    Erotic literature, American -- California
    Velora Moore (Jenna York)
    Judy McBride (Emma Hawksly)
    Frances Rowe (Claudia Morton)
    Annegret Ogden (Sabina Sedgewick)
    Laurel Cook (Elvira Pearson)
    Nenelle Bunnin (Nell Port)
    Pat Adler (Rose Solomon)
    Ann Fisher (Susan Hutchinson)
    Sascha Dorgeloh (Bernadette Vaughan)