Finding aid to the Jim Yousling photographs and papers, 1947-1995
Coll2012.128
Finding aid prepared by Robert Graves and Kyle Morgan
Processing this collection has been funded by a generous grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
909 West Adams Boulevard
Los Angeles, California, 90007
(213) 741-0094
askone@ONEarchives.org
© 2012
Title: Jim Yousling photographs and papers
Identifier/Call Number: Coll2012.128
Contributing Institution:
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
8.9 linear feet.
1 archive box + 1 archive carton + 4 archive binders + 2 flat boxes
Date (bulk): Bulk, 1963-1991
Date (inclusive): 1947-1995
Abstract: This collection consists of artwork, photographs, manuscripts, correspondence, notes, press material, clippings, magazine
layouts, private journals, and publications collected and/or created by Jim Yousling, 1947-1995, bulk 1963-1991. Materials
include photographs, manuscripts, and press materials gathered and/or created during his editorship of
In Touch magazine; personal papers, artwork, and photographs; and photographs produced out of Yousling's Phantom Studios.
creator:
Yousling, Jim, (James Milo Yousling), 1947-1995
Separated Materials
Periodicals:
Bimbox, issue 2 (Summer 1990).
Gay Boy, volume 1, number 2.
Hollywood Star, volume 1, number 11.
In Touch, numbers 69, 94, 102.
Sin Bros., issues 4 and 5 (Spring 1990, Winter 1991).
Su Madre, 1991.
Ten Percent (May 1982, February 1983, Summer 1983).
Books:
Trinidad, David.
Pavane. Chatsworth, CA: Sherwood Press, 1981.
Yousling, Kim.
Star Image: An Analysis. Lansing, MI: Michigan State University, 1968.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Robert Graves and Kyle Morgan, 2012.
Access
The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of artwork, photographs, manuscripts, correspondence, notes, press material, clippings, magazine
layouts, private journals, and publications collected and/or created by Jim Yousling, 1947-1995, bulk 1963-1991. The collection
includes photographs, manuscripts, press materials, and other subject file records on the musicians, entertainers, models,
and publishers covered during his editorship of
In Touch magazine from 1981-1985. The collection also consists of personal and professional artwork including Yousling's
Hell Kitty comic, personal papers and photographs, and photographs and negatives produced out of Yousling's Phantom Studios.
Biography
James Milo Yousling, better known as Jim, was born January 28, 1947, in Washington, Iowa, son of John Leland Yousling and
Leona Pauline Huston. He grew up in Elkhart, Indiana, and Sycamore, Illinois. He earned a bachelor’s degree in graphic design/communications
from Michigan State University in 1969 and received a master’s degree in film studies from the University of Southern California
in 1971. He spent the bulk of his professional career employed in graphic and art design for publishing and entertainment
companies.
Yousling is perhaps best known for his position as editor-in-chief of the gay men’s magazine
In Touch from 1981-1985. Under his editorship, the magazine turned from its previous incarnation of news features amidst nude pictorials,
to a more colorful and vibrant format that spotlighted pop culture figures. The magazine focused on the growing Los Angeles
and New York punk rock and underground scenes while maintaining the nude male pictorials that attracted many buyers to the
magazine.
Yousling served as an art director for Larry Flynt Publications and the Apparel News Group. As a freelance graphic designer
and artist, Yousling also created the Hello Kitty spoof comic strip,
Hell Kitty; designed advertisements for Los Angeles-based nightclubs and performers; and designed record-cover artwork for musical acts
such as Concrete Blonde, Apache Dancers and The Slaves. In the mid-1980s, he also founded Phantom Studios, a producer of nude
male photographs that were sold and printed in various magazines.
Jim passed away from AIDS-related complications on January 1, 1995.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged in the following series:
Acquisition Information
Date of acquisition unknown.
Related Materials
Stuart Timmons papers and collections, Acc2011-048, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives.
Preferred Citation
[Box/folder #, or item name] Jim Yousling Photographs and Papers, Coll2012-128, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries,
University of Southern California
Conditions Governing Use
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Manuscripts Librarian.
Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections 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.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Gay press publications
Photographs
Popular culture
Zine
Papers and works of art
Series 1.
Bulk, 1963-1991
1947-1995
Physical Description:
4.65 linear feet.
Scope and Contents note
This collection consists of artwork, manuscripts, correspondence, notes, press material, clippings, magazine layouts, private
journals, and publications (mostly periodicals) collected and/or created by Jim Yousling, 1947-1995, bulk 1963-1991. The listings
of musicians, entertainers, models, publishers, and bands contain editorial manuscripts written by Yousling and subject file
materials collected by him for publication in
In Touch magazine, 1981-1985. Unpublished artwork and cartoons consists entirely of drawings and designs created by Yousling. The
publication listings comprise those in which Yousling participated as a staff member or contributor, although many were impossible
to differentiate from those he personally collected. The materials listed as journals document Yousling's writings and drawings
from 1969-1973. See the separated materials note for LGBT publications transferred to ONE's periodical collection in which
Yousling may have participated as a staff member or contributor.
Arrangement note
Materials are arranged in alphabetical order.
Box 1, Folder 1
4 Taxis (magazine)
1981-1982
Biographical/Historical note
Influenced the design of
In Touch.
Box 1, Folder 2
Artwork
undated
Scope and Contents note
Includes drawings, comics, album cover art, layout designs primarily by Yousling.
Box 8, Folder 5
Artwork
undated
Physical Description:
[oversized]
Scope and Contents note
Includes drawings, comics, and layout designs primarily by Yousling.
Box 1, Folder 3
Biographical information
1947-1995
Box 7, Folder 1
Blue Moon (University of California, Los Angeles, newspaper)
1983
Physical Description:
[oversized]
Box 1, Folder 4
Business cards and contacts
undated
Box 1, Folder 5
Business records
1984-1990
Box 8, Folder 6
Cartoons and early artwork
1963, undated
Physical Description:
[oversized]
Box 8, Folder 7
Charcoal drawings
undated
Physical Description:
[12 oversized drawings]
Box 7, Folder 2
Clippings
1975-1983, undated
Physical Description:
[oversized]
Box 1, Folder 8
Clippings (personal mentions)
1983-1990
Box 1, Folder 9
Clippings and pop culture ephemera
undated
Box 7, Folder 3
Collage (Michigan State University newspaper)
1967-1969
Physical Description:
[oversized]
Box 1, Folder 10
Contact list and mailing labels
undated
Box 1, Folder 13
Ely, Michael (Red Wedding)
1984
Box 1, Folder 14
Film Threat calendars
1990
Box 1, Folder 16
Flyers by Jim Yousling
undated
Box 1, Folder 19
Generic Comic Book (Marvel Comics)
1984
Box 8, Folder 4
Hell Kitty artwork
circa 1990
Physical Description:
[oversized]
Box 1, Folder 23
Hell Kitty,
LA Weekly
1990
Scope and Contents note
See also the "LA Weekly clippings" listing.
Box 1, Folder 24
Hell Kitty reproductions
1990
Box 1, Folder 6
In Touch, Christmas poll responses
1984
Box 1, Folder 25
In Touch, clippings
1981-1985
Box 1, Folder 26
In Touch, outreach
1983-1985
Box 2, Folder 1
Journal: Jim Yousling, University of Southern California (USC) Cinema, Los Angeles
circa 1969-1971
Box 2, Folder 2
Journal: My Big Black Notebook
September 1971 - September 1972
Box 2, Folder 3
Journal: My Big Black Notebook, Volume 2
September 1972 - February 1973
Box 2, Folder 4
Journal: My Big Black Notebook, Number 4
February 1973 - December 1973
Box 7, Folder 4
LA Weekly clippings
1990-1991
Physical Description:
[oversized]
Scope and Contents note
Most of the clippings pertain to Yousling's
Hell Kitty comic.
Box 1, Folder 29
Lynch, George H.
1981-1984
Box 1, Folder 31
Makos, Christopher
1982-1983
Box 1, Folder 33
McGilvray, Donald "Bing"
1982-1983
Box 1, Folder 20
The Menace of Giant Elf (comic) by Van Arno
1990
Box 1, Folder 35
National Gay Art Archives, San Francisco
1982
Box 1, Folder 36
Notes, hand-written
undated
Box 8, Folder 1
O'Hara, Adore
1982-1983
Physical Description:
[oversized]
Box 1, Folder 39
Phantom Studios, advertising graphics
undated
Box 7, Folder 5
Raw (magazine)
1980
Physical Description:
[oversized]
Box 8, Folder 8
Rubber stamp for Phantom Studios
undated
Box 1, Folder 43
Scratch Magazine
1983-1984
Box 8, Folder 2
Sex, John
1981-1983
Physical Description:
[oversized]
Box 1, Folder 44
Slam (magazine, art direction by Yousling)
1978
Box 1, Folder 45
Star Image: An Analysis by Jim Yousling
1968
Box 1, Folder 46
Street Gossip (zine)
1984-1985
Box 1, Folder 51
Stickers and trading cards
undated
Box 7, Folder 6
Toadtale by Jim Yousling
undated
Physical Description:
[oversized]
Box 1, Folder 48
Volumatix (band)
1984
Physical Description:
[Includes one audiocassette]
Box 1, Folder 49
Writings, general
undated
Photographs
Series 2.
1978-1989, undated
Physical Description:
4.25 linear feet.
Scope and Contents note
The photographs consist of images of Jim Yousling's personal life; promotional, professional, and personal images collected
for publication, notably for the gay men's magazine
In Touch from 1981-1985; and erotic images produced out of Yousling's Phantom Studios. The images collected for publication focuses
on musicians and bands, but also include models, entertainers, sports figures, and publishers among others.
Box 3
Personal
1978-1989, undated
Physical Description:
[300 color prints, 78 negative strips, 49 black and white prints, 48 color 35mm slides, 2 black and white contact sheets,
1 black and white negative]
Scope and Contents note
Photographs documenting Jim Yousling's life, friends, and lovers. Roughly half of the images date from the spring of 1984.
Box 4
Professional, magazine publication
1981-1985, undated
Physical Description:
[60 color prints, 55 black and white prints, 1 color negative]
Scope and Contents note
Photographs collected for publication in magazines where Yousling was affiliated, primarily for
In Touch magazine from 1981-1985. Images include John Sex, Lee Ving, Felix Vega, Sam Jones, Victor Weaver, Billy Wisdom, Nina Hogen,
Pete Rose, Luis Leal, Steve Lundquist, Greg Louganis, Brian Trottier, Winnie the Pooh, David Lee Roth, Adore O'Hara, David
Roche, Anthony Kiedis, Flea, Hugh Hefner, Meat Puppets, Michael Ely, Joe Dallesandro, Henry Rollins, Harvey Kubernik. Although
many of the images comprise standard publicity photographs, there is some overlap between photographs shot for publication
versus those shot for personal purposes.
Box 5
Professional, magazine publication
1981-1985, undated
Physical Description:
[62 black and white prints, 14 35mm slides, 8 black and white negatives, 4 color prints, 1 contact sheet]
Scope and Contents note
Photographs collected for publication in magazines where Yousling was affiliated, primarily for
In Touch from 1981-1985. Images include Victor Weaver, John Waters, Dennis Cooper, Nervous Gender, Angel and the Reruns, Love and
Rockets, Michael Ely, Fran Lebowitz, Jackie Curtis, Ivan E. Roth, Terry Dorn, Sal Bando, Bill Bergey, John Davidson, David
Trinidad, Sean Garrison, Paul Ferguson, Christian William Miller, Tom of Finland prints, and assorted movie publicity shots.
Although many of the images comprise standard publicity photographs, there is some overlap between photographs shot for publication
versus those shot for personal purposes.
Box 8, Folder 3
Professional, magazine publication
1981-1985, undated
Physical Description:
[oversized, 20 color prints]
Scope and Contents note
Photographs, often standard publicity shots, collected for publication in magazines where Yousling was affiliated, primarily
for
In Touch from 1981-1985. Includes images of Menudo, Henry Rollins, Rick James, Ozzy Osbourne, Huey Lewis, Annie Lennox, David Lee
Roth, Eddie Van Halen, and other unidentified bands and singers.
Box 6
Professional, Phantom Studios
undated
Physical Description:
[97 black and white negative strips, 60 black and white prints, 28 color negative strips, 25 contact sheets, 14 color 35mm
slides, 4 color negatives, 1 black and white negative]
Scope and Contents note
Erotic photographs from Yousling's Phantom Studios.
