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Finding aid to the Falcon Studios still images collection, circa 1970-2012
Coll2012.159
Coll2012.159
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Table of contents
Title: Falcon Studios still images collection
Identifier/Call Number: Coll2012.159
Contributing Institution:
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
421.4 linear feet.
404 boxes + 22 archive cartons + 8 flat archive boxes + 1 archive shoebox.
Date (bulk): Bulk, 1978-2009
Date (inclusive): circa 1970-2012, bulk 1978-2009
Abstract: Slides, tranparencies, negatives, photograph prints, contact sheets, DVDs, CDs and other material, circa 1970-2012, from Falcon
Studios, one of the largest producers of gay erotic film and publications in the United States. The collection includes original
negatives and over 1.5 million slides from Falcon's production files dating back to its earliest productions in the 1970s;
as well as slides and photographs from other production companies it acquired during its 40-year history.
creator:
Falcon Studios.
In 1971, Charles Holmes, a salesman from Indiana, was laid off from his job selling aluminum siding. He moved to San Francisco
where he bought some gay erotic films and acquired mailing lists from an acquaintance, Matt Sterling. With these films, as
well as films he produced himself, Holmes formed Falcon Studios in 1972 as a mail order business, selling 10-minute gay erotic
black-and-white short films. Holmes operated Falcon Studios mostly by himself until the mid-1970s when the company grew large
enough for him to hire other directors, producers and contracted models.
In 1978, Falcon experienced a business boom with
The Other Side of Aspen, the first Falcon title to be released in a video format. As John Karr writes, "Originally, Aspen was meant to be several
'loops,' the 200-foot 8mm films which were how porn was sold for home viewing. But video was just being born, and the much-deliberated
decision to release the film in the new format would reward the company with massive sales." Falcon quickly became one of
the most recognized names in gay adult entertainment and Falcon's aesthetic identity was marked by high production values,
luxurious locations, and clean-cut, healthy physiques.
From the 1980s to 2000s, Falcon continued to grow and became the parent company of other branded series of gay erotic entertainment,
including Mustang Studios (MVP), Jocks Studios (JVP), Massive Studios, Falcon International Collection (FIC), the Alone With...
Series (FAW), Falcon Anthology Series (FAS) and the Matt Sterling Collection (MSC).
In 2010, AEBN, an adult video-on-demand provider based in Charlotte, North Carolina, acquired Falcon Studios and Raging Stallion
Studios to create the largest gay erotic production company in the United States.
Sources:
Falcon Studios Still Images Collection, Coll2012-159, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern
California.
Hanson, Dian.
The Big Penis Book. London: Taschen, 2008.
Karr, John F. "Still Horny After All These Years,"
Bay Area Reporter, Vol. 31, Iss. 14 (April 5, 2001).
The collection is open to researchers. The collection is STORED OFFSITE. Advanced notice is required to access this collection.
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.
Gift of Datatech Enterprises, LLC., September 18, 2012.
[Box/folder #, or item name] Falcon Studios Still Images Collection, Coll2012-159, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC
Libraries, University of Southern California.
The 4-digit item numbers in this finding aid were retained from Falcon Studios' original database.
Collection processed by ONE Archives staff, August 2013.
The collection includes slides, tranparencies, negatives, photograph prints, contact sheets, DVDs, CDs and other material,
circa 1970-2012, from Falcon Studios, as well as its other production divisions, such as Mustang Studios, Jocks Studios and
Falcon International. The collection includes original negatives and over 1.5 million slides from Falcon's production files
dating back to its earliest productions in the 1970s.
The production files comprise a curated collection of "Selected" images--or the images considered to be of the best quality
by Falcon producers--from the hundreds of Falcon titles. Also included on DVDs and CDs are hundreds of raw or modified digital
images that Falcon produced when the studio converted to digital photography, circa 2000. The model glamour files include
slides of portrait images or film stills featuring Falcon's hundreds of models. The promotional and administrative files contain
material for Falcon's line of accessories, catalogs, special publications and other promotional material; as well as advertising
records, website content and model releases.
This collection is arranged in the following series:
Series 1. Production files
Series 2. Model glamour files
Series 3. Promotional, administrative and miscellaneous files
21 issues of
The Informant newsletter (Pasadena, California, March 1975-April 1978) have been separated from the collection and cataloged in the ONE
Archives periodical collection.
Related Archival Materials note
ONE Archives holds VHS videotapes, films and DVDs of Falcon productions. Refer to ONE's database of audiovisual material for
more information.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Falcon Entertainment.
Holmes, Charles M., 1945-2000
Jocks Studios.
Mustang Studios.
Gay erotic films
Gay erotic photography
Gay erotic videos
Negatives (photographic)
Photographs
Photography of the nude
Slides (photographs)