William A. Rhoads Nude Male Photographs Coll2008.026

Finding aid prepared by Michael P. Palmer
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
909 West Adams Boulevard
Los Angeles, California, 90007
(213) 821-2771
askone@usc.edu
© 2008


Title: William A. Rhoads Nude Male photographs
Identifier/Call Number: Coll2008.026
Contributing Institution: ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
Language of Material: English
Physical Description: 1.25 linear feet.
Date (inclusive): circa 1975-1981
Abstract: Nude photographs of male hitchhikers on Pacific Coast Highway between Santa Monica and Santa Barbara taken by amateur photographer William A. Rhoads, circa 1975-1981.
creator: Rhoads, William A.

Access

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

Publication Rights

Publication of images in this collection is restricted until 2061.

Preferred Citation

William A. Rhoads Nude Male Photographs, Coll2008-026, ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Joseph Carrier, June 2006.

Custodial History

Upon Rhoads' death, following instructions left to the executor of his estate, all his photographs were given to Joseph Carrier, who donated the collection to ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives in June 2006.

Processing Information

Collection processed by Michael P. Palmer, June 3, 2008.
Processing this collection has been funded by a generous grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Biography

William A. Rhoads earned a PhD in botany, and worked for defense contractor EG&G (Egerton, Germeshausen, and Grier), Inc., studying the effects of radiation on plants for the Atomic Energy Commission. He spent his weekends in a small house he owned near Venice Beach, but lived weekdays in Goleta, where EG&G's Santa Barbara Operations were based. He died of congenital heart disease in the early 1980s.
Source: Letter from Joseph Carrier to Gregory L. Williams. August 3, 2006.

Scope and Content of Collection

The collection consists of nude photographs of males, and in one instance of a male-female couple, most apparently picked up hitchhiking along the Pacific Coast Highway on the northward journey from Santa Monica to Santa Barbara. Approximately a third of the models are identified, and their photographs dated; a list of these models is available with the collection, but for privacy reasons they are identified in this finding aid only by initials. The remaining photographs are not identified, and are not dated. An account by Joseph Carrier of the circumstances under which the photographs were taken is included with the collection. Between Rhoads' death and the acquisition of the collection by ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives many of the prints and virtually all the negatives in the original collection were damaged beyond repair by high humidity; many of the surviving photographs are heavily warped.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Rhoads, William A.
Gay erotic photography
Photographs
Photography of men
Photography of the nude

Box 1, Folder 1

Account by Joseph Carrier August 3, 2006

Box 1, Folder 2

C No date

Physical Description: 1.0 photograph.
Box 1, Folder 3

X. from Aguas Calientes March 1975

Physical Description: 1.0 photograph.
Box 1, Folder 4

M. B No date

Physical Description: 3.0 proof sheets.
Box 1, Folder 5

R. C No date

Physical Description: 1.0 photograph.
Box 1, Folder 6

D. C No date

General Physical Description note: 1 photograph, 1 proof sheet.
Box 1, Folder 7

G. E August 11, 1979

General Physical Description note: 4 photographs, 1 proof sheet.
Box 1, Folder 8

D. L No date

Physical Description: 11.0 photographs.
Box 1, Folder 9

Male-female couple (L. M. & B. D.) November 1975

General Physical Description note: 6 photographs, 8 proof sheets.
Box 1, Folder 10

T. M October 1979

Physical Description: 7.0 photographs.
Box 1, Folder 11

J. M January-February 1981

Physical Description: 9.0 photographs.
Box 1, Folder 12

R. R November 1980

General Physical Description note: 11 photographs, 3 proof sheets.
Box 1, Folder 13

M. S No date

General Physical Description note: 15 photographs, 4 proof sheets.
Box 2, Folder 1

M. A. T January 20, 1980

Physical Description: 1.0 proof sheet.
Box 2, Folder 2

D. W. V. S. August 7, 1981

General Physical Description note: 25 photographs, 4 proof sheets.
Box 2, Folder 3

Unidentified June 21, 1978

General Physical Description note: 19 photographs, 7 proof sheets.
Box 2, Folder 4

Unidentified No date

Physical Description: 9.0 photographs.
Box 2, Folder 5

Unidentified No date

Physical Description: 2.0 photographs.
Box 2, Folder 6

Unidentified No date

Physical Description: 2.0 photographs.
Box 2, Folder 7

Male couple No date

Physical Description: 3.0 photographs.
Box 2, Folder 8

Older male (?self portraits) No date

General Physical Description note: 5 photographs, 1 proof sheet.
Box 2, Folder 9

Unidentified No date

Physical Description: 4.0 photographs.
Box 2, Folder 10

Unidentified No date

Physical Description: 8.0 photographs.
Box 3, Folder 1

Unidentified No date

Physical Description: 28.0 photographs.
Box 3, Folder 2

Unidentified No date

General Physical Description note: 15 photographs, 1 proof sheet.
Box 3, Folder 3

Unidentified No date

General Physical Description note: 29 photographs, 2 proof sheets.
Box 3, Folder 4

"I'm a Pepper" t-shirt No date

General Physical Description note: 11 photographs, 2 proof sheets.
Box 3, Folder 5

Unidentified No date

Physical Description: 2.0 photographs.
Box 3, Folder 6

Unidentified No date

General Physical Description note: 9 photographs, 1 proof sheet.
Box 4, Folder 1

Unidentified No date

General Physical Description note: 13 photographs, 4 proof sheets.
Box 4, Folder 2

Unidentified (very similar to 4 : 3) No date

Physical Description: 16.0 photographs.
Box 4, Folder 3

Unidentified (very similar to 4 : 2) No date

Physical Description: 7.0 photographs.
Box 4, Folder 4

Unidentified No date

Physical Description: 2.0 photographs.
Box 4, Folder 5

Unidentified No date

Physical Description: 4.0 photographs.
Box 4, Folder 6

Unidentified No date

Physical Description: 4.0 photographs.
Box 4, Folder 7

Unidentified No date

Physical Description: 2.0 photographs.
Box 4, Folder 8

Unidentified No date

General Physical Description note: 21 photographs, 1 proof sheet.
Box 5, Folder 2

Yoga poses No date

Physical Description: 6.0 photographs.
Box 5, Folder 3

Unidentified No date

General Physical Description note: 1 photograph, 1 proof sheet.
Box 5, Folder 4

Unidentified No date

General Physical Description note: 3 photographs, 4 proof sheets.
Box 5, Folder 5

Miscellaneous No date

General Physical Description note: 7 photographs, 2 proof sheets.
Box 5, Folder 6

Negative: male-female couple (L. M. & B. D., see 1 : 8) November 1975

Box 5, Folder 7

Negative: subject unidentified No date