Online content
Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Wong, Timothy
- Abstract:
- Extent:
- 39 linear feet (33 cartons, 1 manuscript box, 5 oversized boxes)
- Language:
- Preferred citation:
-
Timothy Wong papers. GLBT Historical Society
Background
- Scope and content:
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This collection comprises primarily photographs taken by Timothy Wong at gay and leather events in the 1990s and 2000s. A voluminous quantity of 4x6-inch prints in retail film developer envelopes and smaller numbers of photo albums, large prints, contact sheets, photographic negatives and positives, loose photos, and slides all cover similar ground, extensively documenting AIDS Emergency Fund events; Bare Chest Calendar contests and events; the Castro Street Fair; Dore Alley Fair; Mr. Drummer contests; Folsom Street Fair; International Mr. Leather contests; gay rodeos; San Francisco Pride; San Jose Pride; SF Eagle events; and other leather events and contests (including some women’s/dyke leather contests). In addition to Wong’s photographs, the collection contains records related to Wong’s participation in leather competitions as a tallymaster and judge, including ballots, contestant forms, and ephemera from several months of the Bare Chest competitions for 2002, 1996 and 1998 International Mr. Leather, 2001-2006 Mr. San Francisco Leather, and 2002 and 2005 Ms. World Leather. Also included are photographs, a binder-scrapbook, computer media, and personal ephemera belonging to and created by Marcus Hernandez, the leather columnist for the Bay Area Reporter and a close friend of Wong’s. The collection includes little direct documentation of Wong himself. A small number of photographs depict Wong and his family, and several awards document his role as tallymaster for title competitions.
- Biographical / historical:
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Timothy (Tim) Albert Wong (April 28, 1957-March 17, 2020) was born and grew up in Oakland, California. He had five siblings, including a twin brother, Thomas. Wong attended Oakland’s St. Anthony’s Catholic School and Bishop O’Dowd High School, and earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Upon graduating college, he took a job at Hewlett Packard, where he worked for 30 years. Wong was an avid photographer, extensively documenting San Francisco’s gay and leather scenes in the 1990s and 2000s. A number of his photographs were featured in the Bay Area Reporter, an LGBT community newspaper in San Francisco. Throughout this period, Wong was particularly active in Bare Chest Calendar related activities, taking thousands of photos to document the events. Beyond the extensive collection of event photos, he also took professional portraits of contest winners. Wong was also a participant in the gay leather scene, serving as tallymaster for several leather title competitions and maintaining a friendship with the leather journalist Marcus Hernandez (Mister Marcus). Wong died at Stanford Hospital at the age of 62.
- Acquisition information:
- Gift of Thomas Wong, September 2021.
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Collection is open for research. Funding for processing this collection was provided by the National Archives' National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).
- Terms of access:
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Copyright to materials created by Timothy Wong has been transferred to the GLBT Historical Society. All requests for reproductions and/or permission to publish or quote from material must be submitted in writing to the GLBT Historical Society Archivist. Copyright to other materials in the collection may be held by their creators, or the creators' heirs or assigns. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
- Preferred citation:
-
Timothy Wong papers. GLBT Historical Society
- Location of this collection:
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989 Market Street, Lower LevelSan Francisco, CA 94103, US
- Contact:
- (415) 777-5455