Kensington Ladies’ Erotica Society Collection, 1977-2006, bulk 1983-1988

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Summary

Abstract:
The Kensington Ladies’ Erotica Society Collection documents the variety of activities, organizations, publications, photographs, and news articles about the society.
Extent:
2 boxes (2.6 Linear feet)
Language:
English and Languages represented in the collection: English
Preferred citation:

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

Background

Scope and content:

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.

Biographical / historical:

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).

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

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.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

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.

Location of this collection:
One Washington Square
San Jose, CA 95192-0028, US
Contact:
408-808-2062
special.collections@sjsu.edu
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