GLBT Historical Society Film and Video Collection, circa 1950s-2010s

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Summary

Title:
GLBT Historical Society Film and Video Collection
Dates:
circa 1950s-2010s
Creators:
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society
Abstract:
Extent:
22.95 linear feet (17 oversized boxes, 3 cartons, and 3 manuscript boxes)
Language:
Preferred citation:

GLBT Historical Society Film and Video Collection. GLBT Historical Society

Background

Scope and content:

GLBT Historical Society (GLBTHS) records suggest that GLBTHS board members, volunteers, community donors, and staff brought together this collection of videocassettes, DVDs, video reels, and film reels from the late 1980s through the early 2010s. The collection documents a range of LGBTQ activities and topics, including GLBTHS programming and exhibitions; HIV/AIDS issues and activism; title competitions, especially women’s and men’s leather competitions; protests, including the 1989 Castro Sweep and the 1987, 1993, and 2000 Marches on Washington; drag performances; 1970s and 1980s concert recordings; select 1990s and 2000 Imperial Court events; sports, including women’s football and several Gay Games; and LGBTQ and kink sexual practices. The collection encompasses numerous genres, including public access television, including episodes of Electric City, Lavender Lounge, and City Beat; documentaries; talk show episodes; interviews with community members; news broadcasts; educational and public service announcements, particularly related to HIV/AIDS; feature films; and adult videos, including videos centering queer women from Fatale and Lavender Blue Productions. For many years, GLBTHS reformatted films, tape reels, U-matic, and Betacam—including films dating from the 1950s and 1960s—to VHS for reading room use. This collection includes many of these tapes.

Acquisition information:
This is an artificial collection assembled by staff and volunteers of the GLBT Historical Society. In most cases, records regarding donors could not be located as of January 2024.

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid created by GLBT Historical Society staff.
Date Prepared:
circa 1950s-2010s
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using Record Express for OAC5 on July 14, 2025, 2:55 p.m.

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research. Processing and description of this collection was supported by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library.

Terms of access:

All requests for reproductions and/or permission to publish or quote from material must be submitted in writing to the GLBT Historical Society Archivist. Permission for reproductions and/or permission to publish or quote from material is given on behalf of the GLBT Historical Society as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder. 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:

GLBT Historical Society Film and Video Collection. GLBT Historical Society

Location of this collection:
989 Market Street, Lower Level
San Francisco, CA 94103, US
Contact:
(415) 777-5455
reference@glbthistory.org
Website