William E. Houston correspondence and collection of erotic stories, Circa 1940-1995
Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Houston, William E. and Dougherty, Joseph R., 1929-1994
- Abstract:
- William Houston was a gay man from Santa Fe, New Mexico, with an interest in collecting erotic stories about men. Collection includes, in addition to typescripts of 47 erotic stories, correspondence regarding Houston's life with his lover Duke (Joseph R. Dougherty), and responses to a 1973 sex advertisement placed in The Advocate by Dougherty.
- Extent:
- 1 box (0.5 linear feet)
- Language:
- Languages represented in the collection: English
- Preferred citation:
-
William E. Houston correspondence and collection of erotic stories, 1994-22, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
This collection comprises primarily 47 erotic stories by anonymous authors (with two exceptions) about gay male sexual experiences collected by Bill Houston. The majority of the stories are photocopied or mimeographed, and date from the 1940s and 1950s. Before commercial pornography was readily available, men used to write stories, and type or mimeograph them in order to trade them; the stories in this collection are of that genre.
In addition to the stories, the collection includes two files of correspondence. The first, dated 1973, contains responses to a sex ad placed in The Advocate by Ed Granger, a pseudonym for Joe Dougherty. Dougherty, later in life, was Bill Houson's lover, and was known at that time as Duke Houston. In addition to correspondence from the men answering the ad, the second file includes some photographs and note cards documenting Granger's (Dougherty's) interactions with several of them, either by telephone or in-person. The second correspondence file, dated 1994-1995, consists of correspondence between James Duggins of the GLBT Historical Society, and Bill Houston, and provides biographical details about Houston's life and interests, and his relationship with his lover, Duke (Joe Dougherty).
- Biographical / historical:
-
William E. Houston, a resident of Santa Fe, New Mexico, was raised in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania area, but little else is known about his life. He lived for many years with his lover, Duke (a pseudonym for Joseph R. Dougherty), who was born in 1929 and died of cancer in 1994.
- Acquisition information:
- Donated by William E. Houston.
- Arrangement:
-
Collection is arranged by type of material; stories are arranged alphabetically by title.
- Rules or conventions:
- Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Collection open for research.
- Terms of access:
-
Copyright to unpublished manuscript materials created by the donor has been transferred to the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society.
- Preferred citation:
-
William E. Houston correspondence and collection of erotic stories, 1994-22, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society.
- Location of this collection:
-
989 Market Street, Lower LevelSan Francisco, CA 94103, US
- Contact:
- (415) 777-5455