Finding aid of the Saul and Yakov Kantor Papers

Michael P. Palmer

ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives

909 West Adams Boulevard

Los Angeles, California 90007

Phone: (213) 741-0094

Fax: (213) 741-0220

Email: askone@onearchives.org

URL: http://www.onearchives.org

Finding aid of the Saul and Yakov Kantor Papers

Collection number: Coll2008-037

ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives

Los Angeles, California

Processed by:: Michael P. Palmer
Date Completed:: June 18, 2008
Encoded by:: Michael P. Palmer

Processing this collection has been funded by a generous grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Descriptive Summary

Title: Saul and Yakov Kantor papers

Dates: circa 1941-circa 2005

Collection number: Coll2008-037

Creator: Kantor, Yakov David, 1952-2007

Collection Size: 1 flat archive box. 0.25 linear foot

Repository: ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives.

Los Angeles, California 90007

Abstract: The collection consists of the Star of David "Jude" patch said to have belonged to Saul Kantor (1912-1976); two drawings by his son, Yakov Kantor (1952-2007), a graphic artist and member of the Portland, Oregon, Jewish LGBT community, inspired by the 2005 Hungarian film Sorstalanság ( Fateless); and two photographs, 2000 and 2003, of Yakov Kantor.

Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English

Access

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

Publication Rights

Researchers wishing to publish materials must obtain permission in writing from ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives as the physical owner. Researchers must also obtain clearance from the holder(s) of any copyrights in the materials. Note that ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives can grant copyright clearance only for those materials for which we hold the copyright. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain copyright clearance for all other materials directly from the copyright holder(s).

Preferred Citation

Saul and Yakov Kantor papers, Coll2008-037, ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Ari Rapkin, February 1, 2008.

Processing Information

Collection processed by Michael P. Palmer, June 18, 2008.

Processing this collection has been funded by a generous grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Biography

Saul Kantor was born in Germany in 1912. He maintained a flourishing business as a cabinetmaker until the Nazi rise to power in 1935. After the Nazis instituted increasingly severe restrictions against Jews he fled Germany in 1939, and emigrated to the United States. He died in 1976.

Yakov David Kantor, Saul Kantor's son, was born on November 28, 1952. A sign-painter and graphic artist, his artistic passion was illustrations and drawings of characters from films, television, and comics, with a special fondness for the original Star Trek television series. A member of the Portland, Oregon, Jewish LGBT community, he was also committed to social justice, providing his artistic services to organizations and efforts related to HIV/AIDS and affordable housing. In 1991, he was recognized by the State of Washington for his work with HIV/AIDS organizations, and in 2005 he became involved with Affordable Housing NOW!, in Portland, making most of the signs carried by AHN members at the 2005 and 2006 Housing Justice Day rallies. He died in Portland on April 18, 2007, of the effects of cryptogenic idiopathic neuropathy, a rare neurological disorder with which he was diagnosed in 1993.

Source: Biographical materials for Saul and Yakov Kantor, Saul and Yakov Kantor Papers, Coll2008-027, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives.

Scope and Content of Collection

The collection consists of the Star of David "Jude" patch said to have belonged to Saul Kantor[1]; two drawings by Yakov Kantor inspired by the 2005 Hungarian film Sorstalanság ( Fateless), about the coming of age of a 14-year-old Hungarian Jew at Buchenwald during World War II; and two photographs, 2000 and 2003, of Yakov Kantor.

[1] Information from box 1, item 4. Note that the patch was first required in 1939, in the Warthegau area of Poland, and was extended to Jews living within Germany only in September 1941. If Saul Kantor emigrated in 1939, from Germany, it is unlikely that the patch, although genuine, was his.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Gay Artists

Holocaust, Jewish (1933-1945)--Gays

Jewish Gays--Germany

Jewish Gays-United States-Oregon

Kantor, Saul, 1912-1976

Kantor, Yakov David, 1952-2007

Sorstalanság (Fateless)

Box: 1 : 1

Star of David "Jude" patch circa 1941

Box 1 : 2

Drawings by Yakov Kantor of Marcell Nagy as György Köves in Sorstalanság ( Fateless), circa 2005

Physical Description: 2 drawings, sealed back to back in two-sided plexiglass frame.

Box 1 : 3

Folder containing 2 color photographs of Yakov Kantor June 25, 2000, October 2003

Box 1 : 4

Folder containing biographical information on Saul and Yakov David Kantor circa 2007