Collections

This collection contains materials about the gay communities of Ann Arbor and San Francisco, primarily in the 1970s and early 1980s. The materials were collected by Lionel Biron, who as a graduate student in Ann Arbor was instrumental in the founding of the Graduate Employees Organization and the Gay Community Services Center. The bulk of this collection relates to gay and artistic life and political activity in Ann Arbor, but San Francisco is also represented. The final series includes Biron's books of photography.

The bulk of the material deals with Biron's political and artistic activities in Ann Arbor. These include documents and correspondence related to the founding of the Gay Community Services Center (GCS), as well as flyers (many designed by Biron) for events and handouts from consciousness-raising sessions. The Ann Arbor series also includes folders related to Tristain Tzara (about whom Biron curated an exhibit in Hatcher Graduate Library) and Fernando Arrabal (whom Biron interviewed in Ann Arbor). The San Francisco series consists primarily of posters and flyers for events. Another highlight is a folder of materials related to the magazine Gay Sunshine, including correspondence between Biron and Winston Leyland. Although some of the collection dates from the early 80s, there is no material related to HIV/AIDS. Biron's own books of photography, and some of his work published elsewhere, comprise the last series.

Papers of Ann Arbor artist, writer, and musician who specialized in artwork involving bondage, fetishism, sadomasochism, cross-dressing, and transsexuality. Included are correspondence, personal items, original artwork, original writings, photographs, scrapbooks, and audiovisual materials.

The Personal series contains various personal effects of Middlesex, including driver's licenses, yearbooks, journals, a coffee mug, a pair of high-heeled shoes, and a false eyelash. Photographs of Middlesex and others in her life are included in this series, including a limited number of projector slides.

The Name and Topical series contains a wide variety of materials from across the course of Middlesex's life. This series contains all correspondence between Middlesex and others which ranges from the mid-1980s to the early 2000s. The correspondence files are organized based on the last name of the correspondent. Correspondence range varies, from some folders only containing one letter to other files which contain letters mailed over a period of years. Where a photograph was found with a particular letter, it is in the same folder as that letter. Some folders, such as those of Bill Johnson and John Anton Lang, contain original artwork and collages by those people. An Unidentified folder contains letters to Middlesex that were either not signed at all or not signed legibly. Other than personal correspondence, a couple of folders, including Jeri, Versatile Productions, Inc., and Smoke Signals, involve her business dealings with the magazines in which she published. The Name and Topical series also contains magazine and newspaper clippings organized thematically. This series also includes documentation of a presentation that Middlesex gave to a University of Michigan psychology class about cross-dressing. This particular subseries includes many photographs, papers written by students based on the presentation, and Middlesex's own recounting of the experience.

The Writings series contains writings by Lisa Middlesex. These include fictional short stories, some previously organized into a series by Middlesex. There are also a range of songs written by Middlesex, some including musical notation. The Jokes subseries includes jokes written by Middlesex, most likely for future publication. The Autobiography subseries consists of the first few pages of a planned autobiography by Middlesex. Three issues of the magazine "Reflections" in which Middlesex published her art are also included in this series.

The Scrapbooks series is comprised of twelve scrapbooks constructed by Middlesex out of bound sketchbooks. The Scrapbooks are fairly uniform in their content, in that they include magazine and newspaper clippings and Middlesex's own writings, drawings, and sketches. Scrapbook 12, filled with magazine, comic book, and newspaper clippings, appears to have been used for the purpose of illustrated models for Middlesex's artwork.

The Photographs series contains photographs of unidentified people other than Lisa Middlesex. Most of these photographs were sent to Middlesex along with correspondence from people responding to personal advertisements she placed in magazines, though they did not accompany particular letters in the collection and are not signed. Many are of an erotic or sexual nature.

The Photograph Albums series consists of albums of photographs of Middlesex and other individuals in her life. In the first subseries, half of the albums contain photographs of a primarily sexual and erotic nature. The other half of the albums in the second subseries contains various non-sexual photographs. One of the albums, Album 10, appears to have been the only one assembled by someone other than Middlesex and given to her as a gift.

The Audiovisual series contains both videotapes and musical audiocassette tapes. The videotapes are primarily of an erotic or sexual nature, most featuring transgender individuals and/or sadomasochistic and bondage themes. A few videotapes are mainstream films and television shows.

The Artwork series is the largest series in the Lisa Middlesex Papers. Her artwork spans a wide variety of genres and formats. She made sketches, drawings, paintings, and collages. Her themes include bondage, sadomasochism, smoking fetishism, other erotic drawings, cross-dressing, transsexuality, comic books, superheroes, and science fiction and fantasy. She also created art and promotional materials for musical acts, including her own band, The Wild Prayers. A subseries includes a wide variety of original artwork by others. This series is organized by topic and then by size within each topic. Some subseries, though, were created by Middlesex while still in her possession. Many of the subseries also include photocopies of the original artwork.

The Lon G. Nungesser Hope for Humanity Papers, 1970-1989 comprise correspondence, drafts of unpublished and published manuscripts, ideas for research projects, family history material, publishers' contracts, placement files, and copies of his three books: Homosexual acts, actors and identities (Praeger, 1983), Epidemic of courage: facing AIDS in America (St. Martin's, 1986), and Notes on living until we say goodbye: a personal guide (St. Martin's, 1988). The papers reflect Nungesser's struggle against homophobia and particularly his battle with AIDS and coping with terminal illness. Correspondents include Dana H. Bramel, Stuart Kellogg, and Philip G. Zimbardo.

Although there is some memorabilia from his high school years and some personal mementoes, the bulk of this collection reflects Nungesser's struggle against homophobia, and particularly his battle with AIDS. The papers include published and unpublished writings, contracts with publishers, book reviews, drafts of research projects and grant proposals, correspondence, college placement files, articles and interviews, photographs, and clippings. There are two videocassettes, one of a call-in talk show with Nungesser as guest, and the other of Nungesser reading from Notes on Living until We Say Goodbye. In addition, there are two audio cassettes of radio interviews of Nungesser. The 1984 interview concerns Homosexual Acts, Actors and Identities and the 1988 interview discusses his battle with AIDS and Notes on Living until We Say Goodbye. These audio cassettes have been reformatted.

Nungesser is a prolific writer. There are several unpublished, book-length manuscripts in the papers, as well as dissertation and grant proposals and other writings. All relate to the social psychology of homosexuals, and several concern AIDS. Copies of Nungesser's three books have been cataloged for the Labadie Collection.

In April 1989, Lon began sending his correspondence and writings to the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections on computer disks. The files on these disks have been printed and those that did not duplicate materials already in the collection were interfiled. The disks are stored separately from the collection (in Case 2). Each of the printed files are labeled with the name of the file and its date of creation.

The papers have been divided into five series.

Volantini (flyers), publications, manuscripts, and flyers relating to the activities of Lotta Continua and other elements of the Italian Workerist movement at the Pirelli tire factory in Milan's Bicocca district.

The bulk of the Publications Series consists of flyers, pamphlets, and periodicals created by Lotta Continua or other leftist groups to address events at the Pirelli factory.

The Research Materials Series includes drafts of documents analyzing the Pirelli factory struggle, as well as class struggle more generally. These drafts were likely written by the anonymous collector of these materials. Also included are miscellaneous ephemera and news clippings that appear to have served as research for the draft documents.

The Louie Crew Papers document the life and writings of Louie Crew Clay (1936-2019): a gay activist, Episcopalian minister, professor, and poet. He founded Integrity, an Episcopal forum for gay rights, and best known as an advocate for the acceptance of gay people within the Episcopal Church and the academic community. Papers consist of correspondence, publications and writings, professional materials such as teaching and committee work, Episcopal church and Integrity records, and personal materials.

Louie Crew Papers has been divided into 6 series:

Series 1: Correspondence, 1947-2006: divided into outgoing and incoming correspondence, arranged by correspondent or by date. Incoming correspondence from 1962 to 1985 is arranged by correspondent and then date, while correspondence from 1986 to 2005 is arranged by date. Incoming correspondence aquired in later accretions is arranged by date.

Series 2: Publications and Writings, 1958-2015: includes articles, prose, poems and poetry volumes, sermons, manuscripts, essays, dissertations, and materials written and/or edited by Crew. Materials are arranged by publication type and then by date.

Series 3: Professional Materials, 1959-2015: documents related to Crew's career as an English professor, gay activism outside of the church, and his involvement in various organizations and conferences. The series is divided into 3 subseries: (1) Teaching Materials, (2) Organizations, Conferences, and Research, and (3) News Clippings and Secondary Materials. All are arranged by date.

Materials include Crew's involvement with the Gay Academic Union, National Council of Teachers of English Gay Caucus, National Gay Task Force, Gay People's Union, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and Black and White Men Together, as well as Crew's development of open-source software programs for writing. Materials of particular significance include Crew's "Gay Bibliography,"which is a collection of pamphlets, brochures, articles, and other research on a variety of gay organizations and subjects.

Series 4: Episcopal Church and Integrity Records, 1974-2006: documents related to Crew's involvement in the Episcopal Church, including his service on the Executive Council, House of Bishops, Council for the Diocese of Newark, and General Conventions. Also included are materials related to Episcopal conferences, talks, and mission trips. Integrity Records documents Crew's founding of Integrity, a non-profit Episcopal Forum for gay rights, and includes board reports and correspondence, bylaws, and the Integrity newsletter. Also included are news articles, reports, newsletters, correspondence, and other materials sent to Crew from presidents and board members.

Series 5: Personal Materials, 1936-2014: contains diaries and appointment books, baby and wedding scrapbooks, artwork, awards and honorary degrees, family genealogy materials, and legal documents. Also included are graphs showing statistics Crew collected on himself related to manuscript publications and rejections, correspondence sent, time spent asleep, computer activity, and other personal data.

Significant materials include Crew's lawsuits regarding housing discrimination, a sexual discrimination suit against American University, and a same sex domestic partner health benefits case against Rutgers University.

Series 6: Photographs and Audiovisual Materials, 1937-2011. Photographs contain headshots and candid photos of Louie Crew and his husband, Ernest Clay. Also included are Crew's theater photos and candid shots of friends and family. Audiovisual Materials contain audiocassettes, floppy disks, VHS, and CDs of interviews, poetry readings, sermons and talks, published poems, and pdfs of Crew's websites and YouTube videos.

French activist Louis Blanc's papers consist of five manuscripts and 59 letters, most addressed to publisher Leon Escudier, and to Blanc's long-time friend, Noel Parfait (1831-1898).

The papers consist of five manuscripts and 59 letters, most addressed to Escudier, the publisher of Blanc's works, and to his friend Noel Parfait (1831-1898).

Photographs, correspondence, ephemera, and trophies relating to the Thompson family of Detroit. While most of the material relates to the elder Thompsons (Mamie L. and W.A.) and their work with the NAACP, there is also a scrapbook highlighting the accomplishments of their son, Arthur L. Thompson, the first black medical officer in the Navy. Highlights include both formal portraits and informal family snapshots, correspondence related to the NAACP (including a signed letter from Walter White), and trophies the elder Thompsons received in recognition of their service. Most material dates from the 1920s-40s, with smaller amounts of material up to the 1960s.

The collection is approximately 2.25 linear feet. The bulk of the collection is photographs, both in albums and loose, totaling more than 400 photos. Some are posed, formal shots and others are informal snapshots or Polaroids taken between the 1920s and the late 1960s. A small number of photos (presumably of the Thomspsons' ancestors) predate the 1920s. The photos mostly depict the home lives and recreation of the Thompsons and friends. Awards recognize the Thompsons' contributions to the NAACP and fundraising efforts. Correspondence and newspaper clippings are limited to one sparse folder apiece, and again mainly concern the activities of the Detroit branch of the NAACP. Also included is the guest book for an "Interracial Fellowship party" hosted by the Thompsons in December of 1950 and a scrapbook documenting their son's military career.

Marcus Graham was the pseudonym of Shmuel Marcus (1893-?), Rumanian-born editor of the anarchist journal Man!, which was published from 1933 to 1940. His papers include letters from Michael A. Cohen, Frederick J. Gould, Bolton Hall, and Henry J. Stuart, and two essays by Steven T. Byington, "Why is a War?" and "Benjamin Ricketson Tucker," all marked for apparent publication in Man!, a letter from Max Metzkow enclosing an anarchist leaflet about the Homestead Strike circulated shortly before the trial of Alexander Berkman, and a letter from D. Alonso concerning the Comite pro Libertad de Prensa Marcus Graham and translating a Graham pamphlet into Spanish. (http://www.lib.umich.edu/labadie-collection/archives-and-manuscripts-g-l)

The letters in the Mark Holtz Correspondence collection, addressed to Holtz from various locations in Russia, are from seven Russian political dissidents who had received money and the promise of reading material from Holtz, an American teacher living in Los Angeles. The letters give brief descriptions of the authors' desolation, illness, and great financial need. Writers are Lev L. Blomets, Andrei N. Kalachev, V. Khudolei, A. A. Kolemasov, Anatoli Konse, Raia V. Shulman, and Nikolai Tushanov.

The letters, all addressed to Holtz from various locations in Russia, are signed holographs from seven Russian political dissidents who had received money and the promise of reading material from Holtz. The letters give brief descriptions of the authors' desolation, illness, and great financial need. Writers are Lev L. Blomets, Andrei N. Kalachev, V. Khudolei, A. A. Kolemasov, Anatoli Konse, Raia V. Shulman, and Nikolai Tushanov.

The collection is organized in alphabetical order by name of correspondent. All the documents are in Russian, but partial translations into English are included.

Mrachnyi, a Russian immigrant anarchist, who at various times went by the surnames Clevans, Klavansky, and Mratchny, was editor of Freie Arbeiter Stimme in the 1930s. The papers consist of correspondence relating to personal matters and editorial work, three radiograms reporting on the Spanish Civil War, some miscellaneous documents, and six circulars and one manifesto of the Association Internationale des Travailleurs. Contains letters from many leading anarchists including Emma Goldman. The papers are in English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish, and Yiddish, with the Russian and Yiddish items accompanied by translations.

The collection consists primarily of personal and editorial correspondence, and also includes documents and circulars from the Association Internationale de Travailleurs (International Workingmen's Association). The correspondence mainly concerns the international anarchist movement and the anarchist, anti-Fascist role in the Spanish Civil War. Mrachnyi was known to most of the correspondents under the pseudonyms Mraschnyi or Mratchny, but he also used his original name, Klavansky, in Europe and Clevens in the United States. His wife used the name Johanna Clevens, reverting to her maiden name, Boetz, after their divorce.

The papers are in English, French, German, Russian,Spanish, and Yiddish. Translations of most of the Russian items were provided by Charles Gilbert. Articles received for publication in Fraye Arbeter Shtime (Freie Arbeiter Stimme) have been removed to the FAS collection.