Library Guides: LGBTQIA+ Archival Resources: Art

Archival Collections

Alice B. Theatre Records, 1980-1995 Accession 4199. Alice B. Theatre was a theater ensemble that featured works by gay and lesbian playwrights. Founded in connection to Seattle's Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival, it officially closed in 1997.
Charles J. Harbaugh Erotica Collections, circa 1950s-1990s Accession 4590-002. Harbaugh's collection of erotic magazines, literature, and motion pictures. Most are American publication with a few British and European titles. The collection consists of 36 boxes and is arranged alphabetically - index is included in online finding aid.
Don Paulson Papers, 1939-2006 Accession 5354-001. Don Paulson was a Seattle-area author and artist and a member of Black and White Men Together, a gay interracial organization. His papers include extensive research materials on female impersonators, notably those who performed at the Seattle cabaret, the Garden of Allah, in the 1950s.
Mark Dempsey Papers, 1930-1993 Accession 5076-001. An actor and theater researcher, Mark Dempsey performed in regional theaters in New York, Pennsylvania, and California and attended the University of Washington's School of Drama from 1956 to 1959. His mother, his aunt Rosalie Sipp (aka Irma Beatrice Hall), and grandmother Jessie Hall all had ties to the Seattle vaudeville theater during the period 1922-1932.
Seattle Women's Ensemble Records, 1982-1999 Accession 5257-001. The Seattle Women's Ensemble, a feminist choral group founded in 1980, performed culturally diverse music that often focused on women's issues. SWE was actively supported by Seattle's lesbian and feminist communities during the 1980s and 90s.

Photograph Collections

Bodybuilding Photograph Collection, circa 1930s PH Collection 454. This 1930s collection consists of one group photo and series of 12 bodybuilding poses, primarily taken in a studio setting.
Don Paulson and Skippy LaRue Photograph Collection, 1903-2000 PH Collection 673. Contains photographs, negatives, and research materials of early local and national female impersonators, as well as original artwork collected for the creation of An Evening at the Garden of Allah: A Gay Cabaret in Seattle, a book co-written by Paulson. Also includes photographs, slides, and original artwork created by Paulson as a member of the Seattle chapter of Black and White Men Together (BWMT) and other gay/lesbian groups.
Seattle Women's Ensemble Photograph Collection, 1982-1999 PH Collection 626. Contains photographs of the Seattle Women's Ensemble, including a group portrait and informal shots of rehearsals for choral and theatrical performances.

Seattle Women's Ensemble, Seattle,1994, Seattle Women's Ensemble Photograph Collection

Autographed photo of Chinese-American female impersonator Shuug Au Sing, Don Paulson and Skippy LaRue Photograph Collection

Oral Histories

Oral history interviews of the Alice B. Theatre Oral History Project, 1991-1992 The Alice B. Theatre Oral History Project is a collection of interviews with 37 Seattle gay men and lesbians over the age of fifty about their lives and experiences.

Books

Lesbian photography on the U.S. West Coast, 1970-1997 A print book preserving the Internet installation about Women Artists in the American West

8th Annual Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival flyer, Seattle, 1991, Tim Mayhew Collection