Photographs of Gay Life in Communist Czechoslovakia, 1939-1979
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No requestable containers
Scope and Contents
This collection contains 267 photographs depicting the life of a group of gay men in Czechoslovakia from 1939 to 1979, where same-sex sexual activity was decriminalized in 1962. Photographs show the men either clothed, in various stages of undress, or completely nude. Many pictures depict a group of friends casually lounging at the beach, on vacation, and exploring cities like Tarragona, Spain. This collection also contains multiple portraits and headshots of various men, as well as indoor posed images, potentially used as references for paintings. A few photographs have annotations or messages written in German, Polish, or Czech on the verso of the image.
Dates
- 1939-1979
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Extent
267 Photographs (1 LF (2 AB))
Language of Materials
German
Czech
Polish
Abstract
This collection contains 267 photographs depicting the life of a group of gay men in Czechoslovakia from 1939 to 1979, where same-sex sexual activity was decriminalized in 1962. Photographs show the men either clothed, in various stages of undress, or completely nude. Images are taken at the beach, on vacation, indoors, and exploring unidentified places.
Arrangement
Collection arrived in no discernable order. Photographs are organized by general location or setting. Half of the photographs arrived within a leather box (Box 2, Item 1).
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Photographs of Gay Life in Communist Czechoslovakia were purchased from Between the Covers on July 22, 2022 (Accession # SPEC 2023-17).
- Title
- Photographs of Gay Life in Communist Czechoslovakia
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Andrea Martinez
- Date
- September 2023
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Library Details
Part of the Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections Repository
Deering Library, Level 3
1970 Campus Drive
Evanston IL 60208-2300 US
847-491-3635
specialcollections@northwestern.edu