Minor wear and soiling to covers.
Forewards by David Carlson, Dr. Francesca Marini, Rebecca Hankins, C.A.
& an introduction by Don Kelly.
Catalog published to accompany the exhibition of this collection
with photographs and text describing scarce books, ephemera and periodicals
relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience.
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A retired civil servant of 36 years and an openly gay man all of his life, Kelly has always been a lover of books. He was initially inspired to start his collection after discovering author Anthony Slide’s book
The Lost Gay Novels, which discussed 50 novels from the early 20th century that told stories with gay themes and characters. “I thought by collecting the listed titles, I would have a fun and interesting project which would allow me to reflect on the gay condition, and maybe tell me something about myself,” Kelly says. Over the next year, he collected first editions of 48 of the 50 books listed.
One thing led to another, and soon Kelly was collecting everything from campy pulp fiction to AIDS literature to some of the first gay periodicals. In reference to the latter, Kelly laughs and adds, “They’re so sleazy.” What started out as a strictly gay male collection has since expanded to include lesbian, bisexual, and transgender literature as well. When asked how he finds and purchases each new acquisition for his collection, Kelly laughs again and says, “I had to learn to use eBay. I’m a technological dinosaur.”
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