Collection contents include materials related to various lesbian and gay organizations in Vancouver and Toronto, as well as political activities in the New Democratic party, left-wing organizations, presses and radio. The Gay Liberation movement is widely represented, with Labour, Socialist and Marxist, Women’s Liberation, and First Nations organizations peppered throughout the collection. Significant attention is given to Gay Alliance Towards Equality, the John Damien, Gay Tide and Body Politic legal battles, and Anita Bryant. There is also a significant presence of materials relating to CRFO Co-op Radio.

It was collected and donated by James Thomas, Founder of the Archives Collective. Significant donations were made to the Archives Collective by Randy Notte, a writer and gay advocate based out of Victoria and then Toronto and Vancouver; these donations document his wide range of involvement in the NDP and Socialist groups throughout Canada, especially as they have to do with gay and lesbian rights at that time. Files 2-20 to 6-07 are related to Notte’s activities. The collection is divided into two series, Subject Files (1919-1989) and Archive Administration (1979-1989).

Collection includes materials in the form of letters; pamphlets; posters; political materials, including a number of NDP related items collected by Randy Notte; materials relating to the functions of Gay and Lesbian organizations in Vancouver, Victoria and globally; newspapers and newspaper clippings; and other ephemera.

Collection documents Misty Rose’s career as an exotic dancer from 1979 to 1990 primarily in the Lower Mainland and other locations in British Columbia. The collection includes both colour, and black and white studio photographs of Misty Rose in various scenes, poses, with accompanied props. Newspaper articles and clippings appear in the collection, featuring advertisements, promotional material, event information, and articles about establishments and individuals. Other textual materials includes agency business cards, newsletters, and performer engagement contracts facilitated by various agencies including International Artists, Westcoast Artists, Stripper Entertainment Agency, Choice Entertainment Ltd., The Agency, The Rose Agency and Mink Agency Talent Representatives. Stationary, contracts, memorandums and communications from hotels and establishments where Misty Rose performed also appear in the collection.

This collection consists of ephemera that celebrates gender performance and lesbian identities. Materials span a wide time period, capturing both early and late 20th century LGBT culture.

In particular, there is a significant part of the collection dedicated to ephemera and published materials that feature early 20th century gender impersonators. Developed out of the English music hall scene of the 19th century, male impersonators in the early 20th century were primarily vaudeville acts that toured the United States. Their audiences were predominantly male with a focus on comedic delivery, something that represented a shift in the male impersonator tradition from the earlier 19th century.
Well-known male impersonators include Vesta Tilley, who was an active performer from the 1870s until the 1920s, and Hetty King, who performed from the 1890s until her passing in the 1970s. Both are featured in a number of postcards that are part of the collection.

The collection also includes several early 20th century anti-suffrage postcards that depict women in relationships with each other (as opposed to men) and include phrases that suggest they have supplanted a man’s role. Other items include a souvenir photograph and accompanying paper frame from a 1930s entertainment venue, the Howdy Club, and 6 negatives of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt taken in 1939.

The collection also features materials from the 1980s and 1990s that belonged to Snider during that period. Highlights include several off-air recordings of episodes of the Vancouver Co-Op Radio show, ‘The Lesbian Show’ as well as t-shirts from the University of British Columbia and University of Victoria Womyn’s Centres.