The bulk of the collection consists of Stephen F. Lowell’s photographs of gay hippies and male nudes in the 1970s including mounted prints, proofs, contact sheets and negatives. The collection also includes position papers, broadsides, essays, and poetry from “progressive” organizations, including material on women’s issues from throughout the country.

A native Californian, Stephen Lowell was a pioneer in the Gay Liberation Front and a seminal figure in the flowering of gay culture in post-Stonewall San Francisco. Along with Donn Tatum, he founded the Paperback Traffic Bookstores in San Francisco, the Eureka Arcade/Patio Cafe complex on Castro Street (including Skin Zone and the Thousand Fingers crafts co-operative) and was a pioneer organizer of the San Francisco Dharmadhata Buddhist Meditation Center.

2 linear feet (2 boxes, 1 oversize box)

Copyright was transferred to the GLBT Historical Society.