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Claude A. Boyd papers
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Held at: John J. Wilcox, Jr. LGBT Archives, William Way LGBT Community Center [Contact Us]1315 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the John J. Wilcox, Jr. LGBT Archives, William Way LGBT Community Center. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
Claude A. Boyd was a choreographer/dancer, writer/director, and composer/musician. Born in Rhode Island, he spent time in San Diego, California; Sydney, Australia; and other cities before setting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1982 until his death of AIDS around 1985. His directing and choreography credits included Bessie Smith, Empress of the Blues at Theatre Center Philadephia and Testify (an original musical written by Boyd). Boyd was active in many performing arts organizations and lesbian and gay groups, notably Black and White Men Together.
Bibliography:
Davidson, Jeff. "Claude Boyd: Lavishing Gifts on His Adopted Hometown" Au Courant, February 22-28, 1983.
This collection consists primarily of Boyd's drafts of music, lyrics, and choreography; rehearsal and production schedules and notes; and a high school yearbook. There is a small amount of audio/visual materials, all of which depict Boyd's productions and dance performances: 1 Sony V-32 video tape for helical scan video tape recorders; 2 U-Matic videotapes; and 3 VHS videocassettes. There are also a few photographs and color slides.
The collection also includes writings by Boyd's partner, Jeff Davidson: fiction, personal stories (coming out), speeches/news about Philadelphia LGBT activism and groups, 1966-1970s; and letters from Jeff Davidson to Claude A. Boyd and Richard Wagner, circa 1982-1985. There is some reference in Davidson's writings to his involvement with the group "Black and White Men Together" and other LGBT activist groups.
Transferred from Gay and Lesbian Historical Society of Northern California, 1996.
Summary descriptive information on this collection was compiled in 2011-2012 as part of a pilot project conducted by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania to make better known and more accessible the largely hidden collections of small, primarily volunteer run repositories in the Philadelphia area. The Hidden Collections Initiative for Pennsylvania Small Archival Repositories (HCI-PSAR) was funded by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
This is a preliminary finding aid. No physical processing, rehousing, reorganizing, or folder listing was accomplished during the HCI-PSAR project.
In some cases, more detailed inventories or finding aids may be available on-site at the repository where this collection is held; please contact John J. Wilcox Jr. LGBT Archives of Philadelphia directly for more information.
People
Subject
Place
- Publisher
- John J. Wilcox, Jr. LGBT Archives, William Way LGBT Community Center
- Finding Aid Author
- Finding aid prepared by Celia Caust-Ellenbogen and Michael Gubicza through the Historical Society of Pennsylvania's Hidden Collections Initiative for Pennsylvania Small Archival Repositories
- Sponsor
- This preliminary finding aid was created as part of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania's Hidden Collections Initiative for Pennsylvania Small Archival Repositories. The HCI-PSAR project was made possible by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
- Access Restrictions
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Contact John J. Wilcox Jr. LGBT Archives of Philadelphia for information about accessing this collection.