27 February
10:30-12:00 or 14:00-15:30

LJMU Special Collections & Archives Reading Room
LG Floor of Aldham Robarts Library
29 Maryland Street
Liverpool
L1 9DE

Bookable via Eventbrite for free

Explore LJMU’s Special Collections & Archives related to LGBTQ+ history, life, and experiences, in a guided session for LGBT History Month. The session will include a short introduction by the Assistant Archivist, followed by independent exploration of the records in our Reading Room.

The workshops will feature material from:

  • PF – The papers of Peter Farrer, notable crossdresser and crossdressing historian, consisting of his published works and curated collection of over 650 unique and rare publications related to crossdressing, fetish, transgender, and LGBTQ+ life in Britain from the Victorian period until the early 2000s.
The Family Doctor, Vol.8, p.87
  • LH – The Liddell Hart Collection of Costume, including: bound volumes of The Family Doctor, an 1880s domestic medical periodical which Farrer borrowed from Liddell Hart for use in his crossdressing research due to their frequent mention of both male and female crossdressing, and discussions of the intersections between fashion and health, especially corsetry and tight lacing; and personal scrapbooks including items such as photographs of the notable crossdressers Fanny (Frederick William Park) and Stella (Thomas Ernest Boulton) and Stella’s husband Lord Arthur Clinton, who also feature in Farrer’s 1987 publication Men in Petticoats.
  • GE – The papers of Gary Everett, founder and former Artistic Director of LGBTQ+ arts festival Homotopia, contain a wealth of material relating to Liverpool’s LGBTQ+ arts, culture, club scenes and activism in the 1990s-2010s. The collection captures LGBTQ+ existence in Liverpool across three decades, recording ephemeral events and transient moments in the city’s queer life.
JMS/O/7 Two Cowboys designed by Jim French, sold and popularised by Malcolm McLaren at the King’s Road SEX shop with Vivienne Westwood on this pillowcase t-shirt.
  • Material from our counterculture collections, such as: ED England’s Dreaming including gay punk zines, magazines, and flyers; JMS the John McCready Situationist collection including the famous Two Cowboys pillowcase t-shirt by Malcolm McClaren using designs by Jim French; JR Jamie Reid artwork protesting Section 28; and 1966JS papers of John Savage’s 2015 publication 1966: The Year the Decade Exploded including material related to the American Homophile movement for gay liberation.
  • LJMUH/IMM – The papers of I M Marsh College of Physical Education, a women’s sports College, include records of several notable figures associated with the college who had relationships with other women, such as photograph albums showing their life together and relationship in absence of textural records.
LJMUH/IMM/4/6/4/8, Photograph Album c.1900s-1930s p.9, showing life ‘companions’ Kathleen M Henderson (left) with Irené Mabel Marsh (right) and their dogs Demon, Dodger, and Dock at their holiday cottage ‘The Shanty’ in Abersoch, Wales
FEM/21/1/131 Just Seventeen 17 Dec 1986, p.37
  • FEM – Femorabilia collection of magazines for women and girls, including: FEM/49 for feminist counterculture publication Spare Rib; FEM/21 for Just Seventeen which includes articles and advice columns related to LGBTQ+ life and sexual health, including responding to teen readers’ questions; among other magazines discussing LGBTQ+ life aimed at women and girls.

To read more about our LGBTQ+ collections and archive material, please see our LGBTQ+ History resource guide on our webpages.

Please be advised that this workshop will include sexually explicit content. Book for free now via Eventbrite:

Register on Eventbrite

Christopher Olive, Assistant Archivist 2025