Falcon Studios still images collection
Scope and Contents
The collection includes slides, tranparencies, negatives, photograph prints, contact sheets, DVDs, CDs and other material, circa 1970-2012, from Falcon Studios, as well as its other production divisions, such as Mustang Studios, Jocks Studios and Falcon International. The collection includes original negatives and over 1.5 million slides from Falcon's production files dating back to its earliest productions in the 1970s.
The production files comprise a curated collection of "Selected" images--or the images considered to be of the best quality by Falcon producers--from the hundreds of Falcon titles. Also included on DVDs and CDs are hundreds of raw or modified digital images that Falcon produced when the studio converted to digital photography, circa 2000. The model glamour files include slides of portrait images or film stills featuring Falcon's hundreds of models. The promotional and administrative files contain material for Falcon's line of accessories, catalogs, special publications and other promotional material; as well as advertising records, website content and model releases.
Dates
- Creation: circa 1970-2012
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1978 - 2009
Creator
- Falcon Studios (Creator, Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open to researchers. The collection is STORED OFFSITE. Advanced notice is required to access this collection.
Conditions Governing Use
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the ONE Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at USC Libraries as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Administrative History
In 1971, Charles Holmes, a salesman from Indiana, was laid off from his job selling aluminum siding. He moved to San Francisco where he bought some gay erotic films and acquired mailing lists from an acquaintance, Matt Sterling. With these films, as well as films he produced himself, Holmes formed Falcon Studios in 1972 as a mail order business, selling 10-minute gay erotic black-and-white short films. Holmes operated Falcon Studios mostly by himself until the mid-1970s when the company grew large enough for him to hire other directors, producers and contracted models.
In 1978, Falcon experienced a business boom with The Other Side of Aspen, the first Falcon title to be released in a video format. As John Karr writes, "Originally, Aspen was meant to be several 'loops,' the 200-foot 8mm films which were how porn was sold for home viewing. But video was just being born, and the much-deliberated decision to release the film in the new format would reward the company with massive sales." Falcon quickly became one of the most recognized names in gay adult entertainment and Falcon's aesthetic identity was marked by high production values, luxurious locations, and clean-cut, healthy physiques.
From the 1980s to 2000s, Falcon continued to grow and became the parent company of other branded series of gay erotic entertainment, including Mustang Studios (MVP), Jocks Studios (JVP), Massive Studios, Falcon International Collection (FIC), the Alone With... Series (FAW), Falcon Anthology Series (FAS) and the Matt Sterling Collection (MSC).
In 2010, AEBN, an adult video-on-demand provider based in Charlotte, North Carolina, acquired Falcon Studios and Raging Stallion Studios to create the largest gay erotic production company in the United States.
Sources:
Falcon Studios Still Images Collection, Coll2012-159, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.
Hanson, Dian. The Big Penis Book. London: Taschen, 2008.
Karr, John F. "Still Horny After All These Years," Bay Area Reporter, Vol. 31, Iss. 14 (April 5, 2001).
Extent
421.4 Linear Feet (404 boxes + 22 archive cartons + 8 flat archive boxes + 1 archive shoebox.)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Slides, transparencies, negatives, photograph prints, contact sheets, DVDs, CDs and other material, circa 1970-2012, from Falcon Studios, one of the largest producers of gay erotic film and publications in the United States. The collection includes original negatives and over 1.5 million slides from Falcon's production files dating back to its earliest productions in the 1970s; as well as slides and photographs from other production companies it acquired during its 40-year history.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged in the following series:
Series 1. Production files
Series 2. Model glamour files
Series 3. Promotional, administrative and miscellaneous files
Acquisition
Gift of Datatech Enterprises, LLC., September 18, 2012.
Separated Materials
21 issues of The Informant newsletter (Pasadena, California, March 1975-April 1978) have been separated from the collection and cataloged in the ONE Archives periodical collection.
Processing Information
The 4-digit item numbers in this finding aid were retained from Falcon Studios' original database.
Collection processed by ONE Archives staff, August 2013.
Subject
- Jocks Studios (Organization)
- Falcon Studios (Organization)
- Holmes, Charles M. (Person)
- Mustang Studios (Organization)
Genre / Form
Topical
- Title
- Finding aid to the Falcon Studios still images collection, circa 1970-2012
- Status
- Completed
- Date
- © 2013
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Description is in English.
- Sponsor
- Processing this collection has been partially funded by a generous grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
Repository Details
Part of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, University of Southern California Repository
909 West Adams Boulevard
Los Angeles California 90007 United States
(213) 821-2771
askone@usc.edu