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Photographic Works by Neil Edwards, circa 1964-circa 1969

 Series
Identifier: Series 1.

Scope and Content

This series consists of work known or believed to be produced by Neil Edwards. Edwards released his work primarily in photographic prints and slides, which were usually sold in photosets or slidesets of 5 or 6. These photos and slides were usually identified with a rubber stamp by model name and photoset number and sequence number (e.g. on a slide, the stamp "Marty Stewart 4-5" would indicate this was the fifth image in the fourth slideset of model Marty Stewart). Sample images sent to potential buyers would be stamped with the model's name and the letter "S." Edwards also produced a large number of "bonus" slides of his models. In most cases, these would be identified as above, but with the model's name and a letter and digit sequence such as "X-4." These slides often were more sexually explicit, showing a model masturbating or having sex with another model, and were probably either produced solely for Edwards' own benefit or quietly sold to buyers that Edwards felt he could trust. No mention of these "bonus" slides is ever made in Edwards' regular catalogs or advertisements.

At some point during Edwards' period of strongest productivity, he purchased the rights to photographs produced by a studio called Starfire Studios, and began distributing their work with his own "Neil Edwards" stamp. With little identification given between Starfire's work and Edwards', it is unclear if any of Starfire's photographs may be incorrectly credited to Edwards within this collection.

Edwards also produced slide images of vacations and other trips he took. A few notable destinations and other images in his collection include: a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans (date unknown); Frankfurt, Wiesbaden, Munich, and Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany; Brussels, Belgium; China and Hong Kong; Luray Caverns, Virginia; Flushing Meadows, New York, and London; as well images of the flags of thirty-five gay motorcycle clubs.

The series comprises 4 ring-binder boxes of photographic prints, ranging in size from 2" x 3" Polaroids to 8" x 10" prints, and 1 oversize box of 11" x 14" prints; 7 ring-binder boxes of 2" x 2" slides; 1 ring-binder box of stereoscopic slides; and several folders of paper materials pertaining to his photography business, including model and employment releases signed by Edwards and/or his models and employees; notes maintained by Edwards on his models, including vital statistics, critical descriptions of models' attributes, impressions Edwards had of their model potential, who may have referred them to Edwards, etc.; a small amount of correspondence to and from Edwards; and brochures and catalogs for Edwards' studio and Starfire Studios.

Dates

  • Creation: circa 1964-circa 1969

Creator

Access

The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.

Extent

From the Collection: 5.3 Linear Feet (25 boxes.)

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

General Physical Description note

12 ring-binder boxes + 1 oversize box (1.9 linear feet); 474 photograhs, 3910 slides (including 231 stereoscopic slides), and 2 negatives.

Repository Details

Part of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, University of Southern California Repository

Contact:
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