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John R. (Jack) Collins Papers
GLC 134
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Table of contents
Title: John R. (Jack) Collins Papers
Dates: 1698, 1962-2015 (bulk 1970s-1990s)
Collection Number: GLC 134
Creator/Collector:
Collins, John R. (Jack).
Extent: 5 cartons (5 cubic feet) + 1 oversized framed broadside
Online items available
Repository:
San Francisco Public Library. James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center
San Francisco, California 94102
Abstract: Collins was a professor at City College of San Francisco. The collection documents the courses Collins taught there, and the
establishment of its gay and lesbian studies department. There are also catalogs from his work for an antiquarian book dealer.
There is significant correspondence between Collins and writer James Purdy, and copies of Purdy's books and original writing.
Language of Material: English
The collection is open for research.
Copyright and literary rights are retained by Collins.
John R. (Jack) Collins Papers. San Francisco Public Library. James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center
Donated by John R. (Jack) Collins, November 3, 2015.
Biography/Administrative History
Jack Collins was a literature professor at City College of San Francisco, the department chair of the gay and lesbian studies
program at CCSF, and an antiquarian book cataloger with John Howell Books (San Francisco). He also wrote many journal articles
on literature and teaching. For several years he was the caregiver to a partner dying of AIDS.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection documents the courses Collins taught at City College of San Francisco, and the establishment of the gay and
lesbian studies department there. There are also catalogs from his work at John Howell Books, an antiquarian book dealer.
The papers also includes his thesis and academic journal articles. A significant portion of the collection is the correspondence
between Collins and writer James Purdy, and copies of Purdy's books and original writing. A poignant journal details the care
that Collins tendered to his partner who died of AIDS. The oldest item is a broadside from 1698 that documents a sodomy case
in England.
Gay and lesbian studies
Purdy, James, 1914-2009.
City College of San Francisco.