Shoppers are turning to university archives for queer history this Pride Month , Johns Hopkins' Special Collections is opening up rare pamphlets, zines, photos and magazines so students, scholars and the public can see themselves reflected in the past and present. It’s a vivid, joyful and sometimes surprising look at how LGBTQ+ lives were recorded.

Essential Takeaways

  • Visible treasures: The Sheridan Libraries house 19th–21st century LGBTQ+ material that’s now being highlighted for research and community use.
  • Rare finds: The collection includes Karl Heinrich Ulrichs’ 1864–65 pamphlets, an early defence of same-sex love, and a full run of On Our Backs magazine.
  • Everyday humanity: Photographs and zines show humour, friendship and style as well as protest, making the archive feel immediate and warm.
  • Accessible for learning: Librarians encourage undergraduates, graduate students and community researchers to use the materials for projects, reading groups and exhibitions.
  • Fresh acquisitions: Recent additions include the Mattazine Society’s “For The Love of…” zines and other contemporary queer ephemera.

Why Johns Hopkins’ queer collections feel both historic and alive

Start with the sensory: brittle pamphlets, the smell of old paper, black-and-white portraits that grin from the past. Curator Gabrielle Dean and librarian Siân Evans describe the materials as more than documentation of struggle , they’re evidence of social life, joy and creativity. According to Johns Hopkins’ Hub coverage, the archives collect everything from 19th-century pamphlets to modern zines so that queer history is present and visible. That combination of the archival and the intimate makes these collections especially compelling for students and the public.

What the Ulrichs pamphlets tell us about naming and rights

One of the standout items is the 1864–65 pamphlets by Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, which argued publicly for same-sex love long before the term “homosexual” existed. Those pamphlets are framed at Johns Hopkins as an early, courageous declaration of what we’d now call LGBTQ+ rights. For readers interested in the origins of sexual identity language, Ulrichs’ work is a lesson in how people tried to name themselves and demand legal recognition. If you’re choosing what to study in the archives, start here for pioneering arguments and surprising historical context.

Magazines and zines: how print culture shaped queer communities

From On Our Backs , a sex-positive lesbian magazine with a full run in the special collections , to the Mattazine Society’s contemporary zines, print culture is a through-line. These items show how queer people made their own media, debated ideas and celebrated icons. Librarians point out that these publications trace debates like the feminist sex wars as well as everyday life, so they’re great sources for students writing papers or running reading groups. Practical tip: ask staff for guidance on fragile issues like handling, and look for group catalogues or libguides to get started.

Portraits and ephemera that reveal quiet pleasures

The archives include early 20th-century photographs of gender-nonconforming people and lovingly made zines that celebrate queer icons. These pieces don’t always name their subjects, but they convey humour, friendship and style , the small, human moments that make history relatable. For visitors, that means you’re not only confronted with legal or political texts; you also find images that make you smile and nod. If you bring students or community groups, plan an activity around comparing visual culture with contemporary media to spark conversation.

How students and researchers are using the collection now

Librarians at Johns Hopkins emphasise that archives are for everyone: undergraduates, PhD students and the wider community. The Hub reports a PhD student who started a queer zine reading group by pairing the material with theory, and staff say that supporting such work builds community as much as scholarship. If you want to dive in, contact special collections to arrange a visit, request digitised items if available, or join a themed workshop during Pride Month. And expect to find both legal documents and the kinds of personal ephemera that make history accessible.

It's a small change that can make every visit feel like discovering a conversation you didn't know you were part of.

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