Homosexual Travel Guides
Date
Credits
Format
- Publication 117
Media
- paper 1093
Techniques
- printing 333
Locations Made
- United States 527
This PDF is a combination of the following publications:
Bob Damron's Address Book '82; Bob Damron's Address Book '87; GAYELLOW PAGES: The National Edition, Issue #10 SPRING 78; GAYELLOW PAGES: The National Edition, Issue #14, 1986; GUILD GUIDE USA & International, 1972.
In 1964, Bob Damron –– an owner of multiple gay bars in California, and a prominent member of the Castro community in San Francisco (a historic LGBTQ+ neighborhood) –– began publishing a gay travel guide known as Bob Damron's Address Book. The publication features lists of Gay- and Queer-friendly establishments across the United States, and is still an active publication to this day. The catalog eventually inspired various homosexual and Queer-identifying travel guides to spawn, including GAYELLOW PAGES and GUILD GUIDE.
The covers of such publications vary in the way they present themselves. For the most part, Bob Damron publications from the late 20th century choose to stick to a minimal, type-based design. You will notice that the exterior of his publications do not mention phrases like gay, queer, homosexual, etc. However, many publications do not take such a subtle approach –– issues of GAYELLOW PAGES explicitly say “for gay women & men" on the cover; GUILD GUIDE often features homoerotic cover art.
Bob Damron's Address Book sparked a trend of promoting safety and community amongst LGBTQ+ individuals. Following the traction of Bob Damron, similar publications spread internationally. These publishings served as a map for the LGBTQ+ community, providing readers across the globe a list of locations where they could find camaraderie, fellowship, and romance.
Printings like the ones featured in the PDF remind us of design's role in forming communities and spreading information. We notice variety amongst Queer design, with certain publications focusing on subtlety as to not “out” their readers, while others blatantly showcase homosexuality via text and photography to attract new readers.
*See links for additional resources