Ted Sahl Addition
Scope and Content of Collection
The Ted Sahl Addition contains unpublished scrapbook and memorabilia collections assembled by Ted Sahl that reflect his career documenting political and social movements across the country. The items in this collection are companions to The Ted Sahl Archives: A Collection of San José Gay and Lesbian History and The Ted Sahl Social Justice Collection. The bulk of the material dates from 2010-2013 and consists of Bay Area newspaper clippings assembled into scrapbooks that reflect public opinions of social issues, especially the 2012 United States presidential election and the overturning of Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in California. Other scrapbooks contained large collections of negatives, prints, and flyers from photo essays on Black communities in the Bay Area, street scenes, and images from protests throughout the Bay from 1977-2007. There are also numerous miniature portraits of Bay Area activists, LGBTQ+ royal family title holders, celebrities, and the executive directors of the Billy DeFrank Community Center over a period of 30 years. Several scrapbooks labeled “Book II on History,” contained further information on the local LGBTQ+ movement and comprise of flyers, letters, postcards, book excerpts, and photographs. Ted Sahl also acquired postcards, buttons, flyers, and photographs of United States Presidents, cartoon postcards from World War II, and letters and postcards released by the United Farm Workers labor union.
Dates
- Creation: 1898 - 2013
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright has been assigned to the San José State University Library Special Collections & Archives. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the SJSU Special Collections & Archives 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 by the reader. Copyright restrictions also apply to digital reproductions of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.
Biographical History
Theodore (Ted) Sahl is an award winning photographer in San José, California. Sahl has spent the last 30 years as a photojournalist, documenting social and political events in the Bay Area. Although best known for his involvement with the gay and lesbian community (GLBT), he also covered the anti-nuclear demonstrations at the Lawrence Livermore Radiation Laboratory, and the Farm Labor Strikes that occurred during the 1970's.
Sahl's long time association with the GLBT community began in 1978 after a bitter dispute took place between the gay community and members of the Christian right. Local Christian groups were upset over the San José City Council's decision to issue a proclamation in support of Gay Pride Week. While the Christian groups mobilized against the City Council, the gay community held a rally in support of Gay Pride Week. Intrigued by the grassroots activism and interested in recording the event, Sahl attended the protest and thereby launched a life long career documenting the GLBT community.
Initially, the GLBT community distrusted Sahl's motives as a heterosexual outsider. At that time, many individuals in the gay community were still "closeted" and did not wish to be photographed. Over the next three decades however, Sahl gained the trust of the GLBT community and today is widely recognized for his work as a photojournalist and as an outspoken advocate for gay rights.
Sahl served as the staff photographer for a number of local GLBT newspapers including the Lambda News, South Bay Times, Our Paper and Valley Views. His photographs have appeared in a number of works, including a 1999 San José Mercury News documentary on the city's lesbian and gay community, entitled "A Community of One." In 1981, the San Francisco Cable Car Award Association nominated Sahl for an award in photojournalism. He was also the recipient of an honorable mention in Advocate magazine's National Photo Contest in the "People" category and has the distinction of being the only heterosexual to ever become the President of the Board of the San José Gay Pride Celebration Committee.
Extent
2 Box (1.96 linear ft.)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Ted Sahl Addition was originally comprised of 16 scrapbooks created by photojournalist Ted Sahl on Bay Area social justice movements, 2012 election coverage, presidential memorabilia, local LGBTQ+ history, and Black history. A majority of the scrapbooks comprise of materials from unpublished photo essays, including negatives, photographs, newspaper clippings, correspondence, and notes. Other scrapbooks contain the postcards, buttons, and photographs Ted Sahl collected on U.S. presidents, the United Farm Workers movement, and World War II.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged alphabetically in three series: Series I. Black History; Series II. LGBTQ+ Bay Area History; Series III. Political History.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Eilene Lueck on May 19, 2022.
Genre / Form
Occupation
Topical
- Title
- Guide to the Ted Sahl Addition.
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Eilene Lueck
- Date
- 5/10/2022
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the SJSU Special Collections & Archives Repository
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library
San José State University
One Washington Square
San José, CA 95192-0028
(408) 808-2062
(408) 808-2063 (Fax)
special.collections@sjsu.edu