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Assorted 19th century newspapers and Southern Living magazine, 1865, 1967

 File — Box: 7, Folder: 10

Collection Overview

From the Collection:

Papers document the professional and personal lives of Aubrey Hancock and William A. Fontaine, Jr. The collection includes business records, personal and miscellaneous correspondence, documentation of their properties, guest books, and assorted ephemera on Charleston, social, and local LGBTQ life. The material documents to some extent, their lives before they met, but focuses mostly on their lives together. While some of the correspondence is personal from family members and friends, including Alicia Rhett, much is from guests who stayed at their bed-and-breakfast, Villa de la Fontaine, located at 138 Wentworth Street in Charleston, South Carolina. Of particular interest are the images (approximately 1950s-1960s) of gay life in the lowcountry, including Stereo Easymount slides of Hancock and Fontaine in drag, and images of their life together including images of their homes and businesses in Walterboro, South Carolina, and Charleston, South Carolina. Clippings and other ephemeral materials (1980s-2000s) document a variety of LGBTQ and Charleston topics, with some obituaries of gay men. A portion of the papers include the papers of Gladys Fletcher, stenographer to author and biographer Dawn Langley Hall. Materials include wedding images of Hall and John Paul Simmons and assorted materials relating to Fletcher and the Fletcher family. Also included are materials relating to Wilbur Fontaine of Walterboro, South Carolina, Bill Fontaine’s brother.

Dates

  • Creation: 1865
  • Creation: 1967

Creator

Language of Material

From the Collection:

Materials in English.

Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research.

Extent

From the Collection: 6.85 linear feet (4 cartons, 1 slim document box, 1 oversize flat box, 1 slide box)

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Special Collections
College of Charleston Libraries
66 George Street
Charleston South Carolina 29424
(843) 953-8016
(843) 953-6319 (Fax)