Loren Rex Cameron papers, 1961-2008
Collection Number: 7677

Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections
Cornell University Library


DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY

Title:
Loren Rex Cameron papers, 1961-2008
Repository:
Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections
Collection Number:
7677
Abstract:
The Loren Rex Cameron Papers consist of photographic portraits created by Loren Cameron, correspondence and other manuscript material specifically documenting the Female to Male transsexual community.
Creator:
Cameron, Loren, 1959-
Cameron, Loren, 1959- (Title of work: Man tool..)
Quanitities:
4.5 cubic feet.
Language:
Collection material in English

Biographical / Historical

Loren Rex Cameron, a female to male transsexual and photographer of transgendered bodies, was born August 28, 1959 in Pasadena, California. Self-taught as a photographer and artist, he began producing self-portraits and images of transgender people in 1993. By 1995 his work had been shown in solo exhibitions in San Francisco, Minneapolis, and Los Angeles. His first photographic book, Body Alchemy: Transsexual Portraits was published in 1996, winning two Lambda Literary awards (Inaugural Transgender Category and Small Press Category, 1997). In 2001, he published his second publication, an electronic book on the World Wide Web, Man Tool: The Nuts and Bolts of Female-To-Male Surgery (Zero eBooks). In 2003, Taller Experimental Cuerpos Pintados published his large, 2 volume Cuerpos Fotografiados por Cameron, with a prologue by Roberto Edwards, and also Cameron : Correspondencia 1997-2001. An English language edition of Correspondencia appreared the following year and a miniature version of Cuerpos Fotografiados por Cameron came out in 2009. Cameron is celebrated for his seminal work of transgender self-representation in the photographic arts. As a guest speaker, Cameron lectures extensively throughout the United States at community venues, colleges, universities, and art schools. He has published under the name Loren Cameron, and in about 2000, he started going by his middle name Rex.

Scope and content

The Loren Rex Cameron papers document the professional and personal life of photographer Loren Rex Cameron dating 1961-2008. The bulk of materials range from 1993-2003. It contains photographs from various works, including "Our Vision, Our Voices," 1993, and "God's Will," 1994, as well as exhibition materials. The collection also includes correspondence to and from galleries, publishers, and others about Cameron's work, videos, awards, reviews, fan mail, viewers' comments from a 1998 exhibit, magazines and books that feature his work, and postcards advertising various exhibits. Personal material in the collection includes an annotated high school yearbook (1976, Dover, Arkansas), a 20th year reunion booklet, photographs of Rex's family and partner Stephanie Lind, and change of gender and name forms.
Conditions Governing Use

Patrons viewing the collection in the reading room may take photographs of the material for research purposes only. These images are prohibited from being reused or shared in any way or medium without prior approval of the curator of the Human Sexuality Collection or the designee of the University Librarian. High resolution or other reproductions, as well as any publication or dissemination in any form or media requires the permission of the curator of the Human Sexuality Collection or the designee of the University Librarian.
Conditions Governing Use

Due to the fragility and potential degradation of moving image and sound recordings, viewing and listening is limited to items that have been digitized. If an item is in another media format, you may request to have the item digitized for access. Information on ordering access copies may be found on the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections webpage. Audio visual material that has been digitized: V-558.

INFORMATION FOR USERS

Cite As:

Loren Cameron papers, #7677. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.

RELATED MATERIAL

Additional works by Loren Cameron are cataloged individually.
Online Alchemy the Art of Loren Cameron, a website by Loren Cameron.

SEPARATED MATERIAL

The following materials have been separated from the collection and cataloged individually:
Anne Sexton: A Biography by Diane Wood Middlebrook, 1991. Signed by the author on the title page, also inscribed to Loren by the author on the front free endpaper. A laid in letter from Middlebrook to Loren was removed and is in Box 2 Folder 63. Middlebrook endorsed the back cover of Loren Cameron's book Body Alchemy.
Information for the Female to Male Cross Dresser and Transexual by Lou Sullivan, third edition October 1990. Inscribed by the author to Loren. Sullivan signed this book to Cameron before he went through dissolution (died). Cameron met him in the very beginning of Cameron's transition and attended the first FTM support gropus that Sullivan organized. This is the organization known as FTM International that was last expanded by Sullivan's chosen successor, Jameson Green.
S/HE by Minnie Bruce Pratt, 1995. Inscribed by the author to Loren. A laid in letter from the author to Loren and a Firebrand Books card were removed and are] in Box 2 Folder 63.
Blumenstein, Rosalyne. Branded T. 2003.
Boy's Own. No.40-41, 2003: Apr.-Aug.
Brevard, Aleshia. The Woman I Was Not Born To Be: A Transsexual Journey. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2001.
Complot. No.77, July 2003.
FTM Resource Guide. San Francisco: FTM International, 6th ed., Oct. 1999.

SUBJECTS

Subjects:
Photographers.
Photography of men -- United States.
Body size.
Body image.
Masculinity.
Gender identity
Transsexuals -- United States -- Portraits.
Transsexualism -- United States.
Form and Genre Terms:
Photographs.

CONTAINER LIST
Container
Description
Date
Series I. Personal Material
Box 1 Folder 1
Family Photos
1961-1991
Box 1 Folder 2
High School Yearbook
1976
Box 1 Folder 3
20th Year High School Reunion Memory Book
1997
Box 1 Folder 4
Resume
2002
Box 1 Folder 45
Letter from Nancy Cameron, Loren's stepmother
March 2003
Box 1 Folder 46
Card from Susan Cameron-Tarleton, Loren's sister
2003
Box 1 Folder 47
Brochure and paper on spiritualism
2003
Box 1 Folder 48
Ad for Crawler Bumpers
2003
Box 1 Folder 49
Misc. photos and family crest ring design
2003
Scope and Contents
Photos include images of Loren's apartment and Suzuki Samurai, his dog bix, his partner Stephanie, and 2 photographs of Loren and Cameron Oppenheim (one of Loren's three sisters).
Box 1 Folder 53
Change of name and gender forms
n.d.
Box 2 Folder 23
Family correspondence
2003
Box 2 Folder 28
Biography and CV
2005
Box 2 Folder 31
Medical information
2008
Box 2 Folder 32
Taboo Series 4, Episode 3 "Gender Benders"
Scope and Contents
Beyond Productions, a National Geographic series
Box 2 Folder 33
Feliz Navidad card from Roberto J. Edwards
October 12, 2010
Box 2 Folder 34
Massage Therapy documents
1989-2012
Box 2 Folder 35
Life documents and certificates
1959-2007
Box 2 Folder 36
Drawing of a centaur
Box 2 Folder 37
Nancy Kelly Cameron's obituary
September 24, 2007
Box 2 Folder 38
Cameron, L.R. Cameron's sister
Box 2 Folder 39
Catania, L.R. Cameron's sister
Box 2 Folder 40
FTM group marches at the 1989 San Francisco Gay Pride Parade
1989
Scope and Contents
Photograph of Cameron marching with the banner "FTM", taken by photographer Howard Schatz (most noted for his fine art photographs of ballet dancers underwater). This was the first time an FTM group had ever walked in the parade. Cameron organized the participation and led the small group of FTMs. Cameron made the banner.
Box 2 Folder 41
Personal Photographs
Box 2 Folder 61
Photographs of Cameron and partner Stephanie
2003
Scope and Contents
Photos taken in Arkansas on Mt. Nebo near Dardanelle and in Russellville and Dover.
Box 2 Folder 63
Items removed from individually catalogued books
1994, 1995
Scope and Contents
Includes letter from Diane Wood Middlebrook removed from Loren's inscribed copy of Anne Sexton: A Biography. Also a letter from Minnie Bruce Pratt and a Firebrand Books card removed from Loren's inscribed copy of S/HE.
Box 6 Folder 1
Photograph of Cantania Cameron Saltzman
1969
Box 6 Folder 2
Photographs of Cameron flying
Box 7 Folder 1
Photographs of Cameron's dog
n.d.
Box 7 Folder 2
Photographs of visit to Stepmother and Father's farm in Dover, AZ.
2003
Box 7 Folder 4
"Book letters", personal narrative
1997-2001
Box 7 Folder 5
Tradeswomen calendar
2005
Box 7 Folder 6
Marjorie Cameron material
n.d.
Box 7
Last book proofs for vol. 1 and 2 of Cuerpos Pintados
Box 7
5 slide boxes of photographs
2003, 2005
Series II. Projects
Box 1 Folder 5-6
God's Will
1993-1995
Box 1 Folder 7
E Book - Man Tool: The Nuts and Bolts of Female-to-Male Surgery
2001
Box 2 Folder 27
Proposal for Man Tool: The Nuts and Bolts of Female-to-Male Surgery
2001
Box 2 Folder 42
DVD-1146 Transgender Nudes Collection Preview DVD
August 1, 2006
Box 2 Folder 42
DVD-1147 Transgender Nudes Collection Test DVD
August 7, 2006
Box 2 Folder 42
DVD-1148 Transgender Nudes Gallery DVD
2010
Box 2 Folder 43
"On Our Backs" photograph
1991
Box 2 Folder 44
Photographs by Cameron
1995-1997
Box 2 Folder 45
Triptych slides
1993
Scope and Contents
These are the only copies of these slides.
Box 2 Folder 46
Daniel Nicoletta: Photographs of Cameron
April 1, 2006
Box 2 Folder 47
Daniel Nicoletta: Photographs of Cameron
April 1, 2006
Box 2 Folder 48
Daniel Nicoletta: Photographs of Cameron
April 1, 2006
Box 2 Folder 49
Daniel Nicoletta: Photographs of Cameron
April 1, 2006
Box 2 Folder 50
Daniel Nicoletta: Photographs of Cameron
April 1, 2006
Box 2 Folder 51
"Loren Cameron" by Daniel Nicoletta
October 22, 1996
Box 2 Folder 52
"Loren and Yogi" by Daniel Nicoletta
January 7, 2005
Box 2 Folder 62
Zip Disk, ZD-7, - Digital Photography
2001
Box 4
Triptych posters-framed
Scope and Contents
Three framed items, original and only copies
Box 6 Folder 3
"Cameron and Cameron"
2000
Box 6 Folder 4
"Samantha" by Loren Rex Cameron
2007
Box 6 Folder 5
Photographs of unknown model
Box 6 Folder 6
"Loren Cameron" by Daniel Nicoletta
October 22, 1996
Box 6 Folder 8-10
Cuerpos Fotografiados por Cameron I (unbound)
2003
Box 6 Folder 12-13
Cuerpos Fotografiados por Cameron II (unbound)
2003
Series III. Exhibitions
Box 1 Folder 8
Viewers Comments - University of California, Santa Cruz
1992
Box 1 Folder 9-12
Our Vision, Our Voices: Transsexual Portraits and Nudes
1994
Box 1 Folder 13
Postcards
1997-2001
Box 1 Folder 38
Presentation proposal packet
Nov. 2002
Box 1 Folder 39-40
Exhibits and presentations, correspondence and ads
2002
Box 2 Folder 24
Neoqueer exhibition materials
2003-2004
Box 2 Folder 53
Beyond XY: Four Photographers Explore the Masculine Continuum
June 26-August 7, 2010
Box 2 Folder 54
Centro Galego Arte Contemporanea
February 10-August 26, 2009
Box 2 Folder 55
"Our Vision, Our Voices" Photographs
1993
Box 2 Folder 56
"Our Vision, Our Voices" opening-flyer and event photographs
May 2-31, 1993
Box 4 Folder 1-20
Body Alchemy Transsexual Portraits
2002
Box 5 Folder 1-20
Body Alchemy Transsexual Portraits - Captions and Texts
2002
Box 6 Folder 7
Photographs featured in original exhibition of "Body Alchemy"
1994-1995
Scope and Contents
This work was first exhibited (the first half of it before Cameron completed the second half for the book during the spring of 1996) at 848 Divasadero Community Art Space in San Francisco, California. It was later exhibited at 509 Community Center in San Francisco(luggage storage annex, a notable non-profit gallery on Market Street). It was completed and exhibited January-February 1997 in celebration of the publication of the work in September 1996 by Cleis Press.
Box 6 Folder 14
Photos from Body Alchemy exhibit
n.d.
Box 6 Folder 15
Additional art prints
n.d.
Series IV. Correspondence, Reviews and Articles
Correspondence from "Lisa"
2004
Scope and Contents
This is in the accession folder.
Access restricted until January 2024
Box 1 Folder 14
Binder Number 1-1
1994-1996
Box 1 Folder 15
Binder Number 1-2
1995-1996
Box 1 Folder 16
Binder Number 1-3
1994-1997
Box 1 Folder 17
Binder Number 1-4
1996-1998
Box 1 Folder 18
Binder Number 1-5
1995-1997
Box 1 Folder 19
Binder Number 1-6
1993-2001
Box 1 Folder 20
Binder Number 1-7
1996-1997
Box 1 Folder 21
Binder Number 1-8
1992-1997
Box 1 Folder 22
Binder Number 1-9 Miscellaneous
1996-1998
Box 1 Folder 23
Binder Number 2-1
1993-1998
Box 1 Folder 24
Binder Number 2-2
1995-2001
Box 1 Folder 25
Binder Number 2-3
1995-2001
Box 1 Folder 26
Stephen Whittle
1994
Box 1 Folder 27
Miscellaneous
1996-1997
Box 1 Folder 28
Binder Number 3-1
1997
Box 1 Folder 29
Binder Number 3-2
1997
Box 1 Folder 30
Binder Number 3-3
1997
Box 1 Folder 31
Binder Number 3-4
1997
Box 1 Folder 32-33
E Mail
2000
Box 1 Folder 34-35
E Mail
2001
Box 1 Folder 36
Interview Steve Compton
2002
Box 1 Folder 37
The Transiting Self, Tee A. Corinne
2002
Box 1 Folder 41
Letter re: Body Alchemy
2000
Box 1 Folder 42
Bisexual Spaces, pp.129-134,144
2002
Box 1 Folder 43
Man Tool, correspondence and ads
2002
Box 1 Folder 44
Other correspondence
2002
Box 1 Folder 50
Correspondence with Diane Middlebrook
1993-1994
Box 1 Folder 51
Flyers from appearances and presentations
2002
Box 1 Folder 52
Finnish magazine Z, containg an article on transgender issues which mentions Loren Cameron
2003
Box 2 Folder 25
Correspondence and publicity regarding Cameron's speaking engagements
Box 2 Folder 26
Advocate article on Cameron
December 19, 2006
Box 2 Folder 29
Correspondence
2001, 2005, undated
Box 2 Folder 30
Publicity materials
Box 2 Folder 57
Correspondence with Sarah Lazin
February 18, 1999
Box 2 Folder 58
Disclosure Magazine review
May-June 2001
Scope and Contents
Written about Cameron's work while being exhibited at the Clement Gallery, University of Toledo, Ohio, January-February 2001.
Box 2 Folder 59
Howard Schatz Photography business card
Box 2 Folder 60
Cuerpos Pintados II review by Peter Mason
June 1997
Series V. Magazines
Box 2 Folder 1
Advocate
2001
Box 2 Folder 2
Bang
1998
Box 2 Folder 3
B-Glad
1997
Box 2 Folder 4
Camerawork: A Journal of Photographic Arts
1994
Box 2 Folder 5
Circles
1998
Box 2 Folder 6
Citizen K International
1997
Box 2 Folder 7
Deneuve
1994
Box 2 Folder 8
Diva
1997
Box 2 Folder 9
Fabula
1998
Box 2 Folder 10
FTM Newsletter
1994
Box 2 Folder 11
Gay Times
1998
Box 2 Folder 12
Girlfriends
1997
Box 2 Folder 13
Human Sexuality
1997/1998
Box 2 Folder 14
HX for Her
1997
Box 2 Folder 15
Marie Claire
1998
Box 2 Folder 16
Next Magazine
1997
Box 2 Folder 17
New Yorker
1994
Box 2 Folder 18
On our Backs
1991
Box 2 Folder 19
Out
1996
Box 2 Folder 20
Puckered Up
1996
Box 2 Folder 21
Toledo City Paper
2001
Box 2 Folder 22
Utne Reader
1996
Box 7 Folder 3
Time magazine
1999
Scope and Contents
With story on Roberto Edwards
Series VI. Awards
Box 3 Folder 1
Lambada Literary Award - Small Press
1996
Box 3 Folder 2
Lambada Literary Award - Transgender
1996
Box 3 Folder 3
FTM International Pride Award
1997
Series VII. Videos
Box 2 V-555
"You Don't Know Dick: Courageous Hearts of Transsexual Men"
Box 2 V-556
60 Minutes plus "Diva Living"
Box 2 V-557
Japanese news segment
Box 2 V-558
"Transsexuals Speak Out!" Panel Discussion (produced by Loren Cameron and Tony Boersma)
Digital
The digital preservation copy may be made available on request if a delivery copy is not already online.
Digital
The digital preservation copy may be made available on request if a delivery copy is not already online.
Scope and Contents
Includes James Green, Susan Stryker, Kiki Whitlock, Sgt. Stephan Thorn.
Box 2 V-559
"Transsexuals Speak Out!" Tony Boersma, editor, Master S-VHS
Super VHS
Box 2 V-560
Q.T.V. Santa Cruz news segment
Box 2 V-4219
"Sex Change: Him to Her" Episode 1
October 2, 2005
Box 2 V-4220
"Sex Change: Him to Her" Episode 2
October 2, 2005
Box 2 V-5319
Kenneth Anger's Magic Lantern Cycle
Scope and Contents
Cameron's aunt Marjorie is in the film
Box 2 V-5320
Sunset Strip
Scope and Contents
Loren's sister Cameron is in the film
Box 2 V-5321
Cameron on "Inside Edition"