Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection

Tretter Collection

The Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Studies, in the library of the University of Minnesota, Special Collections & Rare Books, houses over 30,000 items in a wide variety of media.

The collection is international in scope and has materials in approximately 58 languages. It covers all time periods, from a 4,000-year-old phallic statuette from Egypt, up to current editions of GLBT periodicals. Although books are the core of the collection, substantial sections include textiles, glassware, film, music, art works, and three-dimensional objects such as event buttons and furniture. The collection includes unpublished manuscripts, vertical files, and periodicals from all over the world. Among the significant archival holdings are the Jim Chalgren Collection, the personal papers of Professor Toni McNaron, Patrick Scully, Dallas S. Drake, Stuart Ferguson, and Tobias Schneebaum. The archives of the National Education Association GLBT Caucus, the Lesbian Review of Books Archive, Gay/Lesbian Postal Employees Network (PEN) Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Paper Eagles--the employee group of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Ramsey County GLBT Employees Network, and the archives of the Twin Cities-GLBT Pride Committee. Here is a sampling of items found in this collection:

Books

Manuscripts

Magazines

Erotica

Community newspapers

Political flyers

Postcards

Posters

Original artwork

Sculpture

Campaign buttons/pins

Movies

Videos

Photos

Digital Images

News clippings

E-mails

Audio recordings

Memoirs

Letters

T-shirts

Ancient artifacts

Signs

Autographs

Business cards

Records

CDs

Reel to reel tapes

Lamps

Clocks

Lunch pails

Swizzle sticks

Postage stamps

Comics

Fairy stones

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This page will soon be edited as part of Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN: 100 Queer Places in Minnesota History, (1860-1969), (1969-2010)