Felicity Chandell Papers
Provenance
Donated by Felicity Chandell in 2006.
Use Restrictions
No names, addresses or telephone numbers may be published unless they are publicly known to be LGBTQ, their permission has been obtained or they are deceased.
Scope and Content
The collection consists primarily of short story pamphlets from nine publishers focused on cross-dressing. The collection also includes correspondence, photographs, Tri-Ess (Society for the Second Self) directories (includes member photographs and contact instructions), newsletters, clippings, comics and scholarly articles. The correspondence includes photocopies of letters Chandell sent and attached responses, some with photos; these are exchanges between a core group of five sisters (1980-1983). The collection documents an array of cross-dressing publications from 1960-1980s. There is also a small amount of material related to Chandell’s arrest on a charge of misrepresentation in 1964.
History or Bio
Felicity Chandell was born Dec 15, 1905 in Poughkeepsie. Chandell was a husband, father, jet pilot and cross-dresser living in the Hudson Valley. In 1964, Chandell was arrested and sentenced on a charge of misrepresentation under Section 887, Subdivision 7 of the New York State Code of Criminal Procedure, and fired from Eastern Airlines soon thereafter. Chandell died June 23rd, 2008 at age 102.
Folder List
Box 1
1. General Correspondence, including permission to publish appeal to Felicity Chandell’s conviction
2. Events Brochures
3. Tri-Ess Directories: 1987 with supplements
4. Transvestite newsletters, annual reports, Chi Delta Mu Chapter Library, shopping guides.
5. Product catalogs – Fem Fashions, West 57th St., NYC
6. Receipts, including gun shop license 1978
7. Society for the Scientific Study of Sex (1963), an appeal document related to arrest of Felicity Chandell
8. General Newspaper Clippings, Comics
9. Author – Hume Bentley
Box 2
10. An Exotique Publication
11. Abbe de Choisy Press, N.Y., N.Y.
12. Chi Tribune – newsletter – Wood Dale, IL – late 1980s to early 1990s
13. FLAG Publications, Los Angeles, CA
14. Haldeman – Julius Pubications, Girard, Kansas
15. La Femme – le Carrousel Press, Paris, France
16. Femme Mimics: a pictorial record of female impersonation, and other titles.
17. Our Special Joy – newsletter 1981-1988
Box 3
18. S-K Books, New York, N.Y.
19. Transvestia Publications – Chevalier Publications, Los Angeles, CA
20. Vestian Publishers, Seattle, WA
21. Bibliography of books donated by Felicity Chandell