Bishopsgate Institute holds a substantial amount of LGBTQIA+ erotic and pornographic literature, books, magazines, pulp fiction, DVDs and VHS videos. This has been amassed through material in the original deposit of the library of the Lesbian and Gay Newsmedia Archive in 2011 and has expanded with numerous subsequent deposits from individuals and organisations. The collection ranges from physique magazines of the 1950s to pornographic DVDs from the 2000s. There is also adult material relating to gay and straight fetish, leather and rubber sexuality, BDSM, body modification, transvestism and other alternative sexualities.

The collection is an important resource for the study of visual representations of gay and alternative sexuality from the 1950s to the present day, and can be consulted for serious research in the Reasearchers’ Area during Library opening hours. The collection is catalogued with the main Special Collections and Archives and can be accessed via our online catalogue.