The strong room

Long before the Internet introduced us to twinks and furries, the Victorian era had explored 'scandalous' gay porn via explicit love letters between men. The Library locked such filth away, lest it corrupt the people, yet curiously, simultaneously chose to preserve it. Annabel Crabb finds an erotic literary treasure, penned by Oscar Wilde's most famous and tumultuous lover, that was lost in the vaults for a century.

This episode's speakers:

• Margot Riley — Curator
• Maggie Patton — Head of Collection Acquisition & Curation
• Richard Neville — Mitchell Librarian
• Damien Webb — Manager of the Indigenous Engagement Branch

Search for Letter to Maurice Schwabe from Lord Alfred Douglas 1893 in the SLNSW collection.

• Presenter: Annabel Crabb
• Researcher: Julia O'Shea
• Audio Engineer: Harvey O'Sullivan
• Supervising Producer: Rachael Cusick
• Executive Producers: Eric George and Carmel Rooney
• Head of Audio on Demand: Jessica Radburn

To hear the rest of the History Or Hoarding? podcast series, or for more of the best history podcasts covering Australian history, global history, including war, politics, literature and some of the most interesting people, moments and turning points in history, go to ABC listen Australia's history tab or the ABC Australia channel or wherever you get your podcasts.

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