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Contains a large amount of research materials pertaining to the writing of Rebels, Rubyfruit, and Rhinestones, including correspondence between third parties, clippings, gay newspaper issues, chapters of books consulted by Sears, flyers, programs, newsletters, diaries, oral histories, promotional materials, minutes, and memorabilia. The subseries is organized into rough subject areas with titles originally assigned by Sears, with individual folders left largely in the original order as received. These subject areas are organized alphabetically within the subseries and their contents are further described below. Many of the folders carry state names, and contain research materials gathered by Sears in the southern U.S. Extensive additional materials on Jack Nichols and Lige Clarke can be found in the Jack Nichols Papers Series in this collection.

Transcripts of interviews conducted by Sears and others, related to the book Rebels, Rubyfruit, and Rhinestones. Folders sorted in alphabetical order by interview subject's name.

Arranged into the following subseries: Administrative Files, Correspondence, Drafts and Proofs, Publicity, and Research Files. These divisions and their internal arrangement are further described below. The largest group, the research files (36 boxes), documents Sears' work on the book through correspondence, clippings and articles files, interviews, memoirs, oral histories, regional material from southern states, files on activist groups, memorabilia, and other material. The research files also house a set of diaries written by a gay youth from 1973-1993, and a large component of materials, chiefly correspondence, written by Jack Nichols and Lige Clarke. Other material on Nichols can be found in the Jack Nichols Papers Series.

A variety of materials that document the organization, meetings, conventions and various financial and legal activities of the Mattachine Society. Files are divided into alphabetical and chronological runs of folders. The alphabetical folders reflect a broad range of topics, including all of the following: balance sheets and other budget activities; chapters of the Society in various cities; FBI files; related groups such as One, Inc. and Pan-Graphic Press; and the work of various committees, especially the Publications Committee. The chronological run of folders consists almost entirely of minutes, agendas, and related documents from meetings and conventions. This group of folders contains a mix of documents that were produced by individual chapters as well as national conventions of the Society, w/some individual folders containing items from multiple sources; all are interfiled chronologically.

A mix of individual and organizational correspondence relating to the history of gay rights, the history of the Mattachine Society and its various chapters, and to Sears's research for his book. Individuals prominently represented, mainly in the early years, include Henry Gerber, Frank McCourt, and Manuel boyFrank. Organizational correspondence, heavily concentrated in the 1950s and early 1960s, includes: material about the early history of the Mattachine in San Francisco; some material from the New York chapter; and correspondence with other organizations such as ONE, Inc. and the Atheneum Society of American, Inc., the Florida activist group founded by Richard Inman. Finally, Sears's research correspondence, including some email, is filed at the end of this file set. Arranged chronogically.

Contains a variety of autobiographical documents for Jim Kepner and Prescott Townsend. Although the Kepner folders, as received, are labeled as diaries, they actually appear to be a typescript memoir written in the late 1980s or early 1990s. Arranged by author, then chronologically.