“Never sell the original!” The words of my father-in-law are echoing in my brain as I begin to write this email. My wife recently inherited the estate of her father Richard, including many of his original films. Dick was a charismatic figure, a family man, a motion picture photographer (specializing in erotica), an explorer, environmentalist, an idealist and an inveterate collector. He was the father of two beautiful daughters and an incurable romantic who shared his life with five wives and an assortment of exotic pets, cameras, sports cars and Cadillacs.

While in the military he was stationed in Germany, and upon his return he worked as a hospital medic, a cameraman for KIRO TV, and later as head of the Boeing Aerospace Motion Picture department. When he retired from “normal” working life in the early 1970s, he founded two motion picture companies and shot and produced nature and social documentaries, educational films, and continued to create many, many adult films.

Dick’s unique style of shooting and engaging actors in front of the camera kept him in high demand throughout the 1960’s and 70’s. He was influential in the early production and distribution of the eleven-minute loops for panoram machines located in adult arcades from Seattle to Hollywood. Educators screened his film Look of Love at the Kinsey Institute in 1973 where it garnered high praise, and was subsequently in great demand by college professors in the United States. For years he shipped prints of his films to theater owners throughout the country, with “Machine Parts” stamped on the packages.

Although we have only begun to inventory these films we estimate that there are at least 2,000 original films, including both photo positives and original negatives all in 16mm. There are also tens of thousand of negatives and photographs, both regular and stereoscopic slides (35mm 6x7cm), educational films on human sexuality, eleven-minute loops, and a variety of other x-rated films including Dick’s own feature-length x-rated movie Spindrift Summer.

Spindrift Summer features an environmental biologist and a Senator’s daughter in a coming of age story that was filmed on the remote west coast of Nootka Island in the 1970’s. As their relationship develops the movie reveals many of the emotional facets of sex – innocence, discovery, passion, hunger, experimentation, remorse, etc. Beautifully photographed, the movie also warns its audience of the growing danger of widespread ecological disaster from increased tanker traffic along the Inside Passage. Dick and his family spent many summers hiking and camping along the remote BC coast in the 1960’s and 70’s. He predicted it would only be a matter of time before an oil spill would devastate this wild and pristine marine environment. And, of course he was right. But before he completed the post-production, Dick had two major heart attacks – the film is still waiting to be completed.

Dick was always adamant that “The Collection” would be of inestimable value to collectors, researchers of human sexuality and social morays, censorship legislation, and historians of the adult film industry, to name a few. In short, it documents human sexuality since the early 1900’s through a rich array of media including: 8mm and 16mm films; photographs and portraits; line drawings and colored drawings; Real Photo Postcards, Tijuana Bibles; books, magazines, and newsletters; handwritten, typed, and mimeographed stories and scripts, etc.

As we reflect on our current phase of life we find ourselves unable to invest the energy and money necessary to realize some of Dick’s passionate goals. On fact, we are soon moving to another country and cannot take the collection with us. Thus, we are posting this email to as many adult forums as possible in the hopes of connecting with someone who is interested in acquiring the collection in part, or in it’s entirety. If you are that person, or if you know of someone who may be interested, please feel free to contact us through this forum. Our time frame is short, so we welcome any and all serious inquiries.

Thanks,
Kris.