Correspondence

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Strongman Ottley Coulter, with some of the books in his physical culture library, from the Ottley Coulter Collection.
Collection

Ottley Coulter Collection

Coulter was a vaudeville strongman, author, and collector.  As his vaudeville days came to a close, he moved into supporting and documenting competitive weightlifting.  Along with George Jowett, he helped form the first weightlifting association in the United States (see the Coulter-Jowett Correspondence Finding Aid below), the American Continental Weight Lifting Association (ACWLA) and accumulated...

IronMan physical culture magazines, first founded by publisher Peary Rader, waiting to be processed.
Collection

Sydell Herbst and Christopher Gian-Cursio Collection

Christopher Gian-Cursio was a naturopathic doctor, nutritionist, author, editor, and researcher. The collection reflects Gian-Cursio’s professional career as a practicing Natural Hygienist and his extensive research into the development and pioneers of the health movement in America, especially James Jackson’s “Our Home on the Hillside” Hygienic Institute in Dansville, N.Y. Also included in the collection...

Bodybuilder Doris Barrilleaux at the 2011 Opening of the Joe and Betty Weider Museum of Physical Culture; a photograph of Barrilleaux posing and another of her with bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger are two of the four photographs in the background.
Collection

Doris Barrilleaux Collection

Known as the “First Lady of Bodybuilding,” Doris Barrilleaux founded the Superior Physique Association (SPA), and had leadership positions with the International Federation of Bodybuilding (IFBB) and American Federation of Women’s Bodybuilding (AFWB). The part of the collection that has been processed (see finding aid link below) showcases Barrilleaux’s involvement with bodybuilding and the sport’s...