Archives West Finding Aid

The Martini collection consists of memorabilia of Douglas E. Flanders, of Boise, Idaho, chiefly relating to his activities in the 1980s and 90s as the drag queen "Martini." Much of the material pertains to Boise's drag court, the Imperial Sovereign Gem Court of Idaho, with which Flanders was active. Also included are dresses and clothing worn on stage. The collection also includes memorabilia from other gay-related groups and causes in Boise, and programs from Boise theater groups.

The earliest materials (1980) are three newsletters (entitled "The Time Warp") from the Rocky Horror Picture Show fan club in Boise, which Flanders joined while still a teenager. His first royal title with Boise's drag court was Crown Prince V Doug (1983-1984). He later served as Crown Princess IX Martini (1986-1987) and as Empress XI Martini (1988-1989). He has also served as the court's treasurer. In 1998, he founded LipsInc., Idaho's first professional female impersonation troupe, offering programs several times a year. Flanders has also been a columnist for Boise's gay newspaper, an organizer of the Elm Awards, and an officer of Your Family, Friends, and Neighbors (YFFN), a lobbying group in Boise.

The largest part of the collection comprises programs from drag court coronations in Boise and other cities in the West. One of the responsibilities of court royalty is to represent the court at out-of-town coronations, and the collection includes coronation programs from Portland, Salt Lake City, and other Western cities as well as Boise. These coronation programs, which serve as yearbooks for each court, offer a glimpse of drag court culture in the West in the late 1980s and early 1990s when Martini represented the Idaho court at out-of-town coronations. The principal purpose of the court system, other than serving as a showcase for the fashions and talents of the female impersonators who are its stars, is to raise money for charitable causes. Each year the courts in the United States and Canada raise thousands of dollars for scholarships, AIDS-related causes, and other charities, primarily through the shows and pageants they produce.