The Tim Mayhew Collection on Gay Rights documents a broad range of gay organizations in Seattle from the 1960s through the 1980s. The material includes organizational papers such as by-laws, minutes, and correspondence, as well as fliers, newsletters, brochures, programs, and other ephemera.

Mayhew collected much of the material himself in the course of actively participating in the various organizations represented, but he also collected material from groups he was not directly involved in. Some material was given to him by people who wanted to add to his informal archive or sent to him in his capacity as Seattle editor of the Northwest Gay Review . Unfortunately, it is not always possible to determine the original source of the material or the extent of Mayhew's own involvement with a given organization.

Mayhew focused his collecting on political and civil rights organizations. There is some material on Seattle's gay social organizations, businesses, and cultural activities (in the Directories and Ephemera series), but in general these areas are not covered very extensively. Most of the material pre-dates AIDS awareness; thus, AIDS organizations are not represented particularly well. There is some material on lesbian organizations, but the collection is heavily weighted toward male groups.

The collection is arranged primarily by organization. The Subject Series contains fliers, mailings, and newsletters from many local and national gay organizations, arranged alphabetically by organization or topic. Both national and local organizations are represented. Subgroups represent local organizations that are covered in greater depth, with minutes, agendas, correspondence, and other materials. There is also a smaller amount of material organized into general categories such as Directories of gay organizations and businesses, Ephemera related to various topics, Broadcast Editorials from local radio and television stations, Clippings, and Newsletters. Box 18 contains oversized materials from various series and subgroups.

The largest subgroup in the collection documents the Dorian Society, with major correspondence from Herb Lee, Mike Allen, and Ken Gilbert. Founded in 1969, the society was renamed the Seattle Gay Alliance in 1971, remaining under this name until it was dissolved in 1975. The group sought to educate gays and straights about homosexuality, to promote acceptance of gays in the larger society, and to serve as a social organization for gays. Its activities included public speaking, publishing a newsletter, organizing social events, and lobbying the state legislature. In 1969 the society opened Dorian House, home to one of the nation's first gay counseling services, and in 1971 it helped found Seattle's first Gay Community Center. Both Dorian House, later renamed the Seattle Counseling Service for Sexual Minorities, and the Gay Community Center went on to become independent organizations and are represented by subgroups in the collection.

The Dorian Group started as an informal meeting of gay businessmen who gathered for lunch in Seattle's Pioneer Square. Politicians, national gay figures, and local officials were invited to these meetings. The group incorporated in 1975 and revived the name of the earlier organization, the Dorian Society. The Dorian Group continued to work for gay rights through the early 1980s. Its emphasis on reform rather than revolution represented a new kind of gay activism that emerged across the country in the mid-1970s.

Several political and civil rights organizations are represented in the collection. The Seattle Municipal Elections Committee for Gays (SEAMEC) was founded in 1977 to evaluate candidates for public office and endorse those candidates who supported gay rights. Mayhew served on the Candidate Evaluation Committee, ca. 1977-1981. Citizens to Retain Fair Employment, the Seattle Committee Against Thirteen, and Women Against Thirteen were among the groups organized to fight Initiative 13 (which unsuccessfully attempted to delete the words "sexual orientation" from Seattle anti-discrimination ordinances for housing and employment). The Washington Sexual Minorities Committee of the American Civil Liberties Union worked to identify violations of gay persons' civil rights for the ACLU to pursue. The collection includes material on issues such as marriage law, sex and sodomy laws, gay prisoners rights, police harassment, and immigration law.

The collection also includes material from several gay religious organizations. The Metropolitan Community Church, founded in Los Angeles in the 1960s, formed a congregation in Seattle in 1972. Evangelicals Concerned, a group for gay Evangelical Christians, formed in 1976 and became the Grace Gospel Chapel in 1977.

Accession 4440-2 consists of handbills, fliers, and other ephemera related to gay activities and gay organizations, particularly in Seattle. The materials, which are unprocessed, span the years 1978 to 1998, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1995 to 1998.