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Seized Books

Collected Item: “Seized Books! An online exhibition”

Contributing Organisation

Contribution Title

Seized Books! An online exhibition

Description (This can only be plain text, i.e. no links or bullet points.)

On 10 April 1984, Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise raided Gay’s The Word bookshop in London’s Bloomsbury. 'Operation Tiger' saw officers seize over 140 titles, worth thousands of pounds. Bookshop staff and directors were charged with conspiracy to import so-called ‘indecent or obscene’ material. But Gay’s The Word and their supporters fought back...'Seized Books!: LGBTQ+ Books and Censorship in 1980s Britain' explores the 'Operation Tiger' raids by focussing on the books that were seized, supplemented with contextual blogs and links. The books are all held in Senate House Library, primarily in the Haud Nominandum special collection.

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Gay's The Word Bookshop photograph by Robert Workman, copyright Robert Workman Archive, Bishopsgate Institute

Content Type

Online Exhibition

Subject (1)

LGBTQ+ History

Geographical Area (1)

Britain and Ireland

Time Period

20th Century

Contribution URL

https://www.london.ac.uk/about/services/senate-house-library/exhibitions/seized-books
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