Charles M. McCaghy Collection of Exotic Dance from Burlesque to Clubs

The materials in the Charles H. McCaghy Collection of Exotic Dance from Burlesque to Clubs come from the personal collection of Dr. Charles H. McCaghy, professor emeritus of the Department of Sociology at Bowling Green State University, or were purchased using funds donated by McCaghy. The collection contains a wide variety of materials related to striptease and burlesque research and memorabilia, spanning from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day and exploring many aspects of striptease in performance, from early burlesque/vaudeville to modern strip clubs and the neo-burlesque movement. Materials are dated 1851-2019.


Items digitized for patrons and a collection of images of advertisements and 19th century cabinet and tobacco cards are stored in the University Libraries’ Digital Collections.