Voting Station

Ralph Whittington

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Sex Researcher

The Resume

    (January 13, 1945-August 6, 2019)
    Born in Washington, District of Columbia
    Curator at the Library of Congress
    Privately amassed one of the world’s largest collections of pornography
    Described himself as an ‘erotic archivist’
    Donated his collection of over 10,000 items to the Museum of Sex in New York City (1999)
    Consultant to the Erotic Heritage Museum in Las Vegas and the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality in San Francisco

Why he might be annoying:

    He estimated that he spent over $100,000 collecting porn.
    He kept the porn collection at the home he shared with his mother.
    The collection was so large, he had porno tapes in the pantry next to cereal boxes.
    He originally offered his collection of erotica to the Library of Congress, but they declined.
    He refused to include gay porn in his collection.
    He paid a fee to appear in an adult film with actress Chessie Moore.

Why he might not be annoying:

    Although his approach in collecting erotica was curatorial, he admitted ‘I really enjoy this stuff.’
    He used his experience at the Library of Congress in documenting and cross-referencing the items in his collection.
    He noted that a couple of times a year, he would receive a donation from people who had discovered a deceased relative’s porn stash: ‘They can’t put it in a rummage sale, and they know that I’m going to keep it.’
    His mother took his hobby in stride: ‘He’s not doing anybody any harm, and he’s not doing himself any harm.’
    In addition to porn, he had an extensive collection of over 5,000 early rhythm and blues record, which the Library of Congress was willing to accept.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 14 Votes: 78.57% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 20 Votes: 50.0% Annoying