HOUSTON  LGBT  HISTORY .ORG

Royal Dixon and Chester Snowden

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Books
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Art & Art 2
Clippings

Clippings

March 11, 1916

Read a PDF of this article, which includes the text

Several of the articles I have are from old newspapers and show full pages, therefore are
difficult to read. I compensate for this I am enabling the download in PDF format of many of them.

December 10, 1916

Read the PDF

January 14, 1917

Read the PDF

Below is an unexpected find, Dixon's passport application

Passport Application, 1918

March 14 1921

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March 27, 1921

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PDF file of photos of early clippings, late teens to ~1921
partial images, some sources not given

March 1921

Feb 15, 1925
Snowden

May 5, 1927
mentions Snowden

Note in the pargraph that starts "Likes Houston":
"I can't say too many nice things about Houston and Houstonians, especially the 'boys.'
And by that I mean the young men in the newspaper profession."

August 26, 1928

April 14 , 1929

May 5, 1929

it mentions Snowden "who has illustrated a number of Dixon's books,"
so they knew each other likely a few years prior to 1929

correspondence with the same camp in 1930

September 12, 1929

September 22, 1929

Download a PDF of this article

December 15, 1929

Download a PDF of this article

May 14, 1930

January 3, 1932

June 6, 1933

January 18 , 1934
Snowden

September 11, 1934

below is the house at 1310 Truxillo (renovated in 2001)

September 15, 1935

December 20, 1935

March 22 , 1936
Snowden the playwright

December 3, 1936

1936
Review of Dixon's book "The Ape of Heaven"

February 3, 1937

April 3 , 1938
Snowden

July 29, 1938

Read the PDF

March 31, 1938

Below is a rare find, the 1940 Census....with Snowden listed as
Dixon's "foster son," with "roomer" having been crossed out.
Their ages "at last birthday" were listed at 60 and 39.
Census date was April 11, 1940.

Read the PDF

January 21 , 1940
Review of Dixon Book

November 24, 1940

March 21 , 1941
Snowden

July 6 1941
mentions other gay artists, Carden Bailey and Gene Charlton

January 27, 1946

December 27, 1946

April 16, 1947

April 20, 1947

February 13, 1952

below, Snowden in March 1952

October 18, 1953

Read the PDF

April 20, 1955

January 15, 1958

Feb 14, 1960

Gaps in the clippings found at this point. Dixon had died in 1962.
Below, Dixon's obituary
June 4, 1962

Note: both obits say he was survived by his "foster son" Chester Snowden
Below, Dixon death certificate
June 4, 1962

February 2, 1964

October 13, 1966

1966

July 16, 1967

November 14, 1968

Jan 04, 1982

Download above article

Snowden Death Certificate
September 7, 1984
( thanks to the relentless research of Dr Laura McMorris )
now we know he was cremated, but stil unknown if those ashes are in a cemetery,
and no obituary has been found, unusual for such a prominent person

also see
Books & Special Collection