AGQ-F0091

 

Fonds Club de cuir Prédateurs. – 1 November 1990-2 May 2003. –26 cm of textual records and other records.

 

 

 

Administrative History:

 

The Club de cuir des Prédateurs was a non-profit organization in Montreal whose mission was to ‘promote fraternization’ among its members, but also to ‘encourage the wearing of leather clothing’ in Montreal’s gay community by highlighting the positive aspects of this fetishism. The name Predators was inspired by the film of the same name, but also by nature itself. Predators among wild animals are on the lookout for prey to feed on, and the club’s name was meant to reflect their actions in some way.

 

The club was formed informally in 1991 (the first document of the Statutes and Regulations was signed on 1 December 1991), but it received its letters patent on 6 February 1995. The year 1995 was marked by the death of Réjean Latour, who was then president of the club. Jules Pomerleau replaced him on an interim basis.

 

It was strongly recommended that club members wear leather in public places and during club activities. The uniform varied according to the status of the members (active and honorary members, associate members or aspiring members). The club was not founded with a sexual purpose and did not want to force its members to engage in certain sexual practices. Any man aged 18 or over who loved leather and wanted to get involved with the group could become a member, but had to go through a selection process by filling out a membership application form. In addition, ‘soirées des Proies’ were dedicated to the initiation of new recruits.

 

The group organized numerous social and recreational activities, including picnics, barbecues, retreats or weekend getaways (to Mont-Tremblant, for example), Christmas dinners, camping trips, etc. Members also organized ‘club nights’ to socialize and facilitate meetings between leather men, but these evenings also served to raise funds for other activities.

 

During their years of activity, the Predators celebrated the Club’s anniversaries by organizing special events. The most memorable seem to have been the ‘Invasions’ of 1997 and 1998, marking the organization’s fifth and sixth anniversaries respectively. Sponsors were sought and many promotional materials were produced (advertisements, posters, flyers, web pages, personalized invitations to other leather clubs in North America). The Invasions lasted a full weekend. The 1997 event took place from 28 to 30 March in Montreal at the KOX/Katacombes bar. Participants had access to activities such as a welcome cocktail party, a cocktail party hosted by MC Faucon Montreal and another hosted by Les Cuirassés de Québec, the fifth anniversary party and Sunday brunch. The 1998 Invasion took place from 10 to 12 April with similar activities.

 

On 2 May 2003, the Club de cuir Prédateurs was dissolved because it had failed to submit its annual returns for 2001 and 2002.

 

 

Scope and content:

 

The fonds documents the many activities of the Club de cuir Prédateurs, including events organized by and for club members (such as the Invasions of 1997 and 1998) and the club’s participation in related events such as the Mr. Leather Ottawa-Hull contest, as well as their relationships with various similar organization.

 

The fonds contains minutes, statutes and regulations (including revisions), annual reports, membership lists, correspondence sent and received, treasurer’s reports and ledgers, and numerous completed membership application forms. The fonds also includes publications (for example, annual newsletters) from several groups with missions and interests similar to those of the Predators. Numerous items attest to the Predators’ members’ interest in leather, such as a leather jacket and merchandise bearing their logo.

 

The fonds contains the following series:

 

  • AGQ-F0091/S1. Registre du Club de cuir Prédateurs de 1991 à 1996
  • AGQ-F0091/S2. Registre du Club de cuir Prédateurs de 1996 à 2003
  • AGQ-F0091/S3. Événements organisés
  • AGQ-F0091/S4. Publications et événements de groupes connexes
  • AGQ-F0091/S5. Plaques honorifiques et objets divers

 

 

Notes:

 

Source of title proper: Title based on the contents of the fonds.

 

Physical description: The fonds also contains two boxes of colour slides (52 slides), five club crests and four pins, plaques for prospective, associate and active members and a cocktail party (six in total), three honorary plaques (appreciation award, participation award and 5th anniversary plaque) and three framed certificates (for the 4th and 5th anniversaries and certificates of appreciation) presented to the Predators, 1 leather banner and 10 fabric banners from the Predators, 5 Predators T-shirts, 2 laminated Club signs, 1 leather coat, and a leather waist bag.

 

Physical condition: Certificates presented to the Club by the Spearhead and Ottawa Knights groups were framed. They were removed from their frames for preservation purposes.

 

Immediate source of acquisition: The fonds was donated to the AGQ through Marc-André Ménard on June 18, 2008, having been an active member since 1995 and vice-president of the Club in 1996 (acquisition 2008-007).

 

Arrangement: The majority of the existing arrangement remained unchanged. A few minor changes were made in order to maintain chronological order. The 52 slides are located in box I-006 (AGQ-F0091/S3/D1. Club de cuir Prédateurs. Events organized from 1992 to 1996. 17 Dec. 1995).

 

Language: The vast majority of documents are in French, but the fonds also includes documents written in English, including publications from other leather groups.

 

Restrictions on access: Some files contain information about members that was confidential during the Club’s years of activity. These files are mainly found in series 1 (D1 and D7) and series 2 (D2 and D5).

 

Finding aids: Digital inventory of the fonds in Excel format. Classification plan is available in PDF format.

 

 

Bibliography:

 

Page on Danny Godbout’s website: http://www.mtlkink.com/les-preacutedateurs.html

 

Passiour, A.-C. (2013). MtlKink.com. Naissance d’un site retraçant l’histoire du mouvement Cuir et fétiche à Montréal. Fugues, retrieved from :https://www.fugues.com/219337-article-naissance-dun-site-retracant-lhistoire-du-mouvement-cuir-et-fetiche-a-montreal.html

 

 

 

 

Dernière modification : 2025-08-18