GLBT Historical Society
GLBT Historical Society
- Location: San Francisco, CA
- Phone: (415) 777-5455
- Email: reference@glbthistory.org
- Website: http://www.glbthistory.org/
Founded in 1985, the GLBT Historical Society collects, preserves, exhibits and makes accessible to the public materials and knowledge to support and promote understanding of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer history, culture and arts in all their diversity. The Dr. John P. De Cecco Archives & Special Collections of the GLBT Historical Society are among the largest and most extensive holdings in the world of materials pertaining to LGBTQ people and organizations. Broadly speaking, the over 900 discrete collections fall into four main areas: archives, periodicals, oral histories, and arts & artifacts.
Collections at this institution
Finocchio's Collection, 1999-79
This collection contains materials relating to Finocchio’s, one of the oldest and best-known female impersonation clubs in the world. The collection is arranged into four series: Production Material and Ephemera, Photographs, Garments, and Artifacts.
Institution: GLBT Historical Society
31 Items
Forget-Me-Nots Records, 1989-10
The Forget-Me-Nots was a small group of gay men from San Francisco who formed an affinity group prior to the 1987 National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. They prepared to perform civil disobedience on the steps of the United States Supreme Court. The group’s members marched and demonstrated in memory of those lost to AIDS.
Institution: GLBT Historical Society
4 Items
Gonzalez (Efrain John) Papers, 2022-59
Efrain John Gonzalez is a bisexual photographer, tour guide, and artist. This digital collection consists of selected photographs by Gonzalez of the first National Bisexual Conference, held in San Francisco in 1990.
Institution: GLBT Historical Society
144 Items
Hobby Directory
Hobby Directory (1946-circa 1952) was a small publication in which male hobbyists could publish personal ads and meet friends who shared their interests. The magazine quickly acquired a large gay male readership, and gay men used their ads to connect with one another. The men's descriptions of their hobbies -- for example, ballet, interior decorating, or collecting photographs of weightlifters -- were designed to signal that they were gay, as well as genuinely describing themselves to romantic prospects. Hobby Directory was a fairly mainstream publication which was sold in craft stores and advertised in the magazines Popular Mechanics and Popular …
Institution: GLBT Historical Society
16 Items
Holmes (Sandy) Collection, 2014-14
This collection contains materials collected by Sandy Holmes, a longtime lesbian activist who worked for the ACLU and served as secretary to the Bay Area Black Lesbians and Gays (BAYBLAG) in the mid-1980s. While a student at Yale, she also headed a campus organization called the Yalesbians.
Institution: GLBT Historical Society
20 Items
Kinsey Sicks Collection, 2015-16
The Kinsey Sicks are a drag a cappella ensemble who bill themselves as “America’s Favorite Dragapella Beautyshop Quartet.” The collection is arranged into six series: Administrative Records; Production Materials; Press and Publicity; Photographs; Audiovisual and Optical Media; and Textiles, Memorabilia, and Ephemera.
Institution: GLBT Historical Society
30 Items
Knuth (Ginny) Papers, 1999-46
Ginny Knuth (1934-1997) was a cisgender woman who volunteered extensively with San Francisco transgender organizations from 1983 until her death, supporting her spouse and friends as a member of Educational TV Channel and TransGender San Francisco.
Institution: GLBT Historical Society
17 Items
Leleu (Henri) Films, 1997-13
Digitized film recordings, circa 1965-1977, from the Henri Leleu collection (1997-13). Henri Leleu (1907-1996) was a gay man who arrived in San Francisco in the early 1960s. He was a World War II veteran, world traveler, and avid photographer. In San Francisco, he was active in the leather scene and participated in LGBTQ community groups including the Tavern Guild. The films document various LGBTQ events and bars. Also included are two films by Rich Weiss collected by Leleu.
Institution: GLBT Historical Society
11 Items
Lesbian and Gay Chorus of San Francisco Ephemera, 1997-14
This collection contains ephemera produced by the Lesbian and Gay Chorus of San Francisco. Materials include 35mm slides of concert programs, as well as flyers and posters advertising chorus events.
Institution: GLBT Historical Society
30 Items
Lesbian and Gay Chorus of San Francisco Scrapbooks, 2006-11
This collection contains six scrapbooks of materials relating to the Lesbian and Gay Chorus of San Francisco, the nation’s oldest self-identified LGBT mixed chorus. The scrapbooks include photographs, programs, flyers, chorus notes, buttons, ticket stubs, and other ephemera.
Institution: GLBT Historical Society
27 Items
