United States gay male leather culture collection, 1960's-1990's
Collection Number: 7872
Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections
Cornell University Library
DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY
Title:
United States gay male leather culture collection, 1960's-1990's
Repository:
Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections
Collection Number:
7872
Abstract:
A collection of posters, handbills, buttons and other ephemera from the gay male leather
subculture in San Francisco and other major American cities, ranging from the 1960s
through to the early 1990s, and encompassing the post-Stonewall, pre-AIDs era, regarded
as the 'Golden Age' of leather bars.
Creator:
Quanitities:
1 cubic feet.
3 mapcase folders.
A collection of posters, handbills, buttons and other ephemera from the gay male leather
subculture in San Francisco and other major American cities, ranging from the 1960s
through to the early 1990s, and encompassing the post-Stonewall, pre-AIDs era, regarded
as the 'Golden Age' of leather bars.
The collection provides a vivid document of hypermasculine homoerotic iconography,
represented in promotional materials for leather bars, sex hardware merchants and
motorcycle clubs, and gathers together a diverse array of items, including more than
35 posters, 80 or so handbills and cards, approximately 150 buttons and pins, over
100 matchbooks, and a vintage leather biker's cap adorned with a colourful assortment
of buttons dating from the late 1960s through to the early 1980s.
The 'Golden Age' of leather bars was 1969-1980, post-Stonewall, pre-AIDs era.
INFORMATION FOR USERS
United States gay male leather culture collection, #7872. Division of Rare and Manuscript
Collections, Cornell University Library.
Subjects:
Masculinity.
Homoerotic iconography
Leather bars
Sex toys
Sex toys -- Business
Motorcycle clubs -- United States -- History.
Gay motorcycle clubs
Buttons.
Form and Genre Terms:
Broadsides.
Handbills.
Matchbooks.
CONTAINER LIST
|
Container
|
Description
|
Date
|
|
|
Series I. Handbills and Advertisements
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 14 |
Business card for the Why Not
|
1962 |
|
Scope and Contents
The first San Francisco bar to openly target leatherman patrons. It was opened by
Tony Tavarossi in 1962 at 518 Ellis Street in the Tenderloin, but closed within six
months after Tavarossi propositioned a member of the vice squad. Its success inspired
a new generation of bars, many of which opened up in the South of Market district.
In 1981 Tavarossi became an early fatality of the AIDS epidemic.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 14 |
Business card for the Why Not
|
1962 |
| Box 1 | Folder 14 |
Business card for the Blue Bugle Bar
|
1970-1975 |
|
Scope and Contents
Stroudsburg, PA. The card's verso prints a Handkerchief Guide. Donald A. 'Hans' Hunsicker
opened the Blue Bugle Bar and Restaurant in 1970.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 22 |
seven colour slides of photographs taken at a leather motorcycle club gathering
|
1970-1989 |
|
Scope and Contents
Weekend rides to picnic grounds in popular destinations such as the Sierra Nevada
were regular events during the 1970s and 1980s.
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 2 |
collection of matchbooks from various leather bars and clubs
|
1970-1989 |
|
Scope and Contents
Most originating from San Francisco.
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 1 |
Matchbooks
|
1970-1990 |
|
Scope and Contents
Chicago. The modern bandana code, also known as the handkerchief or hanky code, is
thought to have come into use among leather men in New York City in late 1970 or early
1971. The Gold Coast, the first specifically gay leather bar in America, opened in
1958.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 1 |
The Gold Coast Bandana
|
1971 |
|
Scope and Contents
San Francisco. The Boot Camp opened as a uniform themed leather bar at 1010 Bryant
St. in August 1971, receiving a mention in Herb Caen's San Francisco Chronicle column.
Its manager, Marcus Hernandez (aka Mr. Marcus), was selected as the first gay Emperor
of San Francisco in 1972.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 17 |
Boot Camp First Anniversary invite
|
1972-09-25 |
|
Scope and Contents
3520 16th St., San Francisco. The Shed opened at 1973 Market Street in 1972 and closed
in 1977. The entrance to the club was originally at 3520 16th Street, and the large
dance floor was in the basement.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 4 |
Handbill announcing Pearl with Stallion and Hot Water at The Shed
|
1973-1977 |
|
Scope and Contents
UC Berkeley
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 2 |
Handbill announcing Gay Dance at Stephens Hall
|
1973-02-16 |
|
Scope and Contents
San Francisco. The Stud was originally located at the western end of Folsom Street
and opened on May 27th 1966. It was known for themed parties, drag and burlesque shows.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 2 |
Handbill announcing live bluegrass at The Stud
|
1973-05-27 |
|
Scope and Contents
San Francisco. Illustrated throughout with drawings by Russ of Frisco.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 3 |
Catalogue for A Taste of Leather
|
1974-03-1974-05 |
|
Scope and Contents
UC Berkeley
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 2 |
Handbill for a Gay Dance at the Pauley Ballroom
|
1974-03-01 |
|
Scope and Contents
Los Angeles. ONE Magazine began publication in Los Angeles in January 1953, followed
three years later by the ONE Institute for Homophile Studies.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 2 |
Handbill announcing Activities of Interest to a Variety of Gays at the ONE Center
|
1974-05 |
|
Scope and Contents
The Bojangles was a bar in San Francisco's Tenderloin district that operated between
1974 and 1977.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 4 |
Handbill for a dance at the New Bojangles
|
1975 |
|
Scope and Contents
San Francisco. The Ambush leather bar opened at 1351 Harrison St. in November 1973,
initially attracting a leather hippie crowd.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 10 |
Handbill for Ambush
|
1975 |
|
Scope and Contents
3010 North Broadway, Chicago
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 14 |
Membership card for the Hi-Ho Club
|
1975 |
|
Scope and Contents
2 different. San Francisco.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 14 |
Ambush business cards
|
1975 |
|
Scope and Contents
San Francisco
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 15 |
A Taste of Leather - Febe's printed slip
|
1975 |
|
Scope and Contents
San Francisco
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 15 |
Book of 8 unused A Taste of Leather - Febe's detachable printed slips
|
1975 |
|
Scope and Contents
San Francisco. An early show by The Cycle Sluts, an LA band of ten gender bending
leather men who wore female S&M leather gear and performed heavy metal pastiche.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 2 |
Handbill announcing The Cycle Sluts at the California Hall
|
1975-10-31 |
|
Scope and Contents
315 Bush St., San Francisco. Sutter's Mill opened in 1965 on Kearny Street and moved
to Bush Street in 1967.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 15 |
Please Don't Touch! Gone to Pee. A card from Sutter's Mill
|
1976 |
|
Scope and Contents
315 Bush St., San Francisco, c. 1976. Sutter's Mill opened in 1965 on Kearny Street
and moved
to Bush Street in 1967.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 11 |
SM ads
|
1976-02 |
|
Scope and Contents
SM ads was started in 1972 by Marshall Loeb as a nationwide service offering gay male
subscribers a chance to place and respond to explicitly SM personal ads.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 11 |
SM ads
|
1976-03 |
| Box 1 | Folder 11 |
SM ads
|
1976-09 |
| Box 1 | Folder 11 |
SM ads
|
1976-10 |
| Box 1 | Folder 10 |
San Francisco Trucking Co. handbill
|
1978 |
|
Scope and Contents
28 Ninth St., New York City. Illustration by Rex.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 12 |
Handbill for the Manhole Levi-leather club
|
1978 |
|
Scope and Contents
Chicago. The Closet was opened by two women in 1978 in Chicago's Boystown district.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 15 |
Drinks mat, The Closet
|
1978 |
|
Scope and Contents
Los Angeles. Illustrated with a drawing by Tom. Eons, which held its first show in
March 1976, was one of the earliest gay galleries, along with Fey-Way in San Francisco
and Stompers in New York City.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 4 |
Handbill announcing an exhibition of work by Tom of Finland at Eons
|
1978-02-18-1978-03-04 |
|
Scope and Contents
San Francisco
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 12 |
Gay Freedom Day Sheet Music
|
1978-06-25 |
|
Scope and Contents
San Francisco. The Screening Room opened in a converted storefront in 1967 and was
one of the first theatres in San Francisco to show hardcore gay porn.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 16 |
Membership card, The Screening Room
|
1979 |
|
Scope and Contents
New York City. Artwork by Boris Vallejo. The New St. Marks Baths, in St. Marks Place,
was a bathhouse in the East Village from 1979 to 1985. It claimed to be the largest
gay bathhouse in the world and was an early target of attention during the early 1980s
AIDS epidemic.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 16 |
Handbill for The New St. Marks Baths
|
1979 |
|
Scope and Contents
374 Fifth St., San Francisco
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 16 |
Card announcing After Carnival Ball at the Hothouse
|
1979-11-11 |
|
Scope and Contents
San Francisco.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 5 |
Programme for the First Annual Mr. Castro Pageant
|
1980 |
|
Scope and Contents
San Francisco. Printed Card. Stores such as Image Leather and The Trading Post promoted
handkerchiefs and bandanas by printing cards such as this one listing the meanings
of various colours.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 12 |
Image Leather Bandana Color guide
|
1980 |
|
Scope and Contents
New Jersey
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 16 |
Business card for S.L.A.M. (Strictly Leather and Men), Hardcore Master & Slave Group
|
1980 |
|
Scope and Contents
1347 Folsom St., San Francisco, a South of Market leather bar
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 16 |
Business card for The Bolt
|
1980 |
| Box 1 | Folder 18 |
Various LGBT Cards and Leaflets
|
1980-1999 |
|
Scope and Contents
1010 Bryant St., San Francisco. Illustration by A. Jay (aka Al Shapiro, art director
of Drummer magazine).
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 4 |
Handbill announcing Hot Piss Pig Party at the Boot Camp Club
|
1980-02-23 |
|
Scope and Contents
San Francisco. Polk Gulch was a popular gay neighborhood from the 1950s to the 1980s.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 12 |
Handbill for the Polk Gulch Saloon 9 year celebration
|
1981 |
|
Scope and Contents
6th and Folsom, San Francisco
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 17 |
2 For 1 Drink Coupon for The Watering Hole
|
1981 |
|
Scope and Contents
401 Sixth St., San Francisco. The End Up opened in November 1973, not as a leather
bar but a dance bar, though many leather people who liked to dance went there. It
became known for its Jockey Short Dance Contest and achieved further recognition after
Armistead Maupin featured it in his weekly newspaper column, Tales of the City.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 4 |
Handbill announcing Valentine's Day Sweetheart Special/Jockey Shorts Dance Contest
at The End Up
|
1981-02-14-1981-02-15 |
|
Scope and Contents
Oakland. David Kelsey began performing in San Francisco in the mid-1960s, and released
an album, Top of the Heap, with Pure Trash in 1983. The Bench and Bar was named by
its first owners, a judge and attorney.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 6 |
Handbill announcing a David Kelsey & Pure Trash fund raiser at the Bench & Bar
|
1981-03-31 |
|
Scope and Contents
975 Harrison St., San Francisco. Illustration by Rex.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 6 |
Handbill announcing Hospital 2 at the Handball Express
|
1981-09-05 |
|
Scope and Contents
San Francisco. The Baybrick Inn (1190 Folsom Street) was a South of Market lesbian
guest house, club and bar managed by Lauren Hewitt that operated between 1982 and
1987.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 6 |
Baybrick Inn Handbill
|
1982 |
|
Scope and Contents
San Francisco. Illustration by Susie Jordan.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 6 |
Being part of Baybrick
|
1982 |
|
Scope and Contents
1548 Polk St., San Francisco. N'Touch opened in 1974 as the first gay bar for Asians
in San Francisco.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 7 |
Handbill for N'Touch Sundays disco/bar
|
1982 |
|
Scope and Contents
San Francisco
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 8 |
Handbill advertising Couple-Dancing for Gay Men in the Castro area
|
1982 |
|
Scope and Contents
953 Natoma Street, San Francisco. Hal Slate and Stephen Gilman (members of the San
Francisco Gay Men's Chorus) opened The Caldron in 1980 in the South of Market area
as a gay sex club where patrons were required to be naked except for footwear.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 17 |
Membership card for The Caldron
|
1982 |
|
Scope and Contents
San Francisco. The Baybrick Inn (1190 Folsom Street) was a South of Market lesbian
guest house, club and bar managed by Lauren Hewitt that operated between 1982 and
1987.
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 1 |
Afterhours Gender Bender Offenders handbill, Baybrick Inn
|
1982 |
|
Scope and Contents
San Francisco
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 6 |
All Aboard The Mae Express - Be Gay with Mae
|
1982-01 |
|
Scope and Contents
Oakland
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 7 |
Handbill announcing Grand Ol' Party at the Bench & Bar
|
1982-08-08 |
|
Scope and Contents
San Francisco. Esta Noche opened in 1979 at 3079 16th Street as the first gay Latino
bar in San Francisco.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 7 |
Handbill announcing Halloween Costume Contest at Esta Noche
|
1982-10-30 |
|
Scope and Contents
45 Turk St., San Francisco
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 7 |
Handbill announcing Halloween Madness at The Landmark
|
1982-10-30 |
|
Scope and Contents
4086 18th St., San Francisco
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 8 |
Handbill announcing Brunch at The Village
|
1983-01 |
|
Scope and Contents
375 11th St., San Francisco
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 12 |
Handbill announcing the first South of Market Leather Daddy Contest at Chaps
|
1983-08-14 |
|
Scope and Contents
456 Castro St., San Francisco
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 7 |
Handbill announcing Mr. Gay San Francisco 1983 at Castro Station
|
1983-09-10 |
|
Scope and Contents
398 12th St., San Francisco. The Eagle, now one of the oldest leather bars in San
Francisco, opened in the South of Market area in 1981 and became known for hosting
barbecues and beer busts to benefit charitable organizations. The San Andreas Motorcycle
Club of Southern California was established in 1965 as a gay biker club and held its
first Blessing of the Bikes ceremony in the same year.
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 1 |
Beer Bust organized by the San Andreas Motorcycle Club, Inc. at the SF Eagle
|
1983-11-27 |
|
Scope and Contents
4149 18th St., San Francisco
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 8 |
Handbill for the Pipeline bar
|
1984 |
|
Scope and Contents
San Francisco. The Trocadero Transfer was founded by Dick Collier as an after-hours
dance club at 520 4th St. in the South of Market area in 1977. (Frank) Loverde was
a San Francisco-based disco artist whose record, Die Hard Lover (co-produced with
Patrick Cowley), achieved success in 1982.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 8 |
Handbill announcing Mardi Gras II featuring Loverde at the Trocadero
|
1984-01-14 |
|
Scope and Contents
375 11th St., San Francisco
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 12 |
Handbill announcing the 2nd Annual Leather Daddy Contest at Chaps
|
1984-08-10 |
|
Scope and Contents
San Francisco
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 1 |
Pier Pressure ("A Night of Non-Stop Dance Classics") at Pier 45
|
1984-11-10 |
|
Scope and Contents
San Francisco
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 8 |
Handbill announcing Men Behind Bars II at the Victoria Theater
|
1985-02-17-1985-02-18 |
|
Scope and Contents
San Francisco
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 1 |
Boys at the Brick (Baybrick Inn)
|
1985-04-01 |
|
Scope and Contents
Amsterdam. The Amsterdam Jacks formed in 1986 in Amsterdam as a response to the threat
of AIDS, later expanding to Paris, Cologne and Marseilles as well as twelve cities
in the USA.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 13 |
Jack-Off Parties of the Amsterdam Jacks
|
1986 |
| Box 2 | Folder 1 |
Baybrick Inn September Calendar 1986
|
1986 |
|
Scope and Contents
520 4th St., San Francisco. Club Q opened in 1987 and featured pioneering lesbian
DJ Page Hodel.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 9 |
Handbill announcing A Valentine's Dance for Women and Friends organized by Club Q
|
1988-02-11 |
|
Scope and Contents
520 Haight St., San Francisco. A few old tack holes. Mentions DJ Gregory Cruikshank,
formerly an early member of Tuxedomoon and, before that, part of The Angels of Light
(an offshoot of the Cockettes).
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 9 |
Handbill for the Fag Club
|
1988-04 |
|
Scope and Contents
336 6th St., San Francisco
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 13 |
Handbill promoting the new Taste of Leather Erotica Emporium
|
1988-06 |
|
Scope and Contents
240 Golden Gate, San Francisco
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 9 |
Handbill announcing Circus, a benefit for Godfather Fund and Aids Emergency Fund
|
1988-06-26 |
|
Scope and Contents
San Francisco. Special guest Lola Lust (Luis Cesar Cabrera) arrived in San Francisco
in 1973 and won the title of Mr. Gay San Francisco in 1979, later becoming a regular
headliner at Esta Noche.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 9 |
Handbill announcing Queen of the Universe Beauty Pageant at Esta Noche
|
1988-07-17 |
|
Scope and Contents
530 Valencia, San Francisco
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 9 |
Handbill announcing Kamala and the Karnivores, Blue Vulva Underground and Diamanda
Kali-Hagen at the Deaf Club
|
1989-02-12 |
| Box 1 | Folder 10 |
Handbill announcing a Putting on the Lips Contest at Esta Noche, mc'eed by Lola Lust
|
1989-04-09 |
|
Scope and Contents
520 4th St., San Francisco
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 17 |
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test with NY house star Maurice at Heaven's Gates
|
1989-04-22 |
|
Scope and Contents
960 Folsom St., San Francisco
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 13 |
Handbill advertising the Studstore
|
1989-06 |
|
Scope and Contents
398 12th St., San Francisco
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 10 |
Handbill announcing Men in Uniform Beer Bust at SF Eagle
|
1989-06-23 |
|
Scope and Contents
1062 Valencia, San Francisco. Carl Linkhart moved to San Francisco in 1973 where he
became a member of The Angels of Light and the early Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence,
later performing as a cabaret singer and composer under the name Carl with Records.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 10 |
Handbill announcing Carl with Records at The Marsh
|
1990-09-24-1990-10-15 |
|
Series II. Posters
|
|||
| Mapcase Folder 3 |
Folsom Street Barracks Hotel - Sauna Baths & Bar
|
1972 | |
|
Scope and Contents
San Francisco. Artwork by Todd Trexler featuring a photograph by Richard Avedon. The
Barracks opened in 1972 at 72 Hallam St. (off Folsom) as San Francisco's first leather-oriented
bathhouse, catering for people into hardcore BDSM.
|
|||
| Mapcase Folder 1 |
The Pleasure Chest - sex hardware
|
1976 | |
|
Scope and Contents
New York City. Artwork by Rex. The Pleasure Chest opened in 1972 at 183 West 10th
Street, NYC, with branches opening later in several other cities.
|
|||
| Mapcase Folder 2 |
The Slot
|
1976 | |
|
Scope and Contents
Artwork by Bill Tellman. The Slot, one of the earliest leather-oriented bathhouses
in San Francisco, opened on Folsom Street in 1976, catering for those into hardcore
flagellation.
|
|||
| Mapcase Folder 2 |
The Magazine
|
1976 | |
|
Scope and Contents
Artwork by Rex. The Magazine opened in the Spring of 1973, specializing in gay erotica.
Its owner, Trent Dunphy, began with the front half of a small shop at 839 Larkin Street,
next to The Gangway, San Francisco's oldest gay bar, later moving to larger premises
nearby.
|
|||
| Mapcase Folder 3 |
Come West At The Double R Miami
|
1976 | |
|
Scope and Contents
Florida, The Double R was a Levileather bar in downtown Miami, originally known as
the Rack and the Ramrod.
|
|||
| Mapcase Folder 1 |
A Taste of Leather
|
1978 | |
|
Scope and Contents
Artwork by Rex. A Taste of Leather, one of the first in-bar leather stores, was established
in 1967 by Nick O'Demus above Febe's on Folsom Street.
|
|||
| Mapcase Folder 2 |
Touché
|
1978 | |
|
Scope and Contents
Chicago. Artwork by Cegun. Touché opened as a leather bar at 6412 N. Clark St, Chicago
in 1977.
|
|||
| Mapcase Folder 2 |
San Francisco Trucking Company Inc.
|
1978 | |
|
Scope and Contents
Artwork by Ken Wood.
|
|||
| Mapcase Folder 3 |
VIP Club
|
1978 | |
|
Scope and Contents
Reno, NV. Artwork by Dirk. Dave Kirkcaldy and Rex Allen opened Reno's first gay owned
and operated hotel in 1965, and opened a mixed bar for gay men, lesbians, bisexuals,
drag queens and others a year later. In 1975 it was expanded to include a bathhouse.
|
|||
| Mapcase Folder 2 |
Fairoaks calendar, December
|
1978-12 | |
|
Scope and Contents
San Francisco. Artwork by Rinaldo. The Fairoaks hotel was a converted apartment building
at the corner of Oak and Steiner owned and operated from 1977 to 1979 by a group of
men who had previously lived together in a commune.
|
|||
| Mapcase Folder 1 |
Catacombs
|
1979 | |
|
Scope and Contents
San Francisco. Artwork by Zach. The Catacombs was an SM club in the South of Market
area that grew out of the local Fist Fuckers of America and operated between 1975
and 1981. Its location was semi-secret and admission was by referral only. In March
1980, Cynthia Slater and Susan Thoraen rented the Catacombs for the first mixed gender,
mixed orientation SM play party. It reopened at another location from 1982 but closed
for good in 1984 in response to the antibathhouse campaign.
|
|||
| Mapcase Folder 2 |
Febe's Eleventh and Folsom Calendar
|
1979 | |
|
Scope and Contents
San Francisco. 'Leather David' artwork by Mike Caffee. Febe's was the first leather
bar on Folsom Street. It opened on July 25th 1966 and was particularly popular with
members of gay motorcycle clubs.
|
|||
| Mapcase Folder 2 |
A Taste of Leather Calendar
|
1979 | |
|
Scope and Contents
San Francisco. Artwork by Rex.
|
|||
| Mapcase Folder 2 |
Hothouse Christmas
|
1979 | |
|
Scope and Contents
San Francisco. The Hothouse opened in San Francisco in 1979 on the northwest corner
of 5th and Harrison as a BDSM bathhouse.
|
|||
| Mapcase Folder 1 |
Chicago Eagle
|
1980 | |
|
Scope and Contents
Artwork by Etienne (Dom Orejudos). The Eagle's Nest, established in New York City
in 1970 soon after the Stonewall riots, was the first of what would become an international
'brand' for gay bars. The Eagle became a byword for the hypermasculine leather aesthetic,
and at least 50 bars around the world took the name, though there was no formal connection
between them.
|
|||
| Mapcase Folder 1 |
Cum For Ride, DAM
|
1980 | |
|
Scope and Contents
New York City. Artwork by Greg Maskwa. Maskwa painted murals for various bathhouses
and bars, including the Brig in San Francisco.
|
|||
| Mapcase Folder 1 |
The Jaguar Adult Bookstore and Private Membership Club
|
1980 | |
|
Scope and Contents
San Francisco. Artwork by Ken Wood. The bookstore had a bi-level sex club up- and
downstairs.
|
|||
| Mapcase Folder 2 |
The Gym, Houston Muscle & Power Co.
|
1980 | |
|
Scope and Contents
Artist unknown.
|
|||
| Mapcase Folder 2 |
The 1980 International Mr. Leather Contest, The Gold Coast
|
1980-04-09-1980-04-11 | |
|
Scope and Contents
Artwork by Etienne (Dom Orejudos). The Gold Coast, cited as America's first leather
bar, was founded by Chuck Renslow in 1958 and its International Mr. Leather contest,
first held in 1979, is regarded as having turned what was originally a local leather
competition into a national lifestyle (John Lunning was the first winner of its predecessor,
Mr. Gold Coast, in 1972).
|
|||
| Mapcase Folder 1 |
I Want You At The 247 Bar In Philadelphia
|
1982 | |
|
Scope and Contents
Designed by Colt Studios. The 247 leather and denim bar opened at 247 S. 17th St.,
Philadelphia in 1971.
|
|||
| Mapcase Folder 2 |
Looking for Mr. Drummer
|
1982 | |
|
Scope and Contents
Artwork by Ken Wood. Drummer was founded by John H. Embry and Jeanne Barney in Los
Angeles in 1975 and became the most successful American leather magazine. The publication
played a major role in promoting gay leather as a lifestyle and masculinity as a gay
ideal, and gave birth to the California Motorcycle Club Carnival and the Mr. Drummer
contest in San Francisco.
|
|||
| Mapcase Folder 2 |
International Mr. Leather 1983, The Gold Coast
|
1982 | |
|
Scope and Contents
Chicago. Artwork by Etienne (Dom Orejudos).
|
|||
| Mapcase Folder 1 |
Gold Coast 501 N. Clark, Chicago
|
1983 | |
|
Scope and Contents
Artwork by Etienne (Dom Orejudos)
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| Mapcase Folder 1 |
Studstore
|
1983 | |
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Scope and Contents
San Francisco. Artwork by The Hun. The Studstore opened on the site of A Taste of
Leather in October 1983, later becoming a video store.
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| Mapcase Folder 2 |
Gold Coast 501 N. Clark, Chicago
|
1983 | |
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Scope and Contents
Artwork by Etienne (Dom Orejudos)
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| Mapcase Folder 2 |
Chicago Gold Coast
|
1983 | |
|
Scope and Contents
Artwork by Etienne (Dom Orejudos).
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| Mapcase Folder 2 |
The Jaguar Adult Bookstore and Private Membership Club
|
1985 | |
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Scope and Contents
San Francisco.
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| Mapcase Folder 1 |
Barbary Coasters M/C Warlocks M/C Present A Joint Weekend Run
|
1987-07 | |
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Scope and Contents
The Warlocks (southern California) and Barbary Coasters (San Francisco) motorcycle
clubs were formed in 1960 and 1966 respectively.
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| Mapcase Folder 2 |
Watering Hole Saloon
|
1988 | |
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Scope and Contents
San Francisco. The Watering Hole (formerly known as The Roundup) first opened on Folsom
Street in San Francisco as a meeting place for urolagniacs in 1978.
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| Mapcase Folder 2 |
Lone Star Saloon
|
1990 | |
|
Scope and Contents
San Francisco. Artwork by Rex.
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| Mapcase Folder 3 |
Lone Star Saloon
|
1990 | |
|
Scope and Contents
San Francisco. Artwork by Steve Stafford. Poster for the 'Second Opening' (following
the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake the original Lone Star Saloon moved from Howard Street
to Harrison/9th).
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| Mapcase Folder 3 |
Rawhide
|
1990 | |
|
Scope and Contents
Artwork by Rex. The Levileather bar opened in 1979 on 8th Ave at 21st St. in Chelsea,
NYC.
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| Mapcase Folder 3 |
Rawhide
|
1990 | |
|
Scope and Contents
New York City
|
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| Mapcase Folder 3 |
Rawhide
|
1990 | |
|
Scope and Contents
New York City
|
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| Mapcase Folder 3 |
Manhole
|
1991 | |
|
Scope and Contents
Artwork by The Hun. Manhole opened in the Boystown neighborhood of Chicago in October
1990 and was Halsted Street's first leather bar, known for its DJs and cutting-edge
music.
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| Mapcase Folder 1 |
The Stud Bar
|
1992 | |
|
Scope and Contents
San Francisco. Design and photography by David Jude. The Stud bar opened in 1966 at
1535 Folsom St. as, according to co-founder George Matson, a "bar for people, not
just pretty bodies". It was originally a Hell's Angels hangout and subsequently became
a dance bar for hippies on the margins of the leather scene. It moved to 399 9th St.
at Harrison in 1987.
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| Mapcase Folder 1 |
Mr. Alberta Drummer '92
|
1992-07-11 | |
|
Scope and Contents
Club Calgary.
|
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| Mapcase Folder 3 |
Cissy's Saloon
|
undated | |
|
Scope and Contents
San Francisco. Artist unknown. Cissy's Saloon opened as a lesbian bar at 1590 Folsom
Street in 1972.
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|
Series III. Clothing
|
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| Box 1 | Folder 19 |
collection of buttons, badges and drink tokens from various leather bars and clubs
MU3430-MU3485 |
1970-1989 |
| Box 1 | Folder 20 |
collection of buttons and badges from various biker clubs throughout the USA
MU3486-MU3582 |
1970-1989 |
|
Scope and Contents
Including the Satyrs, the first gay motorcycle club in the United States (founded
in Los Angeles in 1954), the Wheels MC (founded in New York City in 1969), and the
CMC Carnival (California Motorcycle Club Carnival). The CMCC, a gay leather BDSM dance,
was organized by one of the earliest leather biker clubs, the California Motorcycle
Club, and held every November between 1966 and 1986 at various indoor venues in San
Francisco.
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| Box 1 | Folder 21 |
collection of pins from various gay biker clubs throughout the USA,
MU3529-MU3581 |
1970-1989 |
|
Scope and Contents
Includes pins from the South Pacific MC, founded in Sydney in 1970.
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| Box 3 |
Vintage leatherman's biker cap
|
1960-1985 | |
|
Scope and Contents
Adorned with an assortment of motorcycle club badges dating from the late 1960s through
to the early 1980s.
|
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| Box 3 |
T-shirt from the Lone Star Saloon
|
1990 | |
|
Scope and Contents
San Francisco. Screenprinted artwork by Steve Stafford.
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