digital Collections
ACT UP San Francisco Oral History Project, #GLBT-ACTUPOH. Recordings of oral histories with participants in ACT UP/SF and other AIDS direct-action groups.
AIDS Legal Referral Panel (ALRP) Records, #2000-46. ALRP is an organization founded in 1983 that connects people with AIDS and volunteer lawyers. The collection also includes materials from the Women’s AIDS Network.
Linda Alband Collection of Randy Shilts Materials, #2003-09. Randy Shilts (1951–1994) was a prominent, openly gay journalist and author. He covered issues facing LGBTQ communities, most notably the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.
Dirk Alphin Collection of Valencia Rose Videotapes, #2014-06. Footage of performances at the Valencia Rose, an LGBTQ comedy club and performance space in San Francisco, circa 1985.
Anything That Moves Records, 2017-22. Anything That Moves was a magazine by and for bisexual people. It ran from 1990-2001. This online collection contains cartoons, drawings, and the production archive of issue #12.
Archival Objects & Artworks. Includes a diverse range of two-dimensional and three-dimensional objects and artworks. A curated selection of the many objects in our archival collections.
C.D. Arnold Papers, #2000-58.
C.D. Arnold was a prolific playwright who often worked with Theatre Rhinoceros. This collection documents Arnold’s personal and creative life through scripts, journals, ephemera, and other materials.
Gilbert Baker Collection, 2017-18. Gilbert Baker was an artist, drag queen, and Sister of Perpetual Indulgence who played the central role in the 1978 creation of the rainbow LGBTQ pride flag.
Crawford Barton Papers, #1993-11. Crawford Barton (1943–1993) photographed and filmed San Francisco's LGBTQ communities in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
Lanny Baugniet Papers, #1991-10.
Lanny Baugniet was a cofounder of queer theatre company Theatre Rhinoceros. His collection includes records from the theater, notes on productions and workshops, press releases, programs, posters, reviews, and a journal of the company’s first year.
Bay Area American Indian Two-Spirits Records, #2019-81. Bay Area American Indian Two Spirits (BAAITS) exists to restore and recover the role of Two-Spirit people within the American Indian/First Nations community by creating forums for the spiritual, cultural and artistic expression of Two-Spirit people.
Bay Area Reporter Archive, #GLBT-PER. The Bay Area Reporter (BAR) is an LGBTQ weekly newspaper. The paper’s run from 1971 to 2005 is searchable via the partners of the GLBT Historical Society’s BAR digitization project, the Internet Archive and the California Digital Newspaper Collection. The project was made possible by support from the Bob Ross Foundation.
Bay Area Reporter Obituary Database. In cooperation with the Bay Area Reporter, this searchable database contains all obituaries that have appeared in the BAR since it began publishing them in 1972.
Bill Beardemphl Papers, #2022-04. Bill Beardemphl founded the Society for Individual Rights (SIR) in 1964; later, he would become a journalist, and in the 1980s was the owner of the San Francisco Sentinel.
Zane Blaney Audio Recordings, #2016-18. Zane Blaney is a radio journalist, producer, and co-founder of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation/San Francisco Bay Area. These audio interviews cover many topics, including anti-LGBTQ violence, religion, and the Moral Majority.
Zane Blaney Video Recordings, #2016-18. Zane Blaney is a radio journalist, producer, and co-founder of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation/San Francisco Bay Area. The video recordings selected here document the 1982 Gay Games in San Francisco.
BML Videos, #2014-10. Video recordings created by BML Videos of LGBTQ social and recreational events in the Bay Area spanning from the 1980s–1990s, including drag shows, award shows, leather events and others.
Dina Boyer Papers, #2023-08. Episodes of a public access television series created by and for transgender people that aired on San Francisco’s Channel 29 between 1999 and 2007. The show was produced and directed by Dina Boyer and hosted by Kitty Kastro (also known as Nadia Cabezas).
Larry Buttwinick Papers, #2006-44. Larry Buttwinick was a gay man who attended drag parties starting in the 1950s. This collection contains a film from one such party, circa 1965-1975, and shows drag queens clowning, getting dressed, and celebrating.
Jean-Baptiste Carhaix Photographs, #2019-39. Jean-Baptiste Carhaix (1946-2023) was a French photographer. The digital collection includes photographs of early members of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and San Francisco AIDS activism.
Closet Ball Recordings, #2023-21. The Closet Ball was a long-running drag event hosted in San Francisco, California. This collection contains Beta tapes of the pageant created by Carter Carter, who participated in the Closet Ball, and Robert Michael Productions.
Robert Coffman Papers, #2006-17. Robert Coffman was a social worker who moved to San Francisco after retirement and began a second career as an actor. He was an early member of Theatre Rhinoceros, and became known for his readings from Truman Capote.
Collection of 8mm Films, #2000-67. An unknown person recorded these 8mm films in the late 1960’s in San Francisco. The films document drag shows, Imperial Court events, gay bars, queer people socializing, and Halloween and holiday celebrations.
Collection of Lesbian Scrapbook Photographs, 2008-01. Scrapbook of “anonymous lesbian photographs” found, according to the donor, in a “Berkeley junk shop in the early 2000s.” The images span the mid-1940s to the early 1960s.
Charles Cyberski Videotapes, 1994-03. Cyberski was co-owner and operator of the mail-order video business Male Entertainment Network (MEN). Videos document LGBTQ events, including leather competitions, San Francisco Pride, Miss Continental, and Gay Games; as well as lesbian and gay rights and AIDS activism.
Denise D’Anne Papers, #2021-06. Denise D’Anne was a transgender environmentalist, labor activist, civil servant, writer, and candidate for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. D’Anne’s collection includes extensive manuscripts and photographs documenting her diverse activities.
Bruce Decker Papers, #2008-23. Bruce B. Decker (1950–1995), a Republican political consultant and public policy advocate, dedicated himself to AIDS research and education after learning that he was HIV-positive in 1984, including helping to found Concerned Americans for Individual Rights.
Collection of Event and Sylvester Concert Slides, #1997-39. Includes 35mm photographic slides depicting nightlife events, circa 1970-1977, including images of a Sylvester concert and what may be Halloween 1977. The images predominantly depict Black performers and attendees, including people in costumes and drag.
Richard William Evans Papers, #2023-56. Evans was a Black, gay artist. As a member of the Stellar Arts Collective, he helped create “The Power of the Sun,” a large-scale stained glass installation in 1979. Material includes project papers, photographs, and interviews.
Finocchio’s Collection, #1999-79. Finocchio’s was one of the oldest and best-known female impersonation clubs in the world. This digital collection includes photographs of performers, production materials, costumes, jewelry, and ephemera.
Forget-Me-Nots Records, 1989-10. Recordings from the Forget-Me-Nots, a small group of gay men from San Francisco who formed an affinity group for civil disobedience prior to the 1987 National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. The group’s members marched and demonstrated in memory of those lost to AIDS.
Fruit Punch Radio Series, #1999-51. Fruit Punch was a groundbreaking gay radio program that debuted on KPFA FM Berkeley in 1973. The show covered a wide range of subjects, both political and cultural. Selections from Fruit Punch are also available on Calisphere and the Internet Archive.
FTM Newsletter, #GLBT-PER. The newsletter of FTM (later FTM International), the first organization for trans men and transmasculine people. This online collection comprises the first five years of the newsletter’s run.
Linda Garber Oral History Collection, #2008-04. Interviews from the Central Valley Lesbian Oral History Project that collects the stories of lesbians in California’s Central Valley, focusing on the lesbian and feminist movements of the 1970s.
The Gay Life Radio Series, #1991-24. This radio show was hosted by Randy Alfred, dated 1977-1984. The show covered a wide range of LGBTQ subjects, both political and cultural. Selections from The Gay Life are also available on DIVA.
Elsa Gidlow Papers, #1991-16. Elsa Gidlow (1898–1986) was a lesbian poet, philosopher, and woman of letters. Her book On a Grey Thread (1923) was the first collection of openly lesbian love poetry published in North America, and her autobiography, Elsa: I Come With My Songs (1986) was the first lesbian autobiography whose author did not publish under a pseudonym.
GLBT Historical Society Film and Video Collection, GLBT-VIDEO. This collection documents a range of LGBTQ activities and topics and encompasses numerous genres, including event and protest recordings, documentaries, public access television episodes, interviews, news broadcasts, feature films, and adult videos.
Efrain John Gonzalez 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.
Walter Hart Scrapbook, 2023-39.
This scrapbook documents the career and social life of Walter Hart, a "female impersonator" who headlined at Finocchio's nightclub in San Francisco between the 1930s and 1950s.
HIV/AIDS Ephemera from the San Francisco LGBT General Subjects Ephemera Collection, #SUB EPH. Ephemera related to HIV/AIDS, including pamphlets, fliers, clippings, event invitations, and other materials. Subjects include the ARC/AIDS Vigil, Castro Sweep, counseling, discrimination, and the impact of the epidemic on women and people of color.
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.
Sandy Holmes Collection, #2014-14. 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.
Lorraine Hurdle Papers, #2018-12. Lorraine Hurdle (1922-2014) was a Black lesbian woman who served in the United States Women’s Army Corps (WAC) in Germany during World War II. Hurdle continued to serve as a recruiter after the war. Her collection documents her friendships and relationships with other military women.
Elaine Gay Jarvis Photographs, #2018-90. This is a collection of photographs by Elaine Gay Jarvis of the 1978 Gay Freedom Day Parade (later known as the Pride Parade) in San Francisco.
Jewish Feminist Conference audiotapes, #1991-28. JFC was a two-part conference held in 1983 in Berkeley, California. The tapes include recordings of conference panels and talks.
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 includes photographs, production materials, flyers, posters, and other ephemera.
Ginny Knuth papers, #1999-46. Ginny Knuth was a cisgender woman who volunteered extensively with San Francisco transgender organizations, supporting her spouse and friends as a member of Educational TV Channel and TransGender San Francisco. This collection contains oral histories, papers, and personal memorabilia.
Cora Latz and Etta Perkins photographs, #2003-43. This collection records the 1973 commitment ceremony and 1998 vow renewal of Cora Latz and Etta Perkins, a Jewish interracial couple who were together for 25 years.
Henri Leleu Bar Photographs, #1997-13. Selected photographs by Henri Leleu of San Francisco gay bar and club exteriors, circa 1960s-1970s.
Henri Leleu Films, #1997-13. Films, circa 1965-1977, from the Leleu collection. The films document various LGBTQ events and bars, including Halloween balls, parades, drag films, motorcycle runs, and others.
Henri Leleu Photographs, #1997-13. Henri Leleu (1907–1996) photographed LGBTQ cultural sites, events, and people in the San Francisco Bay Area during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.
Lesbian Archives of Sonoma County Collection, #2018-13. The digital collection includes oral history recordings by LASC of Sonoma County lesbian artists, activists, educators, performers, and others discussing a broad range of topics.
Lesbian and Gay Chorus of San Francisco Ephemera, #1997-14. This collection contains ephemera produced by the Lesbian and Gay Chorus of San Francisco, the nation’s oldest self-identified LGBT mixed chorus. Materials include flyers and posters advertising chorus events.
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.
Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin Papers, #1993-13. Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin were lesbian pioneers and activists. They co-founded the Daughters of Bilitis in 1955 and dedicated their lives to fighting for LGBTQ rights.
Lyon-Martin House Oral Histories, 2023-52. Recordings and supplemental material for the Lyon-Martin House Oral History Project. Located at 651 Duncan Street in San Francisco, the Lyon-Martin House is the former home of lesbian activists Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin. In 2021, San Francisco designated the Lyon-Martin House a City Landmark.
Janet MacHarg Papers, #2003-41. Janet “Janny” MacHarg was a political songwriter, cabaret performer, writer, and feminist activist, known as the “Tallulah Bankhead of San Francisco.” The collection includes photographs, performance flyers, short stories, lyrics and song boards, and other ephemera.
Maestrapeace Artworks Records, #2008-50. Maestrapeace Artworks is an arts organization composed of seven women muralists who together designed and painted the acclaimed mural “Maestrapeace” on the San Francisco Women’s Building.
Marin County AIDS Advisory Commission Records, #2006-08. Contains records produced by MAAC and documents one aspect of the county’s official response to AIDS. Includes records produced by the Marin County AIDS Task Force, which was formed in 1985.
Camille Moran Papers, #2000-43. Camille Moran is a transgender activist who works against psychiatric abuse of queer and trans youth. This collection includes draft testimony, poetry, satirical notes, and other writing by Moran, as well as a number of articles she wrote or collected.
Violet Nassos Collection, #2009-06. Violet Nassos was a friend of Ann Dee, owner of 1950s lesbian/bisexual club Ann’s 440. This small collection includes snapshots of Nassos, Dee, and others.
Harold T. O’Neal films, #2002-03. Selected footage by gay filmmaker Harold (Hal) O’Neal, circa 1930s-1980s. Included are his home movies of friends and family, gay life, drag and other stage performances, the World War II home front, and pride parades.
Jiro Onuma Papers, #2000-27. Onuma was a Japanese-American man. The collection includes Onuma’s passport documentation and images of Onuma and his friends and lover in 1930s San Francisco and at Tule Lake internment camp, where Onuma was forcibly incarcerated during World War II.
Onyx: Black Lesbian Newsletter, #GLBT-PER. Bay Area newsletter for Black lesbians, 1982-1984.
Oral History Recordings, #GLBT-OH. Selected oral history recordings have been made available online. The collection is hosted on Calisphere via the California Revealed program.
Oral History Transcripts, #GLBT-OH. Selected oral history transcripts have been made available online. Keyword search our oral histories in the catalog and click on transcript links when available.
Poster Collection, #GLBT-POSTER. Selected posters covering a wide range of LGBTQ events, arts, and activism.
Pride Parade Videos. Video and film footage of San Francisco LGBTQ Pride Parades from the 1970s and 1980s. These videos are from the following collections: Crawford Wayne Barton Papers (#1993-11), Charles Cyberski Collection (#1994-03), and Harold T. O’Neal Collection (#2002-03).
Robert Pruzan Photographs, #1998-36. Robert Pruzan (1946–1992) was a photographer who documented LGBTQ life in San Francisco in the 1970s and 1980s.
Purple Moon Dance Project Videos, #2012-05. Video recordings of performances of the Purple Moon Dance Project, which was founded in 1992 by choreographer/dancer Jill Togawa with the goal of promoting visibility for lesbians and women of color through the medium of dance.
Rex Ray Poster Collection, #2017-04. Posters, ephemera, and book covers designed by San Francisco-based queer graphic artist Rex Ray.
Anson Reinhart papers, #1994-25. Recordings of Golden Gate Gay Liberation House meetings. Operating in San Francisco's Lower Haight neighborhood 1973-1978, GGGLH provided temporary housing and counseling to marginalized gay youth and helped connect them with social services available in the Bay Area.
Mary Richards Audiotapes, #2002-34. Mary Richards was a journalist for the Bay Area Reporter in the 1980s and 1990s. This collection contains audiotape recordings of interviews Richards conducted with LGBTQ people on a wide range of topics.
Sue Rochman Papers, #2005-13. Sue Rochman is a freelance health journalist from the San Francisco Bay Area specializing in oncology and HIV. The collection includes her research and notes on HIV/AIDS and prison populations, circa 1988 and 1991.
Carol Rossi papers, #2000-30.
Carol Rossi is an activist who has participated in a number of organizations and protests, including Digital Queers, the Dyke March, Lesbian Avengers, protests against the film Basic Instinct, and Queer Nation. This collection contains ephemera from Rossi’s life as an organizer.
Rossmoor Lesbian Social Club Interviews, #2022-96. The Rossmoor Lesbian Social Club is a club in the Rossmoor senior community in Walnut Creek, California. The club’s mission is to provide social activities for Rossmoor residents who identify as lesbian, bisexual, or transgender women. Includes 24 interviews with RLSC members and a panel discussion.
Wendy Rouder Papers. 2022-24. Wendy Rouder was the founder of the Arcaids Theatre, a troupe of actors living with AIDS. This collection contains scripts, publicity materials, correspondence, ephemera, and other items which tell the story of the troupe’s two years on the stage.
San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus Records, #2009-01. The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus was one of the pioneers of the LGBTQ choral movement. The digital collection, which includes selected programs from the 1970s-1980s, as well as materials relating to the Chorus’ 1981 National Tour is searchable on the Internet Archive and additional content is on Calisphere.
San Francisco Lesbian and Gay History Project Records, #1998-05. Selected recordings from the records of the San Francisco Lesbian and Gay History Project. The organization, founded in 1978, worked to uncover and make public the history of lesbian and gay communities.
Maria Sanchez Papers, #2006-19. This collection contains the personal papers of Maria Sanchez, a Cuban American DJ active in San Francisco bathhouse and disco communities.
José Sarria papers, #1996-01. José Julio Sarria was a drag performer, founder of the Imperial Court System, and a pioneer in the gay rights movement. The digital collection includes material from Sarria’s drag career, 1961 run for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and Imperial Court Coronation Programs from throughout California.
Steve Scholl Collection of San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Band and Twirling Corps Materials, #2017-07. This collection contains photographs, flyers, and other ephemera produced by the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Marching Band and Twirling Corps and collected by Steve Scholl, a founding member of the band.
Screaming Queens Collection, #2008-35. Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton’s Cafeteria is a documentary film telling the story of trans women's lives and resistance in 1960s San Francisco. The collection contains extensive video interviews with the women and their allies, portions of which were excerpted in the film.
Shanti Project Records, #2006-02. The Shanti Project was an agency dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for people living with HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening or chronic illnesses. This collection contains board and training materials, newsletters, publicity materials, and photographs.
Sissy Poetry audio recordings, #2019-79. A 1977 Sissy Poetry reading at the LGBT community center in San Francisco. The Sissies were a small group active in the late 1970s, many of whom were Bay Area Gay Liberation (BAGL) members.
Daniel Smith and Queer Blue Light Videotapes, #1999-52. Queer Blue Light was a 1970s video collective devoted to filming queer San Francisco. Subjects include protests, art events, street interviews, skits, and intimate scenes of gay men at home.
Lou Sullivan Papers, #1991-07. Lou Sullivan (1951–1991), was a gay, transgender man who was an activist, historian, and diarist. The digital collection includes video footage and letters between Sullivan and various medical professionals, colleagues, and friends, dated circa 1973 to 1991.
Sylvester collection, #2018-05. Sylvester (born Sylvester James Jr.) was a disco-soul singer-songwriter known for his androgynous appearance, falsetto singing voice, and the moniker the “Queen of Disco.”
Transgender Ephemera. This is a selection of historical ephemera related to transgender events and organizations.
M.J. Talbot Video and Audio Recordings, #1999-26. Activist Michael James (M.J.) Talbot was one of the founders of the Gay Asian Pacific Alliance and GAPA Community HIV Project. The recordings include interviews about gay erotic film making, HIV/AIDS services, the experiences of gay Asian Americans, and videos of GAPA events.
Beowulf Thorne Papers, #2003-10. Beowulf Thorne was a political activist on issues affecting people with AIDS. He was one of the founders of the magazine Diseased Pariah News (DPN).
Thrillpeddlers Collection, #2018-85. Thrillpeddlers was a San Francisco-based multigenerational queer theater company specializing in Grand Guignol plays and Theatre of the Ridiculous.
TransGender Forum Volume 1-4 CD-ROM, #2023-98. This CD-ROM collects one of the very first websites aimed at transgender people, covering the years 1995-1998. The link contains simple instructions on how to view the site’s vast content as it originally appeared.
Transgender Informational and Event Brochures. This is a selection of historical informational and event brochures related to transgender people and organizations.
Marie Ueda Photographs, #2006-12. Marie Ueda, a Japanese-born photojournalist, captured photographs of San Francisco LGBTQ events during the 1970s to 1990s. The digital collection includes images of 1970s Gay Freedom Day events.
Vanguard 1966 Street Sweep Photographs, #2021-21. Vanguard was an organization of LGBTQ youth and others living on the streets of the Tenderloin district. The Street Sweep was organized to demonstrate their commitment to the neighborhood and to protest ongoing police harassment.
Vanguard Magazine, #GLBT-PER. This collection includes ten zines created and published by Vanguard from 1966–1967 and a retrospective zine created in 2011. Contributors to Vanguard were LGBTQ youth from the streets of the Tenderloin district in San Francisco.
Wide Open Town History Project Records, #2003-05. Wide Open Town is Nan Alamilla Boyd’s groundbreaking history of queer San Francisco to 1965. Photographs highlight Mona Sargent’s clubs, including Mona’s 440, and lesbian nightlife.
Wilderness Women, was a monthly newsletter of outdoor and nature activities for women in the San Francisco Bay Area, published from 1981-2015. Event listings included hikes for single lesbians over 50, lesbian birdwatching, outings hosted by the Gay and Lesbian Sierrans, camping trips throughout California, and others.
Chana Wilson Audio Recordings, #2003-07. Chana Wilson is an author and radio host who was involved with three radio shows in the 1970s and 1980s: “Lesbian Air,” “Radio Free Lesbian,” and “A World Wind.”
Subscription-Based Collections
Material from selected collections has been digitized in partnership with Gale/Cengage. Access is available in the reading room of the GLBT Historical Society or with a subscription (often available through universities or public libraries). You can also contact reference@glbthistory.org for more information about remote access.
Archives of Sexuality & Gender: LGBT History and Culture Since 1940, Part I
Archives of Sexuality & Gender: LGBTQ History and Culture Since 1940, Part II
Women’s Studies Archive: Women’s Issues and Identities
The following collections are represented: The San Francisco Women's Building / Women's Centers Records; The Allan Bérubé Papers; Donald Stewart Lucas Papers; John Kyper Collection of Gay Liberation Ephemera and Publications; Ms. Bob Davis Collection; Randy Burns Papers; Will Roscoe Papers and Gay American Indians Records; Asian/Pacific AIDS Coalition Records; Martin Meeker Collection of Oral Histories, Photographs and Ephemera; National Transgender Library Collection; TransGender San Francisco (TGSF) Collection; Wide Open Town History Project Records; Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin Papers; selected newsletters and periodicals from the GLBT Historical Society’s Periodicals Collection.
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