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Tool Box Bar, 1963
Poster design by Sonia Harris
The copyrighted material included is included below with the permission of Justin Hall.
Preface
The following two page history of San Francisco's Tool Box bar is part of the "Marching Toward Pride" series of posters documenting Gay History drawn by artist Justin Hall.
On his web site, he explains:
It illustrates the story of the first leather bar in SF’s South of Market (SOMA) district and the beginnings of leather culture in the city.
The poster title should have been TOOL BOX BAR, 1962, since that was the year the bar actually opened. I had read that the date was 1963, but was corrected by Gayle Rubin, who is the greatest historian of the early leather scene. I changed the date in the body of the poster, but unfortunately, I forgot to do so in the title.
Further Reading
More from Justin Hall
Other episodes in Justin's Marching Toward Pride series include:
- Daughters of Bilitis
- Jose Sarria's Campaign
- Council on Religion and The Homosexual
- Compton's Cafeteria Riots
- San Fracisco Pride
In Print
- Jack Fritscher "Artist Chuck Arnett: His life/our times" in Thompson, Mark (editor). 1991. Leatherfolk -- Radical Sex, People, Politics, and Practice. 1st ed. Boston: Alyson Books.
- Gayle Rubin "The Miracle Mile: South of Market and Gay Male Leather Culture, 1962-1997" from Reclaiming San Francisco: History, Politics, Culture by James Brook, Chris Carlsson, & Nancy J. Peters. San Francisco: City Lights Publishers. 3rd edition (January 1, 1998)
On Line
- Life Magazine Looks at Homosexuality (1964)
- American Leather Goes Mainstream: Anger, Arnett and Life Magazine by Chris M
- A Brief History of Leatherbars (Featuring the DC Eagle) by Chris M
- The Leather History Timeline by Tony DeBlase and others
- The Artistry of Leather and Desire: Archives Acquire Tool Box Mural
- The Reproduction of the Tool Box Mural in 2012 by Nayland Blake
Additional relevant links can be found on EvilMonk.org's History section landing page.