José Sarria Papers 1900-2013 (Bulk Dates 1960-2010)
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Finding aid to the José Sarria Papers 1900-2013 (bulk dates 1960-2010) Accession number: #1996-01 Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society San Francisco, California Contact Information: Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society 657 Mission Street No. 300 San Francisco, CA 94105 Phone: (415) 777-5455 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.glbthistory.org Processed by: Juliet Demeter and Shannon Hartman Date Completed: March 2014 Encoded by: Marjorie Bryer, March 2014 © 2014 Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society. All rights reserved. José Sarria Papers (#1996-01) Descriptive Summary Title José Sarria Papers Accession number 1996-01 Date Bulk: 1960-2010 Inclusive: 1900-2013 Creator Sarria, José Extent 2 cartons, 130 boxes, (17 oversize boxes) (65 linear feet) Repository Gay Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society San Francisco, California Abstract The José Sarria Papers include biographical material, correspondence, photographs, ephemera, artifacts and costumes documenting his career as an entertainer and activist in San Francisco over more than half a century. Administrative Information Acquisition Gift of José Sarria in February 2001 and September 2012. Access Collection is open for research. Publication Rights Copyright to unpublished manuscript materials that José Sarria was the owner of has been transferred to the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society. Preferred Citation [Identification of item], [Name of Series], COLLECTION NAME, COLLECTION NUMBER, The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society. 2 José Sarria Papers (#1996-01) Biography José Julio Sarria was born December 12, 1923 at St. Francis Hospital in San Francisco. He was best known as a performer and a pioneer in the gay rights movement, most notably as the first openly gay candidate in the United States to run for public office in 1961. He was a founding member of the League for Civil Education (LCE), the Society for Individual Rights (SIR) and the Tavern Guild. Crowned Queen of the Beaux Arts Ball in 1964 by the Tavern Guild, Sarria proclaimed himself “Her Royal Majesty, Empress of San Francisco, José I, The Widow Norton” and soon thereafter established the Imperial Court System, a network of non-profit charitable organizations throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. Sarria died of adrenal cancer on August 19, 2013, at his home in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, New Mexico. Collection Scope and Content Summary The José Sarria Papers include biographical material, correspondence, photographs, ephemera, artifacts and costumes documenting his career as an entertainer and activist in San Francisco over more than half a century. The collection includes memorabilia, costumes and photos related to Sarria’s opera performances at the Black Cat Café and many other venues in the city. It contains founding papers for the League for Civil Education, the Society for Individual Rights, and the Tavern Guild, organizations Sarria helped form in the early 1960s. There is also a small amount of material related to his historic run for the Board of Supervisors in San Francisco in 1961. A major part of the collection is made up of materials relating to the history of the Imperial Court System, also known as the International Court System, which Sarria founded in 1965. The Court, one of the oldest and largest LGBT organizations in the world, raises money for charitable causes throughout North America. Arrangement of the Collection The collection is divided into 11 series: Series 1. Biographical Materials Series 2. Correspondence Series 3. Public Appearances/Performances Series 4. Professional Affiliations Series 5. Board of Supervisor Election Series 6. Imperial Court System Series 7. Financial Records Series 8. Subject Files Series 9. Artifacts Series 10. Costumes Series 11. Photographs and Audiovisual Material 3 José Sarria Papers (#1996-01) Indexing Terms Sarria, José. Gay men -- California -- San Francisco Female impersonators -- California -- San Francisco Imperial Court of San Francisco Collection Contents Series 1. Biographical Materials, 1923-2013 Physical Description: Boxes 1-4; Carton 1; Oversize Boxes 106-107; Oversize Box 108, folder 1 Series Scope and Content Note: Includes childhood and school records; articles and other writings about Sarria; family papers; and awards and honors he received throughout his lifetime. Also contains Sarria’s obituaries and materials from his memorial service in 2013. Box/Folder Contents Date 1/1 Baby Records circa 1923 1/2 Elementary School Report Cards 1931-1937 1/3 Junior High School 1938-1939 1/4 High School 1940-1942 1/5 Schoolwork/Notebook undated 1/6 Military Records 1943-1988 1/7 San José State University 1947-1954 1/8 Union Membership Material 1948-1955 1/9 Passport, I.D. Cards 1964-1980 1/10 Writings about José Sarria 1984-2002 1/11-14 Clippings 1970-2009 1/15 Articles about José 1978-2012 1/16 Book: The Empress Is a Man 1998 2/1 José Sarria LP Record 1962 2/2 Interviews with Sarria 2001-2010, undated 2/3 Birthday Celebrations 1997-2012 2/4 Dedication of José Sarria Court, SF 2006 2/5 Memorial Service 2013 2/6 Obituaries 2013 2/7-10 Friends Obituaries and Memorials 1969-2011 2/11 Cemetery Fund 1995-1998 3/1-2 Papers of Dolores Maldonado (Mother) 1911-1963, undated 3/3 Millen Family 1923-2009 3/4-10 Appointment Calendars 1966-1989 3/11 Trip to Berlin 1996-1997 3/12 Trip to London 2002 3/13 Miscellaneous 1977, undated 4 Awards and Honors 1970-2012 4 José Sarria Papers (#1996-01) Carton 1 Awards and Honors 1974-2005 OS 106 Golden Awards 1970-1971 OS 107 Scrapbook 1940-1946 OS108/1 Posters for Book: The Empress Is a Man 1998 Series 2. Correspondence, 1942-2012 Physical Description: Boxes 5-15 Series Scope and Content Note: This series includes letters to José Sarria, as well as invitations and greeting cards. There is very little outgoing correspondence. While most of the Imperial Court correspondence can be found in Series 6, there are some personal letters from court members who Sarria befriended over the years. The greeting cards and invitations are unarranged. Box/Folder Contents Date 5/1 Brewer, Joseph 1953-1956 5/2-5 Parker, Pierre 1964-2005, undated 5/6 McGinnis, James (Hazel) 1968-1982 5/7-8 Tenants 1955-1977 5/9 Malone, Jim 1992-2006 5/10 Telegrams 1949-1972 6/1-15 Correspondence 1961-1983 7/1-8 Correspondence 1984-1991 8/1-9 Correspondence 1992-2001 9/1-8 Correspondence 2002-2012, undated 10/1-2 Invitations 1960-2012 11 Greeting Cards 1942-2012 11/1 Holiday Letters 1942-2012 12 Greeting Cards 1942-2012 13 Greeting Cards 1942-2012 14 Greeting Cards 1942-2012 15 Greeting Cards 1942-2012 Series 3. Public Appearances/Performances, 1955-2011 Physical Description: Boxes 16-22; Oversize Box 108, folder 2; Oversize Box 9, folder 1 Series Scope and Content Note: Includes materials about the Black Cat Café, the legendary San Francisco bar where Sarria began performing his operas in the 1950s. Also included are flyers, invitations, posters and other materials related to his performances and personal appearances throughout his career in San Francisco and other cities. Among these are invitations to Sarria’s annual pilgrimages as the Widow Norton to her late “husband” – Emperor Joshua Norton’s—gravesite in Colma. This series contains several boxes of scripts for operas written by Sarria and his long-time accompanist, James “Hazel” McGinnis, who he met while working at the Black Cat. Box/Folder Contents Date 16/1 The Black Cat circa 1955-2003 16/2 Madama Butterfly 1959 16/3 Aïda 1967 5 José Sarria Papers (#1996-01) 16/4 A Bit of Old San Francisco 1969 16/5 A Tribute to José 1984 16/6 Bead-dazzled 1973 16/7 In Memory of Friends 1988 16/8 Dance-along Nutcracker 1994-1999 16/9-13 Performances 1955-1994 17/1-3 Performances 1995-2006, undated 17/4-11 Widow Norton Graveside Visits 1972-2011, undated 18/1-8 Scripts 1958-1960 19/1-7 Scripts 1960-1967 20/1-8 Scripts 1970-1988, undated 21/1-9 Scripts undated 22/1-8 Scripts undated OS 108/2 Performance Posters 1967-1996 OS 109/1 Performance Posters 1967-1990 Series 4. Professional Affiliations, 1961-2005 Physical Description: Boxes 23-24; Box 25, folders 1-5 Series Scope and Content Note: Contains meeting minutes, correspondence, and other documents relating to several homophile groups Sarria helped establish in San Francisco. These include the League for Civic Education (LCE), which formed to promote gay civil rights and provide financial assistance for members of the community who were victims of discrimination and arrest. A few years later the Society for Individual Rights (SIR) was founded to provide similar services. SIR also performed a social function, holding annual events and performances to raise money for the gay community. Also included are materials related to the Tavern Guild, an association of gay bar owners and employees, and Sarria’s jobs at several World’s Fairs and Expositions, where he worked with Pierre Parker, a friend from his days at the Black Cat Café. Box/Folder Contents Date 23/1 League for Civil Education 1961-1962 Society for Individual Rights (S.I.R.) 23/2 Articles of Incorporation 1965 23/3 Constitution and By-Laws 1966 23/4 Meeting Minutes 1966-1974 23/5 Correspondence 1966-1973 23/6 Timeline 1964-1973 23/7 Financial Records 1965-1973 23/8 Flyers 1966-1974, undated 23/9 José Sarria Candidacy, S.I.R. V.P. 1966 23/10 Membership Cards 1966-1973 23/11 Pocket Lawyer undated 23/12-13 Events 1966-1986 23/14 Publications 1965-1973 6 José Sarria Papers (#1996-01) Tavern Guild 23/15 Constitution and By-Laws 1962-1975 23/16 Correspondence 1970-1987 23/17 Membership Cards 1966-1978 23/18 Receipts 1975-1976 23/19 General Information 1966-1993 23/20 Dissolution 1995 23/21 Building Fund (Community Thrift Store) 1995-1997 24/1-4 Beaux Arts Ball 1970-1973 24/5 World Fair/Expos, Pierre E.