Alan Selby

Alan Selby (1929–2004), born Alan Henry Sniders,[1] was an English-born American gay businessman and leader in the San Francisco leather community.[2] He was known by many as "the Mayor of Folsom Street".[1] He claimed to have created the first hanky code with his business partners at Leather 'n' Things in 1972, when their bandana supplier inadvertently doubled their order and the expanded code would help them sell the extra colors they had received.[3] However, other sources dispute this being the origin of the hanky code.[4]

Biography

Alan Selby was born as Alan Henry Sniders in Yorkshire, England.[1] He was a member of the Royal Navy.[1]

He moved to San Francisco in 1979 to found the fetish clothing manufacturer Mr. S Leather.[1] At one point, this business was operated by Judy Tallwing McCarthey.[5][6]

Selby co-founded and fundraised for the San Francisco AIDS Emergency Fund, which was founded in 1982.[7][8] Following the death of his partner, Peter Jacklin, from AIDS in 1987, Selby became a prominent figure in the community response against the AIDS epidemic.[1]

Selby died from complications of emphysema at the age of 75 in May 2004 in San Francisco.[2] In 2019, an exhibition at the GLBT Historical Society Museum celebrated Selby's life and legacy.[9]

Awards and legacy
  • In 1988, Selby was awarded the Steve Maidhof Award for National or International Work by the National Leather Association International.[7]
  • In 1989, he received the Man of the Year Award as part of the Pantheon of Leather Awards.[10]
  • In 1999, he and Leonard Dworkin received the Forebear Award as part of the Pantheon of Leather Awards.[10]
  • In 2004, Selby received the Lifetime Achievement Award as part of the Pantheon of Leather Awards.[10]
  • In 2013, Selby was posthumously inducted into the Leather Hall of Fame.[11]
  • In 2017, Selby was honored along with other notables, named on bronze bootprints, as part of San Francisco South of Market Leather History Alley.[12][13]

References
  1. "The Mayor of Folsom Street: The Life and Legacy of Alan Selby". GLBT Historical Society. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
  2. Guthrie, Julian (2004-05-11). "Alan Selby -- beloved leader in leather community / 'Daddy Alan' is remembered for gregarious, generous spirit". SFGate. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
  3. Jones, Jordy (2017). The Mayor of Folsom Street, The Auto/Biography of "Daddy Alan" Selby aka Mr. S. Fair Page Media LLC. pp. 61–62. ISBN 978-0-9989098-0-6.
  4. Fischer, Hal (1977). Gay Semiotics ♂. San Francisco: NFS Press. ISBN 0-917986-03-2. Archived from the original on 2019-10-18. Retrieved 2020-04-13. In San Francisco, the signs began appearing around 1971. The Trading Post, a department store specializing in erotic merchandise, began promoting handkerchiefs in the store and printing cards with their meanings. The red and blue handkerchiefs and their significance were already in existence, and meanings were assigned to other colors as well.
  5. "Program from the Creating Change Conference, National LGBTQ Task Force, January 15–19 2020" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-06-01. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
  6. Mr. S. Leather Twitter bio
  7. "List of winners". NLA International. 2019-03-14. Archived from the original on 2020-01-03. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  8. "The New Heart to Heart: the newsletter of the AIDS Emergency Fund; Summer 1997; Awards Dinner". Bolerium.com. 2001-09-11. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  9. Laird, Cynthia (May 10, 2019). "News Brief: Exhibit to highlight leather daddy Selby". The Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
  10. "Pantheon of Leather Awards All Time Recipients - The Leather Journal". www.theleatherjournal.com. Archived from the original on 2020-12-28. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
  11. "Monique Von Cleef, Alan Selby and Dom Orejudos (Etienne) inducted into Leather Hall of Fame". The Leather Journal. 14 May 2013. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  12. "Ringold Alley's Leather Memoir". Public Art and Architecture. 2017-07-17. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
  13. Paull, Laura (2018-06-21). "Honoring gay leather culture with art installation in SoMa alleyway". JWeekly.com. Retrieved 2019-11-23.


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