Shaw (Beverly) Papers, circa 1938-1955

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Scope and content:: Material related to Beverly Shaw, a nightclub singer who performed at a number of lesbian clubs in the 1940s and 1950s, including Mona’s in San Francisco. She purchased her own club, Club Laurel, in Los Angeles in the 1950s. The collection includes: Shaw’s LP record “Songs tailored to your taste” autographed to her son; a record dated March 15, 1938 titled “Little Lady Make Believe for my Little Daughter Sheila Lynn Shaw sung by her mother Beverly Shaw Hollywood Cal”; publicity and family photographs; ephemera and newspaper clippings, including drawings on cocktail napkins and Club Laurel cocktail napkins; a Jewel Box Revue promotional booklet and photographs; a gold suit jacket and skirt worn by Shaw; a family photograph album and correspondence; and a flash drive of digitized material including photographs, oral histories with Shaw’s children, and Shaw’s recorded music.
Acquisition information:: Gift of Jacqueline Margolis, August 2021.

Collection Guide Author:: Finding aid created by GLBT Historical Society staff.
Date Prepared:: circa 1938-1955
Date Encoded:: This finding aid was produced using Record Express for OAC5 on July 14, 2025, 2:54 p.m.

Access and use

Restrictions:: Collection is open for research.
Terms of access:: Copyright to material has been transferred to the GLBT Historical Society. Published material may still be under copyright. All requests for reproductions and/or permission to publish or quote from material must be submitted in writing to the GLBT Historical Society Archivist.

Location of this collection:: GLBT Historical Society

989 Market Street, Lower Level

San Francisco, CA 94103, US