This collection includes the original papier mache mascot for the Black Cat Café, which was a historic queer bar on Montgomery Street in San Francisco, California. The roughly 6 foot long cat sat above the bar of the cafe until its eventual closure in 1964, after which it was inherited by Bill Plath and his partner, Dick Rousseau. Bill Plath was a founding member of the Society for Individual Rights, as well as a manager of several gay bars in San Francisco. The cat was then inherited by Plath’s adopted son, Michael Finn.

5 linear feet (1 artifact)

Collection is open for research.