Buttwinick (Larry) Collection, circa 1960-2004

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Scope and content:: Larry Buttwinick (1924-2004) was one of the founders of the Lavender Seniors of the Easy Bay. The collection contains photographs, including a scrapbook and photographic snapshots of friends (such as Henry W. Dieckoff) in drag; drag costumes (worn by Buttwinick); an 8mm film (which has been digitized and made available online); slides; ephemera; and newsletter stories by and about Buttwinick. GSSO linked terms: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/GSSO_000374; http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/GSSO_001443; http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/GSSO_008194; http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/NCIT_C16269; http://semanticscience.org/resource/SIO_000297
Biographical / historical:: Larry Buttwinick (1924-2004) was a gay Jewish man and an original member of the Imperial Court of San Francisco. His life intersected with prominent LGBTQ figures such as Jose Sarría (drag star, political activist, and founder of the Imperial Court) and Henry Diekow (a drag artist also known as the Baroness von Dieckoff). Buttwinick was born in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles in 1924 and served in World War II before moving to San Francisco in 1954, where he remained until his death in 2004. He was also a member of the Society for Individual Rights (SIR), an early gay and lesbian rights organization, and one of the founders of the Lavender Seniors of the East Bay.
Acquisition information:: Gift of Larry Buttwinick on March 1, 2004.

Subjects:: Gay men
Drag
Photography
Aging
Amateur film
Photography/Photographs
Scrapbook

Collection Guide Author:: Finding aid created by GLBT Historical Society staff.
Date Prepared:: circa 1960-2004
Date Encoded:: This finding aid was produced using Record Express for OAC5 on July 14, 2025, 2:55 p.m.

Location of this collection:: GLBT Historical Society

989 Market Street, Lower Level

San Francisco, CA 94103, US