Remembering Alan Selby - New GLBT History Museum exhibit recalls leather heyday

Some time in the early 1980s, I walked into a leather and gear emporium called Mr. S Leather here in San Francisco. A handsome, jovial guy immediately walked up to me and said, "I have the perfect cap for you." He grabbed a leather cap off a shelf, put it on my head, and said, "It looks great on you. You should buy it." So, I did, and I still have that cap today.

The man was Alan Selby, the S in Mr. S Leather that has grown to become the world's premiere store of its kind in the world. Alan passed away in 2004, but his legacy did not. This week a new exhibition opened at the GLBT Historical Society Museum on 18th Street, The Mayor of Folsom Street: The Life and Legacy of Alan Selby, to honor his memory. A large crowd was on hand to welcome this exhibition.

My personal recollections of Alan are all good ones. He was consummately kind, generous, passionate and good-natured. I've never heard anyone say anything but nice things about this fine man.

Alan was born in England in 1929. His first trip to San Francisco was in 1969. He was drawn to the city and eventually moved here in 1979 to open his leather shop.

The exhibition follows Selby's life starting with his establishment of Mr. S Leather in 1979, to his community efforts during the AIDS crisis, to his often-repeated "Daddy of all Daddies" moniker in our city's leather and kink communities. It also highlights the evolution of his initially small shop into what's become a common local gathering place and international destination that continues to occupy a unique place in the history of alternative sexualities.