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The Bears of San Francisco (BOSF) Records
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The Bears of San Francisco (BOSF) is a registered 501c3 non-profit organization founded in San Francisco, CA in 1994. The mission of the organization is to be,“an all-inclusive community-based association that benefits the greater Bay Area through fundraising, service, and socializing.” Through fundraisers, such as beer busts and bear-gatherings, they have contributed over $520,000 to a number of charities at the local, state, and national level. Their largest and most popular fundraiser was International Bear Rendezvous (IBR), a yearly event in San Francisco that attracted crowds from all over the world and lasted from 1995 until 2011.

 

Collection Number: 2013-01

Bear Ephemera & Archival Repository's Archival Collections

Larry Rivera Collection of Ephemera
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This collection contains ephemera (fliers, pamphlets, and event programs) that span the 40 years Larry lived in San Francisco.  

 

Collection Number: 2015-02 

 

 

References
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For further reading (and film documentaries) on Bear history, culture, and the community.  

The Lone Star Saloon Records
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The Lone Star Saloon, considered the first "Bear Bar," was established in 1989 on Howard Street in San Francisco's South of Market district by Rick Redewill. With the October, 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake damaging the building, this  "Bear Mecca" found a new location on Harrison Street in 1990, where it has been ever since.  

 

This collection consists of promotional posters, flyers, drawing, pins, shirts, framed artwork, and photograhs from the bar's 25+ years of operations.

 

Also donated by owner Tony Huerta were many historic files from the Ambush, a leather-western-bear bar which was location across the street from today's Lone Star Saloon.  

 

Collection Number: 2014-01

Harry Lit & Allen Eggman Lazy Bear Ephemera Collection
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In 1995, “Castrobear” Harry Lit and his partner Allen Eggman wanted to start a new bear weekend in response to the established bear club events across the country that perpetuated the ideal bear look.  Thus was born Lazy Bear Weekend in Guerneville, CA.  Since 1995, more than $1.5 million has been raised for charities.  

 

This collection includes ephemera materials from various Lazy Bear Weekend events, A Lazy Bear Holiday, Lazy Bear Out to Sea cruises, and other events hosted by Castrobear Presents.  Some materials were created in bulk (bear tags), other materials, such as the photo prints, are of interest due to their rarity.

 

Collection Number: 2015-01

Fran Frisch Collection of Prints and Original Drawings
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The Fran Frisch Collection of Prints and Original Drawings includes original cartoons and drawing created by Fran Frisch for various newspapers in Minneapolis and San Francisco, bear organizations, bars, and promotional materials for various art shows, as well as prints of his drawings and newspaper clippings containing his published works.  This collection contains works that span Frisch’s career, from Minneapolis in the mid- to late-1980s to the height of his career in San Francisco, followed by works created after he retired to Palm Springs in 2007.

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Collection Number: 2016-01

 

Ephemera Collection
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Ephemera: Printed materials created for a brief use and not intended to be saved or preserved.  

 

The most common materials in B.E.A.R.'s collections are ephemera: business cards, flyers,matchbooks, magazines, pamphlets, postcards, posters, tickets, and zines to name a few.  

 

 

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