166

Laura Santos

Photographs of a professional drag performer at Finocchio's.

4 color prints, 12 x 8 in. (30.5 x 20.3 cm.); and 2 black and white prints, 10 x 8 in. (25.4 x 20.3 cm.), all printed in high resolution from the original 1980 slides, all signed and captioned by photographer Gail Sherman Jones on verso.

  • Provenance: Laura Santos was born in the Philippines, and came to San Francisco circa 1970. She performed as a singer at the famous drag club Finocchio's under the name Florencio de los Santos from about 1974 through 1983. Her photograph appeared in the San Mateo Times of 4 February 1977, which noted that her "beautiful gowns and raven black hair" were "a delight to behold."

    At the 29 June 1980 Gay Freedom Day parade in San Francisco, Santos met photographer Gail Sherman Jones, who took the first of these pictures with Santos and her roommate Karen Galeon posed against a building near the parade route. About a month later, Jones arranged to shoot three color portraits of Santos by San Francisco Bay, and two portraits of Santos performing at Finocchio's. These photographs were never published.

    Also included with this lot are an original undated postcard of Finocchio's performers (Santos is at bottom right); and an unpublished 1980 article by Jones about Santos, "Portrait of a Professional Female Impersonator."
  • Condition:
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