164

Sir Lady Java

1942-2024

"Who is Sir Lady Java" brochure, with a photograph. Circa 1970s.

4 pages on one folding sheet; minimal wear. No place, circa early 1970s? With uncaptioned photograph featuring facsimile signature in negative, 4 1/2 x 2 1/4 in. (11.4 x 5.7 cm.).

Sir Lady Java was born and raised in New Orleans and became a popular Los Angeles-based nightclub performer in the late 1960s and early 1970s as a female impersonator. She performed with Sammy Davis, Richard Pryor, and many others, and was featured in magazines such as Jet and Hep, while leading the fight against anti-trans performance laws. After decades of maintaining a lower profile, she transitioned into a new role in the 2010s: beloved pioneer and elder of the trans community. She served as a grand marshal of the 2022 Los Angeles Pride Parade.

This brochure has two pages of promotional text and two pages of reproduced press clippings, including a clip from her 1967 Sepia magazine feature. It is undated, but was apparently produced for a June 16-17 return booking at the Imperial West and Prairie Bistro nightclubs. We have not pinned down the location of these clubs, or the date of the bookings, but perhaps one of our eagle-eyed catalogue readers will know.

We trace no other examples of this brochure, although another similar production with the same name is held by Harvard University.
11 x 8 1/2 in. (27.9 x 21.6 cm.)

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