Alan Selby (1929–2004), born Alan Henry Sniders in England, was a gay businessman and leader in the San Francisco leather community. He was known by many as "the Mayor of Folsom Street". He claimed to have created the first hanky code with his business partners at Leather 'n' Things in 1972, when their bandana supplier inadvertently doubled their order and the expanded code would help them sell the extra colors they had received. However, other sources dispute this being the origin of the hanky code. He moved to San Francisco in 1979 to found the fetish clothing manufacturer Mr. S Leather. At one point this business was operated by

Judy Tallwing McCarthey Judy is a short form of the name Judith. Judy may refer to: Places * Judy, Kentucky, village in Montgomery County, United States * Judy Woods, woodlands in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom Animals * Judy (dog) (1936–1950), ...

.Program from the Creating Change Conference, National LGBTQ Task Force, January 15–19 2020
/ref> Selby co-founded and fundraised for the San Francisco

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

Emergency Fund, which was founded in 1982. Following the death of his partner, Peter Jacklin, from AIDS in 1987, Selby became a prominent figure in the community response against the AIDS epidemic. Selby died in 2004 from

emphysema Emphysema, or pulmonary emphysema, is a lower respiratory tract disease, characterised by air-filled spaces ( pneumatoses) in the lungs, that can vary in size and may be very large. The spaces are caused by the breakdown of the walls of the alve ...

at the age of 75.

Awards and legacy

* In 1988, Selby was awarded the Steve Maidhof Award for National or International Work by the National Leather Association International. * In 1989, he received the Man of the Year Award as part of the Pantheon of Leather Awards. * In 1999, he and Leonard Dworkin received the Forebear Award as part of the Pantheon of Leather Awards. * In 2004, Selby received the Lifetime Achievement Award as part of the Pantheon of Leather Awards. * In 2013, Selby was posthumously inducted into the Leather Hall of Fame. * In 2017, Selby was honored along with other notables, named on bronze bootprints, as part of San Francisco South of Market Leather History Alley. In 2019, an exhibition at the

GLBT Historical Society Museum The GLBT Historical Society (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society) (formerly Gay and Lesbian Historical Society of Northern California; San Francisco Bay Area Gay and Lesbian Historical Society) maintains an extensive collection ...

celebrated Selby's life and legacy.

References

1929 births 2004 deaths Leather subculture American LGBT businesspeople HIV/AIDS activists 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people {{US-business-bio-1920s-stub