While there was a very poor version of this photo, with the caption “Elsa Gidlow 1959”  on page 385 of Druid Heights’ Elsa Gidlow’s autobiography ELSA: I COME WITH MY SONGS the original was not in her files that are now housed at the GLBT Historical Society Archive in San Francisco and no other copies were known to exist.

Until now. The group Save Druid Heights was contacted by a friend of former Druid Heights resident Margo St. James, Don Sobjack,  who is organizing Margo’s papers following her move into a residence for those with Alzheimer’s. He said that she had photos that were likely taken at Druid Heights, and he sent thumbnails of those photos to group co-founder Michael Toivonen. Michael confirmed that they were indeed taken at Druid Heights. Don soon sent us those photos, which are a very valuable addition to the documentation of the history of Druid Heights.

They included this 8×10 inch print of of Elsa Gidlow seated in the shoji room in The Twin Peaks House at Druid Heights. Unlike the poor reproduction seen in the book, this copy reveals many details of the room’s decor and construction, details of Gidlow’s apparel and hints at but leaves us still guessing at what book she was holding in her lap as shafts of the setting sun’s rays illuminate her and the room.

What you see here is a photo of the image taken just after it arrived by mail. It had evidently not been previously stored flat. We plan to get professional reproductions of this photo to give to appropriate archives. For the time being the original will stay in the collection of Save Druid Heights with the hope that it can eventually be placed in a new archive at the Druid Heights Historic site.