swimsuits

Date	Suit Photo	Label Photo	Manufacturer	Kind/Size	Source	Notes
1895c		n/a	n/a	Men’s	Glenn Koch Collection	Earliest photo of male swimmers. No stencils on suits
1896c		n/a	n/a	Men’s	Blaisdell Coll.	No stencils Note different sleeve styles. Reclining man wearing swim cap?
1904		n/a	n/a	Men’s	Gary Stark Coll, 1904 vaudeville album	Partly illegible but apparently reads “SUTRO BATHS” with a triangular emblem beneath.
1906		n/a	n/a	Men’s & Women’s	SFPL collection	Front of man’s suit reads “6250 SUTRO” across midsection No logo on woman’s suit. Note her head scarf
1910s?		n/a	n/a	Men’s	Glenn Koch collection	Front of suit reads “SUTRO 7832” or “7S32”
1913		n/a	n/a	Men’s	OpenSFHistory	“SUTRO BATHS” Pacific Coast Championships Duke Kahanamoku at center
1918		n/a	n/a	Men’s	Dave Dawley collection	No code letters visible on lower left of suits
1920c			“Reg U.S. Pat. Off. [logo] Gantner & Mattern Co San Francisco”	Men’s / Boy’s Size 20	Blaisdell Collection / Swann Auction Gallery	Early stencil No code letter on lower left, likely dates to pre-1928 No stripes around skirt.

1920s		n/a	n/a	Women’s	SFPL collection AAC-0278	Note skirt and pants lengths No code on lower left side Bathing caps Horizontal stripes on skirt hem
1921			“Property of Sutro Baths” Gantner & Mattern 1921	Men’s Size 42	eBay item	Sewn in token pocket. No code on lower left side Horizontal stripes on skirt hem
1925c		n/a	n/a	Women’s	Jim Dickson collection	No code on lower left side Horizontal stripes on skirt hem
1925c		n/a	n/a	Women’s	Gary Stark collection	No code on lower left side Single stripe on skirt hem
1926			“Property of Sutro Baths” Gantner & Mattern 1926	Men’s Size 36	Unk	No code on lower left side Horizontal stripes on skirt hem
1927			“Property of Sutro Baths” Gantner & Mattern 1927	Men’s Size illegible	Glenn Koch Collection	First dated appearance of code on lower left. Newer than original stencil? Horizontal stripes on skirt hem.
1929			“Property of Sutro Baths” Gantner & Mattern 1929	Men’s Size 38	Stephen John	Early stencil Horizontal stripes on skirt hem
1929c		n/a	n/a	Men’s	LiveAuctioneers	Unique stencil, font & kerning. Horizontal stripes, probably manufactured in 1920s. Presence of letter code dates to post 1926. Perhaps alteration?
Unk		n/a	n/a	Men’s	eBay item	Early stencil
Unk			Gantner of California (white background)	Man’s Size 44	GGNRA	GOGA-3240 Early stencil
Unk			Gantner of California (white background)	Child Size 12	GGNRA	GOGA 5325 Early stencil
Unk		n/a	n/a	Men’s	Unk	Side cutouts Early stencil
Unk			None	Men’s	Blaisdell Collection / Swann Auction Gallery	Side cutouts Early stencil Sewn-in token pouch in non-matching fabric Perhaps alteration?
Unk			“Gantner of California” (white background)	Child’s Size 2	WorthPoint eBay	Early stencil Size 2 conforms with “2” on lower left front
Unk		none	none	Men’s	Mike Doyle	Numerous repairs. Sewn-in token pocket in mismatched fabric. Later alteration? Early stencil
1933c			“Made Under Knitted Outerwear Code Authority NRA x247”	Women’s or Girl’s	GGNRA	Donated by Maggie Brooks NRA label dates suit to 1933 or later Later stencil Backless
1940c			“Bureau of Aeronautics Navy Department Style 37S8B Contract N156S-17626” (1939)	Men’s Size 44	Stephen John	Navy contract Later stencil Must post-date navy contract date of 1939
1940c			“Bureau of Aeronautics Navy Department Style 37S8B Contract N156S-17626” (1939)	Men’s Size 46	Blaisdell Collection / Swann Auction Gallery	Navy contract Later stencil Must post-date navy contract date of 1939
Unk		n/a	n/a	Child’s	Cliff House collection	Later stencil
Unk			“Jantzen Pat. Sept. 6, 1921 Portland, Ore.”	Men’s?	Blaisdell Collection / Swann Auction Gallery	Later stencil Two black stripes across chest Two black stripes across skirt N.B. Patent date does not represent manufacture date
Unk			“Spalding Swimming Suit”	Men’s	eBay item	Side cutouts Sewn-in token pocket in mis-matched material. Later alternation? Later stencil
Unk		n/a	n/a	Men’s	Unk	Later stencil
Unk		n/a	n/a	Women’s?	eBay item	Later stencil
1950c?			“Gantner of California” (white background)	Men’s Size 44	Blaisdell Collection / Swann Auction Gallery	Only example of “SUTROS” stencil. Unique font. Possibly from last years of operation?

Misc			n/a	n/a	eBay item	Variety of suits including men’s briefs.
Misc			n/a	n/a	Blaisdell Collection / Swann Auction Gallery	Variety of suits