February 2, 1946 — December 11, 2021
Bob Mainardi, a familiar face to customers of The Magazine, the fabled vintage magazine, ephemera, and erotica shop on Larkin Street established and operated alongside his partner and husband, Trent Dunphy, for nearly five decades, died peacefully on December 11, 2021, a tenacious HIV survivor of over 30 years. A font of knowledge of gay visual arts, Bob played a huge role in the revival of interest in gay physique photography, as well as in the preservation of erotic work by forgotten artists, shepherding many projects to publication, including his own "Naked Heartland," "Hard Boys," and "Strongman." A longtime supporter of gay cultural institutions like the GLBT Historical Society and the James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center at the San Francisco Public Library, Bob loved gay illustrator J.C. Leyendecker, bodybuilder shows, a series of cats (grieving the loss of each), his and Trent's Victorian home, and exercising his singular gift for acquiring and nurturing friendships that lasted all his life. Generous, funny, and kind, endowed with amazing energy, enthusiasm, and zest for life, his death is an irreplaceable loss to gay culture and in the lives of the many who loved him.
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