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AIDS Awareness Trading Cards

Print
1993 (made)
Artist/Maker
Eclipse Enterprises (makers)
Hiscock, Charles (artist)
Place of origin
USA (made)

AIDS Awareness Trading Card entitled 'Questionable Deaths - Did they die of AIDS?' with an image of a man wearing a suit, with a moustache and bowed head, and a question mark over the face. On the reverse are details of some of the unconfirmed or rumoured cases prior to 1993 of celebrities who had possibly died from the disease, including Liberace, Ricky Wilson of the B-52s, Michel Foucault, and Miles Davis.

Object details

Categories
Ephemera
Prints
LGBTQ
Object type
Print
Titles
  • AIDS Awareness Trading Cards (series title)
  • Questionable Deaths
Materials and techniques
Printed card
Card
Printing
Brief description
AIDS related ephemera - AIDS Awareness Trading Card by Eclipse Enterprises, Forestville, California. USA, 1993.
Physical description
AIDS Awareness Trading Card entitled 'Questionable Deaths - Did they die of AIDS?' with an image of a man wearing a suit, with a moustache and bowed head, and a question mark over the face. On the reverse are details of some of the unconfirmed or rumoured cases prior to 1993 of celebrities who had possibly died from the disease, including Liberace, Ricky Wilson of the B-52s, Michel Foucault, and Miles Davis.
Object history
Exhibition: Graphic Responses to Aids. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 12 June - 13 October 1996
Bibliographic references
  • The following excerpt is by Franklin Robinson, a specialist in the archives centre at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History, and was originally published in an article in 'The Atlantic', February 14th, 2012: "The AIDS Awareness cards were distributed in packs of 12, along with a condom. When first released, the product generated some negative publicity. Card No. 7 showcases Kimberly Bergalis, who died in December 1991 after reportedly contracting AIDS from her dentist, David Acer, also depicted on the same card. The woman's father, George Bergalis, decried the cards, calling the premise of the series "sick" and accusing Eclipse of "capitalizing on people's tragedies. Another individual featured in the trading cards is Ryan White, who contracted HIV from a contaminated blood treatment, was expelled from middle school because of his disease, and died at the age of 18. His mother objected to his inclusion in the series. But [editor Catherine] Yronwode defended the cards in the Orlando Sentinel: "If you take the time to read the cards, you will come away with a good understanding of the disease," she said. Fifteen percent of the proceeds were donated to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, a New York-based charity that raises money for HIV-infected people involved in the arts. By 1994, however, Eclipse ceased operations and filed for bankruptcy the following year".
  • Taken from R.P. 1997/265 Acquisition Form
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.159-1997

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Record createdApril 8, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O221565/aids-awareness-trading-cards-print-hiscock-charles/
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