Archives Center
Title
Archives Center
Description
Archiving the History of an Epidemic:
HIV and AIDS, 1985-2009
The collections in the National Museum of American History’s Archives Center document diverse aspects of the history and culture of the United States. The oral histories, ephemera, and popular culture materials housed here provide researchers an opportunity to learn how individuals and society are affected by—and cope with—the epidemic.
Quotes in this exhibit are taken from two Archives Center Collections, the Victory Deferred Collection and the Shamrock Bar collection.
John-Manuel Andriote interviewed nearly 200 individuals for his 1999 book, Victory Deferred: how AIDS changed gay life in America. Andriote donated his interviews and research materials to the Archives Center in 2008.
Carol Burch Brown photographed and interviewed the owner and patrons of the Shamrock Bar, a working-class gay bar in Bluefield, West Virginia, between 1997 and 2002. In 2003, she donated her photographs, tape-recorded interviews, and interview transcripts to the Archives Center.
Quotes from these collections compliment the ephemera collected by the Archives Center while adding context and meaning.
HIV and AIDS, 1985-2009
The collections in the National Museum of American History’s Archives Center document diverse aspects of the history and culture of the United States. The oral histories, ephemera, and popular culture materials housed here provide researchers an opportunity to learn how individuals and society are affected by—and cope with—the epidemic.
Quotes in this exhibit are taken from two Archives Center Collections, the Victory Deferred Collection and the Shamrock Bar collection.
John-Manuel Andriote interviewed nearly 200 individuals for his 1999 book, Victory Deferred: how AIDS changed gay life in America. Andriote donated his interviews and research materials to the Archives Center in 2008.
Carol Burch Brown photographed and interviewed the owner and patrons of the Shamrock Bar, a working-class gay bar in Bluefield, West Virginia, between 1997 and 2002. In 2003, she donated her photographs, tape-recorded interviews, and interview transcripts to the Archives Center.
Quotes from these collections compliment the ephemera collected by the Archives Center while adding context and meaning.
Collection Items
Victory Deferred: how AIDS changed gay life in America
John-Manuel Andriote interviewed nearly 200 individuals for his 1999 book, Victory Deferred: how AIDS changed gay life in America. In the book’s preface he stated, “I wrote Victory Deferred because, despite the abundance of books written about…
Movie poster, Philadelphia, 1993
In the film Philadelphia, gay lawyer Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks), is fired from his conservative law firm because he has AIDS. Beckett sues his former employer with the help of Joe Miller (Denzel Washington), a homophobic lawyer. Miller overcomes…
Photo book and poster, Longtime Companion, 1990
Set in Manhattan and on Fire Island, the film Longtime Companion follows the lives of a small circle of friends from the first mention of AIDS in 1981. As the story progresses, the disease devastates the characters’ lives, touching each one in a…
Chicago Tribune TV Week, November 10-16, 1985
In the television film An Early Frost, Michael Pierson (Aidan Quinn) is a young gay man with AIDS. Forced to be open about his homosexuality and the disease, he must also face the inevitability of his death. At a time when AIDS was seen as a…
Poster, The Brig, early 1980s
The Brig was a gay bar located in the Fells Point area of Baltimore, MD. The bar and bathhouse culture within the gay community was criticized by many both within and outside the community. It was seen by some as an unintended venue to spread HIV…
Benefit advertisement, Roxy, 1995
Roxy was a popular nightclub located in Chelsea, New York City from 1978 until it closed 2007. The nightclub hosted weekly gay dance nights and held events benefitting AIDS-related charities like New York’s Gay Men’s Health Clinic. The bar culture…
1 World Manga, Passage 2, 2006; Teen Life: Frequently Asked Questions About AIDS and HIV, 2008; Time Out: The Truth About HIV, AIDS, and You, 1992
Many methods have been used to distribute information about HIV and AIDS.
In 1 World Manga, a comic book for young adults, a man meets a woman whose parents died of AIDS. He learns the reality of relationships in a world coping with AIDS. The book…
“Quilt Weekend,” The Washington Blade insert, October 11, 1996
The AIDS Memorial Quilt is an ever-growing symbol of the toll of AIDS. The Quilt consists of thousands of handmade fabric panels made by family or friends of the deceased which memorialize persons who have died of AIDS.
Displayed in Washington, DC…
AIDS awareness card: Rock Hudson, 1993
Trading cards are a popular form of entertainment, but are also used to educate a segment of the population that may not be reached through more traditional methods. This set of 110 trading cards designed for young adults depicts personalities who…
AIDS awareness card: Larry Kramer, 1993
Trading cards are a popular form of entertainment, but are also used to educate a segment of the population that may not be reached through more traditional methods. This set of 110 trading cards designed for young adults depicts personalities who…