Color portrait of Ryan White on trading card, from a series of AIDS Awareness cards.
Arrangement:
Box No. 11.
Biographical / Historical:
One of those personalities depicted is Ryan White, a young man with hemophilia. Born in Kokomo, Indiana in 1971, White caught HIV through contaminated blood products. He was diagnosed with AIDS in 1985. He became a vocal and visible symbol of AIDS. Through his illness he became friends with Elton John and Michael Jackson, among others. He died of AIDS in 1990. The Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act of 1990 was named for him. On verso: "He was taunted and ostracized at school and was finally expelled. Neighbors pelted the Whites' car, and a bullet was fired into their home. Fleeing Kokomo, the family moved to nearby Cicero, where they were welcomed, and Ryan attended school for the rest of his short life."
Local Numbers:
AC1146-0000061.tif (AC Scan No.)
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves. Researchers must use reference copies of audio-visual materials. When no reference copy exists, the Archives Center staff will produce reference copies on an "as needed" basis, as resources allow.
Do not use original materials when available on reference video or audio tapes.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Archives Center Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Collection consists of greeting cards with machine woven and handwoven fabric inserts. Also included among the materials are machine woven fabric bookmarks.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists of commercially produced greeting cards, handmade greeting cards, and woven bookmarks. It also contains a scrapbook and several personal items related to weaving, a few letters, and a photo-copied article about weaving.
Series 1, Commercial Greeting Cards, circa 1958-1970; undated, features die-cut windows with small pictures or designs woven on silk or similar fabric. The cards are arranged in alphabetical order by occasion and by size, beginning with the largest. The dated cards are placed first in each group, followed by the undated cards. The Christmas cards are further divided alphabetically by subject.
Series 2, Cards Created by Handweavers, circa 1955-1981; undated, includes samples with fabric placed in a cut-out shape within the design of a manufactured card. There are also cards that are entirely handmade. In addition, there is a scrapbook that consists primarily of handmade cards created by handweavers.
Series 3, Quality Weaving Company, 1959; undated, consists primarily of materials created by this Philadelphia company. There are some woven bookmarks which closely resemble that of the inserts used in the greeting cards. Also included are letters from the company to Mrs. Steyskal. Sample stock cards and custom designs for woven bookmarks are included among these materials.
Series 4, Related Materials, 1961-1995; undated, includes an article about Christmas cards with handwoven inserts and a directory for the Michigan League of Handweavers. There are also a few cloth and paper bookmarks from unknown makers.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into four series.
Series 1, Commercial Greeting Cards, circa 1958-1970; undated
Series 2, Cards Created by Handweavers, circa 1955-1981; undated
Series 3, Quality Weaving Company Materials, 1959; undated
Series 4, Related Materials, 1961-1995; undated
Biographical / Historical:
Beatrice Morgan Steyskal, a resident of Grosse Ile, Michigan, began collecting greeting cards with decorative silk jacquard inserts in the 1950s. The cards were designed for holidays, birthdays and other occasions and featured a wide variety of pictorial subjects and greetings woven in considerable detail. Steyskal and her family exchanged the cards on important occasions, while other cards were collected without being used. Most of the cards in the collection were created by companies such as Hallmark, American Greetings, Gibson, Ambassador, and Laurel.
A weaver herself, Mrs. Steyskal collected cards featuring inserts of handwoven fabric sent to her by other weavers, as well as a few of her own creation. In addition, she collected samples of woven bookmarks and cards featuring woven bookmarks. Many of these materials were made by the Quality Weaving Company of Philadelphia. After Mrs. Steyskal's death in 1990, the collection was given to Verna Suit by Mrs. Steyskal's husband George.
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the Archives Center by Verna Suit in May 2010.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Citation:
Beatrice Morgan Steyskal Greeting Card Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
