Collection of 20 Pamphlets and Brochures from the Early Days of the AIDS Crisis

(New York): Various (Gay Men's Health Crisis, Gay Men's Health Project, New York City Department of Health, et al.), 1988. Near fine overall.. A revealing group of pamphlets and ephemera published by Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) and other NYC-based organizations (such as NYPL) during the early days of the AIDS crisis. In 1982, after reports began surfacing about a "gay cancer" (and with New York soon identified as an epicenter), the GMHC was founded. Eighty men (including co-founders Nathan Fain, Larry Mass, Paul Popham, Paul Rapoport, and Edmund White) gathered in activist and playwright Larry Kramer's apartment to raise money for research into what would soon be termed the AIDS crisis. Among the group's primary initiatives were the production and distribution of flyers and brochures to those affected by AIDS, such as those found in this collection.
Comprised of 20 separate publications, the collection includes: eight brochures produced by GHMC, including their first "Healthy Sex is Great Sex" guideline, a Roy Liechtenstein-inspired pamphlet (designed by Robert Passantino), guidelines on how to respond when a loved one becomes ill, and several brochures providing legal and medical information; a 38-page booklet on venereal disease prevention published in 1983 by Gay Men's Health Project (whose single section on "gay cancer" clearly reflects the fear and confusion prevalent in the epidemic's early days); eight pamphlets imparting guidance on antibody tests, social services, and medical assistance issued by the New York State Health Department's AIDS Institute (several in English and Spanish); and a brochure on information resources by the New York Public Library.
The earliest dated pieces are from 1983, and run to 1988 — though one folded single-sheet brochure appears to date to late 1982, based on cited statistical information, and may well be the earliest publication by GMHC. A somber but important collection.