Business Card / Posters / Tickets (oversize), 1988-2020
Scope and Contents
The collection is comprised of tickets, business cards, and posters displayed in Attitudes Nightclub, which were collected when it closed in August 2020. The items are arranged chronologically and date from 1988 to 2020 with gaps from 1989-1990, 1992-2017, and 2019. There are tickets (two copies of each) to two New Year's Eve parties held at Attitudes. The first ticket dates from the first party held at the club in 1988. The second ticket dates from the 2018 New Year’s Eve party. There is also a plastic commemorative business card celebrating Attitudes Nightclub's thirty-two years in business (two copies). Attitudes distributed the cards free of charge at its closing night event on August 20, 2020. There are two posters that hung in the club. The earliest poster dates from about September 1991 and is an enlarged copy of a letter to the editor of the ShowMe Guide from a “Distressed Patron of Attitudes.” The patron alleged that a portion of an Attitudes advertisement in LesTalk was taken out of context in ShowMe Guide #62 (Aug-Sept 1991). In the letter, the Attitudes patron addressed concerns that Attitudes was an exclusively lesbian bar and unfriendly to gay men. It explained the importance of women-focused spaces while also arguing that men were welcome at the club. This letter illuminates the complex relationship between lesbians and gay men and the distinctive history of lesbian-centered social spaces. The owners of Attitudes thought the letter effectively captured Attitudes' identity and displayed a framed copy at the bar. The second poster dates from the summer of 2020 and is related to the Covid-19 pandemic. It features the business's logo and begins in letter format, “To all Attitudes customers.” It explains the measures taken by the club to reopen under the City of St. Louis guidelines, which includes asking patrons to wear masks and to practice social distancing. It ends, “We understand if you remain apprehensive about social gatherings still. If so, please remain at home and hopefully we’ll see you when the time is right for you.”
Dates
- 1988-2020
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research use.
Extent
From the Collection: 0.06 Cubic Feet ( (1 folder, 1 oversize folder))
Language of Materials
English
Repository Details
Part of the Missouri Historical Society Library and Research Center Repository