Supersisters

Supersisters was a set of 72 trading cards produced and distributed in the United States in 1979 by Supersisters, Inc. They featured famous women from politics, media and entertainment, culture, sports, and other areas of achievement. The cards were designed in response to the trading cards popular among children in the US at the time which mostly featured men.[1] The cards were created by Lois Rich of Irvington, New York, and her sister Barbara Egerman, of Ridgefield, Connecticut, a teacher, librarian, and founder of the Ohio chapter of the National Organization for Women. They conceived of the cards in 1978, after Rich’s young daughter asked her why there were no women on trading cards. Rich also discovered that students at a local elementary school could not name five famous women. Rich and Egerman received a small grant from the New York State Education Department and wrote to

nearly 500 prominent American women in various fields.[1][2][3] They purposely did not contact a number of notable women[citation needed], including Anita Bryant, Angela Davis, Phyllis Schlafly, and the cast of Charlie’s Angels. Jane Fonda, Betty Ford, Rosalynn Carter, and Ella T. Grasso were among those who did not respond or declined to participate.[4] [5] Of those who did respond, they included the first 72 in the trading card set, including Jane Pauley, Margaret Mead, and Gloria Steinem.[4][5] By 1981, they reported that they had sold 15,000 trading card sets, selling many to schools and colleges.[2] Reaction to the cards was largely positive, though some later critics called the cards “misguided” and “trivial”.[6][7] Sets of the trading cards are in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the University of Iowa library.[7][8]

Card number & Name

1­ — Suzy Chaffee

Occupation

Olympic skier

Card Deck List Card number & Name

Occupation

1

Suzy Chaffee

Olympic skier

2

Nancy Dickerson

3

Pat Schroeder

4

Margaret Chase Smith

5

Lynn D. Salvage

banker

6

Sally J. Priesand

rabbi

7

Letty Cottin Pogrebin

8

Bella S. Abzug

9

Helen Reddy

journalist US Congresswoman US Senator

author US Congresswoman singer

Card number & Name

10

Lois Gould

11

Sonia Manzano

12

Helen Thomas

13

Virginia Hamilton

14

Carla Anderson Hills

Occupation

author actress journalist author lawyer, US cabinet level secretary

15

Mary Louise Smith

chair of Republican National Committee

16

Margaret Mead

antHropologist

17

Wendy Boglioli

Olympic swimmer

18

Julie Harris

19

Rosie Casals

actress tennis player

Card number & Name

2— Nancy Dickerson

Occupation

journalist

Card number & Name

3— Pat Schroeder

Occupation

US Congresswoman

Card number & Name

4— Margaret Chase Smith Occupation

journalist

Card number & Name

5— Lynn D. Salvage Occupation

banker

Card number & Name

7­— Letty Cottin Pogrebin

Occupation

author

Card number & Name

8­— Bella S. Abzug

Occupation

US congresswoman

Card number & Name

11— Sonia Manzano Occupation

actress

Card number & Name

14— Carla Anderson Hills Occupation

lawyer, US cabinet level secretary

Card number & Name

16— Margaret Mead Occupation

anthropologist

Card number & Name

21— Mary Rose Oakar

Occupation

US congresswoman

Card number & Name

20

Elly Peterson

21

Mary Rose Oakar

22

Linda Winikow

23

Lucinda Franks

24

Bonnie Tiburzi

Occupation

politician US Congresswoman New York State Senator journalist First female pilot to fly for a major U.S. airline.

25

Leonor K. Sullivan

26

Caroline Bird

27

Rosa Parks

28

Helen Stevenson Meyner

29

Doriot Anthony Dwyer

30

Lindy Cochran

US Congresswoman author civil rights pioneer US Congresswoman flautist skier

Card number & Name

Occupation

31

Maxine Kumin

poet

32

Gloria Steinem

author

33

Gladys Noon Spellman

34

Malvina Reynolds

35

Eleanor Cutri Smeal

US Congresswoman singer-songwriter National Organization for Women president

36

Ann Carr

gymnast

37

Laura Lee Ching

38

Shari Lewis

39

Barbara A. Mikulski

40

Meredith Monk

41

Barbara Gardner Proctor

surfer entertainer US Congresswoman composer and choreographer advertising

Card number & Name

22— Linda Winikow Occupation

NY state senator

Card number & Name

25— Leonor K. Sullivan

Occupation

US congresswoman

Card number & Name

27— Rosa Parks

Occupation

civil rights pioneer

Card number & Name

28— Helen Stevenson Meyner

Occupation

US congresswoman

Card number & Name

32— Gloria Steinem Occupation

author

Card number & Name

33— Gladys Noon Spellman Occupation

US congresswoman

Card number & Name

37— Laura Lee Ching

Occupation

surfer

Card number & Name

38— Lewis

Shari

Occupation

entertainer

Card number & Name

39— Barbara A. Mikulski Occupation

US congresswoman

4 M

Card number & Name

40­— Meredith Monk

Occupation

composer & choreographer

Card number & Name

42— Katharine Graham Occupation

newspaper publisher

Card number & Name

43— Ruby Dee

Occupation

actor

Card number & Name

Occupation

42

Katharine Graham

newspaper publisher

43

Ruby Dee

actress

44

Marlo Thomas

actress

45

Kathrine Switzer

46

Miki Gorman

47

Barbara Ann Cochran

48

Wendy Turnbull

49

Shirley M. Hufstedler

author, runner runner Olympic skier tennis player federal judge, US cabinet level secretary

50

Kathy Johnson

51

Claudia Weill

52

Jane Pauley

gymnast film director journalist

Card number & Name

Occupation

53

Janet Guthrie

race car driver

54

Debbie Gary Callier

55

Jane Alexander

56

Jane Trahey

57

Jane Cahill Pfeiffer

58

Cindy Nelson

59

Rhonda Schwandt

gymnast

60

Jane Bryant Quinn

journalist

61

Sarah Weddington

lawyer

62

Robin Morgan

author

63

Jackie Cassello

64

Cathy Rigby Mason

pilot actress advertising television executive skier

gymnast Olympic gymnast

Card number & Name

45— Kathrine Switzer Occupation

author, runner

Card number & Name

52— Jane Pauley

Occupation

journalist

Card number & Name

53­— Guthrie

Janet

Occupation

race car driver

Card number & Name

62— Robin Morgan Occupation

journalist

Card number & Name

66— Buffy SainteMarie

Occupation

singer

Card number & Name

69— Leslie Uggams Occupation

journalist

Card number & Name

71— Shirley Chisholm Occupation

US congresswoman

Card number & Name

Occupation

65

Melanie Smith

Olympic equestrian

66

Buffy Sainte-Marie

67

Natalie Dunn

68

Cathy Carr

69

Leslie Uggams

actress

70

Helen Hayes

actress

71

Shirley Chisholm

72

Ntozake Shange

singer roller skater Olympic swimmer

US Congresswoman poet

References Ferritti, Fred (9 Mar 1980). “Success was in

Levy, Alan H. (5 December 2013). The

the Cards”. New York Times. pp. WC10.

Political Life of Bella Abzug, 1976–1998:

Haitch, Richard (25 October 1981). “Fol-

Electoral Failures and the Vagaries of Iden-

low-Up on the News; ‘Supersisters’”. New

tity Politics. Lexington Books. p. 162. ISBN

York Times. Retrieved 1 May 2014.

978-0-7391-8725-8.

Irwin, Victoria (20 February 1980). “’I’ll

Dorpinghaus, Sarah (8 April 2008). “IDL

trade you a Pete Rose for your Jane Pauley’”.

staff pick: Supersisters trading cards, 1979”.

Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 1 May

Digital Research & Publishing, University of

2014.

Iowa Libraries. Retrieved 29 April 2014.

Baranski, Lynne (7 April 1980). “Hey, I’ll

Zanis, Liz (3 April 2014). “Collecting

Swap Ya a Stargell for a Steinem! A Sister

Inspiration with Supersisters”. Museum of

Team Creates Female Trading Cards That

Modern Art. Retrieved 29 April 2014.

Flip the Kids”. People. Archived from the

The entire Supersisters card set is viewable

original on 10 March 2016.

online at the University of Iowa Digital

“Feminine trading cards are big rage”. The

Libraries at http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/cdm/

Day. Associated Press. 10 November 1980.

compoundobject/collection/founders/id/4267/

Retrieved 29 April 2014.

rec/1

External links Supersisters trading cards at Iowa Digital Library

Categories Trading cards | Feminism in the United States | Products introduced in 1979