Apr 15, 2021 - Sale 2564

Sale 2564 - Lot 166

Price Realized: $ 531
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 400 - $ 600
(CALIFORNIA.) School placards in honor of gay rights pioneer Harvey Milk. 3 sheets manuscript on heavy card stock, each about 28x22 inches; the memorial placards with horizontal folds and minor wear, the Harvey O'Milk placard with tape stains, staple holes and some edge wear, and mounted to later board. [San Francisco], circa 1978

Additional Details

These placards were created at the Douglas School, a public elementary school in Harvey Milk's Castro neighborhood. Milk fought to keep the school open although most of the gay residents of the Castro did not have children. One placard, presumably created for a Saint Patrick's Day celebration during Milk's lifetime, reads "Supervisor Harvey O'Milk" in bold green letters (circa 1978?). The other, probably created shortly after his death, is headed "In memory of our good friend and neighbor, Harvey Milk. We will always remember with thanks his support and caring. From the children, faculty and parents of Douglas School." It is followed by the signatures of approximately 200 children, filling the remainder of the first board and most of a second. The school has since been renamed the Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy.