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, 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 #[9] | Name[9] | Occupation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Suzy Chaffee | Olympic skier |
| 2 | Nancy Dickerson | journalist |
| 3 | Pat Schroeder | US Congresswoman |
| 4 | Margaret Chase Smith | US Senator |
| 5 | Lynn D. Salvage | banker |
| 6 | Sally J. Priesand | rabbi |
| 7 | Letty Cottin Pogrebin | author |
| 8 | Bella S. Abzug | US Congresswoman |
| 9 | Helen Reddy | singer |
| 10 | Lois Gould | author |
| 11 | Sonia Manzano | actress |
| 12 | Helen Thomas | journalist |
| 13 | Virginia Hamilton | author |
| 14 | Carla Anderson Hills | 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 | actress |
| 19 | Rosie Casals | tennis player |
| 20 | Elly Peterson | politician |
| 21 | Mary Rose Oakar | US Congresswoman |
| 22 | Linda Winikow | New York State Senator |
| 23 | Lucinda Franks | journalist |
| 24 | Bonnie Tiburzi | First female pilot to fly for a major U.S. airline. |
| 25 | Leonor K. Sullivan | US Congresswoman |
| 26 | Caroline Bird | author |
| 27 | Rosa Parks | civil rights pioneer |
| 28 | Helen Stevenson Meyner | US Congresswoman |
| 29 | Doriot Anthony Dwyer | flautist |
| 30 | Lindy Cochran | skier |
| 31 | Maxine Kumin | poet |
| 32 | Gloria Steinem | author |
| 33 | Gladys Noon Spellman | US Congresswoman |
| 34 | Malvina Reynolds | singer-songwriter |
| 35 | Eleanor Cutri Smeal | National Organization for Women president |
| 36 | Ann Carr | gymnast |
| 37 | Laura Lee Ching | surfer |
| 38 | Shari Lewis | entertainer |
| 39 | Barbara A. Mikulski | US Congresswoman |
| 40 | Meredith Monk | composer and choreographer |
| 41 | Barbara Gardner Proctor | advertising |
| 42 | Katharine Graham | newspaper publisher |
| 43 | Ruby Dee | actress |
| 44 | Marlo Thomas | actress |
| 45 | Kathrine Switzer | author, runner |
| 46 | Miki Gorman | runner |
| 47 | Barbara Ann Cochran | Olympic skier |
| 48 | Wendy Turnbull | tennis player |
| 49 | Shirley M. Hufstedler | federal judge, US cabinet level secretary |
| 50 | Kathy Johnson | gymnast |
| 51 | Claudia Weill | film director |
| 52 | Jane Pauley | journalist |
| 53 | Janet Guthrie | race car driver |
| 54 | Debbie Gary Callier | pilot |
| 55 | Jane Alexander | actress |
| 56 | Jane Trahey | advertising |
| 57 | Jane Cahill Pfeiffer | television executive |
| 58 | Cindy Nelson | skier |
| 59 | Rhonda Schwandt | gymnast |
| 60 | Jane Bryant Quinn | journalist |
| 61 | Sarah Weddington | lawyer |
| 62 | Robin Morgan | author |
| 63 | Jackie Cassello | gymnast |
| 64 | Cathy Rigby Mason | Olympic gymnast |
| 65 | Melanie Smith | Olympic equestrian |
| 66 | Buffy Sainte-Marie | singer |
| 67 | Natalie Dunn | roller skater |
| 68 | Cathy Carr | Olympic swimmer |
| 69 | Leslie Uggams | actress |
| 70 | Helen Hayes | actress |
| 71 | Shirley Chisholm | US Congresswoman |
| 72 | Ntozake Shange | poet |
- ^ a b Ferritti, Fred (March 9, 1980). "Success was in the Cards". New York Times. pp. WC10.
- ^ a b Haitch, Richard (October 25, 1981). "Follow-Up on the News; 'Supersisters'". New York Times. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
- ^ Irwin, Victoria (February 20, 1980). "'I'll trade you a Pete Rose for your Jane Pauley'". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
- ^ a b Baranski, Lynne (April 7, 1980). "Hey, I'll Swap Ya a Stargell for a Steinem! A Sister Team Creates Female Trading Cards That Flip the Kids". People. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016.
- ^ a b "Feminine trading cards are big rage". The Day. Associated Press. November 10, 1980. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
- ^ Levy, Alan H. (December 5, 2013). The Political Life of Bella Abzug, 1976–1998: Electoral Failures and the Vagaries of Identity Politics. Lexington Books. p. 162. ISBN 978-0-7391-8725-8.
- ^ a b Dorpinghaus, Sarah (April 8, 2008). "IDL staff pick: Supersisters trading cards, 1979". Digital Research & Publishing, University of Iowa Libraries. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
- ^ Zanis, Liz (April 3, 2014). "Collecting Inspiration with Supersisters". Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
- ^ a b The entire Supersisters card set is viewable online at the University of Iowa Digital Libraries at http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/founders/id/4267/rec/1