--- description: The University of Rochester maintains an extensive collection of AIDS-awareness posters, a unique artifact of the history of the disease. title: See the 1980s Posters That Helped Raise Awareness About AIDS image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc417efeb7c42f847/6988af81ab6d777c926ac0bb/2.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [History](/section/history/) ## History Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [health](/tag/health/) ## health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # See the 1980s Posters That Helped Raise Awareness About AIDS  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Nov 29, 2016 2:00 PM CUT  This poster, made by ACT UP, is undated, but the group began using this slogan in 1987. This poster, made by ACT UP, is undated, but the group began using this slogan in 1987.Courtesy University of Rochester  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Nov 29, 2016 2:00 PM CUT When Dec. 1 was [declared World AIDS Day in 1988](http://time.com/3603734/world-aids-day-history/ "undefined"), the way the world thought and talked about that disease was very different from the way things are now. One way to see what things were like back then, when AIDS was considered a [fearful](http://time.com/vault/issue/1985-08-12/page/44/ "undefined") plague with no treatment, is to revisit the public service announcements and activist campaigns used to spread awareness about a problem that was very much [misunderstood](http://time.com/3503000/behind-the-picture-the-photo-that-changed-the-face-of-aids/ "undefined"). The University of Rochester’s Rare Books and Special Collections department houses a collection of[ more than 8,000 ](http://aep.lib.rochester.edu/ "undefined")AIDS education posters, building on a collection donated by Dr. Edward C. Atwater starting in 2007\. The collection now includes posters in more than 60 languages, hundreds of which have been translated by the university’s language students. [_Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter_](http://time.com/newsletter "undefined") Atwater began collecting the posters in the 1990s, says Lori Birrell, Special Collections Librarian for Historical Manuscripts at the University of Rochester, but they date back to 1982\. Though the collection includes posters that were created in the last few years, the early entrants are a unique artifact of AIDS history. “One of the big changes \[over time\] has been the emphasis on treatment,” Birrell observes. “Some of the more recent posters talk a lot more about treatment options. The earlier posters – _grim_ isn’t quite the right word, but there’s a definite warning to many of them.” As seen in the ten posters shown here, that warning took many forms, from the[ righteous anger](http://time.com/3926293/larry-kramer-activism-hbo-documentary/ "undefined") of a group like ACT UP to the sometimes blunt admonitions of public health departments. Those darker images are an important reminder that, even as the conversation about AIDS turns to treatment and [prevention](http://time.com/4084455/aids-drung-martin-shkreli/ "undefined"), AIDS is not ancient history. “Undergraduates at the university tend to see AIDS as a thing of the past,” says Birrell. “When I talk to Dr. Atwater, he emphasizes that this is an epidemic we continue to grapple with.”  This poster, made by ACT UP, is undated, but the group began using this slogan in 1987. Courtesy University of Rochester  A 1985 poster featuring actor Burt Lancaster, made by the CORE Program in California. Courtesy University of Rochester  A 1986 poster from Pharmacists Planning Service, in California. Courtesy University of Rochester.  A 1986 poster from Pharmacists Planning Service in California. Courtesy University of Rochester  A 1986 poster produced by APLA in California. Courtesy University of Rochester  A 1987 poster featuring Cher, made by the New York State Department of Health. Item may be protected by US Copyright law and/or the laws of its country of origin. Reproduction of this image may require copyright clearance, and is not the responsibility of the University of Rochester.  A 1988 poster made by the NAMES Project, based in San Francisco Item may be protected by US Copyright law and/or the laws of its country of origin. Reproduction of this image may require copyright clearance, and is not the responsibility of the University of Rochester.  A 1987 poster made by the advocacy group ACT UP. Courtesy University of Rochester  A 1988 poster produced by the Seattle-King County Dept. of Public Health Courtesy University of Rochester  A 1989 poster made for the group ACT UP by the artist Keith Haring. 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