Lot 287

Michael Callen & the Flirtations, Group of ephemera from the AIDS activist and singer.

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Michael Callen & the Flirtations, Group of ephemera from the AIDS activist and singer.

Estimate: $600 - $900

Starting Bid: $450

(0 Bids)

by Swann Auction Galleries
August 13, 2026 10:30 AM EDT
Live Auction
104 East 25th Street
New York, NY, US 10010

Michael Callen & the Flirtations
1955-1993
Group of ephemera from the AIDS activist and singer.

7 items, various sizes, condition generally strong. The videocassettes have not been played or checked for content by Swann.

The singer Michael Callen was diagnosed with AIDS in 1982, and was soon at the forefront of AIDS activism both as a performer and as an author. He released the album Purple Heart in 1986, and formed The Flirtations as an a cappella group in 1988. This lot includes:

Concert poster, "In Concert in their Chicago Debuts," for Michael Callen and the Flirtations at Park West, in "an entertaining evening of song, wit and wisdom by, for and among people with AIDS and their friends" to benefit the Howard Brown Memorial Clinic. 17 x 11 in. (43.2 x 27.9 cm.); short corner crease. Chicago, 14 July [1990].

Gay Chicago Magazine with cover story on Michael Callen, 5 July 1990.

Pair of VHS videocassette tapes with dot-matrix labels: "Michael Callen & The Flirtations in Concert, Park West, Chicago, July 14, 1990" (duplicates or a two-part set?).

VHS videocassette tape with typescript labels: "Michael Callen & Flirtations, HBO . . . 'Why Am I Gay' 8/9/ 93, 'Into the Light' 10/4/93," with other material on tape.

2 Sony U-matic videocassette tapes from Kate Burton Casting with manuscript labels: one of Michael Callen and one of The Flirtations, undated.

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$0 $149 $10
$150 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $5,999 $200
$6,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
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