The trade cards are small, colorfully illustrated advertising cards touting a particular medicine and its many cures. The illustrations often have little to do with any of the ailments purported to be cured. They were pure advertising and very collectible.
The Margaret Cruikshank Papers consist of drafts, background/research notes, correspondence and publicity materials for three published works edited by Cruikshank: Lesbian Path (1980, 1985), a collection of autobiographical writings; Lesbian Studies (1982), a women's history and lesbian studies text and New Lesbian Writing (1984), a lesbian literature anthology. The Cruikshank papers also consist of background/research files for women's studies and lesbian studies courses taught by Cruikshank and related correspondence and publicity materials. Personal correspondence is also included in the collection.