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Artifact 1: Misfortune - Mugshot of Michael Phair

This is a mugshot of Michael Phair from the raid of the Pisces Health Spa, taken in the early hours of May 30, 1981. Phair, along with 59 others, was charged as a found-in of a common bawdyhouse and arrested, but he refused to let that be the end of it. With the help of their lawyer, Shelley Miller, Phair and 30 others pled ‘not guilty’ to the charges levied at them. Phair would go on to become one of the loudest voices in this case, publishing a three part series of articles detailing his experiences with the raid and subsequent court proceedings in the Edmonton-based gay magazine, FINE PRINT, two years later in 1983. After a lengthy legal battle including multiple appeals after an initial ‘guilty’ verdict, Phair received an unconditional discharge and went on to become a prominent gay community leader, even serving on Edmonton’s city council.

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Artifact Citation: Mugshot of Michael Phair being arrested in front of the Pisces Health Spa, 1981. Photograph. Accessed from Edmonton Queer History Project, October 10 2024. https://www.edmontonqueerhistoryproject.ca/pisces-health-spa?itemId=5g6ibabe404qkjg49khaszvni1qwyg.

Caption Bibliography:

  1. Phair, Michael. “Pisces Revisited.” FINE PRINT, February 1, 1983. https://archive.org/details/fine-print-1983-02/page/4/mode/1up?q=pisces+raid. 
  2. Phair, Michael. “Pisces Revisited: Part II.” FINE PRINT, March 1, 1983. https://archive.org/details/fine-print-1983-02/page/4/mode/1up?q=pisces+raid.
  3. Phair, Michael. “Pisces Revisited: The Conclusion.” FINE PRINT, April 1, 1983. https://archive.org/details/fine-print-1983-02/page/4/mode/1up?q=pisces+raid.
Artifact 1: Misfortune - Mugshot of Michael Phair