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A rare survival of an importance piece of suffragette ephemera: a strikingly hand-illustrated donation tin painted in service of the WSPU . It features the iconic imagery of the armoured female knight, “Votes for Women banner”, and WSPU pennant, emphasis- ing the moral and Christian right of female suffrage, skilfully ren- dered by the unknown artist in the society’s official colours of pur- ple, green, and white. Pasted opposite is a small card reproducing the iconic “Convicts and Lunatics” cartoon by Emily Jane Harding Andrews, first printed as a propaganda poster by the Artists’ Suf- frage League, one of two suffrage societies run by artists. The post- er has been dated to c .1908 by Lisa Tickner in The Spectacle of Women (1988) and to c .1912 in the catalogue of The Women’s Library at LSE. The creation of the WSPU in 1903 by Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters galvanised the “Votes for Women” campaign, drawing more attention to the cause of women’s suffrage through “Deeds not Words”. After relocating from Manchester to London in 1906, their fight became a highly public and sometimes violent struggle which attracted maximum publicity. In addition to individual donations, the WSPU raised funds through more commercial methods, such as the sale of card- and board-games like Panko and Pank-a-Squith (see item 174). Collection tins such as the present example were passed around at meetings—a few contemporary accounts mention attend- ees removing their jewellery and placing them in tins as contribu- tions—or kept at home for personal savings during challenges like the Self-Denial Week. The WSPU gratefully acknowledged the sums of money donated by its members and supporters, which “represent real sacrifices—holidays foregone, pleasures abandoned, dress luxu- ries curtailed, and in many cases encroachments made upon the very necessities of life” ( Annual Report , 1907, quoted in Wingerden, p. 93). Wingerden, Sophia A. van, The Women’s Suffrage Movement in Britain, 1866–1928 , Pal- grave Macmillan, 1999. £2,000 [129441] 173 (WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE.) Solid silver cigarette case engraved for the suffragette Lettice Floyd. Regent Place, Birmingham: Deakin & Francis, 1908
Hinged silver cushion-shaped cigarette case (sides approx. 85 × 65 mm), the front engraved with the figure of Joan of Arc, holding a shield initialled “WS”, within a single line oval framed with the words “Women Unite” above and “Suffragettes” below, reminiscent of the Arts and Crafts and Celtic let- tering styles popular within the suffrage movement; the rear more elaborate- ly engraved “Lettice” in curlicue lettering; press button spring catch, interi- or brush-finish silver gilt, yellow elasticated strap across right hand recess, stamped with the following makers marks: D&F (Deakin & Francis), anchor (Birmingham), standard mark (lion passant), date letter “i” (1908). A little tarnished in places as expected, but overall in fine condition. A specially engraved silver cigarette case owned by the Birming- ham suffragette Lettice Annie Floyd (1865–1934), made for her the year that she joined the WSPU. It is an arrestingly personal keep- sake, with her first name engraved in a clearly professional, highly stylised, practised manner on the rear, while the front, featuring Joan of Arc, the frequent icon of the suffrage movement, is far more amateur, rendered in a simplistic fashion. This disparity perhaps indicates the work of two engravers of varying abilities at Deakin & Francis, or suggests that the same engraver was copying a design provided by whoever commissioned the case. Floyd, of independent wealth, began her support of the suffrage movement by founding a local branch of the Birmingham Women’s Suffrage Society but, impatient with the conventional lobbying tac- tics favoured by the group, left to become an active and financially generous supporter of the WSPU in 1908. Upon joining she also met her lifelong partner, the teacher and fellow suffragette Annie Williams. Based variously in Bristol and Newcastle, Floyd travelled to London a number of times to take part in some of the organisa- tion’s largest demonstrations; she was one of 23 women arrested for taking part in the “Rush” on the House of Commons in Octo- ber 1908, protested on “Black Friday”, and in March 1912 assisted in the window-smashing campaign, which led to her and Williams’s imprisonment and force-feeding at Holloway. After the First World War Floyd continued to fight for women’s rights, joining the Na- tional Council of Women. £2,875 [131544]
All items are fully described and photographed at peterharrington.co.uk
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