| RARE SUFFRAGETTE PENNANT WITH ICONIC BUGLER / "CLARION GIRL" IMAGE, BEARING A SUFFRAGE FLAG 10 STARS, THE LARGEST TO REPRESENT SUCCESS IN ILLINOIS IN 1913; MADE FOR HARRIOT STANTON EATON BLANCH'S WOMENS POLITICAL UNION IN NYC, SIGNED & PATENT-DATED BY THE MAKER |
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| Web ID: | ws-148 |
| Available: | On Hold |
| Frame Size (H x L): | Approx. 20.5" x 48" |
| Flag Size (H x L): | 11.5" x 30" |
| Description: | |
| Triangular, felt, suffragette pennant with a purple ground, printed with white, green, and gold, featuring an iconic Suffrage movement image known as the Bugler Girl or Clarion Girl. Incorporated and beneath are the words "Women's Political Union." To the right, fanciful lettering "Votes for Women." This is a rare and highly desired variety and arguably the best style of pennant that exists in terms of both color and imagery. Two basic versions of it are known. The other has the same image, but the text instead reads "Vote for Woman Suffrage," and the stylized lettering is different. This particular example bears the original maker’s tag on the reverse, which is extremely unusual. Printed on what appears to be waxed cotton, this reads: “Pat. 1913 by Langrock Bros. Co. N.Y.” Though I have been fortunate enough to own pennants in both versions in years past, I have never owned an example that was signed or dated. The Bugler Girl has its roots in the English Suffrage movement. It was designed by a British artist and suffragette named Caroline Watts (1868-1919), for a poster advertising a suffrage March in 1908. Watts was an illustrator who worked in the art nouveau style and was commissioned by book publishers David and Marie Nutt. Following David's death, Marie took part in the famous 1907 "Mud March" and afterwards published several books on the suffragette movement, which is perhaps how Watts became involved. The Women's Political Union was the brainchild of American suffragette leader Harriot Eaton Stanton Blatch (1856-1940). Blatch was the daughter abolitionist Henry B. Stanton and suffrage pioneer Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who served as the first president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWS) and co-authored the landmark, four-volume, "History of Woman Suffrage" with Susan B. Anthony, Matilda Joslyn Gage, and Ida Husted Harper. Following graduation from Vassar College, Harriot assisted these women by compiling research for the book. She then moved to England for 20 years, marrying a British businessman. In 1902 she returned to the States and became involved with two significant suffrage groups, the Women’s Trade Union League and the National American Woman Suffrage Association. In 1907, disgruntled with their ineffectiveness and stagnation, she founded the Equality League of Self-Supporting Women, which appealed to the working class. Before this time the suffrage organizations in America were largely represented by socialites, whose numbers could not effectively influence the vote. In 1910 the Equality League changed its name to the Women's Political Union (WPU) and organized America's first large-scale suffrage parade, which took place on Fifth Avenue in New York. To advertise the activities of the WPU, Harriot adapted the Bugler Girl for an American audience by adding stars to the flag held by the Clarion figure, to represent states that passed suffrage legislation. She also adopted the purple, white and green colors of her British suffragette peers. Colors in America were generally golden yellow with black text, but Blatch wanted to make the organization distinguishable from the others. In 1915 the WPU merged with suffragette leader Alice Paul's Congressional Union, which later morphed into the National Woman’s Party. This pennant therefore represents Blatch's use of the traditional British Colors and Bugler Girl for promotion of the WPU, prior to the merger and re-naming. The count of stars on the various suffrage items that have them often represent states that had already adopted their own suffrage measures. A notable piece of suffrage ephemera shows the image of an American national flag with 4 stars for the 4 states that had adopted full suffrage, under which a slogan appears that reads: "The Union of States as They Ought to Be." The star count can therefore provide a clue to the specific year of use. Note that there are 10 purple stars on the flag held by the Clarion figure, 9 of which are together in a crescent formation (due to the profile of the flag) on a green field, and the other of which is larger, on a white field, with the others partially encircling it. One problem with using the number of stars to date a suffrage object is that their count was possibly arguable between the various suffrage organizations at different points in history. This is because some states adopted full suffrage, some adopted partial measures, and some wavered back-and-forth. Wyoming was the first to offer full suffrage to women voters. It did so while still a territory and never altered its position. Washington Territory adopted it in 1883, but the measure was reversed by the Supreme Court in 1887 and then re-adopted after statehood in 1910. Illinois adopted suffrage legislation in 1913, but it only applied to presidential and municipal elections and not state elections. Kansas allowed women to vote in municipal elections from 1887 onward, but didn't provide full suffrage until 1912. To make matters even more confusing, I have found that various reference sources list slightly different dates for various states. In spite of the varied reporting, this is what I would suggest to be the most accurate list, with appropriate notations: 1. 1869 Wyoming (while still a territory, kept through statehood in 1890) 2. 1893 Colorado 3. 1895 Utah (while still a territory, kept through statehood in 1896) 4. 1896 Idaho 5. 1910 Washington State (re-granted, having been active while a territory, 1883-87) 6. 1911 California 7. 1912 Oregon 8. 1912 Arizona 9. 1912 Kansas 10. 1913 Illinois (excludes state elections) Considering the 1913 patent date on the maker’s label, one may correctly presume that women's ability to participate in presidential elections reflected the qualification for a star on suffragette flag illustrated here, in the hand of Clarion Girl, and that the big star either represents the addition of the newest state to adopt, Illinois, a significant win for the movement. On November 2nd of 1915 in New York State, male voters defeated a referendum that would have amended the U.S. Constitution to give all women of the state the right to vote. New York was among four eastern states where the issue came to a vote, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, all of which were unsuccessful. Public support had been favorable in New York specifically, where the Suffrage movement was 100,000 members strong. Polls had predicted the likeliness of a win, and while it did not occur that year, a successful follow-up campaign in 1917 made New York the first eastern state to adopt suffrage. Success in the national campaign for women’s Suffrage was achieved after the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed by Congress on June 5th, 1919. It would not be until more than a year later, however, on August 18th, 1920, when the required count of 36 states had ratified the amendment into law. Mounting: For 25 years we have maintained a specialized department for this purpose, led by expert staff. We take great care in the mounting and preservation of flags and related textiles and have preserved thousands of examples. The pennant has been hand-stitched to its background, which is 100% hemp fabric, ivory in color, with a twill weave. The two part frame consists of a cove-shaped molding that is very dark brown in color, with a wood grain surface, to which a black-painted and hand-gilded Italian molding was added as a cap. The glazing is Optium Museum Acrylic, U.V. filtering, crystal clear, anti-reflective, and scratch resistant. Condition: Excellent, with no significant condition issues. |
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| Collector Level: | Flags for the truest Patriots. My best offerings |
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| Earliest Date of Origin: | 1910 |
| Latest Date of Origin: | 1915 |
| State/Affiliation: | New York |
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| Price: | Please call (717) 676-0545 or (717) 502-1281 |
| E-mail: | info@jeffbridgman.com |
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