| YELLOW SUFFRAGETTE SASH, MADE FOR CARRIE CHAPMAN CATT'S "WOMAN SUFFRAGE PARTY" OF NEW YORK CITY, CA 1909-1917 |
|
| Web ID: | ws-151 |
| Available: | In Stock |
| Frame Size (H x L): | Approx. 8.5" x 34.5" |
| Flag Size (H x L): | 4.25" x 26.25" |
| Description: | |
| Women’s Suffrage sash, made of lustrous, yellow cotton sateen, with the words "Woman Suffrage Party" boldly printed in black, block-style letters. Founded in 1909 as the "Woman's Party," adding the word “Suffrage” almost immediately thereafter, the Woman’s Suffrage Party (WSP) was a New York organization formed by famous Suffrage leader Carrie Chapman Catt. The group emerged at something called the "Convention of Disfranchised Women," an event held at Carnegie Hall, sponsored by Catt's Interurban Suffrage Council, and brought together a host of local suffrage groups, with the goal of organizing them into a single political machine. Golden yellow was the customary color of the suffrage movement in America, a tradition that began with the first actual campaign to give women the right to vote. This took place in 1867 in Kansas, the first state to hold a referendum on the issue. It was here that suffragists Susan B. Anthony and Carrie Stanton first focused their efforts, wearing sunflowers—the state flower—as a show of support, adorned with yellow ribbons. The appropriateness and popularity of this color, as a reflection of both the rising sun and growth, led to subsequent use in other states. It would eventually appear on nearly countless Suffrage campaign objects for years to come. The following record of the initial meeting of the WSP was recorded in The Herald-Palladium (Benton Harbor, MI) on Oct. 30th, 1909, under the heading: "Suffragists Party a Reality, Born at First Political Convention of Disfranchised.” “New York, Oct. 30. [1909]—The woman's party is no longer a theory but a reality, and Mrs. Carrie Chapman-Catt is its chairman. It was born at the first political convention of disfranchised women last night in Carnegie Hall, with all the prestige that could be imparted by the brains, wealth, and beauty of the movement to obtain the ballot for women. The whole tone of the rally, under the auspices of the Interurban Suffrage Council, was kept within conservative limits as a tacit protest against the Pankhurst meeting and the militant methods involved. It is understood that so fixed was the determination of Mrs. Clarence Mackay, chairwoman of the platform committee, to keep the demands reasonable and dignified that she refused to permit the insertion of two planks which verged on sensationalism or suggested partisanship. It was on this score that the "white slave" question was untouched [left well alone in the interest of gaining male support at the polls], and that the platform, which Mrs. Mackay read, asked such action as concerns women's position as a civic and national factor.” With the help of Mary Garrett Hay, Catt organized the WSP like the Democratic Party, with representatives from each assembly district. Organizers in many other states and cities soon followed, organizing on a local level so that every election district was covered. 804 delegates were sent to the original meeting, and by 1915, when the suffrage issue came to a vote for the first time in New York State, WSP membership was 100,000 strong. The vote was lost in that year, but passed just two years later, in 1917, and New York became the first eastern state to give women the right to vote. Mounting: The textile was mounted and framed within our own conservation department, which is led by expert staff. We take great care in the mounting and presentation of flags and have preserved thousands of examples. The background is 100% cotton twill, black in color. The mount was then placed in a two-part molding that consists of a scooped profile molding with a woodgrain surface that is very dark brown in color, almost black, to which a black-painted and hand-gilded Italian molding was added as a cap. The glazing is U.V. protective acrylic. Feel free to contact us for more details. Condition: There is minor to modest soiling throughout, the most significant of which occurs to the left of and about the first two letters in “Suffrage.” There is modest fading throughout and there is a minor to modest water stain along the lower edge, to the right of the word “Party.” There is a very minor dot of staining near the center, along the left edge, and there is extremely minor fraying along the edges. |
|
| Video: | |
| Collector Level: | Advanced Collectors and the Person with Everything |
| Flag Type: | |
| Star Count: | |
| Earliest Date of Origin: | 1909 |
| Latest Date of Origin: | 1917 |
| State/Affiliation: | New York |
| War Association: | |
| Price: | Please call (717) 676-0545 or (717) 502-1281 |
| E-mail: | info@jeffbridgman.com |
 |
|
