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  YELLOW & WHITE SUFFRAGETTE SASH RIBBON, MADE FOR CARRIE CHAPMAN CATT'S "WOMAN SUFFRAGE PARTY" OF NEW YORK CITY, CA 1912-20

Available: Sold
Frame Size (H x L): Approx. 13" x 34.5"
Flag Size (H x L): 4" x 25.5"
Description....:
Length of sash ribbon, wide, made of silk, and with a grosgrain (ribbed) texture, with two yellow bars surrounding one white. Printed black text in the center reads: "Woman Suffrage Party." Founded in 1909 as the "Woman's Party," and changing its name soon thereafter, the WSP was a New York organization formed by Carrie Chapman Catt at something called the "Convention of Disfranchised Women." Held at Carnegie Hall, the event, sponsored by Catt's Interurban Suffrage Council, brought together a host of local suffrage groups, organizing them into a new political machine.

The following record of the initial meeting of the WSP was recorded in The News-Palladium 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 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.

Ribbon of this sort was sold by length and employed for whatever use the purchaser desired. Used in sashes, or to pin across the body in sash style, it could also be wrapped around the waist, affixed around a hat, or displayed in some other fashion. This particular length is a few inches longer than what I usually encounter. American suffrage items were generally yellow with black text, though there was a myriad of organizations and some distinguished themselves through the use of different colors. The same type of ribbon is seen in yellow and white, as well as in green and violet, with "Votes for Women" text. The latter color variation was made for another New York-based group, called the Women's Political Union, which was organized by Carrie Stanton's daughter, Harriot Eaton Stanton Blatch.

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 modern frame with a finish that is very dark brown, nearly black, with red with a red undertone and highlights, 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: Tiny pinholes at one end demonstrate that it was pinned to another article of clothing. There are other pinprick-sized stains, but the overall condition is exceptional.
Collector Level: Advanced Collectors and the Person with Everything
Flag Type:
Star Count:
Earliest Date of Origin: 1912
Latest Date of Origin: 1920
State/Affiliation: New York
War Association:
Price: SOLD
 

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