The British Women’s Suffrage Movement in 100 Objects

A most fascinating and wonderful book - Helen Pankhurst CBE

This book tells the story of the British ‘votes for women’ campaign in a sequence of 100 objects. From the beginning of the campaign in 1866 until all women were granted the vote on the same terms as men in 1928, women used every means in their power to persuade the government to allow them the right to elect members of parliament. Through the analysis of an astonishing array of objects – including books, bags, petitions, posters, postcards, plays, photographs, china, chess sets, leaflets, newspapers, games, jewellery, scarves, badges, belts, sashes, rosettes, films, and figurines - The British Women’s Suffrage Movement in 100 Objects explores the role that material culture played in this vital struggle.

Elizabeth Crawford looks at how, during the sixty-year campaign, items that played any part in life were put to work for ‘votes for women’, as suffrage activists both used and abused buildings, transport, and communications. These included not only objects created by the campaigners to influence public opinion, but also those produced by commercial firms to capitalise on the extraordinary publicity generated by the ‘votes for women’ movement.

Every one of the 100 objects included in this highly illustrated book represents a stage in the journey to equal citizenship. Among them are many our ancestors could have had in their homes or noticed in the street. Using the words of suffrage campaigners and their contemporaries, the accompanying text sets each object in context, with passages explaining politics and key personalities included throughout.