Legal Rights of Women, The.
Legal Guide, Published In 1913
By A Feminist Publishing Company
[Legal issues]. Foster, Lemuel H. The Legal Rights of Women. Adapted for Use in Every State by Means of a Brief Synopsis of the Laws Relating to Property Rights, Dower, Divorce, The Rights of a Widow in the Estate of Her Husband, Etc. Containing Also Much Other Helpful Information, Advice and Direction for Women in Every Walk of Life. Detroit: Woman’s Publishing Company, 1913.
8vo.; green cloth, stamped in gilt.
First, and only, edition of a landmark legal guide for women. A massive 295 pp. indexed guide to laws about women across the U.S.; each subsection recounts the law as it changes state by state. Provides a fascinating summary of women’s legal status in the U.S. in the early 20th century; also serves as a riveting document of early feminist activism within the legal profession. Subjects covered include “Historical Contrast Between the Condition of Women Under the Common Law and Under Modern Condition”; “The Rights of Unmarried Women”; “Child Custody”; “Property Rights of Married Women”; and many, many more.
Preceded by a Publisher’s Preface which reads, in part:
We unhesitatingly affirm, that never before has a book of such importance and value as this, been offered to women, nor one which is so thoroughly deserving of their careful study...The author, who has written law books which are regarded as authority, is particularly fitted for the preparation of this work, treating of the many serious problems so often presented to women for solution...
In the course of a large general practice extending over many years, he has witnessed many scenes of sorrow and despair, in which the central figures were a woman and her children who had been reduced to poverty, deprived of their property or stripped of their inheritance, owing to the lack of knowledge of their rights or the absence of a word of caution or advice. It is these scenes which inspired him with the commendable desire to place in the hands of women, a book which will enable them to know what their legal rights are and how to protect them...We sincerely believe that the possession of this book will mark an epoch in the life of every woman who is fortunate enough to become the owner of a copy.
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