EPHEMERA: Five Buttons and a Paper Cup.
[Suffrage, NY] Suffrage Ephemera from the Empire State Campaign of 1915 and the November 6th Referendum Campaign of 1917. New York, [ca. 1915-1917]. Five buttons and a paper cup from these two key referenda campaigns.
(1) Button: “Votes for Women” [Harriot Stanton Blatch’s Political Equality Union]. NY: Women’s Political Union, [ND, but ca. 1910-1913].
Celluloid button: 1/2”; straight-pin catch at reverse, vertical bands of purple, white and green with “Votes” (gold letters outlined in black) / “For” (gold letters) / “Women” (gold letters outlined in black); printed paper backing: Women’s / Political / Union / 35 West 45th St./New York City.” Fine.
Suffrage historians point out that Harriot Stanton Blatch’s contributions to the movement have been too long overshadowed by her mother’s monumental presence. The Women’s Political Union evolved out of the Equality League of Self-Supporting Women established by Harriot Stanton Blatch in 1907. Fired by her experiences with the Pankhursts and other suffragettes, Blatch sought to incorporate working women into the suffrage movement and to import suffragette tactics to the United States. The League made the “dignity and equality for women in the workplace” a basic tenet, as was the worth of self-support and independence. Blatch organized open-air meetings, rallies and parades to recruit new believers to woman suffrage and to garner publicity for the movement. In 1910 the League became the Women’s Political Union, a titular variation of its British inspiration, the Women’s Political and Social Union. She also adopted the Union’s colors: purple, white and green. Blatch’s organization influenced other New York, New Jersey and Connecticut area to use this tricolor as opposed to NAWSA’s signature gold or yellow. The Union, like its namesake, injected a new militancy into the suffrage campaign. One authority notes: “While Blatch’s splinter movement played a minor role, it was a harbinger of the future.” Material from the Women’s Political Union is uncommon, as one might expect with its relatively limited area of influence (New York) and relatively short life span.
(2) Button: “Votes for Women New York 1915.” N.Y. City: Women’s Political Union, [ND, but 1915].
Celluoid pinback button: 1-1/4” in diameter, simple straight pin catch at reverse; center of green with “New / York / 1915” in white letters, thin white surround, purple rim with “Votes For Women” in white letters; paper at reverse is printed “Women’s / Political Union / 13 West 42nd St. / N. Y. City .” Minor touches of rusting to metal backing, but fine.
(3) Button: “Votes for Women 1915.” Newark, NJ: The Whitehead & Hoag. Co., 1915.
Celluloid button: 7/8,” simple pin catch at reverse, rising sun motif in gold against a creamy white ground with “Votes for Women” above the rays of the sun and “1915” at the base of the button (lettering in turquoise); turquoise surround. Image very slightly off-center on the button. The button itself is in very fresh condition. A handsome example.
Carrie Chapman Catt headed up the New York State referendum campaign in 1915 to persuade voters to approve a woman suffrage amendment November 2nd. The New York woman suffrage association dubbed it the Empire State Campaign and used the rising sun as the campaign’s emblem. Buttons, paper cups, fans and numerous other items were emblazoned with the campaign logo and distributed throughout the state. Like other 1915 referendums in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, the New York referendum went down to defeat; but, the New York defeat was a valuable experience for the suffragists. They immediately pursued holding another referendum and succeeded in putting it on the November 6, 1917 ballot. This time woman suffrage forces won the victory which turned the tide of the suffrage campaign. As this button was available for approximately only six to nine months prior to the November 2, 1915 referendum, this attractive rising sun design is a scarce but important artifact from this key campaign.
(4) Paper Cup: “Votes for Women 1915” Paper Cup. NY: Empire State Campaign, 1915.
Paper cup: 3-15/16” (top) tapering to 2-15/16” (bottom) x 4-1/2,” off-white paper printed in dark blue. (This is the kind of simple paper cup one would use at a water fountain, squeezing the two sides of the flat cup to open it up.) The focus of the design is the campaign’s logo: a rising sun sending out bright rays of light with “Votes For Women” above, all within a double-ruled circle. Printed above is “Drink To The Success” and below “of the / Empire State / Campaign / Headquarters / 303 5th Ave. New York.” Some dustiness and age toning. Very good.
In 1914 Mrs. Catt, who headed up the Empire State Campaign, and the suffrage movement had received an extraordinary bequest of $2,000,000 from publishing magnate Mrs. Frank Leslie to further the cause of votes for women. The 1915 referendum campaign bore witness to the first fruits of Leslie’s largesse. The New York Woman Suffrage Association and the NAWSA finally had monies to produce and distribute a wide variety of suffrage materials. A paper cup seems a rather unlikely venue for a political message (and, in fact, we know of nothing quite like from other suffrage campaigns), but it certainly speaks to the thoroughness and inventiveness with which Catt and her fellow suffragists approached this key referendum.
(5) Button: “Votes for Women 1915.” Rochester, NY: Bastian Bros., 1915.
Celluloid button: 1/2,” black lettering on bright yellow ground, “Votes For / 1915 / Women” with the 1915 centered on the button and the letters 3/8” high (in contrast to the “Votes for Women” legend in 1/8” high letters); with label on reverse for “Bastion Bros. Co. / Mfrs. of Ribbon Metal / and / Celluloid Novelties / Rochester, N.Y.” with union slug. Fine.
The populous northeast states of Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania all held referendums on woman suffrage in November of 1915. The Rochester firm of Bastian Bros. also manufactured at least one other suffrage button that we know of: the familiar gold and black “Votes for Women” button.
(6) Button: “Vote for Woman Suffrage Nov. 6th.” [NY: NAWSA, 1917].
Celluloid pinback: 1-1/4,” with straight pin catch at reverse; deep yellow background with “Woman / Suffrage” in large black letters at center; “Vote For” along top rim and “Nov. 6th” along bottom rim (both in small capital letters in black). Some rusting to metal at reverse, else fine.
Though this button lacks a backing, it is almost certainly was distributed by the National American Woman Suffrage Association as part of its campaign for passage of the woman suffrage amendment by New York voters in 1917. Most suffrage buttons range from 5/8 to 3/4”; this button is distinctive for its size. The 1917 New York referendum was a key turning point in the woman suffrage campaign. After women gained the vote in this large and influential state, it was simply a matter of time until women gained the vote nationwide.
Print Inquire
