Short History of Woman's Rights, A. From the Days of Augustus to the Present Time. With Special Reference to England and the United States.
From the Library of Charlotte Perkins Gilman
[Suffrage] Hecker, Eugene A. A SHORT HISTORY OF WOMEN'S RIGHTS From the Days of Augustus to the Present Time. With Special Reference to England and the United States. New York and London: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1910.
First edition. With the ownership signature of Charlotte Perkins Gilman at the front free endpaper. Additionally inscribed by her daughter, Katherine Chamberlain, A Short History of "from her daughter / Mrs. Chamberlain to / Calif. Women's Rights State / National Woman's Party".
8vo, viii, 292pp; Eugene A. Hecker (including index) + publisher's catalogue; maroon vertically-ribbed cloth stamped in gold front and spine. Bound between title and dedication page is a printed notice stating the state of Washington had grated full suffrage to women as the book was going to signature. Gold at spine dimmed; minor fraying at head of spine; light touches of overall use. Ex Libris of the Southern California Branch of the National Woman's Party at the front pastedown; card pocket (neat) to rear pastedown; Woman's Party stamp at lower margin of page 101 (not affecting text). Very good.
Likely for present students of woman suffrage, Hecker's most valuable contribution is his summary of women's rights throughout the country. He provides detailed information, state by state, on: the age of consent (Georgia and Mississippi, 10); divorce laws; labor laws; suffrage, political condition, industrial and professional status (with statistics as to the numbers of woman ministers, dentists, lawyers, etc.), recording when practice varies from law. He notes, for instance, that while in Florida the age of consent is 16 "but 10 practically, as penalty above 10 is insignificant". Franklin accorded A SHORT HISTORY OF WOMEN'S RIGHTS four stars calling it "[a]n admirable book, scholarly and informing". And its status as an effective pro-suffrage title is further underscored by its presence in the NAWSA Collection at the Library of Congress.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman, of course, was an ardent supporter of woman suffrage. Like others, she decided that the NAWSA's approach too timid. In 1916, she aligned herself with Alice Paul's Woman's Party. She served on the National Advisory Council from 1916 - 1920 and in an article of the August 1916 issue of the FORERUNNER gave a generous account of the Woman Party and its work.
Franklin, p. 137. See also, Krichmar 1713 (with reference to the 1914 revised second edition). Lane, Ann, TO HERLAND AND BEYOND: The Life & Work of Charlotte Perkins Gilman. An exceptional provenance, twice-over.
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