Susan B. Anthony Plaster Relief Medallion Copyrighted by Her Sister

SUSAN B. ANTHONY

Erscheinungsdatum: 1897

Beschreibung

Plaster Bas-Relief Medallion by [Sidney H. Morse], June 1897. 7 3/4 in. round. 3 x 2 in. brass plate on verso with inscription, Copyright, June 1897, By Mary S Anthony / Endorsed by the Political Equality Club of Rochester, N.Y. Historical BackgroundBy 1897, Susan B. Anthony was an international celebrity as one of the leaders of the American women's suffrage movement.Her sister Mary S. Anthony helped to organize the Women's Political Club in Rochester, New York, in 1885. The club soon renamed itself the Political Equality Club of Rochester, N.Y., and Mary Anthony served as president from 1892 to 1903.At its annual meeting on May 6, 1897, the Political Equality Club considered a clay model for a medallion of Susan B. Anthony. The artist, Chicago sculptor Sidney H. Morse, sought the club's endorsement and offered to reproduce the model in ivory and give the club a percentage of the sales. "After carefully comparing the model with the original, who was present," the newspaper report of the meeting continued, "it was decided that the likeness was not a good one, and Miss Anthony herself suggested that the club should indorse nothing but the best and proposed the name of a woman sculptor in Washington, whose busts of Mrs. Logan, Miss Anthony and other famous people are the most life-like of any ever produced of the subjects, and that the woman sculptor be given the preference over the man." Mrs. S. A. West objected to Anthony's suggestion that the gender of the artist should be considered, believing that "the idea of men and women as distinct and separate should be eliminated." Those present, including Susan B. Anthony, "heartily concurred" and decided to make the matter competitive.[1]On June 10, 1897, the Political Equality Club hosted "an entertainment" in the Unitarian Church in Rochester to raise money for the women's suffrage cause in those states where amendments were pending. After enjoying musical numbers and a farce, the audience learned that the club had accepted and purchased a design for a medallion of Susan B. Anthony submitted by Sidney H. Morse. The club displayed a mounted specimen of the plaster medallion and announced that copies would be available for $1 each. The club hoped "to realize considerable money out of them" because "it was the fond desire of Miss Anthony to leave behind her a permanent fund, the interest from which might be used to push the suffrage work and pay competent people to do this after she has gone." A Rochester newspaper reported that "the medallions are considered very fine, and Miss Mary Anthony says it is the best likeness ever made of her sister. Many people subscribed for one last evening." Although many were disappointed that Susan B. Anthony herself was not present, she was spending the week with Elizabeth Cady Stanton reviewing past files for "material to assist them in writing their biographies." Together Stanton and Anthony had already published between 1881 and 1886 three volumes of History of Woman Suffrage.[2]As this copy indicates, Club President Mary S. Anthony copyrighted the design for the club, and a week later, a notice appeared in The Woman's Column that one hundred copies would "at once be made" and offered for sale at $1 each. In September, a notice in the New York Tribune announced that "The Rochester Woman Suffrage Club has prepared and placed on sale attractive medallions of Susan B. Anthony. The medallions are nine inches in diameter and made of plaster, delicately tinted. The likeness is said to be excellent." Mrs. F. N. West of Rochester served as chair of the Medallion Committee. Mrs. West would "express a medallion to any address" for $1.25.[3]The State of New York did not grant women the right to vote until November 1917, three years before the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteed all American women the right to vote, and more than eleven years after Susan B. Anthony's death.Susan B. (See website for full description). Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 26052

Bibliografische Details

Titel: Susan B. Anthony Plaster Relief Medallion ...

Erscheinungsdatum: 1897

Einband: No binding

Zustand: Very Good

Art des Buches: Medallion