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Coronation of Womanhood posters

 Collection
Identifier: Coll839

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of two copies of a poster entitled “Coronation of Womanhood” and a single copy of an identification key to the people depicted in the poster. The posters are printed from a photo crayon lithograph engraving. At the front center of the image, the goddess of Liberty is crowning a kneeling female figure representing womanhood. Below them is a banner reading, “Coronation of Womanhood.” Arranged in a half-circle above Liberty and Womanhood at the top of the poster are the portraits of Edward Dickinson Baker, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and James A. Garfield. On either side of the image is a dais draped in bunting featuring the state crests of New York, California, Oregon, Nebraska, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia. Seated on the daises are 17 women of the suffrage movement: Martha C. Wright, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy Stone, Frances Wright, Lucretia Coffin Mott, Elizabeth Boynton Harbert, Susan B. Anthony, Abigail Scott Duniway, Dr. Clemence S. Lozier, Helen M. Gouger, Sarah L. Knox Goodrich, Mary Ashton Rice Livermore, Mary J. Collins, Julia Ward Howe, Lillie Devereux Black, Matilda Jocelyn Gage, and Ernestine L. Rose. Below the daises is an audience of 275 additional men recognized as supporters of women’s enfranchisement. The men depicted in the scene include Matthew Deady, Stephen F. Chadwick, Rockey Preston Earhart, Joseph N. Dolph, Melvin Clark George, Samuel Royal Thurston, and William S. Ladd. A full listing of the depicted individuals is accessible via the identification key. The inscription at the bottom of the poster reads, “Respectfully dedicated to the loyal subjects of liberty who paved the way to woman’s enfranchisement in the Pacific Northwest, United States of America, anno domini one thousand eight hundred eighty three.”

Source: The Idaho Semi-Weekly World. February 20, 1885.

Dates

  • 1884-1885

Creator

Conditions Governing Use

Materials in the collection are in the public domain.

Historical Note

Abigail Scott Duniway commissioned Kurz & Allison’s Art Studio in Chicago, Illinois, to create a poster-sized lithograph print honoring supporters of the equal-suffrage movement in 1884. Duniway presented gold-framed copies of the engraving to several entities, including the states of Oregon and Washington in 1885.

Biographical Note

Abigail Scott Duniway was a writer, editor, and champion for women's suffrage in the Pacific Northwest. She was born in Groveland, Illinois, in 1834 and she traveled to Oregon with her family in 1852. After moving to Portland in 1871, she published and edited The new northwest and became Oregon's leading advocate of women's suffrage. She moved to Idaho in 1887 and helped to achieve women's voting rights there in 1896. After returning to Oregon, she was instrumental in the passage of Oregon's own women's suffrage bill in 1912.

Extent

0.18 Cubic Feet (1 oversized folder) : Two posters, each 28 in. x 42 in. and identification key, 10 in. x 18.5 in.

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Two copies of a poster entitled “The Coronation of Womanhood,” and the corresponding identification key. The poster was commissioned and designed by Abigail Scott Duniway in 1884 to honor supporters of the equal-suffrage movement.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Original posters are not available for direct access due to the fragility and oversized nature of the material. Contact library staff for assistance.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Acc 27241, acquired prior to 1983.

Related Materials

Additional materials relating to Abigail Scott Duniway are available in the Abigail Scott Duniway papers, Mss 432, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

General

One copy of the poster was previously described as Poster 549 and the identification key was previously cataloged as Poster 540.

Creator

Title
Guide to the Coronation of Womanhood posters
Status
Completed
Author
Laura Cray
Date
2019
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
Finding aid is written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library Repository

Contact:
1200 SW Park Ave.
Portland OR 97205 United States
5033065204
5033065240