Postcard, Suffrage
Object number2000.026.06
Date1909
MediumPaper & ink
DimensionsOverall: 3 1/2 x 5 1/2 in. (8.9 x 14 cm)
Credit LineOld State House Museum Collection
Terms
"In 1909, at the height of the woman suffrage controversy and during the golden age of postcards, the Dunston-Weiler Lithograph Company of New York produced a twelve-card set of full-color lithographic cartoon postcards opposing woman suffrage. Although many companies produced series of woman suffrage related postcards, the Dunston-Weiler set is noteworthy for its graphic appeal. The postcard images reflect, and depart from, verbal arguments concerning woman suffrage prevalent during this period. They reflect arguments against suffrage that highlighted the coarsening effect the vote would have on women. The postcards also present an argument that was absent in the verbal discourse surrounding suffrage: that men (and the nation) would become feminized by woman suffrage. Accordingly, these postcards offer a productive location in which to explore how the icons of the Madonna and Uncle Sam, as well as non-iconic images of women, were deployed to reiterate the disciplinary norms of the ideographs of
-Palczewski Suffrage Postcard Archive
Palczewski, Catherine H. Postcard Archive. University of Northern Iowa. Cedar Falls, IA.
"Suffragette Series No. 5" Copyright 1909 by Dunston-Wieler Lithograph Co. The postcard has a white background, trimmed on the outside with gold and with red under the gold. The cartoon shows a woman holding a rolling pin while wearing a police department uniform (embellished with female touches) holding a dog by a leash. The dog's collar says "POLICE." There is a man dressed in a suit and top hat standing behind the woman with his hands in his pockets looking very meek in comparision to the woman. The postcard reads, "SUFFRAGETTE-COPPETTE" "BEWARE OF THE DOG"
Status
Not on view
