Postcard, Suffrage
Object number2000.026.09
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. 10" The postcard's background is dark blue, invoking the night. It is bordered on the outside with gold and with red under that. The left corner shows a woman standing on an American flag covered podium addressing a group of women. The background reads, "LET THE WOMEN RUN THE GOVERNMENT." Below the scene is a picture of a man in his robe and slippers looking very distraught. He is holding two children, one who is crying. The caption below the man reads, "WHERE, OH WHERE IS MY WANDERING WIFE TONIGHT."
Status
Not on view
