Antique Consignment Shops in Massachusetts - Antique Glass

Overlooked Americana

By Stuart Brody

Historical and political memorabilia are avidly collected by many. However, collectibles from the women's rights social revolution that culminated in the suffrage struggles of the early twentieth century were, until recently, overlooked.

The suffrage movement was a battle not fought with swords and guns, but largely with words. According to historian Andrea Kerr Moore, the American Women Suffrage Association "sent out almost 216,000 leaflets from its Boston headquarters" in one year.

“Even during the most violent period of the suffrage movement…when militants marched, chained themselves to the White House fence, and were jailed and force fed, the great majority of suffrage workers pursued a comparatively moderate course.”

Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy Stone and numerous other less well-known women worked to bring about rights for women through the last half of the nineteenth century. Stanton’s account of the first women's rights convention, the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848, is memorialized at the Women's Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls, New York.

At the convention, considered to be the beginning of the suffrage movement, eighteen resolutions were passed. Stanton modeled the Declaration of Sentiments on the Declaration of Independence, which included eighteen resolutions. The most controversial turned out to be the ninth resolution—the duty of women to secure for themselves the right to vote. Unlike the other resolutions, which passed unanimously, the ninth resolution was strongly opposed and passed by a small majority.

The suffrage movement produced speeches, banners and sashes, pins, handbills and posters. Vintage postcards of portraits of suffragettes, cartoons, antique women’s ballot boxes, buttons, ribbons, stamps, ceramics, and toys are now collectible women’s suffrage items. These items, however, are rare to come by. The suffrage bell pictured here is one of the few vintage women’s suffrage collectibles I’ve acquired. It is valued at $995.00.

Reminder: As a service to my readers, I will be holding a free antique appraisal day on Saturday, July 21, from 10:00 A.M. – 2:00 P.M. You may bring two (2) items for a verbal appraisal. For more information call me, Stuart Brody, at 508-347-7190.

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Stuart Brody is a Sturbridge antique dealer, professional appraiser, realtor, and auctioneer. He can be reached at 508-347-7190.

Showcase Antique Center

located at the entrance to Old Sturbridge Village,
Route 20, Sturbridge, MA 01566
Tel: (508) 347-7190 Fax: (508) 347-5420
sales@showcaseantiques.com

Showcase Antique Center is conveniently located on Route 20 in Sturbridge, MA, just one mile from I-90 (the Massachusetts Turnpike) and I-84. We're minutes away from the world-renown outdoor Brimfield Antique Shows held annually each May, July and September.