Gillian Murphy
LSE Library Exhibition
Endless Endeavours: from the 1866 Women’s Suffrage Petition to the Fawcett Society.
23 April – 27 August 2016
Open to all
LSE Library’s summer exhibition Endless Endeavours: from the 1866 Women’s Suffrage Petition to the Fawcett Society draws on its unique collections to mark the 150th anniversary of a petition to Parliament which was signed by 1,499 women calling for women’s suffrage. The exhibition celebrates the achievements of those early suffragists and the organisation which became the Fawcett Society. Although this petition was unsuccessful, the Fawcett Society regards this moment as its foundation.
“I think the most important thing is to make a demand and commence the first humble beginnings of an agitation….” wrote Helen Taylor to Barbara Bodichon in May 1866. Less than a month later, John Stuart Mill MP presented the women’s suffrage petition to Parliament.
For many people the right of women to vote is taken for granted, but it was actively campaigned for 62 years before it was won. It was not until the 1928 Equal Franchise Act that women over 21 could vote on the same terms as men.
On display is an extremely rare pamphlet of the 1866 petition which was sent to weekly newspapers in July of that year and a beautiful suffrage banner and hanging inspired by the petition.
We are also delighted to show for the first time a newly-discovered brooch, encrusted in green, red and white jewels – colours of the suffragists. It was presented to Millicent Garrett Fawcett by the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies in 1913.
Join us for a gallery talk or one of the related public discussions. Further information
