Collecting the Sisterhood
While undergarments have figured prominently in the history of the women’s movement, collectors of this memorabilia probably don’t count bloomers or half-burned bras among their prized treasures. But the fabric of the women’s movement consists of a richly woven tapestry, with many vibrant threads to follow for collectors interested in history and politics.
“[Suffrage] was a relatively uncollected niche,” says Ronnie Lapinsky-Sax, president of the Woman Suffrage and Political Issues Chapter for the American Political Items Collectors (APIC). “More people are getting involved now, though, and about one out of three prospects is very excited” at the opportunities in collecting feminism-related items.
Feminists aren’t the only collectors of these materials, either. Historians and curators compete with dealers and casual collectors for relics associated with the ongoing struggle to obtain equal rights for women.”A typical collector could be someone whose mother left them one small thing, and they thought, ‘How interesting. I think I’ll collect more of this,'” Lapinsky-Sax said.
RECENT CAUSES
Say the words “suffrage” or “feminism,” and people get a strong visual image of a particular era. But collections of women’s movement memorabilia can be grouped not only by historical timeframe but by individual cause. Many of these causes, such as abortion rights, span the entire history of the women’s movement. It’s this variety in the types of collectibles available and the ways to structure a collection that make women’s causes fascinating to collect. As well, new collectors don’t have to spend a lot of money or hunt hard for items. “It’s very easy for a beginner to start up in a recent issue,” Lapinsky-Sax said.
A new collector might want to begin by obtaining a modern item, such as a decorative birth control pill “compact,” currently available online and through eBay for as little as $0.50. Another option is to collect the memorabilia of a local political candidate. In New Mexico, where Congresswoman Heather Wilson seeks re-election, buttons, placards and other collectible items are available free.
EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT
Those who prefer vintage items might collect a specific issue, like the ERA. Though an equal rights amendment was first proposed in 1928, the ERA is more closely associated with the rise of feminism in the 1970s, which galvanized women to try to push through a constitutional amendment outlawing discrimination against women.
Many women who were part of the Movement now collect its relics, as do their daughters. “ERA items are going up in value now, due to scarcity,” Lapinsky-Sax said.
Yet these items remain affordable. An excellent condition, early 1970s green pinback, 2.25″ in diameter, with the words “ERA Now” recently sold for $1.99 on eBay. A 1976 book from Ms. Magazine containing iron-on transfers with various women’s lib slogans realized $13.00.
REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
Over the past century, one of the most contentious women’s issues-and, consequently, one of the most collectible-has been that of reproductive rights, a niche that encompasses birth control and abortion, both for and against.
Seventies-era abortion rights material is readily available and nominally priced. A yellow pinback reading “Abortion / a woman’s right to choose / March on Washington DC & SF / Nov 20 / wonacc” recently sold on eBay for $0.99. A 30-minute, color, 16mm film about abortion, entitled “It Happens to Us,” dated 1972, sold on eBay for a mere $2.00.
Anti-abortion forces also created a wealth of collectible material. A recent eBay search turned up a pro-life 1976 booklet called “Abortion Handbook,” unsold at $1.99. An 1867 anti-abortion print by noted political illustrator Thomas Nast, taken from Harper’s Weekly magazine, fetched $9.99.
If the abortion issue is too hot to handle, there’s always the slightly less controversial issue of birth control. A 1938 issue of “Physical Culture” magazine, containing the scandalous, anonymously penned article “I Went to a Birth Control Clinic” recently achieved $11.26 on eBay. A first edition (1931) copy of “My Fight for Birth Control” by Margaret Sanger netted $26.00. And a whimsical vintage button emblazoned with a Playboy bunny emblem and the words “to hell with birth control” went unsold at $1.51.
WCTU
The Women’s Christian Temperance Union, founded in 1874, was a highly visible and dynamic organization. The WCTU is still active today, and while its heyday may have passed, its memorabilia remains collectible. A lot of over 100 pamphlets, newspapers and other ephemera in fair to very good condition was recently offered by Cowan’s Historic Americana Auctions during eBay Live Auction’s “Best From the Midwest: Spring 2004” event and realized $170.00 (not including 20% buyer’s premium). At the other end of the price spectrum, a lot consisting of a circa 1900 “cold water blotter” and paper ruler emblazoned with the slogan “total abstinence is a good rule,” sold on eBay for $9.50. An unused, 1920s anti-prohibition postcard with the motto “All nations are welcome except Carrie” flanked by two stylized axes, made $48.12.
SUFFRAGE
The time period most closely associated with the suffrage movement spans about sixty-five years, from the first woman suffrage convention in 1848 to the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. Within the realm of this era, serious collectors of feminist materials converge on the increasingly scarce supply of items.
Surprisingly for its delicate nature, a fair amount of ephemera has survived, as have photographs. A June 11, 1859, issue of Harper’s Weekly magazine containing a full-page engraving depicting a large women’s suffrage meeting commanded $10.75 (as half of a two-magazine lot) on eBay. An 1871 copy of “The Revolution” newspaper, the original suffrage newspaper started in 1868 by Susan B. Anthony, recently realized $38.00 on eBay. A 1925 photo of Victoria Woodhull, the first woman to run for President of the United States (in 1872) made $16.50.
Cowan’s offered a number of suffrage lots during the “Best of the Midwest” event. (The following sale prices do not include a 20% buyer’s premium.) Among them were a lot of 30 excellent condition newspapers, “The Woman’s Column,” printed in 1890 in Boston, which made $350; a lot of five late-1800s suffrage handbills in very good condition, which realized $150; and an octavo-sized program commemorating the 50 th anniversary of the first women’s rights convention, with photos, in very good condition with a center crease and weak hinge, that netted $550.
Due to the scarcity of items from the early part of the suffrage era and the consequent expense of those pieces, “Collectors should start slowly with suffrage material,” Lapinsky-Sax said. “Monitor suffrage items to see what’s available and what the value of particular items is.” She also noted that while eBay is a good venue for purchasing suffrage collectibles, buyers should know what they’re bidding on. “We [APIC] have handled complaints over clear misrepresentation of items on eBay-maybe a photograph advertised as being Susan B. Anthony, but it’s not actually her-but we’ve had no complaints about the condition of items bought on eBay.”
Later suffrage-era items, circa 1910, remain available in relative abundance. Last June’s Slater’s Provenance Auction included several suffrage items of interest. A 34″ felt pennant lettered “Votes for Women” in gold on a purple field with the emblem of the Woman Suffrage Party was in fine condition and sold for $888 (prices do not include 15% buyer’s premium). A 23″ yellow pennant with “Votes for Women” lettered in black topped out at $656. A gauzy yellow cotton flag measuring 8×6″and attached to its original 18″ stick fluttered to $357. A framed lot consisting of a small, white “Votes for Women” pennant on its original stick mounted alongside a small, 1918-dated New York handbill favoring legislation to give women the vote marched to a $424 sale.
REPRODUCTIONS
The issue of unauthentic items can be a thorny one with collectors of women’s issues-because “reproduction” doesn’t necessarily mean “fraudulent.”
“Items made in the past 10-20 years for recent marches and causes sometimes are reproductions of original suffrage materials,” Lapinsky-Sax said. Ironically, these reproductions can be collectible in their own right. A reproduction pinback created for a 1972 ERA march, for example, would be desirable to those collecting ERA-related memorabilia. While no definitive printed guide yet exists to catalog and document collectibles related to the women’s movement, the APIC website (www.apic.us) offers information on how to distinguish reproductions from originals.
THE WEAVERS KEEP WORKING
Women continue to weave a vibrant tapestry of political and social change for themselves. No matter what the future holds for women, the memorabilia of their story will remain collectible. And, undoubtedly, those protest underpants of the “Axis of Eve” eventually will become very hot vintage collectibles.
