Sources for women and suffrage

The Women's Library, founded in 1926 as the Library of the London Society for Women's Service, exists to document and explore women's lives in Britain in the past, now and in the future. Printed material, ephemera, archives, oral histories and museum objects together form The Women's Library collections. The Women's Library originates from the constitutional wing of the British women's suffrage movement, and holds world class collections. The collections include contemporary and historical publications, archives of significant organisations and individuals, as well as museum objects such as banners, posters, badges, board games and photographs. The collections also document women's suffrage in the international context, and the anti-suffrage movement in Britain.

Key class numbers and search terms

The printed collections of The Women's Library are arranged in the Dewey Decimal Classification and listed on London Metropolitan University's online catalogue, available in the Reading Room and via the website. Key class numbers and search terms for women's suffrage include:

Anti-suffrage movement	324.62350941
British women's suffrage organisations	324.62306041
Women's suffrage	324.623
Women's suffrage in Britain	324.6230941
Women's suffrage in America	324.6230973
Biographies	920
Dictionaries/encyclopedias of women	920.72

See also Sources for feminism

Key references, latest academic works and acquisitions

The Library holds the following guides and bibliographies, useful for identifying further information and material on the subject:

Banks, Olive. Biographical dictionary of British feminists. Bristol: Harvester, 1985. Quick Ref 305.420922

Crawford, Elizabeth. The women's suffrage movement : a reference guide, 1866-1928. London: Routledge, 2001. Quick Ref 324.6230941

Crawford, Elizabeth. The women's suffrage movement in Britain and Ireland: a regional survey. London: Routledge, 2005

Hannam, June. International encyclopedia of women's suffrage. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO, c2000. Quick Ref 324.62303

Murphy, Kate. Firsts : the Livewire book of British women achievers. London: Women's Press, 2001. Quick Ref 920.72
See especially the chapter on politics

The suffrage annual and women's who's who 1913, (ed.) AJR. London: Stanley Paul, 1913. Quick Ref 324.6230922, Vault 324.6230922

Chronologies

'Appendix 1 Key events 1890-1928' in The men's share? masculinities, male support and women's suffrage, 1890-1920 edited by Angela V. John and Claire Eustace. Newton Abbot: Victorian (& Modern History) Book Club, 1974. p.206 Reading Room 324.6230810941

'Appendix Outstanding events in the suffragette campaign' 1903-1914 in Raeburn, Antonia. The militant suffragettes Newton Abbot: Victorian (& Modern History) Book Club, 1974. p.243 Reading Room 324.6230941

'Appendix II Chart of major parliamentary events' and 'Appendix III p 224 Court cases relating to the women's claim to vote' in Rover, Constance. Women's suffrage and party politics in Britain,1866-1914 Routledge & K.Paul: Toronto U.P., 1967. p.218 Reading Room 324.6230941

Smith, Harold. The British women's suffrage campaign, 1866-1928 Harlow: Longman, 1998. p.85 Reading Room 324.6230941

'Appendix A Women members of the House of Commons (1918-January 1967) (alphabetical list with names, dates, party, constituency and appointments)', 'Appendix B Women member of the House of Lords (January 1967)' and 'Appendix C Private Members' Bills introduced by women Members of Parliament which became law' in Brookes, Pamela. Women at Westminster: an account of women in the British Parliament,1918-1966 London: P. Davies, 1967. Reading Room 328.41073

Highlights of the suffragettes' campaign 1903-1914 in McQuiston, Liz. Suffragettes to she-devils: women's liberation and beyond London: Phaidon, 1997. p.22-23 Oversize 760.044930542

Strachey, Ray. Chronological list of leading events in the women's movement in Great Britain. Leiden: Internationaal Archief voor de Vrouwenbeweging, 1938. Vault Pamphlet 305.420941

Potted history of women's rights in Britain: [1792-1976] [Great Britain]: [s.n.], [1977?]. Vault Oversize Pamphlet 323.340941

Glossaries

'People' and 'Organisations' in Smith, Harold. The British women's suffrage campaign, 1866-1928 Harlow: Longman, 1998. p.107 Reading Room 324.6230941

Women's suffrage bills/House of Commons

'Appendix I Table of women's suffrage bills' in Rover, Constance. Women's suffrage and party politics in Britain,1866-1914 Routledge & K.Paul: Toronto U.P., 1967. p.211 Reading Room 324.6230941

'Table 1 Party alignments in House of Commons divisions on woman suffrage, 1867-1928' and 'Table 3 Women candidates, MPs and political party: 1918-1974' in Harrison, Brian. Separate spheres: the opposition to women's suffrage in Britain London: Croom Helm, 1978. p.28-9, p.236-7 Reading Room 324.62350941

The arson campaign

'Tables 16.1-16.4 and 18.1-18.7' in Rosen, Andrew. Rise up, women!: the militant campaign of the Women's Social and Political Union, 1903-1914 London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1974. Reading Room 324.62306041

Arrests, court cases and imprisonment

Roll of honour: suffragette prisoners 1905-1914 [s.l.] : [s.n.], [19--]. Vault Oversize Pamphlet 324.6230922, Vault CB Oversize Pamphlet 324.6230922 The Archive catalogue record for 7LAC/2 Annie Lacon's personal copy of the pamphlet, contains a searchable list of the names

Various suffrage newspapers carry information on suffrage actions, arrests, court cases and imprisonment.

See The Women's Library's most recently published and newly available acquisitions

Periodicals
The Library holds a wide range of periodicals on women, including academic titles, popular magazines and campaigning newsletters. Some relevant periodical titles on suffrage are The Common cause, The vote, Votes for women and The women's suffrage journal.

There is a comprehensive selection of microfilmed suffrage periodicals available in the Reading Room Suffrage Periodicals Microfilmed.pdf Further periodical titles on the subject can be identified through the printed materials catalogue. For further guidance on identifying periodicals click here.

Press cuttings and ephemera

The presscuttings collections cover the whole of the 20th century and are particularly valuable for identifying contemporary comment where retrospective online newspaper coverage is unavailable. The Library holds microfilmed cuttings, up to 1979 at 396.11. In addition to the general press cuttings we also hold scrapbooks of press cuttings on the emancipation of women, illustrative presscuttings on suffragettes, and related general news cuttings.

The Library's ephemera collection contains information relating to women's organisations, including leaflets, flyers, minutes of meetings, agendas and all kinds of campaign literature. It includes ephemera for suffrage societies, campaigning women, libraries, archives, museums, publishers and schools..

Electronic resources

Electronic resources (online journals and databases) are currently only available to London Metropolitan University staff and students, and can be accessed via the online catalogue with their institutional identification and password. London Metropolitan Academic Liaison Librarians have provided a list of relevant e-resources.

Archives (personal and organisations' papers, oral histories)

A brief guide to the archives is available on The Women's Library website. Further details of archives available for research can be found in the archive and museum catalogue or in the hard copy catalogues available in the Reading Room on the shelves adjacent to the Information Desk. The following archives, including records of organisations, societies, campaigns, personal papers, letters, and oral histories, relate to women's suffrage:

Strand 2 - Women's suffrage societies
5DMM Records of the Dame Margery Corbett Ashby Memorial Fund
7CFD Charlotte Despard, suffragist and communist
7EES Edith Eskrigge, suffragist
7EGA Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, supporter of women's suffrage
7EGM Papers of Eunice Guthrie Murray
7EHM Edith How-Martyn, suffragist and birth control campaigner
7EIJ Papers of Ellen Isabel Jones, suffragette
7EMW Edith Watson, journalist and suffragist
7ESP Papers of, and relating to, Sylvia Pankhurst
7ESW Papers of Eva Stephenson and Maurice Wilkins
7EWD Emily Wilding Davison, suffragette
7FBG Papers of Fiona Billington-Greig
7GLS Papers of Gertrude Lind Setchfield, suffragette
7HFD Elsie Duval, suffragist
7HMC Harriet McIlquham, suffragist
7JCC/O Jill Craigie Objects Collection
7JKE Jessie Kenney, suffragist
7KGG Katie Gliddon, suffragette and water-colour artist
7KMA Katherina Schafer (aka Kitty Marion), suffragist and actress
7LAC Annie Lacon, suffragist
7LEB Lydia Becker, suffragist
7MAR Mary Rawle, suffragist
7MGF Millicent Fawcett, feminist and suffragist
7MLB Papers of Mary Leigh Browne, suffragette
7MMI Suffrage notebook [Gift of Mary Mills]
7NOR Papers of Lady Florence Priscilla Norman
7RCB Papers of Ruth Cavendish Bentinck
7RMB Rosa May Billinghurst, suffragist
7SWW Papers of Sybil W White
7TBG Teresa Billington-Greig, suffragist
7VDG Vida Goldstein, suffragist
7VJH Papers of Vera (Jack) Holme
7WAR Papers of Winifred Adair Roberts
8SUF Oral Evidence on the Suffragette and Suffragist Movements
9/01 Women's suffrage
9/03 Emancipation of Women, British Commonwealth and United States of America
9/09 Suffrage and Women in Industry
9/11 Letters Related to William Thomas Stead
9/15 Women's Institute
9/19 Keir Hardie
9/20 Millitant Suffragettes, the Webbs and Ramsay MacDonald
9/21 Letters of Constance Lytton
9/22 Scholars and Learned Ladies
9/27 Strachey Letters
9/26 Taylor Collection
9/29 Letters of Rosa May Billinghurst and Dr Alice Ker
9/31 Autograph letter collection
9/31/71 Correspondence of Sir John Young Walker MacAlister
Strand 10 - Fawcett Library Scrapbooks
Strand 11 - Records of the Women's Library predecessor and associated bodies

Museum (objects, textiles and visual materials)

The museum collection comprises of postcards, photographs, posters, banners and badges. Further details of museum objects available for research can be found in the archive and museum catalogue or in the hard copy catalogues available in the Reading Room on the shelves adjacent to the Information Desk.

Specifically the museum collection includes holds suffrage banners, photographic portraits, suffrage cartoon postcards, suffrage posters, suffrage badges, and suffrage medals. These and other suffrage objects are also found across the archives.

A large selection of images from our suffrage collections can be viewed and purchased at the Mary Evans Picture Library

Identifying images

Images can be found throughout The Women's Library's collections. Many digital images are available on Flickr, Vads, the archives catalogue (click on the number in the left hand side) and Mary Evans Picture Library. Use Mary Evans Picture Library's fast service for a non-watermarked high resolution images suitable for publication. If you require an image which has not been digitised you are welcome to use our reprographic service. Normal copyright conditions will apply.

Further information
The staff of The Women's Library can help you find material relating to your subject area; please don't hesitate to ask. You can contact the Information Desk staff prior to your visit via email twlinfodesk@londonmet.ac.uk, telephone 020 7320 3515, or by asking at the Information Desk in the Reading Room on the day of your visit.

Image references: Postcard produced by the Suffrage Atelier 1909-1914 TWL.2002.262 ;

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