Anthony, Susan B. | Presentation copy with a uniquely elegant inscription

Anthony, Susan B. 

The History of Woman Suffrage ... Rochester: Susan B. Anthony, 1902

Volume IV (1 of four) only, large 8vo (235 x 154 mm). Frontispiece; some toning. Publisher's maroon cloth, borders ruled in blind, spine gilt-lettered, inscribed by Susan B. Anthony on the front free endpaper; rear joint splitting, extremities rubbed with some fraying.

I send this huge book to you that you may see the record of the marvelous gains made for women in the last twenty years - it is the harvest of the seed - sowing of fifty years ago - what will not the harvest be of the next score of years! Affectionately for the old time, Susan B. Anthony

The inscription is dated 23 June 1902, the same year as publication. Mrs. Gay was mentioned in the first volume of The History of Woman Suffrage (1889), in relation to the Ninth National Convention of Women's Rights: "In accordance with a call issued by the Central Committee, the Ninth National Woman's Rights Convention was held in the City of New York on Thursday, May 12, 1859. The sessions commenced with a business meeting, on the afternoon of that day, in Mozart Hall. The meeting was called to order by SUSAN B. ANTHONY, of Rochester, New York, who made a few introductory remarks, after which, the question of the expediency of memorializing the Legislatures of the different States, on the subject of granting equal rights to Woman, was discussed at some length. At the close of the debate, a resolution was adopted, that it was expedient so to memorialize the several Legislatures, and a committee was appointed for that purpose, and a series of resolutions offered by Caroline H. Dall. These resolutions were discussed by Mrs. Dall, Mrs. Hallock, Mrs. Elizabeth Neal Gay, Lucretia Mott, A. M. Powell, Charles C. Burleigh, and others" (672-3).

Some of the resolutions Mrs. Elizabeth Neal Gay discussed with her cohort included:

Resolved, That while we have no daughters too tender and pure, no sons too innocent, to escape from the influence of such tragedies as those at North Adams and Washington, the true modesty of every mother, the true dignity of every wife, should forbid her to put aside the questions they involve.

Resolved, That the dishonor of single women proceeds in great measure from destitution, and the dishonor of married women as much from their own want of education and utter absence of purpose in life as from the inability of their husbands to inspire them with true respect and help them to true living : therefore,

Resolved, That it is our bounden duty to open, in every possible way, new vocations to women, to raise their wages by every advisable means, and to secure to them an education which shall be less a decoration to their persons than a tool to their hands.

Through her inscription, Anthony eloquently speaks to the long history of women's suffrage, and also conveys a distinct sense of hope for the future. The present lot represents a powerful association copy, which passionately underscores the unwavering commitment of Anthony and countless others.