180 City and Town Councils

Pro-female suffrage propaganda postcard printed in black and white. The postcard is printed with the wording '180 City and Town Councils have Petitioned Government To Give Facilities For Passing The Woman Suffrage Bill' and a woodcut illustration depicting local government officials. The postcard refers to the petitioning of government by 180 city and town councils in support of the Conciliation Bill of 1910. The bill proposed the franchise (the right to vote) for those women who were responsible for the premises they occupied. Although the bill was introduced into parliament on 14 June 1910, it was never passed.

The postcard, also produced in poster form, was designed and printed at the Suffrage Atelier in Shepherd's Bush, west London. This organisation was founded by a group of pro-suffrage artists in February 1909, 'to encourage Artists to forward the Women's Movement, and particularly the Enfranchisement of Women, by means of pictorial publications.' The Atelier artists specialised in hand-made wooden block prints, stencilling and etchings and produced visually powerful posters and postcards to publicise the pro-suffrage campaign.