Printed Ephemera — 1909
The Modern Shirley
Pro-female suffrage propaganda postcard entitled 'The Modern Shirley.' Designed by Isabel Pocock and published by the Suffrage Atelier the postcard refers to the evolution of the Modern Woman here represented by the suffrage campaigner and 'Girl of the Period'. 'Modern Shirley' stands tall, strong and confident, carrying a banner marked 'Political Power' before a seated John Bull representing the traditional British male. This depiction of the Modern Woman as assured yet beautiful and feminine was intended to reassure the public that pro-suffrage campaigners did not represent a degenerate form of femininity or pose a threat to social order.
The Suffrage Atelier was founded in London in February 1909. Its aim was: '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.
- Category:
- Printed Ephemera
- Object ID:
- 50.82/846
- Object name:
- The Modern Shirley
- Object type:
- Artist/Maker:
- Pocock, Isabel, Suffrage Atelier
- Related people:
- Related events:
- Related places:
- Production date:
- 1909
- Material:
card, ink
- Measurements/duration:
- H 140 mm, W 88 mm
- Part of:
- —
- On display:
- —
- Record quality:
- 100%
- Part of this object:
- —
- Owner Status & Credit:
Permanent collection
- Copyright holder:
digital image © London Museum
- Image credit:
- —
- Creative commons usage:
- —
- License this image:
To license this image for commercial use, please contact the London Museum Picture Library.