The Farm Produce Stall at the Women's Exhibition

The Women's Exhibition was organised by the Women's Social and Political Union to recruit new members and raise funds for the Votes for Women campaign. The event was held at Princes' Skating Rink in Knightsbridge between 13th and 26th May 1909 and viewed by the leadership as a triumphant success. The farm produce stall sold items such as jams and marmalade made and donated by Suffragettes living in the more rural areas of the UK. Cash prizes were awarded daily throughout the Exhibition for a range of categories including the best pair of fowls, drawn and trussed for table, the best pound of butter, the best eggs and the best assortment of vegetables.
To the far left of the image is Constance Cooke. Constance normally used a walking stick, and appears to be supporting herself by leaning on a table or possibly a parasol. Standing third on the right of the image is Kitty Marshall. In the forefront in a suit is Edith Beck, who along with her sister Ellen contributed produce to the stall from their farm in Billinghurst, Sussex.
Such stalls reflect the organisers efforts to ensure the participation of all regional and provincial WSPU branches in the Exhibition to maximize the fund-raising potential of the event. As well as contributing to general stalls such as the farm produce and flower stall regional branches all had their own stalls full of local produce and donations made and offered by local members.
The image is one of a series taken by the female photographer Christina Broom of the Women's Exhibition. It is likely Christina was appointed by the WSPU as official photographer of this impressive event as the images are posed and document key features of the exhibition. Several also include images of Suffragette leaders, including Emmeline Pankhurst. Broom's negatives were printed as postcards. The proceeds of the commercial sale of these is likely to have financially benefited the WSPU as well as Broom.