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Title
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Won't you let me help you, John?
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Description
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A poster in a light cream color, with a light-skinned woman on the right, facing a light-skinned man on the left, though she is making eye contact with us. The man is holding his head and making an anguished expression, above his head, there are six horns, directing eleven phrases at him, which from left to right read “Old age pension, Temperance, Wife’s sister’s bill, Infant death rate, Barmaids, Poor law reform, Religious education, Factory legislation, Cry of the children, Free food for school child, Peace proposals." The woman's white skirt reads “Women’s suffrage.” The woman has a light blue shawl and scarf, as well as pink flowers in her hair, and wears a yellow-colored bonnet. The man is wearing a dark blue jacket, a yellow waistcoat, with a red flower in his lapel. The background is black on cream and shows a set of stairs behind the people. The text at the very bottom of the page reads “Won’t you let me help you, John?,” in a bold font.
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Designed by Joan Harvey Drew in 1903, this poster depicts the character of John Bull, who was at the time widely recognizable allegorical version of Great Britain. Created in the 18th century, John Bull was a prosperous farmer and characterized “the typical English man,” being described as down to earth and hard-headed. In the poster, we see this hard-headedness at play in John Bull’s resistance to the help of the woman, labeled women’s suffrage. A variety of problems surround John Bull, being blasted at him from trumpets. These problems are largely social and political, ranging from old age pensions to peace proposals. This reflects the attitude of women suffragists that women should bear some of the weight and responsibility of decisions that would affect the entire country. The portrayal of John Bull in anguish and being assaulted by problems from all sides, when the figure of women’s suffrage was so unburdened acted as both an expression of feminine strength and a reminder of the many problems faced by English men and women.
Source:
Barlow, Jayne. “Joan Harvey Drew (1876-1961) and Her Sisters,” 2019. https://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/themes/subjects/womens-suffrage/suffrage-biographies/joan-harvey-drew-1876-1961-and-her-sisters/.
Johnson, Ben. “John Bull, Symbol of the English and Englishness,” 2014. https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/John-Bull/.
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Date
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Ca. 1903-1926
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Creator
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Joan Harvey Drew
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Source
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Alice Park Posters. Gr-1. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.
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Publisher
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David Allen and sons LTD, Belfast.
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Rights
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https://library.harvard.edu/privacy-terms-use-copyright-information#visuals
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Identifier
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A poster featuring a disgruntled man, and a woman, not fully facing each other or the audience. The bottom text reads “Won’t you let me help you, John?”
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Subject
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Women's sufferage
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Type
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Poster
