Mrs. John Bull
Item
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Title
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Mrs. John Bull
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Description
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A woman wearing a light blue shirt and white apron dress stands at the edge of a table and holds a spoon in her hand a bowl that reads "Votes for Women." On the table is a big red bowl labeled "Political Help". Around the table are four boys sitting and two boys who are standing and grabbing her arm. The six boys all hold soup bowls in their hand, held out in front of them as an attempt to get served more soup. The boys are all dressed in the same dark blue, long sleeve shirts and light blue shorts. Each boy wears a white cloth around their neck. Each one is labeled with a different political concept. They are trade unions, Primrose League, Liberal Federation, S.D.F. Two other collars are cut off but the labels read I.L.P. and women's liberal association. The boys are all pouting as the women has a displeased look on her face. The text at the top of the poster reads "Mrs. John Bull' Now you greedy boys I shall not give you any more until I have helped myself."
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Dora Meeson was a cartoonist and illustrator for women's suffrage. She was from Australia, but was an elected member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters in London, England. She was also a member of the British Artists' Suffrage League. Written on the boys shirts are different political and social parties and organizations. Here, Meeson is implying that the government only focuses on men's interests, and not those of women. Meeson was a very powerful activist and illustrated many other suffrage cartoons. A representation of her banner was used on the design of the Australian 2003 dollar coin celebrating the centenary of women's suffrage. A picture of the coin can be found here: https://www.australian-coins.com/complete-guide-australian-1-dollar-1-coins/2003-centenary-womens-suffrage-dollar/
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Date
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1900
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Creator
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Dora Meeson
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Publisher
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National Union of Women Suffrage Societies
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Identifier
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A women stands at a table surrounded by boys while holding a spoon in a bowl labeled "political help"
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Subject
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Domesticity
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Rights
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https://library.harvard.edu/privacy-terms-use-copyright-information#visuals
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Source
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Cooke, Alistair. “Founders of the Primrose League (Act. 1883–c. 1918).” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, May 19, 2011. https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-42172;jsessionid=0BE1AC30CFFE4F098D8E326F4220A7F0.
