Suffrage Plays Broad St. Theatre
Item
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Title
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Suffrage Plays Broad St. Theatre
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Description
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An advertisement for suffrage plays put on at the Broad Street Theatre on February 16th, 1911. The show is a matinee and starts at 2:30 pm with tickets being sold at the Plastic Club from 10 am to 1 pm. The performance is directed by Mrs. Otis Skinner and Miss Beatrice Forbes Robertson and with support from the Pennsylvania Limited Suffrage League, Equal Franchise League and the College Equal Suffrage League. The center image is that of a woman draped in fabric from her left shoulder to her feet. She is standing with her right foot forward and her arms out to sides. Her right foot is peaking out from under her drapery with only a small amount of her sandal showing. Her hair is pulled up, possibly into a tricorn hat. The woman is also standing atop a globe and stepping towards the United States. The background features a slightly clouded sky in blue and orange tones with the Liberty Bell just behind the woman’s head and shoulders.
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In the early 20th century the use of allegory in pro-suffrage imagery became popular along with the rise in feminist ideals. Some actors and theater enthusiasts also supported women's equality. This led to the performance of feminist-minded plays and suffrage shows written and inspired by movement members and supporters. This is shown in this advertisement through the woman standing atop the globe in front of Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell, referencing the liberty that suffragists sought.
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Identifier
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Advertisement for suffrage plays taking place in February 1911 at Broad Street Theatre depicting a woman in front of Liberty Bell
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Source
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Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, Radcliffe Institute Gr-15.5-2
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Creator
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Unknown
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Date
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1911
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Rights
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https://library.harvard.edu/privacy-terms-use-copyright-information#visuals
