Lorna Cowan explores influential posters from the Suffragette era

A century ago, at the height of the Suffragette movement, women campaigners mastered the art of political advertising. Lorna Cowan finds out more.

THROUGHOUT 2018, events and exhibitions are taking place across the UK to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of women winning the right to vote. It was the result of decades of campaigning by fearless women, and men, who endured abuse and ridicule – and risked arrest – to get their voice heard.

At the Cambridge University Library, a collection of suffrage posters is on display until March 31. Although delivered to the library in a brown paper parcel around 1910, addressed simply to “the Librarian”, the posters were not discovered until 2016.

A leading figure of the suffrage moment, Dr Marion Philips, is thought to have been the sender.

“These posters are fantastic examples of the suffrage publicity machine of the early twentieth century,” Dr Chris Burgess, exhibitions officer at the library, says. “They were created to be plastered on walls, torn down by weather or political opponents, so it’s highly unusual for this material to be safely stored for over a hundred years.”

While some posters appear witty and humorous, others are more shocking, often using metaphors to get their message across.

“The majority opinion was against women’s votes,” Dr Lucy Delap, from the Faculty of History, explains.

“The suffrage movement had to reach out to many women, and campaigning went far beyond the simple equality message to point out how the vote could make a difference in households, at work and on the streets.”

The posters are on display in Cambridge University Library Entrance Hall until March 31. The exhibition is free and open to all. Visit www.lib.cam.ac.uk.