Description:

Lucy Stone ALS on Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association Letterhead "in regard to the suffrage bazar [sic]"

A 1p autograph letter signed by Lucy Stone (1818-1893), one of the co-founders of the Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association (MWSA), as "Lucy Stone" at the center. Written in Boston, Massachusetts on June 23, 1887 on a single leaf of blue-lined stationery paper with "Office of / Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association, / 5 Park Street" letterhead. Expected minor transmittal folds, a few scuffs near the top, and isolated ink smudges. Unobtrusive mounting traces verso, else near fine. 5.5" x 8.5."

Lucy Stone invited one "Mrs. Pitman" to help with an upcoming fund-raising event hosted by the Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association. The group, dedicated to enfranchising Massachusetts women, had been co-founded in 1870 by Stone, her husband Henry Ward Blackwell, the poet Julia Ward Howe, and others. Stone was also active in a sister organization, the New England Woman Suffrage Association (NEWSA), serving as that organization's president between 1877 and her death in 1893.

Stone wrote in part:

"Dear Mrs Pitman

Miss Pond has been appointed to confer with you in regard to the suffrage bazar [sic] interests which she will explain to you. We hope you will be able to be 'one with us' in the bazar [sic].

Yrs very truly
Lucy Stone."

The Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association hosted a week-long Christmas shopping bazaar at Boston's Music Hall and Bumstead Hall during the week of December 12-17, 1887 to raise money for women's suffrage. Participants from 51 auxiliary leagues and eight other U.S. states sold "useful and unique things at reasonable prices" at tables and booths. In a December 3, 1887 issue of "The Woman's Journal," Lucy Stone promoted the upcoming event. "Will you help, and enlist the friends of woman suffrage in your locality in aid of the Bazaar? One thousand articles, useful and fancy, or even more, can easily be obtained in your State, among your friends and acquaintances, from merchants, manufacturers, and farmers…" The MWSA's bazaar held the year before had generated approximately $6,000.

Stone's addressee "Mrs. Pitman" was most likely Frances R. Pitman (born 1833), the wife of NEWSA vice president Robert Carter Pitman (1825-1891). Carter was a former lawyer and Massachusetts state representative and senator who served as Associate Justice of the Superior Court of Massachusetts between 1869 and his death in 1891. In addition to championing women's suffrage, Carter also supported temperance and prohibition.

The "Miss Pond" mentioned in Stone's letter referred to Cora Scott Pond (born 1856, later Pope), who worked for MWSA for six years as a fundraiser, organizer, and lecturer. During Pond's tenure, she organized 87 auxiliary leagues of the MWSA, and raised thousands of dollars for local and national suffrage efforts. The Christmas bazaar idea proved a cash cow, as did Pond's "National Pageants," touring performances by amateur actors who reenacted famous scenes from American history.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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