postcard, To the Girl's Christmas Tree

Pro-suffrage propaganda postcard captioned 'To the Girl's Christmas Tree'. The postcard satirises gender discrimination with the boys given first choice over presents under the Christmas tree, the girls only being offered what, if anything is left. The Suffrage Atelier was founded in London in February 1909 as 'An Arts and Crafts Society Working for the Enfranchisement of Women'. Its object was: 'to encourage Artists to forward the Women's Movement, and particularly the Enfranchisement of Women, by means of pictorial publications.' The Atelier artists specialised in hand-made wooden block prints, stencilling and etchings and produced visually powerful posters and postcards to publicise the pro-suffrage campaign. Laurence and Clemence Housman were co-founders of the Atelier, other members were Catherine Courtauld, Edith Craig and Isobel Pocock. The Atelier was associated with the militant Votes for Women campaign, in particular the Women's Freedom League. It also ran the Art Stall at the WSPU's fund-raising Women's Exhibition in 1909.