Souvenir serviette commemorating the Votes for Women Great Demonstation

Souvenir paper table napkin commemorating the Votes for Women Great Demonstration held at Hyde Park on June 21st 1908 in support of female suffrage. In the centre is a map showing a plan of the routes taken by the marchers to the rally in Hyde Park together with the location of the platforms in the park where speeches were taking place. The programme is also printed with a timetable of the day's events framed by portraits of the Suffragette leaders and speakers. The napkin has a floral border coloured in purple and green, the colour scheme of the Women's Social and Political Union, organisers of the demonstration.

Similar souvenir letterpress and woodcut napkins were printed for every large public, popular event, ceremony or procession that occured in London from the late 19th to mid 20th century. Quickly mass printed they often include spelling mistakes, poor grammar and even inaccurate facts. The squares were imported into London from Japan pre-printed with a decorative border in up to 5 colours and a blank central area. Burgess was one of the main printer of such napkins that would be sold for one penny (1d) by street hawkers moving amongst the huge crowds that attended such popular events. As well as providing practical information such as a programme and timetable of the day's events these napkins were also intended to be taken home and kept as a souvenir. Many were framed and used as decoration in working class homes.