Suffrage Umbrella

The “Votes for Women” umbrella pictured here was produced around 1913 by the National Woman Suffrage Association, which sold them for a dollar each and ten dollars a dozen. While they could be used to protect against both rain and sun, their primary purpose was to advertise the cause at street meetings, summer resorts, and county fairs.

Many organizations held parasol or umbrella parades, including that conducted by the Women’s Political Union in 1911 to advertise an appearance by Mrs. Pankhurst, as well as that sponsored by a group from Flatbush, Brooklyn in 1913, and a 1915 “Do-It-For Wilmington” parade held in Delaware. Some parades featured not the NAWSA manufactured piece but rather hand-made varieties fashioned from standard umbrellas with the lettering sewn, pasted or drawn on. In the example shown here, the name of “Idaho” has been inked in, and it was probably used as part of a demonstration that marked those states that at the time were firmly embedded in the suffrage column.