Presentation Pieces in the Museum of History and Technology Part 5

Robert Todd Lincoln by their children on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary.[30] Robert Todd Lincoln, son of the President, became a prominent lawyer in Chicago and later served as president of the Pullman Company, as Secretary of War in the cabinets of President Garfield and President Arthur, and as Minister to Great Britain under President Benjamin Harrison. The silver gilt urn has two handles, measures 13 inches from the base to the finial on the cover, and 7 inches at its widest point. Bands of ornamentation feature both the grape design and the acorn and oak-leaf design. It is inscribed:

Robert Todd Lincoln--Mary Harlan 1868-1918

The gilt wash, although almost completely polished off the outside surface, still covers the inside of the urn and its lid.

TO CONGRESSMEN

A silver tureen and tray[31] were given to the Honorable James R. Mann, Republican leader of the House of Representatives, by the members of the House in 1919. Mann was elected a Representative from Illinois in 1897, and he remained a member of Congress until his death in 1922. In 1912 he became minority leader. In addition to the Mann Act, his name is a.s.sociated with other important legislation of the period such as the Pure Food and Drugs Act and the Woman Suffrage Amendment.

The tray, which holds the tureen, is inscribed:

James R. Mann Republican Leader from House Members of the 65th Congress, March 3rd, 1919.

It is marked on the back with "W. Sterling, 4086--16 in." The initial represents the Wallace Silver Company.

The oval tureen is on a pedestal base. There is a scroll design around the edge of the base, the edge of the bowl, and the opening of the bowl. The piece measures 14 inches from handle to handle, is 10 inches high, and has the initials "J R M" in old English letters engraved on the side.

In the Museum's collection is a loving cup of Chinese design that was presented by the Chamber of Commerce, Peking, China, to a party of American Congressmen on a tour of China and j.a.pan in 1920.[32] The height of the cup is 17-5/8 inches, and its width, including the two large handles, is 15-5/16 inches. The piece is mounted on a papier-mache base that is covered with silk. The engraved Chinese characters translate as follows:

Commemorating the welcome of Congressmen from Great America traveling in China

Respectfully presented by members of the Chinese Diet

May the spring of your well-being be as vast as the ocean.

TO SUFFRAGETTES

Among the significant social changes that occurred in the 19th century was the movement for woman suffrage that began about the middle of the century as a concerted action by a nucleus of determined women. The crusade gained strength and numbers during the second half of the century, and finally achieved success with the ratification of the Suffrage Amendment in 1920. Many women worked in this cause, and the pieces of presentation silver in the National Museum's Woman Suffrage Collection const.i.tute a record of the most important leaders.

Chief spokesman of the movement and its leader for many years was Elizabeth Cady Stanton of New York State. She was instrumental in calling the first Woman's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848, and she served as president of the National Woman Suffrage a.s.sociation from its beginning in 1869 and as president of the National American Woman Suffrage a.s.sociation from 1890 to 1891. She continued to be an active worker in the movement until her death in 1902, writing and editing many works on suffrage in addition to her administrative work.

On the occasion of her 80th birthday in 1895, Mrs. Stanton was presented with a silver tray[33] (8 inches wide and 1-1/2 inches deep) that is inscribed:

From the Ladies of Seneca Falls, 1848-1895.

This tray, presented at a meeting at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City, bears on the back a "W" in a circle, a two-headed lion in a rectangle (probably an early mark of the Wallace Silver Company), the word "Sterling," and the number "2048."

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 18.--CUP GIVEN TO SUSAN B. ANTHONY by the Colorado Equal Suffrage a.s.sociation. Gift of National American Woman Suffrage a.s.sociation. In Division of Political History. (Acc. 64601, cat. 26163; Smithsonian photo 45992-J.)]

On the same occasion Mrs. Stanton was presented a silver loving cup[34]

that is inscribed:

1815-1895 Presented to Elizabeth Cady Stanton by the New York City Woman Suffrage League, November 12, 1895. Defeated day by day but unto victory born.

The cup, 4-1/2 inches in diameter and 7-3/8 inches deep, is marked on the bottom with the Wallace "W," similar to the mark on the tray, and "Sterling, 3798, 4-1/2 pints, 925/100 fine, Pat 1892."

The life story of Susan B. Anthony is a record of 60 years of devotion and work for the enfranchis.e.m.e.nt of women. An organizer and director of countless suffrage activities, she was tireless in conducting campaigns for woman suffrage. She is the one individual who has become so identified with the fight for woman suffrage that, more than any other, her name has become synonymous with that term. During her lifetime she worked in almost every capacity in the organized movement. She became president of the National American Woman Suffrage a.s.sociation in 1892 and served until her 80th birthday in 1900. On that occasion the Colorado Equal Suffrage a.s.sociation presented her with a miniature, three-handled loving cup that stands only 3-3/4 inches high (fig. 18).

In one section of the cup there is engraved the word "Colorado" and the state's coat of arms; in an adjoining section is an engraving of the state flower; and in the third section is the following inscription:

Colorado Equal Suffrage a.s.sociation to Susan B. Anthony on her 80th Birthday 1900.

The cup is marked on the bottom "Sterling, 590, A. J. Stark & Co., Denver."

She was also given a silver-plated teakettle[35] by the Political Equality Club of Rochester, New York. The stand is 3-1/2 inches high, and the teapot is 5-1/4 inches high. Engraved around the top of the teapot is:

Susan B. Anthony 1820-1893.

The stand is marked "Mfd. & Plated Reed & Barton" and "65."

The chosen leader of the Woman Suffrage Movement after 1900 was Mrs.

Carrie Chapman Catt, a vigorous organizer and campaigner who led the drive for the const.i.tutional amendment that was finally ratified in 1920. Mrs. Catt founded the International Woman Suffrage Alliance in 1902 and served as its president until 1923. Her late years were devoted to the cause of international peace and disarmament.

Mrs. Catt was the prime mover in calling the first international conference on suffrage, which, in 1902, welcomed representatives from nine foreign nations--Great Britain, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Turkey, Russia, Australia, and Chile. The delegates were honored guests at the National Suffrage Convention then in session in Was.h.i.+ngton where they also attended two congressional hearings on suffrage and were received by President Theodore Roosevelt at the White House.[36] Mrs.

Catt was given a silver tray[37] inscribed:

To Carrie Chapman Catt from the foreign delegates to the First International Suffrage Conference, Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C., Feb. 12-18, 1902.

The back of the tray is marked "Galt & Bro. Sterling, 386." The Galt silver firm is in Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C.

The campaign for the first referendum in the state of New York on woman suffrage was considered to be the most decisive of all the state fights.

New York was divided into 12 campaign districts working under Mrs. Catt.

The campaign was most vigorously waged, but the referendum was defeated.[38] After the New York campaign Mrs. Catt received a silver gilt tray[39] inscribed:

Honorable Carrie Chapman Catt from Katherine Howard Notman

Eleventh a.s.sembly District Campaign Chairman, 1915

The right of the citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of s.e.x.

The tray is marked on the reverse "Tiffany and Co., 18154, Makers 811, Sterling Silver, 925/1000/M."

Mrs. Catt had started the suffrage movement in the Philippine Islands when she visited there in 1912 and organized the first suffrage club in Manila. In 1937 the Philippine legislature submitted the question of votes for women to the women of the Islands themselves. The campaign committee working out of Manila sent native women campaigners throughout the Islands to be sure all races and religions were represented in the vote. Mrs. Catt raised money in this country and sent it to the campaign committee to help with the fight.[40] Over half a million Philippine women voted favorably on the question, and several months later Mrs.

Catt was presented with a silver plaque, mounted on native woods, that is now in the Museum's collection.[41] It is inscribed:

In grateful acknowledgement of the moral and financial aid given by the women of America through Carrie Chapman Catt to the women of the Philippines through the International Federation of Women's Clubs in their struggles for their political rights culminating in ultimate victory in April, 1937.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 19.--BELT GIVEN TO H. W. HIGHAM as the winner of a 6-day bicycle race at Glasgow, Scotland. Gift of Mr. H. W. Higham. In Division of Transportation. (Acc. 168449, cat. 313867; Smithsonian photo 45992-F.)]

FOR SPORTS EVENTS

The earliest of the sports trophies in the collection is an ornate belt (fig. 19) made of blue velvet upon which are mounted five engraved silver plates connected by silver straps. On the center plate is the inscription:

6 Days Bicycle Champion Belt of Scotland Won by H. W. Higham Nottingham 19th June 1880 Contested at Glasgow

One of the two adjoining smaller plates has an engraving of a man riding a high-wheeled bicycle, and the other has an engraving of a man standing beside a similar bicycle. The two outer plates are engraved with Scottish coats of arms. The belt is 34-1/2 inches long and 3 inches wide.