Description
Elbert Hubbard–printer, salesman, author, New York Arts and Crafts icon, and feminist? Yes! Always a free-thinker, after partnering with his second wife, Alice Moore Hubbard, Hubbard became more outspoken on feminist issues. Here is an original manuscript showing Elbert’s support for women’s suffrage and for feminist Marilla Ricker, who ran for the governor of New Hampshire in 1910, 10 years before women even had the right to vote in the United States.
“Marilla would make an ideal governor. She has courage, brains, education, tact, experience, and is an honest as the daylight”.
Also covered are the death penalty and women being executed–“It was a man turned the key. No woman could have been hired to do it”. And, “Really, now, since women must obey the law or be hanged or electrocuted, shouldn’t she be allowed to express her political preferences as to the governor who has the power of killing or pardoning her? Marilla thinks so.”
As usual with Hubbard, ideas run freely and burst off the page, with him crossing out and editing as he went. Manuscript is 14 pages, completely in Hubbard’s own hand in pencil on The Oliver Hotel (South Pend, Ind) letterhead and finishing on Plankington House (Milwaukee) letterhead. At this time he was traveling and lecturing around the country, in addition to his duties as leader of the Roycroft Shops. Manuscript is also signed and dated (February 1910) at the bottom.
The full printed article (slightly edited) printed in the Leavenworth Echo (Wenatchee, Washington) newspaper can be found here: https://primarilywashington.org/items/show/23544 and in the last photo. It seems that it was also published in a few other locales. A fabulous piece!
