Collection of Emily Faithfull Material
New York / [London?]: Circa 1873-1884. Total of six items, various sizes and paginations. Light toning to letter, with small ink notation ("5301") to upper margin; circular creased and lightly soiled; leaf of one holograph sentiment quite brittle, with short tears to bottom edge and loss to corners. Good to Very Good overall.
A small but mighty collection of material from trips by Emily Faithfull to New York, plus a circular that may have been distributed during one of those visits. Included are:
- Two tickets to a "farewell lecture" by Faithfull held at Steinway Hall in New York on April 3, 1873, 1-3/4 x 3-3/4 inches, printed in black on lilac stock;
- [2]pp. holograph ALs with postmarked envelope, sent from Faithfull to A[lexander]. T[urney]. Stewart on March 28, 1873, with embossed imprint of the Victoria Press to both letter and envelope flap, 7 x 4-1/2 inches;
- [4]pp. circular, "Lectures by Emily Faithfull, Editor of 'The Victoria Magazine,'" containing a list of Faithfull's lecture titles and numerous testimonials about her speaking abilities, n. d. but circa 1871, no imprint (we speculate only that it may have been printed by the Victoria Press), 8-1/2 x 5-3/8 inches;
- [1]pp. signed holograph sentiment on New York Hotel stationery, dated April 11, 1884, reading, in quotations, "Alas how full of trouble is this work a day world", 8-1/2 x 5-3/4 inches;
- [1]pp. signed holograph sentiment on otherwise blank sheet of paper, dated October 21, 1882, New York, reading "The first condition of human goodness is something to love, the second, something to reverence", 4-3/4 x 7-3/4 inches.
The letter to A.T. Stewart, an Irish entrepreneur who made millions with his dry goods business, displays Faithfull's indefatigable efforts as editor of The Victoria Magazine, as well as her business savvy and devotion to the women's movement. Addressed as being from 35th East 39th St, New York, it reads, in full:
"Sir,/I should much like to/include in my article on/New York a notice of yr/stove & thinking you might/be able & willing to send me/some particulars to the above/address before April 1st. I/write to say I should value/& use them together with/any details abt yr Home for/[turn page] Working Women./I beg yr acceptance/of the enclosed ticket for/my farewell lecture April 3d/(I said on the 5th.) at which I expect/Lucretia Mott; Gerrit Smith/has come up to attend it & some of America’s noblest/ sons & daughters will be on the platform./The proceeds will be devoted/to my London fund for/destitute gentlewomen./[___?___]/Emily Faithfull/Editor of Victoria."
It seems likely that the two tickets for the lecture included here came with this letter. They are unused, so Stewart presumably didn't make the lecture, which was titled "Last Words on the Woman Question". The two later holograph sentiments came to us separately, as did the circular.
All in all, an important collection of material by and about feminist and activist Emily Faithfull, whose efforts to create jobs for women in the printing trade were hugely influential during her time. Manuscript material by Faithfull is rare, and we find no evidence of the circular or tickets in OCLC.
