Carrie Chapman Catt: A Biography

New York: H.W. Wilson Company, 1944. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Signed. Carrie Chapman Catt (1859-1947) was one of the leading voices in women’s rights. Successor to Susan B. Anthony as president of National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), she was also instrumental in the founding & president of International Woman Suffrage Alliance.+++++In 1907, Catt traveled for nine years, in part to recover from the grief following the close deaths of her husband, close friend Susan B. Anthony, her brother, and her mother. While she was away, NAWSA had become “badly divided over suffrage strategies.†Catt came back, resumed the presidency, came up with a plan, and within a few years, the 19th Amendment was passed. Which is not to say she did it singlehandedlyâ€"it was the result of years of effort by many, many peopleâ€"but she was the leader the movement needed. +++++This copy was owned by Thomas Carrick Burke (1856-1944), who was born & raised in Iowa. He went to law school in Iowa and in 1909 moved to Oregon. He was involved in customs, mining, journalism, and politics, including leading the Oregon Delegation to the 1912 Democratic National Convention. +++++Burke and Catt appear to have met in Iowa, and they are photographed together on p. 20 with the caption “Carrie Lane and Fellow Teachers.†They kept in touch for the rest of their lives, having a shared background and probably similar political leanings. +++++On the front endpaper, Burke has written: “Her card came with the book from her publisher, but her farewell to me is obvious in the following note I had from her six months earlier, after a correspondence extending through 60 years.†+++++The letter sympathizes with Burke about his recent surgeries, and she wishes him the best. The note is from 1943, and although she would live a few more years, she wrote, “I am just approaching my 85 birthday so I’ll not be staying long. I am glad to have known you while I have been here.†+++++Affixed to the front endpapers are an autograph note signed by Catt, along with the front panel of the envelope it came in, and the compliments card from the publisher. In addition to his note on the front endpaper, Burke has made a few annotations to the text. Most helpful is his identification of other teachers in the photo, as well as his “errata†(location of photo.) There are a few other (snarky) margin remarks about Henry Cabot Lodge, the Republican senator who was the leading opponent of suffrage. +++++As prominent as Catt was, much of her manuscript material is held by institutions and any correspondence is infrequent on the market. The Library of Congress alone has over 9,500 items in their Carrie Chapman Catt Papers. (Inventory #: 202042)