Guide to the Dead Feminists Broadside Collection MSS.2014.09.25

Lale Yasemin Kaya
SJSU Special Collections & Archives
October 2014
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library
San José State University
One Washington Square
San José, CA 95192-0028
special.collections@sjsu.edu


Language of Material: English
Contributing Institution: SJSU Special Collections & Archives
Title: Dead Feminists Broadside Collection
creator: O'Leary, Chandler
Identifier/Call Number: MSS-2014-09-25
Physical Description: 1 flat file drawers
Date (inclusive): 2008-2015
Abstract: Dead Feminists Broadside Collection is also known as the "Dead Feminists" Series. Each hand lettered, letterpress-printed broadside features a quote by women in history and juxtaposes it into contemporary social and political issues.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in two series. Series I: Broadsides (2011-2015) documents nine of the broadsides that were produced by Chandler O'Leary and Jessica Spring. The series is arranged chronologically and then alphabetically by title. Series II: Postcards (2008-2010) documents ten postcards produced by Chandler O'Leary and Jessica Spring. The series is arranged chronologically and then alphabetically by title. Each postcard is filed in a negative sleeve.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Publication Rights

Copyright has been assigned to the San Jose State University Library Special Collections & Archives. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the SJSU Special Collections & Archives as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader. Copyright restrictions also apply to digital reproductions of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.

Biography

The Dead Feminists series of posters and postcards was a collaboration illustrated and lettered by Chandler O'Leary, then printed by Jessica Spring. Based out of Washington state, O'Leary is an artist who graduated from Rhode Island School of Design in 2004. She is the publishes her illustrations under her house brand, Anagram Press. Receiving her MFA from Columbia College Chicago Center for Books & Paper, Spring is the proprietor of Springtide Press, releasing collections of artist books, broadsides, and ephemera. Together, the two published their poster series as a book, Dead Feminists: Historic Heroines in Living Color in 2016, published by Sasquatch Books.

Preferred Citation

Dead Feminists Broadside Collection, MSS-2014-09-25, San José State University Library Special Collections & Archives.

Processing Information

Processed and edited by: Lale Yasemin Kaya
ArchiveSpace input by: Lale Yasemin Kaya
Reviewed by: Danelle Moon and Diane Malmstrom
Date completed: December 2014
Edited: January 2015
Revised by Eilene Lueck, relabeled folders for updated container list: October 2022

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of nine printed broadsides and ten postcards.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Women artists -- California –Sources.
Feminism in art.
Broadsides -- Specimens.
Feminists -- Quotations.
Printing -- Specimens.

 

Series I: Broadsides 2011-2015

Physical Description: 9 Folders

Arrangement

This series is arranged chronologically and then alphabetically by title. Posters are located in one flat file drawer 04-04 in Vault 1.
drawer 04-04, Folder 1

Peace Unfolds 2011

Scope and Contents

No. 12 in the Dead Feminists series Edition size: 166 Poster size: 10 x 18 inches Printed on an antique Vandercook Universal One press, on archival, 100% rag paper. Each piece is numbered and signed by both artists.
I will write peace on your wings and you will fly all over the world. — Sadako Sasaki Colophon reads: According to Japanese legend, one who folds 1000 origami cranes will be granted a wish. After being diagnosed with leukemia—a result of her proximity to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima—Sadako Sasaki (1943 – 1955) began folding paper, hoping to live. With her best friend Chizuko, she finished 644 cranes before her death at age 12. Sadako was buried with a wreath of 1000 cranes completed by her schoolmates, and is honored with the Children's Peace Monument in the center of Hiroshima. Illustrated by Chandler O'Leary and printed by Jessica Spring, with kanji by Hiroshi Oki, in memory of those lost and suffering in Japan—and with a wish for hope, peace and life, once again.
On the left is is Cranes and New Year Sun by Utagawa Hiroshige; on the right is Katsushika Hokusai's famous Great Wave Off Kanagawa. You can see a reference to Great Wave at the bottom of Cranes—making references to both other artists and one's own older work is a common convention in Japanese art.

Bibliography

O'Leary, Chandler. (30 May 2011). Peace Unfolds. Please refer to Chandler O'Leary's website.
drawer 04-04, Folder 2

Paper Chase 2011

Scope and Contents

Paper Chase: No. 13 in the Dead Feminists series Edition size: 129 Poster size: 10 x 18 inches Printed on an antique Vandercook Universal One press, on archival, 100% rag paper. Each piece is numbered and signed by both artists. Colophon reads: Virginia Woolf (1882 – 1941), born Adeline Virginia Stephen, grew up with a steady stream of notable authors visiting her London home. While Virginia and her sister Vanessa had unlimited access to their father's extensive library, their brothers were sent to Cambridge. This inequality and other Victorian double standards figured prominently in Virginia's writing. In 1915, she married Leonard Woolf and moved to Hogarth House. There they established the Hogarth Press, publishing the work of T.S. Eliot, E.M. Forster, Vita Sackville-West, the first translations of Sigmund Freud as well as Virginia's own novels. As editor, typesetter and binder, Virginia had the freedom to control not just the content but the physicality of letterforms and space on a page, declaring herself "the only woman in England free to write what I like." With Leonard as printer and Vanessa a frequent illustrator, the Hogarth Press published more than 500 books, many far too experimental to be considered by mainstream publishers. Virginia's life-long struggle with depression began with a breakdown at age 13 following her mother's death, and ended after multiple attempts at suicide when she walked into a river with pocketfuls of stones. Illustrated by Chandler O'Leary and printed by Jessica Spring, with roots firmly planted in ink-and-paper soil, and souls bound to bloom.

Bibliography

O'Leary, Chandler. (10 August 2011). Paper Chase. Please refer to Chandler O'Leary's website.
drawer 04-04, Folder 3

Signed, Sealed Soapbox 2011

Scope and Contents

Signed, Sealed, Soapbox: No. 14 in the Dead Feminists series Edition size: 176 Poster size: 10 x 18 inches Printed on an antique Vandercook Universal One press, on archival, 100% rag (cotton) paper. Each piece is numbered and signed by both artists. Colophon reads: Jane (Franklin) Mecom (1712 – 1794) was born in Boston's North End, the youngest daughter of a soap maker. Married at fifteen, she had no formal education but was a voracious reader of books supplied by her brother. She ran a boarding house and made soap to support her ailing husband, her elderly parents and her twelve children. She outlived all but one of them. Her "Book of Ages" chronicles the deaths of these loved ones, but what little we know of Jane herself can be traced to a lifetime of correspondence with her beloved brother. Benjamin Franklin (1706 – 1790) attended school for just two years before becoming a printer's apprentice at age twelve, but was eventually awarded honorary degrees from Harvard, Yale and Oxford. He founded the first lending library in America, reformed the colonial postal system and became the first U.S. Postmaster General. He espoused the values of thrift, hard work, education, community spirit and tolerance, and opposed authoritarianism in both religion and politics. Despite the differences in their education and circumstances, Benjamin largely treated his sister as an equal, and penned more letters to her than any other person in his life. He sent his writings and political essays to get Jane's opinion, and notable figures of the day visited her to pay their respects out of deference to the famous Franklin. Benjamin provided decades of financial support for Jane and her children, and upon his death bequeathed her a comfortable living — as well as public trusts to the cities of Boston and Philadelphia to fund mortgages, school scholarships and eventually establish the Franklin Institute of Technology. Illustrated by Chandler O'Leary and printed by Jessica Spring, 100% occupied with Benjamin's wise words — and deeds — as he signed the Declaration of Independence: "Yes, we must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately."

Bibliography

O'Leary, Chandler. (15 November 2011). Signed, Sealed Soapbox. Please refer to Chandler O'Leary's website.
drawer 04-04, Folder 3

Love Nest 2012

Scope and Contents

Love Nest: No. 15 in the Dead Feminists series
Edition size: 126
Poster size: 10 x 18 inches
Printed on an antique Vandercook Universal One press, on archival, 100% rag (cotton) paper. Each piece is numbered and signed by both artists.
Colophon reads:
Emma Goldman (1869 – 1940) was born in Kovno, part of the Russian Empire (now Lithuania). She moved to New York in 1885 to live with relatives, supporting herself with factory work. In the following year, news of the Chicago Haymarket riot changed Goldman's life. In honor of the riot victims and the labor movement, she determined to "dedicate myself to the memory of my martyred comrades, to make their cause my own." She joined Alexander Berkman—another Russian immigrant—in spreading her vision of an ideal society, based on the anarchist principle of absolute freedom. Goldman founded the political and literary journal "Mother Earth," and toured the country speaking about anarchism, birth control and economic freedom for women. She was arrested numerous times over her unconventional opinions, accused of disseminating illegal information and inciting to riot.
At a time when even her fellow anarchists questioned her support of homosexuality, Goldman spoke out: "It is a tragedy, I feel, that people of different sexual type are caught in a world which shows so little understanding … and is so crassly indifferent to the various gradations and variations of gender." She openly opposed U.S. entry into WWI, was jailed once more for obstruction of the draft, and finally deported back to Russia under the 1918 Alien Act. She spent the rest of her life in exile, supporting anarchist causes abroad. After her death, Goldman's body was repatriated and buried in Chicago— near the Haymarket anarchists that had so inspired her.
Illustrated by Chandler O'Leary and printed by Jessica Spring, who with Goldman "demand freedom for both sexes, freedom of action, freedom in love and freedom in motherhood."

Bibliography

O'Leary, Chandler. (13 June 2012). Love Nest. Please refer to Chandler O'Leary's website.
drawer 04-04, Folder 4

Gun Shy 2013

Scope and Contents

Gun Shy: No. 17 in the Dead Feminists series Edition size: 151 Poster size: 10 x 18 inches Printed on an antique Vandercook Universal One press, on archival, 100% rag (cotton) paper. Each piece is numbered and signed by both artists. The edition number we choose for each print in our series is always significant in some way—whether we call attention to it or not. In the case of Gun Shy, we've created an edition of 151 prints to represent each person injured or killed in a shooting rampage in 2012. In light of that sobering number, we've chosen to donate a portion of our proceeds to Demand A Plan. A campaign of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Demand a Plan is a national, bipartisan coalition working to make America's communities safer by keeping illegal guns out of dangerous hands. Detail of "Gun Shy" letterpress broadside by Chandler O'Leary and Jessica Spring Colophon reads: Annie Oakley (1860 – 1926) was born Phoebe Ann Mosey (or Moses) near Greenville, Ohio. Her Quaker parents raised seven children on their farm until Annie's father was caught in a blizzard and succumbed to pneumonia. By age ten, Annie was sent to the poor farm, then to live with an abusive family for several years. She escaped back to her mother's home, taught herself to shoot a rifle, and quickly paid off their mortgage by selling game. In 1875 Annie defeated well-known marksman Frank Butler in a shooting contest — and married him shortly afterward. Annie became Butler's assistant in his sharp shooting show, but as audiences clearly preferred Annie, the two soon switched roles. Annie was a curiosity, dressed in a homemade costume that modestly covered her petite frame but also allowed her to shoot with athletic grace. The couple joined Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West show, where Annie performed for 17 years, traveling to New York, Paris and London. Upon seeing her shoot the wick off a burning candle, the famous Chief Sitting Bull adopted Annie, bestowing the nickname "Watanya Cicilla" (Little Sure-Shot). In 1894 Thomas Edison captured her performance on film at his studio in New Jersey, making her the first cowgirl to appear in a motion picture. Despite not being from the West, Annie defined our notion of a cowgirl as a self-reliant, strong woman. She advocated for equal pay, and went to great lengths to defend her reputation. She challenged William Randolph Hearst in a series of libel lawsuits over a false newspaper story, winning 54 of 55 cases at great personal expense. After her retirement in 1913, Annie continued to tour the country, teaching over 15,000 women how to use firearms responsibly. Illustrated by Chandler O'Leary and printed by Jessica Spring, demanding that our federal government enact strict controls to end gun violence.

Bibliography

O'Leary, Chandler. (28 February 2013). Gun Shy. Please refer to Chandler O'Leary's website.
drawer 04-04, Folder 4

Nightsong 2013

Scope and Contents

Nightsong: No. 18 in the Dead Feminists series Edition size: 147 Poster size: 10 x 18 inches Printed on an antique Vandercook Universal One press, on archival, 100% rag (cotton) paper. Each piece is numbered and signed by both artists. Colophon reads: Sarojini Chattopadhyay Naidu (1879 – 1949) — also known as "The Nightingale of India" — was born in Hyderabad, the eldest of eight children. She was a gifted student, proficient in five languages, and by age 16 left the country to attend King's College to pursue her interest in poetry. Inspired by the suffragist movement in England, she joined the struggle for Indian independence, traveling the country to lecture on social welfare, women's rights and nationalism. Naidu played a leading role during the Civil Disobedience Movement and was jailed along with Gandhi. Naidu wrote beautiful lyrical poetry, focused on Indian themes, to inspire the nation. She was the first woman to serve as president of the Indian National Congress, and the first woman to become the Governor of the state of Uttar Pradesh. Though Naidu humbly claimed, "I am only a woman, only a poet," her birthday is celebrated as Women's Day throughout India. Illustrated by Chandler O'Leary and printed by Jessica Spring, calling for an end to violence against women all over the world.

Bibliography

O'Leary, Chandler. (10 September 2013). Please refer to Chandler O'Leary's website.
drawer 04-04, Folder 5

Focal Point 2014

Scope and Contents

Focal Point: No. 19 in the Dead Feminists series Edition size: 164 Poster size: 10 x 18 inches Printed on an antique Vandercook Universal One press, on archival, 100% rag (cotton) paper. Each piece is numbered and signed by both artists. Colophon reads: Imogen Cunningham (1883 – 1976) graduated from the University of Washington in 1907, earning a degree in chemistry with her thesis on chemical processes in photography. Shortly afterward she was hired by photographer Edward Curtis, who taught her platinum printing and portraiture. She opened her own successful studio in Seattle, and published an article entitled "Photography as a Profession for Women." In 1917, Cunningham and her husband and son relocated to California, where she gave birth to twin boys. Her children and the plants in her garden then became key subjects of her work. Her experiments with double exposure throughout the 1920s and 30s contributed to a growing appreciation of photography as art. She was a founding member of Group f/64, a collective of influential west coast photographers including Ansel Adams and Edward Weston. The group mounted a 1932 exhibition at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, united by a manifesto declaring "photography as an art form by simple and direct presentation." Cunningham's vision came through in both her personal and commercial work: unvarnished celebrity portraits for Vanity Fair; documentary street photography; nudes and botanical images — a lifetime of work that continues to challenge and intrigue viewers. Illustrated by Chandler O'Leary and printed by Jessica Spring, grateful for artists who remind us to focus.

Bibliography

O'Leary, Chandler. (18 March 2014). Focal Point. Please refer to Chandler O'Leary's website.
drawer 04-04, Folder 5

The Veil of Knowledge 2014

Scope and Contents

The Veil of Knowledge: No. 20 in the Dead Feminists series Edition size: 125.4 Poster size: 10 x 18 inches Printed on an antique Vandercook Universal One press, on archival, 100% rag (cotton) paper. Each piece is numbered and signed by both artists. Colophon reads: Fatima Al-Fihri (c. 800 – 880) grew up in Fez, Morocco with her sister Miriam, daughters of a wealthy Tunisian merchant. The daughters were well-educated and devoted to their community. After the death of their father, Fatima vowed to spend all her inheritance in building a mosque, both a place for worship and a center of learning. In 859, she founded Al-Qarawiyyin, which offered courses in grammar, rhetoric, logic, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, chemistry, history, geography and music — drawing scholars and students from all over the world. (Gerbert of Auverge — later Pope Sylvester II — studied there, and was credited with the introduction of Arabic numbers and the concept of zero to Europe.) This important spiritual and educational center of the Islamic world, one of the largest mosques in Africa, is considered the oldest university still in operation. As a woman with such generosity and vision, Fatima is remembered and honored as Oum al Banine, "the mother of the children." Illustrated by Chandler O'Leary and printed by Jessica Spring, with the knowledge that all women must have the right to an education.

Bibliography

O'Leary, Chandler. (26 August 2014). The Veil of Knowledge. Please refer to Chandler O'Leary's website.
drawer 04-04, Folder 6

Common Threads 2015

Scope and Contents

Common Threads: No. 21 in the Dead Feminists series Edition size: 145 prints Poster size: 10 x 18 inches Printed on an antique Vandercook Universal One press, on archival, 100% rag (cotton) paper. Each piece is numbered and signed by both artists.
Colophon reads: Rywka Lipszyc (1929 – 1945?) kept a diary from October 1943 to April 1944, while living in Poland's Łódź ghetto. Discovered by a Russian doctor in the crematoria remains at Auschwitz-Birkenau, the diary was published in 2014, sharing Rywka's amazing story with the world. Her parents and three siblings perished in Nazi ghettos and killing centers. Despite horrible living conditions Rywka survived, working in the ghetto's clothing and linen workshop, learning to sew, organizing a library, and attending classes. Her diary ends abruptly, but records reveal she was deported to Auschwitz, then liberated to a field hospital after the war's end. No further trace of her has been found, but Rywka's words survive, a reminder of her incredible faith despite all odds — and her dream of becoming a writer fulfilled.

Bibliography

O'Leary, Chandler. (2015). Common Threads. Please refer to Chandler O'Leary's website.
 

Series II: Postcards 2008-2010

Physical Description: 10 Folders

Arrangement

This series is arranged chronologically and then alphabetically by title. Postcards are filed in a negative sleeve. Postercards are located in one flat file drawer 04-04 in Vault 1.
drawer 04-04, Folder 7

Come, Come 2008

Scope and Contents

"Reproduction of 'Come, Come,' part of an ongoing series of feminist broadsides by Chandler O'Leary of Anagram Press and Jessica Spring of Springtime Press. 2008."
drawer 04-04, Folder 8

Victory Garden 2008

Scope and Contents

"Reproduction of 'Victory Garden,' part of an ongoing series of feminist broadsides by Chandler O'Leary of Anagram Press and Jessica Spring of Springtime Press. 2008."
drawer 04-04, Folder 9

The Curie Cure 2009

Scope and Contents

"Reproduction of 'The Curie Cure,' part of an ongoing series of feminist broadsides by Chandler O'Leary of Anagram Press and Jessica Spring of Springtime Press. 2009."
drawer 04-04, Folder 10

End of the Line 2009

Scope and Contents

"Reproduction of 'End of the Line,' part of an ongoing series of feminist broadsides by Chandler O'Leary of Anagram Press and Jessica Spring of Springtime Press. 2009."
drawer 04-04, Folder 11

Prop Cake 2009

Scope and Contents

"Reproduction of 'Prop Cake,' part of an ongoing series of feminist broadsides by Chandler O'Leary of Anagram Press and Jessica Spring of Springtime Press. 2009."
drawer 04-04, Folder 12

Tugboat Thea 2009

Scope and Contents

"Reproduction of 'Tugboat Thea,' part of an ongoing series of feminist broadsides by Chandler O'Leary of Anagram Press and Jessica Spring of Springtime Press. 2009."
drawer 04-04, Folder 13

Drill, Baby, Drill 2010

Scope and Contents

"Reproduction of 'Drill, Baby, Drill,' part of an ongoing series of feminist broadsides by Chandler O'Leary of Anagram Press and Jessica Spring of Springtime Press. 2010."
drawer 04-04, Folder 14

Get Handy 2010

Scope and Contents

"Reproduction of 'Get Handy' part of an ongoing series of feminist broadsides by Chandler O'Leary of Anagram Press and Jessica Spring of Springtime Press. 2010."
drawer 04-04, Folder 15

Just Desserts 2010

Scope and Contents

"Reproduction of 'Just Desserts' part of an ongoing series of feminist broadsides by Chandler O'Leary of Anagram Press and Jessica Spring of Springtime Press. 2010."
drawer 04-04, Folder 16

On a Mission 2010

Scope and Contents

"Reproduction of 'On a Mission' part of an ongoing series of feminist broadsides by Chandler O'Leary of Anagram Press and Jessica Spring of Springtime Press. 2010."