Doc Chat Episode Two: "Militant" Maude Malone
On August 18, 2020, a few hundred primary source lovers gathered on Zoom to celebrate the centennial of the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendmment and the life of one unsung suffragist.
Mrs. Emmeline Pankhurst, to her left, Inez Milholland Boissevain, to her right, Mrs. Harriet Stanton Blatch, early 1900s, NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 1536297
An ongoing series from NYPL's Center for Research in the Humanities, Doc Chat pairs a NYPL curator or specialist and a scholar to discuss evocative digitized items from the Library's collections and brainstorm innovative ways of teaching with them. In Episode Two, NYPL's Susan Kriete and Cara Dellatte used two evocative photos to piece together the life of "Militant" Maude Malone, who was not only a feminist and activist, but also a NYPL Librarian.
Doc Chat Episode 2: Forgotten Feminist "Militant Maud Malone" from The New York Public Library on Vimeo.
A transcript of this event is available here.
Below are some handy links to materials and sources suggested in the episode.
Episode Two: Primary Sources
The first image analyzed, Mrs. Emmeline Pankhurst, to her left, Inez Milholland Boissevain, to her right, Mrs. Harriet Stanton Blatch, from the Schwimmer-Lloyd Collection, is accessible on NYPL’s Digital Collections.
The second image, “Leading Figures in the “Suffragette” Movement at New York,” is an undigitized image from the Picture Collection, Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs , published in Leslie’s Weekly, January 30, 1908. We're including the high resolution image here for those who would like to use it in their classrooms.
The panelists also discussed using newspaper articles to follow up the visual analysis, in particular, Maud Malone’s resignation letter from the Progressive Women’s Union, which was published in the New York Times on March 27, 1908. For newspaper research, try the following databases, available through NYPL:
Episode Two: Readings and Resources
- Maud Malone—New York City Librarian and Suffrage Powerhouse, Series by Dan Meharg on National Park Service website
- Suffrage and the City: New York Women Battle for the Ballot by Lauren C. Santangelo (Oxford University Press, 2019)
- Rampant Women: Suffragists and the Right of Assembly by Linda J. Lumsden (University of Tennessee Press, 1997)
For tips on using newspapers and other sources to research suffragists, see our guide How to Find Your Suffragist / Suffragette Ancestors
For more resources on women’s activism, see NYPL’s Essential Reads on Feminism
Next Up: Doc Chat's Fall Season
Great news: come late September, Doc Chat will become a weekly series, taking place on Zoom on Thursdays at 3:30pm. This fall, we'll be covering a range of topics, including the history of birding, Malcolm X, the 1939 World's Fair, the Boston Massacre, and more. Make sure you don't miss an episode by signing up for NYPL's Research newsletter, which will include links to register. A video of each episode will be posted here on the NYPL blog shortly after the program, so be sure to check back regularly to keep on top of the Doc Chat conversation!