I had no thought of producing another book when, one day in October 2023, I opened up my laptop, ready to watch an online auction mounted by Bonhams. This Votes for Women sale was devoted to suffrage memorabilia from the collection put together by a couple I’ve known ever since I began dealing in books and ephemera in the mid-1980s. I had no intention of bidding for anything in the auction as by 2023 the prices reached for suffrage material at such auctions had soared into the stratosphere. But, naturally, I took a professional interest in seeing what was up for sale – and the prices they would achieve. And I had a personal interest in that some of the items were ones I had myself sold to the vendors many years ago.

Watching the bidding was absorbing, but as the sale progressed I realised I was experiencing a niggling conflict between what might be termed my instinct as a trader and my instinct as an historian. Bonhams had organised the lots in the sale in a way as to appeal to bidders, grouping together items of a similar type, such as textile rosettes or china or badges or books – but this arrangement by no means coincided with what I knew to be the dates of their production. In my mind I was itching to reorder the lots into an historically coherent order. Well, there lay the germ of an idea …and it slowly gained traction..and, in due course, a publishing contract with Bloomsbury Academic. The result of my labours will be published in July.

For the book tells the story of the British ‘votes for women’ campaign in a sequence of 100 objects. From the beginning of the campaign in 1866 until all women were granted the vote on the same terms as men in 1928, women used every means in their power to persuade the government to allow them the right to elect members of parliament. Through the analysis of an astonishing array of objects – including books, bags, petitions, posters, plays, photographs, china, leaflets, newspapers, games, jewellery, sashes, films, and figurines – all of which are illustrated – The British Women’s Suffrage Movement in 100 Objects explores the role that material culture played in this vital struggle. Each of the 100 objects is illustrated, the accompanying text setting it in its context to explain the campaign’s politics and the part played by key personalities.

I must say that when I began work on the book it had not occurred to me that the suggestion could be voiced in any western democracy that women should be relieved of the right to the vote. But, that day having come, although not yet here, there is all the more reason for understanding why and how British women won that right.

The book will be published in July in paperback at £24.99. To discover more details – as set out on the Bloomsbury website – including a special pre-order price and some most heart-warming reviews from readers who have viewed the text of the book in advance – see here.

My cup overflows – in that Bloomsbury will only accommodate six endorsements on their webpage – and nine readers were kind enough to give feedback on the book. I, as blushingly as self-promotion permits, set out below the final three to arrive. As you may imagine, I am immensely heartened – and hopeful that the 100 Objects will give a new clarity to the chronology, politics and personalities of the women’s suffrage campaign.

‘Drawing on a lifetime of groundbreaking scholarship on the British Suffrage movement and its materiality, Crawford’s new book is an essential read for anyone interested in the history of women’s campaigns for the vote. The British Women’s Suffrage Movement in 100 Objects brings to life in unprecedented detail the material world in which campaigners strove for social and political change, conveying this to new audiences with a lightness of erudition and a treasure trove of vivid detail. The extraordinary creativity and complexity of women’s activism during this era is made tangible through Crawford’s expert guidance.’ Dr Zoë Thomas, Associate Professor of Modern History, University of Birmingham

‘Beautifully illustrated and exceptionally curated, Crawford’s The British Women’s Suffrage Movement in 100 Objects is an essential and defining resource for the ways technological advances, community building, and popular culture played in the British campaign for “Votes for Women.” In clearly written and focused essays on everything from the intersection of the automobile and women’s rights to the ubiquity of comic suffragette ceramics, Crawford’s book will be of interest to scholars and general public alike.’ Heidi Herr Librarian for English, Philosophy, The Writing Seminars, & Student Engagement for Special Collections The Johns Hopkins University

‘The British Women’s Suffrage Movement in 100 Objects powerfully demonstrates the richness that material culture brings to the study of women’s histories. By centring objects, it reveals the political struggle as something lived, worn, exchanged, and displayed, rather than simply written or spoken. Together, the 100 objects offer an engaging, vivid and very human perspective on the suffrage movement, recovering voices and experiences that often remain muted in conventional narratives.’ Dr Miranda Garrett