A Society of Patriotic Ladies
This is an image of a satircal cartoon from 1775 called "A Society of Patriotic Ladies, at Edenton, North Carolina." It shows the patriotic Edenton women in a very unflattering way and makes them look foolish, as they pledge to boycott English goods in support of the resolutions of the Continental congress and the North Carolina Provincial Assembly. The ugly depiction of them likely is drawn from both their allegiance to the revolutionary cause and their gender. At the time, it would have been virtually unknown for women to organize politically or sign their names to a petition or political statement, and the action of the 51 women from Edenton was a ground-breaking event for American women.
Creation of the cartoon has been attributed to Philip Dawe (or Dawes). Dawe was an engraver and cartoonist in London and he created many well-known cartoons during that era. The cartoon was printed by R. Sayer and J. Bennett around March 25, 1775. This image of the original cartoon was published in the Catalog of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum, Volume V. The original mezzotint print was richly colored and can be seen at this link in the collections of the British Museum: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?assetId=965125001&objectId=3350271&partId=1
Robert Sayer and John Bennett (Firm), and Philip Dawe. Mezzotint. 1775. A society of patriotic ladies, at Edenton in North Carolina. London: Printed for R. Sayer & J. Bennett. Item PC 1-5284B, British Cartoon Prints Collection, Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/96511606/
Public Domain
Public Domain is a copyright term that is often used when talking about copyright for creative works. Under U.S. copyright law, individual items that are in the public domain are items that are no longer protected by copyright law. This means that you do not need to request permission to re-use, re-publish or even change a copy of the item. Items enter the public domain under U.S. copyright law for a number of reasons: the original copyright may have expired; the item was created by the U.S. Federal Government or other governmental entity that views the things it creates as in the public domain; the work was never protected by copyright for some other reason related to how it was produced (for example, it was a speech that wasn't written down or recorded); or the work doesn't have enough originality to make it eligible for copyright protection.
Add a comment
PLEASE NOTE: NCpedia provides the comments feature as a way for viewers to engage with the resources. Comments are not published until reviewed by NCpedia editors at the State Library of NC, and the editors reserve the right to not publish any comment submitted that is considered inappropriate for this resource. NCpedia will not publish personal contact information in comments, questions, or responses. If you would like a reply by email, note that some email servers, such as public school accounts, are blocked from accepting messages from outside email servers or domains. If you prefer not to leave an email address, check back at your NCpedia comment for a reply. Please allow one business day for replies from NCpedia. Complete guidelines are available at https://ncpedia.org/about.