A History of Women in 101 Objects

A walk through female history

Annabelle Hirsch, Eleanor Updegraff

• Publisher: Canongate Books
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN:
  9781805300878
• eBook ISBN:
  9781805300885
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Social History
• Index: Social Sciences

A WATERSTONES BEST BOOK OF 2023

This is a neglected history. Not a sweeping, definitive, exhaustive history of the world but something quieter, more intimate and particular. A journey, picked out in 101 objects, through the fascinating, too-often-overlooked, manifold histories of women.

Open up this cabinet of curiosities and you'll find objects that have been highly esteemed and others that are humble and domestic. Some (like a sixteenth century glass dildo) are objects of female pleasure, some (a thumbscrew) of female subjugation. There are artefacts of women celebrated by history and of women unfairly forgotten by it; examples of female rebellion and of self-revelation; objects that are inspiring, curious or (like radium-laced chocolate) just fundamentally ill-conceived. In this compendium, Annabelle Hirsch reveals a new history – teeming, unexpected, witty and always illuminating.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• 1: Healed Femur, c. 30,000 BC
• 2: Cave Paintings, c. 20,000 BC
• 3: Statue of Hatshepsut, 1479–1458 BC
• 4: Sappho Papyrus, 7th century BC
• 5: Amazon Doll, 5th century BC
• 6: Baubo Figurine, 4th–2nd century BC
• 7: Isis Statuette, 332–330 BC
• 8: Lilith Amulet, undated
• 9: Hnefatafl Game, 10th century BC
• 10: The Bayeux Tapestry, 11th century
• 11: The Tale of Genji, Paper Scroll, 17th century
• 12: Nun’s Crown, 12th century
• 13: Ivory Mirror, c. 1300
• 14: Miniature from the Book of the City of Ladies, 1405
• 15: Title Page of Malleus Maleficarum (Hammer of Witches), 1486
• 16: Figurine of Mary Magdalene, 1490–92
• 17: Chopines (Platform Shoes), 16th century
• 18: Perfumed Gloves, 16th century
• 19: Dish With The Likeness of Roxelana, mid-16th century
• 20: Chequers Ring, c. 1570
• 21: Michel De Montaigne, The Essays, 1571–85
• 22: Glass Dildo, 16th century
• 23: Thumbscrew, 17th century
• 24: Metal Corset, 17th century
• 25: Dress Pocket, 17th century
• 26: Madame De Pompadour’s Sealing Stamp, mid-18th century
• 27: Bidet, mid-18th century
• 28: ‘La Machine’, 18th century
• 29: Wax Bust of Anna Morandi Manzolini, 18th century
• 30: ‘The Good Mother’, Group of Porcelain Figurines, c. 1760
• 31: Ladies of Llangollen Figurine, undated
• 32: Phrygian Cap, 1789
• 33: Recamier, c. 1800
• 34: Board Game, ‘Pleasures of Astronomy’, 1814
• 35: Beauty Revealed, Self-Portrait, 1828
• 36: The Brontë Sisters’ Miniature Books, c. 1830
• 37: Analytical Engine, 1834
• 38: Anti-Slavery Coin, 1838
• 39: Lithograph, L’Avenir. Perspective D’un Phalanstère Ou Palais SociéTaire De L’Humanité, c. 1840
• 40: George Sand’s Right Arm, c. 1847
• 41: Washing Paddle, 1850s
• 42: Singer Sewing Machine, 1851
• 43: Ashley’s Sack, 1852/1921
• 44: Planchette, 1853
• 45: Fanoos Lamp, c. 1854
• 46: ‘Au Bon Marché’ Receipt, 1860s
• 47: The Killing of Aegisthus, Red-Figure Vase, 500 BC
• 48: Knife Belonging to La Mère Filloux, late 19th century
• 49: Remington Typewriter, 1874
• 50: Page from Iconographie Photographique De La Salpêtrière, 1878
• 51: Marie Bashkirtseff, in the Studio, 1881
• 52: Safety Bicycle, 1889
• 53: ‘Round The World With Nellie Bly’ Game, 1890
• 54: Cinematograph, c. 1900
• 55: The Hatpin, 1900
• 56: Poster, ‘Claudine at School’, 1900
• 57: Wonderful Hair Grower, 1906
• 58: Radium Chocolate, undated
• 59: Hunger Strike Medal, 1912
• 60: Athena Statuette Belonging to Sigmund Freud, 1st or 2nd century BC
• 61: First World War Postcard, 1914–18
• 62: The Fountain, 1917
• 63: Plan Of The ‘Temple De L’Amitié’, Salon of the Amazon, post-1910
• 64: 100 Mph Coat, 1920
• 65: Chanel No. 5, 1921
• 66: Milady Décolletée Gillette, 1920s
• 67: ‘Witch Dance’ Mask, c. 1926
• 68: Tina Modotti, Workers Parade, 1926
• 69: Lipstick, ‘Le Rouge Baiser’, 1927
• 70: Greta Garbo’s Ballpoint Pen, 1927
• 71: International Women’s Day Badge, 1930
• 72: Revista Sur (Sur Magazine), 1931
• 73: Plate, ‘The Famous Women Dinner Service’, 1932
• 74: Marjorie Hillis, Live Alone and Like it, 1936
• 75: Exile Diary of Mascha Kaléko, 1941–44
• 76: Sticker, ‘Red Orchestra’ Resistance Group, 1942
• 77: Women Airforce Service Pilots Insignia, 1943–44
• 78: Robert Capa Photograph, The Shaved Woman of Chartres, 1944
• 79: The Bikini, 1947
• 80: Alberto Giacometti, Simone De Beauvoir Portrait, c. 1946
• 81: Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, 1949
• 82: Front Page of the Daily News, 1 December 1952
• 83: Dance-Card Fan, 1950s
• 84: Miele ‘Model A’ Vacuum Cleaner, 1951–61
• 85: Tupperware, 1950s
• 86: ‘Enovid’ Contraceptive Pill, 1957
• 87: Hannah Arendt’s Brooch, undated
• 88: The Minidress, 1966
• 89: Aretha Franklin, ‘Respect’, 1967
• 90: Scissors, 1970s
• 91: Golda Meir Poster, c. 1970
• 92: Magazine Cover, Le Nouvel Observateur, ‘Manifesto of the 343’, 5 April 1971
• 93: Vhs Tape, Deep Throat, 1972
• 94: Desiccator, 1977
• 95: The Rabbit Pearl, 1984
• 96: Dior ‘We Should All Be Feminists’ T-Shirt, 2016
• 97: Kim Kardashian’s Ring, 2016
• 98: The Mobile Phone, 21st century
• 99: Menstruation Cup, 2010s
• 100: The Pussyhat, 2017
• 101: Bunch of Hair, 2022
• Select Bibliography
• Acknowledgements