Social Reform Collection

Deacon Giless Distillery temperance cartoon, 1830s
" Bringing back the rum, " temperance cartoon showing liquor barrels labeled with forms of death, Salem, Massachusetts. Hand-colored woodcut from an 1830s temperance pamphlet

John Stuart Mill, British social reformer and philosopher, 1873. Artist: Spy
John Stuart Mill, British social reformer and philosopher, 1873. An advocate of utilitarianism, Mill (1806-1873) was probably the most influential liberal thinker of the 19th century

New Lanark Mills, Scotland, c1815. Robert Owens (1771-1858) model community of cotton mills and housing. Educational facilities were provided, as well as the worlds first day nursery

Horace Greeley
NWI4951887 Horace Greeley.; (add.info.: Horace Greeley.); Photo © North Wind Pictures.

Lucretia (Coffin) Mott, American social reformer
NWI4950123 Lucretia (Coffin) Mott, American social reformer.; (add.info.: Lucretia (Coffin) Mott, American social reformer.); Photo © North Wind Pictures.

Title page of Samuel Plimsoll's 'Our Seaman'
3733622 Title page of Samuel Plimsoll's 'Our Seaman'.; (add.info.: Title page of Samuel Plimsoll's 'Our Seaman')

Samuel Plimsoll
3733624 Samuel Plimsoll.; (add.info.: Photographic portrait of Samuel Plimsoll (1824-1898) an English politician and social reformer. Dated 19th century.); Universal History Archive/UIG.

Samuel Plimsoll
3733619 Samuel Plimsoll.; (add.info.: Photographic portrait of Samuel Plimsoll (1824-1898) an English politician and social reformer. Dated 19th century.); Universal History Archive/UIG.

Eugene V. Debs, President of American Railway Union, 1880s
NWI4949846 Eugene V. Debs, President of American Railway Union, 1880s.; (add.info.: Eugene V. Debs, President of American Railway Union, 1880s.); Photo © North Wind Pictures.

Portrait of William Hepworth Dixon
672618 Portrait of William Hepworth Dixon; (add.info.: William Hepworth Dixon (1821-1879), English historian and traveller, born near Manchester, went to London in 1846

Lydia Maria Child portrait
NWI4950529 Lydia Maria Child portrait.; (add.info.: Lydia Maria Child portrait.); Photo © North Wind Pictures.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton, with her autograph
NWI4950451 Elizabeth Cady Stanton, with her autograph.; (add.info.: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, with her autograph.); Photo © North Wind Pictures.

Joseph Chamberlain, British statesman, 1880s
NWI4923970 Joseph Chamberlain, British statesman, 1880s.; (add.info.: Joseph Chamberlain, British statesman, 1880s.); Photo © North Wind Pictures.

Dorothea Dix, with autograph
NWI4950004 Dorothea Dix, with autograph.; (add.info.: Dorothea Dix, with autograph.); Photo © North Wind Pictures.

Clara Barton memorial plaque, Antietam National Battlefield, Sharpsburg, Maryland
NWI4757788 Clara Barton memorial plaque, Antietam National Battlefield, Sharpsburg, Maryland.; (add.info.: Clara Barton memorial plaque, Antietam National Battlefield, Sharpsburg)

Reform of franchise: Police officers confronting Reform League demonstrators at Marble Arch, London
527657 Reform of franchise: Police officers confronting Reform League demonstrators at Marble Arch, London, and attempting to prevent them entering Hyde Park, 1866. Engraving c1880

H.R.H. The Prince of Wales Examining Lord Shaftsbury before the Royal Commission... 1891. Creator: Unknown
'H.R.H. The Prince of Wales Examining Lord Shaftsbury before the Royal Commission on the Housing of the Poor, 1891. From "The Graphic. An Illustrated Weekly Newspaper", Volume 44

'The Poor Blind at the East End; Stepney Workhouse and St.Philip's Institute, 1890
The Poor Blind at the East End; Stepney Workhouse and St.Philip's Institute, 1890. From "The Graphic. An Illustrated Weekly Newspaper", Volume 41. January to June, 1890

Robert Owen, Welsh-born industrialist, philanthropist and socialist, 1851 (1956). Owens (1771-1858) New Lanark Mills in Scotland, which he bought in c1799

Robert Owen, Welsh-born British philanthropist and socialist, 19th century. Owens (1771-1858) New Lanark Mills in Scotland, which he bought in c1799

Rich Fare, Lloyd George as the Giant Lloyd-Gorgibuster, 1909 (litho)
KDC397324 Rich Fare, Lloyd George as the Giant Lloyd-Gorgibuster, 1909 (litho) by Partridge, Bernard John (1861-1945); Private Collection; (add.info)

John Bull and Lloyd George with the 1909 Budget, 1909 (litho)
KDC397325 John Bull and Lloyd George with the 1909 Budget, 1909 (litho) by Partridge, Bernard John (1861-1945); Private Collection; (add.info)

The Chartist convention (engraving)
614501 The Chartist convention (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: The Chartist convention, John Street, Fitzroy Square, London)

Lloyd George is delayed taking a patient to the doctor under his National Health
KDC400248 Lloyd George is delayed taking a patient to the doctor under his National Health Insurance Act, 1913 (litho) by Raven-Hill

Title-page of Reasons for Establishing the Colony of Georgia
PNP377457 Title-page of Reasons for Establishing the Colony of Georgia by James Oglethorpe, published in London, 1733 (print) by English School

Governor Carl Elias Milliken signing the Suffrage Bill as six women look
SLS249196 Governor Carl Elias Milliken signing the Suffrage Bill as six women look on, 1917 (b/w photo) by American Photographer, (20th century); Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute

John Bull, depicted as a camel, is reluctant to carry the new tax burdens imposed by
KDC397323 John Bull, depicted as a camel, is reluctant to carry the new tax burdens imposed by Lloyd George in The Peoples Budget, frontispiece for Punch Magazine, June 30, 1909 (litho) by Sambourne

A Presentation Millstone, Prime Minister Asquith presents Chancellor of
KDC397322 A Presentation Millstone, Prime Minister Asquith presents Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lloyd George, with the Old Age Pensions scheme, 1908 (litho) by Sambourne

Samuel Cornish (engraving)
NYH412355 Samuel Cornish (engraving) by American School, (19th century); Collection of the New-York Historical Society, USA; (add.info.: the Reverend Samuel Cornish who)

Carrie Chapman Catt (1859-1947) Upton and Shuler being driven in a suffrage parade
SLS251163 Carrie Chapman Catt (1859-1947) Upton and Shuler being driven in a suffrage parade, 1919 (b/w photo) by American Photographer, (20th century); Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute

Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, English politician, philanthropist and social reformer (litho)
3100132 Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, English politician, philanthropist and social reformer (litho) by Ross

A woman operating a French cigarette-rolling machine, 1878 (engraving)
SLS251196 A woman operating a French cigarette-rolling machine, 1878 (engraving) by American School, (19th century); Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute

Victoria Woodhull (1838-1927) attempting to cast a vote, 1871 (engraving)
SLS251195 Victoria Woodhull (1838-1927) attempting to cast a vote, 1871 (engraving) by American School, (19th century); Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute

Women standing holding banners outside the White House Gate, Washington D. C. (b / w photo)
SLS251143 Women standing holding banners outside the White House Gate, Washington D.C. (b/w photo) by American Photographer, (20th century); Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute

Mary Ashton Rice Livermore (1820-1905), reformer, writer
AQS336834 Mary Ashton Rice Livermore (1820-1905), reformer, writer, served on sanitary Commission during Civil War, advocate for Womens Rights; photo by A N Hardy

Elizabeth Fry speaking to the prisoners on a convict ship (litho)
STC335883 Elizabeth Fry speaking to the prisoners on a convict ship (litho) by English School; Private Collection; (add.info.: Elizabeth Fry (1780-1845)

Elizabeth Fry reading the Bible in a prison (litho)
STC335884 Elizabeth Fry reading the Bible in a prison (litho) by English School; Private Collection; (add.info.: Elizabeth Fry (1780-1845)

Female members of the Anti-Saloon League smash up a saloon, Fredericktown, Ohio
PNP252349 Female members of the Anti-Saloon League smash up a saloon, Fredericktown, Ohio, from the Police Gazette, 1897 (engraving) by American School

Female factory workers during World War One, c. 1917 (b / w photo)
SLS251172 Female factory workers during World War One, c.1917 (b/w photo) by American Photographer, (20th century); Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute

Suffragette parade, outside the Adelphi Theatre, New York, 1910 (b / w photo)
SLS251106 Suffragette parade, outside the Adelphi Theatre, New York, 1910 (b/w photo) by American Photographer, (20th century); Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute

Women lined up to participate in an election, 1870 (engraving)
SLS251127 Women lined up to participate in an election, 1870 (engraving) by American School, (19th century); Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University; (add.info.: In 1869)

A Chartist Meeting at Basin Stones, Todmorden, 1842 (oil on canvas)
3822235 A Chartist Meeting at Basin Stones, Todmorden, 1842 (oil on canvas) by Bayes, Alfred Walter (1858-1903); 40.6x61 cm; Calderdale Museums Service, West Yorkshire

The Philanthropic Highwayman, Lloyd George with the Old Age Pension Fund
KDC349483 The Philanthropic Highwayman, Lloyd George with the Old Age Pension Fund, cartoon from Punch magazine, August 5, 1908 (litho) by Sambourne

Motion in favour of the Jews, by Henri Gregoire (1750-1831), 1789 (engraving) (b / w photo)
CHT207805 Motion in favour of the Jews, by Henri Gregoire (1750-1831), 1789 (engraving) (b/w photo) by French School, (18th century); Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris

Mrs Hurst breaks up a saloon, from the Police Gazette, 1898 (engraving)
PNP252350 Mrs Hurst breaks up a saloon, from the Police Gazette, 1898 (engraving) by American School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info)

Alice Paul sewing stars on the suffrage flag as other women look on, c. 1920 (b / w photo)
SLS249197 Alice Paul sewing stars on the suffrage flag as other women look on, c.1920 (b/w photo) by American Photographer, (20th century); Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute

Womens progress in the 19th Century (b / w photo)
6015123 Womens progress in the 19th Century (b/w photo) by English Photographer, (20th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Womens progress in the 19th Century)

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"Unveiling the Power of Social Reform: From Temperance to Equality" In the 1830s, a powerful message was conveyed through Deacon Giless Distillery temperance cartoon, highlighting the need for social reform. This captivating artwork served as a catalyst for change, urging society to reassess its relationship with alcohol and strive towards a more responsible consumption. Fast forward to 1873 when John Stuart Mill emerged as a prominent British social reformer and philosopher. Depicted in an intriguing portrait by Spy, Mill's intellectual prowess ignited discussions on crucial issues such as women's rights and individual liberty. His ideas resonated deeply within society, inspiring further calls for transformative change. Meanwhile, in c1815 Scotland, New Lanark Mills stood tall as a testament to Robert Owen's visionary approach to industrialization. As an industrialist, philanthropist, and socialist pioneer, Owen revolutionized working conditions by prioritizing employee welfare and education. His progressive model at New Lanark became an inspiration for future generations striving towards fair labor practices. The fight against slavery gained momentum during the mid-19th century with anti-slavery peace pledges like that of c. 1845 lithograph. Advocates such as William Lloyd Garrison dedicated their lives to this cause; his resolute stance captured forever in George K Warren's poignant photograph from Boston. Social reform extended beyond racial equality; it encompassed education too. An awe-inspiring black-and-white photo from 1910 showcases African-Americans attending algebra classes at Tuskegee Institute—a symbol of empowerment through knowledge amidst systemic discrimination. Champions of freedom emerged throughout history—those who fought tirelessly for free speech, free press, free soil—all encapsulated in vibrant lithographs depicting their unwavering dedication towards reshaping society into one rooted in justice and equality. Yet amid these stories of progress lies heart-wrenching reminders of our past failures—an engraving illustrating chimney sweeps boys being sold into slavery.