Museum Collection: Badge Collection

As at Jan 2009, The Women's Library held approximately 562 badges in the Museum Collection, with c.200 additional badges identified in the archives.

The earliest badges held in The Women's Library were produced by women's suffrage campaigns, organisations represented include: the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, the Women's Social & Political Union, Women's Freedom League, and faith-based organisations such as the Catholic Women's Suffrage Society and the Jewish League for Women's Suffrage.

In addition, the collection contains women's liberation movement and contemporary badges dating from the 1970s to the present day. It includes a selection of badges produced by women's anti-nuclear and peace organisations, campaigns against male violence, pro-choice (abortion) organisations and lesbian support and campaigning groups.

A small number of modern women's campaigning jewellery items, such as earrings and pendants that are currently stored in this collection.

The badges are arranged in boxes by the following subjects:

* Suffrage Campaigning- NUWSS (BadgeBoxA01) [staff location code 149]

* Suffrage Campaigning- NUWSS (BadgeBoxA02) [staff location code 162]

* Suffrage Campaigning- NUWSS (BadgeBoxA03) [staff location code 163]

* Suffrage Campaigning- NUWSS (BadgeBoxA04) [staff location code 150]

* Women's Service Library (BadgeBoxA05) [staff location code 164]

* Suffrage Campaigning, St Joan's Alliance, Women's Freedom League (BadgeBoxA06) [staff location code 165]

* Suffrage Campaigning- other pro-suffrage organisations (BadgeBoxA07) [staff location code 166]

* Suffrage Campaigning- WSPU (BadgeBoxA08) [staff location code 167]

* Women's Peace Campaigning (BadgeBoxB01)[staff location code 168]

* Women and Work (BadgeBoxC01) [staff location code 151]

* Women and Work (BadgeBoxC02) [staff location code 170]

* Women and Work (BadgeBoxC03) [staff location code 171]

* Women and Work (BadgeBoxC04) [staff location code 261]

* Reproduction, Abortion, Birth and Childcare (BadgeBoxD01) [staff location code 152]

* Reproduction, Abortion, Birth and Childcare (BadgeBoxD02) [staff location code 172]

* Reproduction, Abortion, Birth and Childcare (BadgeBoxD03) [staff location code 173]

* Reproduction, Abortion, Birth and Childcare (BadgeBoxD04) [staff location code 259]

* Women and Publishing (BadgeBoxE01) [staff location code 153]

* Women and Sexuality (BadgeBoxF01) [staff location code 174]

* Women and Sexuality (BadgeBoxF02) [staff location code 260]

* Women's Theatre, Music and Performance (BadgeBoxG01) [staff location code 175]

* Women and Violence (BadgeBoxH01) [staff location code 154]

* Women and Violence (BadgeBoxH02) [staff location code 254]

* Women's Organisations and Events - International (BadgeBoxJ01) [staff location code 176]

* Women's Organisations and Events - National (BadgeBoxJ02) [staff location code 177]

* Women's Organisations and Events - Regional (BadgeBoxJ03) [staff location code 155]

* Modern Women's Campaigning - General (BadgeBoxK01) [staff location code 179]

* Modern Women's Campaigning - General (BadgeBoxK02) [staff location code 180]

* Modern Women's Campaigning - General (BadgeBoxK03) [staff location code 156]

* Modern Women's Campaigning - General (BadgeBoxK04) [staff location code 181]

* Modern Women's Campaigning - General (BadgeBoxK05) [staff location code 182]

* Modern Women's Campaigning - General (BadgeBoxK06) [staff location code 157]

* Modern Women's Campaigning - General (BadgeBoxK07) [staff location code 255]

* Modern Women's Campaigning - General (BadgeBoxK08) [staff location code 256]

* Modern Women's Campaigning - General (BadgeBoxK09) [staff location code 262]

* Women and Health (BadgeBoxL01) [staff location code 183]

* Miscellaneous (BadgeBoxM01) [staff location code 186]

A corporate history of The Women' Library, and of many of the creators of badges held in this collection, is available on The Women's Library archive and museum catalogue.

Arranged by subject, see above

This collection is available for research. Readers are advised to contact The Women's Library in advance of their first visit. The Badge Collection may be requested for research in the Reading Room.

Various.

The Women's Library online catalogue

The Women's Library uses Mary Evans Picture Library (MEPL) to provide images from its collections, see www.maryevans.com

For a copy of the attached image please contact MEPL, quoting the MEPL image reference 10086396 (or reference 10052790). The image is of Women's Social & Political Union (WSPU) badges including TWL.2004.625 (the flag);

The Women's Library Archives also contain badges. Primarily these are badges created by organisations for publicity purposes.

Key archives include:

5GFS Girls' Friendly Society (approx 114 badges, including textile patches and button covers) ,

5FWI National Federation of Women's Institutes (approx 28 badges, plus uncatalogued badges accessioned in 2006).

7HFD, the papers of Hugh Franklin and Elsie Duval contain a significant number of suffrage badges and medals (7HFD/D/09 approx 23 badges).

7JAN Papers of Jayne and Juliet Nelson (11 badges) relating to Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp, UK and international peace movements;

A search for 'ObjectName' = 'badge' will bring up all badges catalogued at item level in the museum and archive collections.

As from 2004 archive catalogues at The Women's Library identify individual badges using the 'ObjectName' field. Users specifically interested in this object-type should also search for 'badge*' in the any text field to discover additional reference to badge/s across the collections.

Researchers looking for objects such as the Holloway prison medals, should also search for 'ObjectName' = medal. As at May 2008 there were c.30 medals identified in this way. For example, this will bring up:

7MAR/02 Brooch given by Mrs Pankhurst to Mary Ann Rawle for bravery in Holloway prison

Additional objects that may be of interest are described as 'ObjectName' = pin (jewellery) or 'ObjectName' = rosette