As at Jan 2009, The Women's Library held approximately 820 badges in the Museum Collection, with c.2,500 additional photographs identified in the archives.
A large proportion of The Women's Library Photograph Collection is comprised of portraits of famous women and significant individuals in women's campaigning. There is also a range of photographs of the birthplaces, burial places and funerals of prominent women.
The main strength of the collection is in the group of photographs that represent suffrage campaigning. The images represent a wide range of activities such as suffrage arrests, elections, petitions, demonstrations, processions and exhibitions.
The work undertaken by women on the Home and Western fronts is recorded in a number of photographs taken during the First and Second World Wars.
There is a limited, but growing, range of photographs that document post-suffrage women's campaigning such as feminist work during the 1970s and 1980s, in the form of arrests and demonstrations. There are images relating to a few of the many 20th century women's organisations and their activities, such as conferences and debates.
A small number of photographs grouped by subject illustrate women's everyday experiences in areas such as sport and education.
Although focussing on the United Kingdom, the international nature of campaigning means that a number of international women or places are represented in this collection.
The photographs are arranged in boxes by the following subjects:
* Portraits A-E (Photograph Box 01) [staff location code 133]
* Portraits F-M (Photograph Box 02) [staff location code 134]
* Portraits N-Z, Royal Family (Photograph Box 03) [staff location code 136]
* Group Portraits, Birth Places, Burial Places, Funerals, Sport, Medicine, Education, Fashion, The Arts, Household, Everyday (Photograph Box 04) [staff location code 137]
* Groups, organisations and societies: Scouts and Girl Guides, Women's Ordination, Women's Freedom League, Arab Women's Organisation, Commission for the Advancement of Women, Church League for Women's Suffrage, International Kitchen Club, Handicraft Women's Group, Thailand, Associated Women of the World, IIAV, Amsterdam, Equal Pay Campaign, International Women's Alliance, Nordic Institute for Women's Studies and Gender Research, Josephine Butler Society, St. Joan's Alliance, National Union of Societies for Equal Citizenship, London Society for Women's Suffrage, Nepal Women's Volunteer Service, Women's National Commission, Pensions Campaign (Photograph Box 05) [staff location code 138]
* Women's Campaigning, Suffrage and Post-Suffrage: Elections, Arrests, Petitions, Advertising, Caravan Tours, Celebrations, Demonstrations (including Processions, Strikes, Marches), Exhibitions, Fairs, Fetes, Festivals (Photograph Box 06) [staff location code 139]
* War (First World War & Second World War): Women and the Home Front First World War, The Land Army First World War, Women on the Western Front First World War, Other European Women during First World War, Women on the Home Front Second World War, The Land Army Second World War (Photograph Box 07) [staff location code 140]
* Debates, Conferences, Congress: Suffrage Convention, Buffalo 1909, Suffrage Conference Cairo 1934, International Committee, Rome 1948, Athens Conference 1958, World Congress of Women Moscow 24 Jun 1963, United Nations 1969-1987, Lambeth Conference 1978, 'Know How' Conference IIAV 22-26 Aug 1998 (Photograph Box 08) [staff location code 141]
* First World War (Photograph Box 09 - Oversize box) [staff location code 142]
* Suffrage, Portraits (Photograph Box 10 - Oversize box) [staff location code 143]
* Miscellaneous (Photograph Box 11 - Oversize box) [staff location code 144]