Gilman, Charlotte Perkins (1860-1935) Three Ages of Woman, Five (of Six) Advertising Cards with her Illustrations.
[New England, late-19th century.]
Lithographic cards printed in color and metallic inks, depicting women in three stages: as babies, young girls, and young women, and each with giant floral headgear; versos with advertisements from three different businesses: E.A. Moore, dealer in boots, shoes & rubbers; Westland Safety Lamp Col; and Prf. Fair's Hair Care in Providence, RI; 4 1/2 x 3 in. (5)
Charlotte Perkins Gilman enrolled in the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence in 1878, and it was in Providence that she created the art for several series of trade cards. Gilman's original contract was with the soap manufacturer, Soapine, and depicted people employed in various wash day activities.
In the Three Ages of Woman (the full set consists of six cards) Gilman uses the symbolic language of flowers to show two trajectories for women, one secular, one pious. The first card depicts a toddler (or baby) holding a doll and wearing a long white gown, her head engulfed in a pink morning glory blossom (affectation) as she stands on a fancy tufted pillow, symbolizing Victorian materialism. A very different baby wrapped in a calla lily blossom and standing in the water represents innocence, purity & chastity. The next two cards depict young girls. Garbed in a yellow poppy, the first holds a bucket of milk in one hand, a bouquet of flowers in the other. The poppy symbolizes extravagance; the milk and flowers suggest fertility; her dress emphasizes her figure. Her counterpart sports a sunflower, and stands with her hands tucked neatly into the front pockets of her white apron. The sunflower stands for adoration, and the girl's stance is practical, rooted in the earth, with demure toes turned in slightly. In this set, only one of the cards representing young women is present, that of the fancily dressed young lady whose head is wreathed by a generous red rose, another symbol of sexuality. She wears a fashionable gown and carries a fan made of green leaves, clearly showing the result of her secular rearing. The final card, lacking in this set, showing the pious young woman, sees her depicted as a nun holding rosary beads, her head crowned in a wild geranium blossom.
